Educational philosophies are important in that whether you think of them consciously or not, they influence your beliefs and thoughts on teaching. They mold your way of thinking about teaching-related issues.
There are five major educational philosophies; two teacher-centered and three student-centered. They are as follows: Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism.
Essentialism-- This is a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses mainly on core curriculum. It strives to teach students the current knowledge of our civilization through core classes, like math, science, history, foreign language, and literature. They tend to frown upon electives.
Perennialism-- This is a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses on sharpening intellectual powers and enhancing moral qualities through books, ideas, and concepts. They recommend learning directly from the Great Books, or works by 'history's finest thinkers and writers', focusing on universal themes that stand through time.
Progressivism-- This philosophy, meanwhile, is a student-centered one. It organizes its schools around concerns, curiosity, and real-world experiences of students. A teacher of this philosophy is not there to instruct, but to help the students formulate questions and devise strategies to answer them on their own. They believe education is an opportunity to learn how to apply previous experiences in new ways.
Social Reconstructionism-- This is a student-centered philosophy that focuses on helping students to change the world, essentially. It encourages students and teachers to focus studies and energy on the real-world problems and social issues around them and finding ways to fix them.
Existentialism-- This is a student-centered philosophy that focuses on on helping students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals. Subject matter takes a back seat, and the teacher's role is as more of a guide than a teacher.
While those five are influential, they are not necessarily the only philosophies of education. There are others as well. For example constructivism (knowledge cannot be handed from one person to another, but must be constructed by each learner through interpreting and reinterprating) and behaviorism (free will is an illusion, and people are shaped entirely by their environment) are two examples of other philosophies out there.
That in mind, those are some of the basic philosophies of education. Which do you think you believe in the most, and why?
There are five major educational philosophies; two teacher-centered and three student-centered. They are as follows: Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism.
Essentialism-- This is a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses mainly on core curriculum. It strives to teach students the current knowledge of our civilization through core classes, like math, science, history, foreign language, and literature. They tend to frown upon electives.
Perennialism-- This is a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses on sharpening intellectual powers and enhancing moral qualities through books, ideas, and concepts. They recommend learning directly from the Great Books, or works by 'history's finest thinkers and writers', focusing on universal themes that stand through time.
Progressivism-- This philosophy, meanwhile, is a student-centered one. It organizes its schools around concerns, curiosity, and real-world experiences of students. A teacher of this philosophy is not there to instruct, but to help the students formulate questions and devise strategies to answer them on their own. They believe education is an opportunity to learn how to apply previous experiences in new ways.
Social Reconstructionism-- This is a student-centered philosophy that focuses on helping students to change the world, essentially. It encourages students and teachers to focus studies and energy on the real-world problems and social issues around them and finding ways to fix them.
Existentialism-- This is a student-centered philosophy that focuses on on helping students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals. Subject matter takes a back seat, and the teacher's role is as more of a guide than a teacher.
While those five are influential, they are not necessarily the only philosophies of education. There are others as well. For example constructivism (knowledge cannot be handed from one person to another, but must be constructed by each learner through interpreting and reinterprating) and behaviorism (free will is an illusion, and people are shaped entirely by their environment) are two examples of other philosophies out there.
That in mind, those are some of the basic philosophies of education. Which do you think you believe in the most, and why?
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