Comes from the word perennial meaning
everlasting.
 A very conservative and inflexible
philosophy of education.
 A teacher-centered philosophy that
emphasizes the importance of transferring
knowledge, information, and skills from the
older (presumably wiser) generation to the
younger one.
 Perennialism says since people are human,
one should teach first about humans, not
machines or techniques.
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Secular Perennialism – the word
perennial suggests something that lasts
for an indefinite long time, recurs again
and again, or is self-renewing.
› Perennialism is learning to reason
› Advocates using original work in education
› Comprises the humanist and scientific
traditions
› Formulated in the 20th century by Robert
Hutchins and Mortimer Adler
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Religious Perennialism – focuses on the
personal development of the student,
and says that all learning could not
come from within.
› First developed by Thomas Aquinas
› Religious Perennialism continues to shape
the nature of Catholic schools throughout
the world
Permanence is more real than change
2. Human nature remains essentially the
same no matter the culture
3. The good life-the life that is fit for
man/woman to live-remains essentially
the same
4. Moral principles remain essentially the
same
5. Education that men/women receive
should remain essentially the same
1.
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Robert Hutchins
› Perennialist educator who strongly believed
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in having traditional liberal arts in all schools
Introduced the Great Books program
Wanted NO extracurricular activities in
schools…said they were irrelevant to the
learning process
Stated that textbooks “have probably done
as much to degrade the American
intelligence as any single force.”
Professor and Dean at Yale Law School
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Mortimer Adler
› Helped Hutchins organize the Great Books
program
› Proposed a single elementary and
secondary curriculum for all students, with no
curricular electives except the choice of a
second language
› Professor of Philosophy at Columbia
University
Students spend most of their time
mastering the three “Rs”- reading, ‘riting,
‘rithmetic
 Greatest importance placed on reading
 Teach values and character training
through discussions about underlying
values and moral principles in stories
 Only elective is the choice of second
language
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Few, if any, textbooks
 Schools are organized around books,
ideas, and concepts
 Teach from the Great Books-works by
history’s finest thinkers and writers
 Teachers do not lecture but lead and
facilitate discussions
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Role of the Teacher
› Teach time-honored classics
› Lifelong Learner
› Discussion Leader…Not Lecturer
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Role of the Student
› Active Thinker/Learner
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Teaching Tools
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Standardized Tests
Teacher-made tests
Memorization
Classic Books
Classroom Management
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Orderly rows
Neat/Clean room
Strict rules
Punishment/Rewards
Perennialism was started in the 1930s
 Perennialism IS still around
 St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland

› Adopted the Great Books as a core
curriculum in 1937
› Readings in Literature, Philosophy, Theology,
History, Social Sciences, Mathematics, and
Music
› Students write extensively and attend weekly
seminars to discuss assigned readings
Grades are given but students only
receive their grades upon request
 Expected to learn for learning’s sake
 Thrives in small-group atmosphere
 2nd campus opened in 1964 in Santa Fe,
New Mexico
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http://www.corestandards.org/thestandards/english-language-artsstandards/anchor-standards-612/college-and-career-readinessanchor-standards-for-reading/
 The high school reading standards sound
very similar to the ideas of Perennialism.
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With this philosophy, what happens to
the students who are poor readers or
who do not like to read? Are we setting
them up for failure?
 Research showed that religious schools
use the Perennialism philosophy…why?
 Are electives really not important?
 How can teachers teach all subjects
without the use of textbooks?
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www.oregonstate.edu
www.successfuleducation.info
Ediger, M. (1997). Influence of ten leading
educators of American education.
Education, 118(2), 267. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
Perennialism (2003). Retrieved from
http://www.mtsu.edu/~tsbrown/pere.htm
Sadker, D., Zittleman, K. Teachers, Schools,
and Society: A Brief Introduction to
Education. p.200-207. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com