Scribd
Upload
127 views3 pages

Module Philosophical Perspectives in Teacher

There are four major educational philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. Perennialism focuses on teaching enduring ideas and principles of Western civilization. Essentialism believes in transmitting a core body of knowledge and skills in a disciplined way while also accepting that the core curriculum may change. Progressivism emphasizes educating the whole child through active experimentation and learning derived from student interests. Reconstructionism/Critical Theory aims to address social questions and create a better society through curriculum focused on social reform, student experience, and taking social action.

Uploaded by

Jane Dizon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
127 views3 pages

Module Philosophical Perspectives in Teacher

There are four major educational philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. Perennialism focuses on teaching enduring ideas and principles of Western civilization. Essentialism believes in transmitting a core body of knowledge and skills in a disciplined way while also accepting that the core curriculum may change. Progressivism emphasizes educating the whole child through active experimentation and learning derived from student interests. Reconstructionism/Critical Theory aims to address social questions and create a better society through curriculum focused on social reform, student experience, and taking social action.

Uploaded by

Jane Dizon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Educational Philosophies Definitions and Comparison Chart

Within the epistemological frame that focuses on the nature of knowledge and how we
come to know, there are four major educational philosophies, each related to one or
more of the general or world philosophies just discussed. These educational
philosophical approaches are currently used in classrooms the world over. They are
Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These educational
philosophies focus heavily on WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect.

Perennialism
For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire
understandings about
the great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving
problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring
truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most
essential level, do not change. Teaching these unchanging principles is critical. Humans
are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the
intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum
focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring disciplines.
The loftiest accomplishments of humankind are emphasized– the great works of
literature and art, the laws or principles of science. Advocates of this educational
philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who developed a Great Books program in
1963 and Mortimer Adler, who further developed this curriculum based on 100 great
books of western civilization.

Essentialism
Essentialists believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be
transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this
conservative perspective is on intellectual and moral standards that schools should
teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic rigor.
Although this educational philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism,
Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Schooling should be
practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society. It should focus on
facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training students to read, write,
speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence
policies. Students should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline.
Teachers are to help students keep their non-productive instincts in check, such as
aggression or mindlessness. This approach was in reaction to progressivist approaches
prevalent in the 1920s and 30s. William Bagley, took progressivist approaches to task in
the journal he formed in 1934. Other proponents of Essentialism are: James D. Koerner
(1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul Copperman (1978), and Theodore Sizer (1985).

Progressivism
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the
content or the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test
ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that
arise through experiencing the world. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem
solver and thinker who makes meaning through his or her individual experience in the
physical and cultural context. Effective teachers provide experiences so that students
can learn by doing. Curriculum content is derived from student interests and questions.
The scientific method is used by progressivist educators so that students can study
matter and events systematically and first hand. The emphasis is on process-how one
comes to know. The Progressive education philosophy was established in America from
the mid 1920s through the mid 1950s. John Dewey was its foremost proponent.

One of his tenets was that the school should improve the way of life of our citizens
through experiencing freedom and democracy in schools. Shared decision making,
planning of teachers with students, student-selected topics are all aspects. Books are
tools, rather than authority.

Reconstructionism/Critical Theory
Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of social
questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy.
Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that highlights social reform as the
aim of education. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) was the founder of social
reconstructionism, in reaction against the realities of World War II. He recognized the
potential for either human annihilation through technology and human cruelty or the
capacity to create a beneficent society using technology and human compassion.
George Counts (1889-1974) recognized that education was the means of preparing
people for creating this new social order.

Critical theorists, like social reconstructionists, believe that systems must be changed to
overcome oppression and improve human conditions. Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a
Brazilian whose experiences living in poverty led him to champion education and
literacy as the vehicle for social change. In his view, humans must learn to resist
oppression and not become its victims, nor oppress others. To do so requires dialog
and critical consciousness, the development of awareness to overcome domination and
oppression. Rather than "teaching as banking," in which the educator deposits
information into students' heads, Freire saw teaching and learning as a process of
inquiry in which the child must invent and reinvent the world.
For social reconstructionists and critical theorists, curriculum focuses on student
experience and taking social action on real problems, such as violence, hunger,
international terrorism, inflation, and inequality. Strategies for dealing with controversial
issues (particularly in social studies and literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple
perspectives are the focus. Community-based learning and bringing the world into the
classroom are also strategies.

You might also like