BEP1103/GEP5103-PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Q1. Evaluate the philosophical contributions of the following scholars to
education.
a) Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori made her mark in the education sector when she introduced a
child-centered way of learning to society. The Montessori Method was founded by
an educator, innovator, and Italy’s first female physician named Maria in Rome
where she opened her first school named Casa Dei Bambini.
She enrolled kids from ages 3 to 7 into her classroom where she carefully
exercised her teaching methods and molded them according to the individual needs
of her students. She believed that the kids would be more interested in learning
new concepts if they were left to explore their own interests within some
disciplined boundaries. Soon enough, the Montessori children developed an ability
to focus and discover new ideas with the use of puzzles and other activities.
Maria Montessori became the center of attention because she revolutionized the
way the kids were taught at a young age to become future leaders.
Contributions of Maria Montessori to the education system
Maria Montessori was a dedicated woman who aimed to modify the education
system. She welcomed kids from the inner-city of Rome to her classroom, and by
implementing her teaching tactics, showed the world that this manner of teaching
is the most effective in raising future, successful children.
Here are some ideas that she introduced to the world of education:
Child-friendly classrooms
Maria Montessori initiated the concept of having a child-size setting in
her classroom. Whether it is furniture or cutlery, everything was as per the
children’s size.
Open classrooms
She also introduced the idea of open classrooms where children are free to roam
around. They have access to different learning and playing materials. Open
classrooms promote socializing skills in children and also encourage them to listen
to instructions and collaborate with each other and the teacher accordingly.
Individualized education for children
Maria Montessori believed that all children are individuals and have different
working mindsets. Because of this, they should be treated individually. Students
should be taught at a pace that is suited to them and the content that they can easily
comprehend.
b) Plato
Plato regards education as a means to achieve justice, both individual justice and
social justice. According to Plato, individual justice can be obtained when each
individual develops his or her ability to the fullest. In this sense, justice means
excellence. For the Greeks and Plato, excellence is virtue. According to Socrates,
virtue is knowledge. Thus, knowledge is required to be just. From this Plato
concludes that virtue can be obtained through three stages of development of
knowledge: knowledge of one's own job, self-knowledge, and knowledge of the
Idea of the Good.
According to Plato, social justice can be achieved when all social classes in a
society, workers, warriors, and rulers are in a harmonious relationship. Plato
believes that all people can easily exist in harmony when society gives them equal
educational opportunity from an early age to compete fairly with each other.
Without equal educational opportunity, an unjust society appears since the political
system is run by unqualified people; timocracy, oligarchy, defective democracy, or
tyranny will result.
Modern education in Japan and other East Asian countries has greatly contributed
to developing their societies in economic terms. Nevertheless, education in those
countries has its own problems. In particular the college entrance examination in
Japan, Korea, and other East Asian countries caused serious social injustices and
problems: unequal educational opportunity, lack of character education, financial
burden on parents, and so on. Thus, to achieve justice, modern society needs the
Platonic theory education, for Plato's philosophy of education will provide a
comprehensive vision to solve those problems in education.
There is also some controversy about the relationship between education and
economics. It is a popular view common in East and West that businesses should
indirectly control or even take over education to economically compete with other
nations. However, Plato disagrees with this notion since business is concerned
mainly with profit whereas a true education is concerned with the common good
based upon the rational principle of individual and social justice.
c) John Dewey.
Contribution of John Dewey to Education
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose
thoughts have great influence in education and social reform. Dewey is best known for his
writings on education. But he also has written about many other topics, including experience,
logic, ethics, inquiry, democracy, nature, and art. John Dewey, one of the greatest American
modern thinker's, theorist and educator.
John Dewey's Philosophy of Education
Dewey defines education as the ' development of all those capacities in the individual which will
enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities". It is a process that begins with
the very birth of the child, and goes on throughout the whole life. It is a process which has two
sides- one psychological and the other sociological.
The main aims of education as advocated by Dewey are:Social Efficiency: According to Dewey the development of social efficiency is one of the aims of
education. To him school is a social institution. The school should be organised in such a way
that the activities of the outer world are reflected.
Education is life: Dewey emphasises that education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself.
The child lives in the present. The future is meaningless to him. Hence it is absurd to expect him
to do things for some future preparation.
Education is experience: Dewey favoured an education by, of and for, experience. Every new
experience is education. An old experience is replaced by a new experience. The human race he
gained experience in its struggle to meet the needs of life. This ' struggle for existence ' is a
continuous process.
Education should combine theory & practice: The aim of education, according to Dewey should
be create a balance between theoretical and practical activities. He has stressed equal importance
to both action and thought. These two should go hand in hand.
Dewey on School Curriculum
• Dewey advocates that broader curricular programmes are needed and emphasis should be
placed in the total development of the person as being equally important as the intellectual and
the academic.
• The teacher is a guide and director he steers the boat, but the energy that people it must come
from those who are learning. The more a teacher is aware of the past experience of students of
their hopes, desires, chief interests the better will be.
• The teacher is engaged not simply in the training of individuals but in the formation of the
proper social life. In this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God.
Dewey's Method of Teaching
Dewey's method of teaching is based on his pragmatic philosophy. He is of the opinion that
direct experience is the basis of all method. Knowledge takes place from concrete and
meaningful situations. Hence knowledge should come from spontaneous activities of the
children. Dewey's method of teaching are based on the principles of learning by doing activities
in connection with the life of the child.
The project or problem method which Dewey advocated, the child's interests and purposes are
the most important things.
For his problem or project method, Dewey laid down the following five steps as essential.
(1) The pupil should have a genuine situation of experiences.
(2) A genuine problem should arise from this situation and should stimulate the thinking of the
child.
(3) The child should obtain information or make observation needed to deal with the problems.
(4) The suggested solution(s) should occur to him.
(5) He should have an opportunity to test his ideas by application.
Dewey's contribution to educational thought and practice
(1) Dewey's social theory of education coupled with the logic of experimental method has been
very influential in the development of modern education practices.
(2) The greatest change has been in the recognition of the worth of the expense of the child. The
child is no longer regarded as a passive subject meant for the imposition of external information
but is considered an active living being those interests have to be stimulated by participation in
socially significant experience.
(3) Dewey has been one of the significant leaders who have tried to introduce a more human
touch in the processes of education.
(4) He has been a powerful influence in interpreting the school as a commonly for the realization
of the significance of the immediate experiences and present opportunities of the child if he is to
be a contributor to the march of the social process.
(5) His insistence on activities of diverse kinds in school is also an other aspect of his social
theory of education.
(6) The pragmatic method of instrumentalitic experimentation reacts against all kinds of
mysticism, transcendentalism and absolutism.
(9 marks)
Q2. Discuss the FOUR major branches of Philosophy and their relevance
to education. (12marks)
Introduction
According to Peters (1975), philosophy is the study of general and fundamental pro
blemsconcerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice,
validity, mind, andlanguage. Moreover, philosophy is rationally thinking,
of a more or less systematic kind aboutthe general nature of the world –
metaphysics or theory of existence, the justification of belief -epistemology or
theory of knowledge, and the conduct of life - ethics or theory of value. On
theother hand, the word philosophy comes from a combination of two Greek
words- “philos”meaning “love” and “sophi” meaning “wisdom. This paper seeks to
identify and explain the
four branches of philosophy and under each highlighting the things that used to ha
ppen during primary and secondary schooling years which, fall under that
particular branch of Philosophy.
2.0 Branches of philosophy
Philosophy deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. The content of
philosophy is better seen as asking questions rather than providing answers.
Philosophical content can has
beenorganized around four fundamental categories: These include but may not be l
imited tometaphysics, epistemology, axiology and logic.
2.1 Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that considers the physical universe and
the nature of ultimate reality. It asks questions like, What is real? What is the
origin of the world? What
is beyond the stars? Your consideration of reality as an external creation or an inter
nal constructcan influence your metaphysical beliefs and perspectives and your
teaching. Regardless of
your definition of reality, the exploration and categorization of the physical univers
e form thefoundation of several school subjects. For instance, as theology as part of
metaphysical aspect,
we used to study Christian Religious Education under the religious theory that deal
s with conceptions of and about God. “Is there a God? If so, is there one or more
than one? What are the attributes of God? If God is both all good and all powerful,
why does evil exist? If God exists, what is His relationship to human beings and
the ‘real’ world of everyday life?”
2.2 Epistemology
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that considers how people come to learn
what they know. Derived from the Greek word episteme, meaning knowledge or
understanding, epistemology refers to the nature and origin of knowledge and
truth. Epistemology proposes that there are four main bases of knowledge: divine
revelation, experience, logic and reason, and intuition. These influence how
teaching, learning, and understanding come about in the classroom. Epistemology
has a direct impact upon education on a moment-by-moment basis. For example,
assumptions about the importance of various sources of knowledge will certainly
be reflected in curricular emphases and teaching methodologies. Because Christian
teachers believe in revelation as a source of valid knowledge, they will
undoubtedly choose a curriculum and a role for the Bible in that curriculum that
differs substantially from the curricular choices of nonbelievers.
2.3 Axiology
According to Chandra (2002), axiology is the branch of philosophy that considers
the study of principles and values. These values are divided into two main kinds:
ethics and aesthetics. Ethics is the questioning of morals and personal values.
Aesthetics is the examination of what
is beautiful, enjoyable, or tasteful. In axiology education is more than just about kn
owledge butalso quality of life. At primary and secondary school level, axiology,
by projecting a system of values, proposes educational aims under the form of
axiological objectives and ideals.
2.4 Logic
Logic is the branch of philosophy that seeks to organize reasoning. Students
of logic learn how to think in a structurally sound manner. Logic has two types:
deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning involves examining a
general case, deducing a general set of rules
or principles, and then applying these rules to specific cases. Inductive reasoning in
volves takingspecific examples and considering the general principles, rules, or
cases that caused them. Accordingly logic makes critical use of both induction and
deduction and goes beyond them to
alanguage of mathematical and near mathematical symbols in an attempt at precisi
on and exactness in making meaning explicit.
3.0 Conclusion
As it has been discussed above, it is necessary to examine the branches of philosop
hy.Understanding educational philosophy will contribute to the understanding of h
ow thesefoundations have given rise to what is commonly practiced and believed
in the classroom
today.The four main branches of philosophy discussed in this paper include metap
hysics,epistemology, axiology and logic.
Q3. Hegemonies, civil unrests and political animosities that characterize
most parts of the world is as a results of ‘Education’. Discuss (13marks)
REFERENCES
Chandra S. S. (2002). “Philosophy of Education.” New Delhi, Allantic publishers.
Peters, R.S. (1975). The Philosophy of education. Oxford University Press,
London.