MODULE 1
DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS OF PHILOSOPHY
Objectives
This module presents to you some definitions and concepts in philosophy of
education so you will be able to operationally define philosophy in your field of
endeavor. Specifically you will be able to:
1. conceptualize the meanings of philosophy;
2.
state your own view of philosophy.
Definitions and Concepts of Philosophy
Philosophy has been defined by authors who were cited by others and who in turn
based their own definitions on them. Gregorio and Gregorio (1979) cited two definitions
of E. S. Amos and William James. The former defined philosophy as “the endeavor to
achieve a comprehensive view of life and its meaning, upon the basis of the results of
various sciences.” The latter defined philosophy as “a usually stubborn attempt to think
clearly.” Moreover, J.A. Leighton was cited as stating, “a complete philosophy includes
a world view, a doctrine of values, meanings and purpose of human life.”
From their understanding of the above citations, Gregorio and Gregorio (1979)
concluded that “philosophy is a study of life and the universe as a whole to frame a
logical and necessary system of general idea, so that every element of human experience
may be interpreted.” As a generalized theory of education, philosophy is assumed not to
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be defined in terms of subject matter according to John Dewey. Since education is not
distinct from total life situation, the educational philosophy cannot be bound by the
limitations of the subject matter content.
More definitions were cited by Calderon (1998). He cited Good’s definition of
philosophy as the “science that seeks to organize and systematize all fields of knowledge
as a means of understanding and interpreting the totality of reality.” Moreover, W. P.
Montagne and Lacuesta, et. al view philosophy as the “attempt to give a reasoned
conception of the universe and of [human’s] place in it. For Weber as cited in Lacuesta,
et. al, philosophy is a “search for a comprehensive view of nature, an attempt at a
universal explanation of the nature of things.”
These definitions were synthesized by Calderon (1998). He summed all these by
stating that philosophy “means a systematic and logical explanation of the nature,
existence of purposes, and relationships of things including human beings in the
universe.”
To Gregorio and Gregorio (1979), philosophy is a generalized theory that aims to
identify problems and suggest ways of handling these problems. Its purpose is to analyze
and classify human actions and aims, problems, and ideals … change the world in the
direction of these ends and values … integrating human conduct with work scale of
values, supremely worthwhile and desirable. To make education effective, it must be
based on human values. Philosophy in education is an attempt to formulate a criticallybuilt general outlook upon life in the light of the evaluation of values which people prize
in the educative process.
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By these definitions and concepts, philosophy has shown its importance in
building a strong foundation for a person to cope with the demands of his/her profession
and the problems in life. Also, these imply the important role philosophy plays in
education, that of providing the student “the ability to synthesize, criticize, assimilate,
and evaluate various and voluminous knowledge (Zulueta and Maglaya, 2004) brought
about by human society, its processes and activities. For according to Socrates, “the life
unexamined is not worth living.”
Activities
1. Having read these definitions and concepts of philosophy, state your own view of
philosophy.
2. Explain your answer to this question, “Why is it important to know these
definitions and concepts of philosophy?”
3. You may read more definitions and concepts of philosophy from other sources.
Try surfing in the internet reading other materials. Do you find any difference
from those given? Please provide your tutor with those that you got from other
sources.
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MODULE 2
PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION
Objectives
This module shows you the relationship of philosophy and education.
Specifically this module will enable to explain this relationship by:
1. identifying the nature of philosophy vis-à-vis education;
2. illustrating the relationship of the two;
3. identifying the role philosophy plays in education;
4. drawing some implications of philosophy in education.
(Zulueta and Maglaya, 2004 Comparison of Philosophy and Education)
 Education is practical while philosophy is theoretical and speculative.
 Education is a process actively dealing with teaching, organizing programs,
administering organizations and building curricula. Philosophy asks questions,
examines facts of reality and experience, many of which are involved in the
educative process.
 Education involves nurturing the young along the phases of reality considered in
making philosophical judgments.
Philosophy yields a comprehensive
understanding of reality, a world view touch which when applied to educational
practices leads direction and methodology which are likely to be lacking
otherwise.
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 While philosophy is a guide to educational practice, education as a field of
investigation yields certain data as basis for philosophical judgments.
Conceptualizing the Relationship of Philosophy and Education
(Gregorio and Gregorio, 1979)
Philosophy and education have been claimed to be related to each other. The two
complement and supplement each other since philosophy is a “generalized theory of
education that makes students understand the implications to education of the various
systems of philosophy underlying educational policy and practice”.
For John Dewey, “the purpose of philosophy is to identify problems and suggest ways
of handling these problems.” He believes that education is life. The role of educational
philosophers is to explain education, criticize its practices, and offer suggestions to
problems by means of reflective thinking.
Moreover, educational philosophy is believed by many as a discipline that applies the
findings of philosophy to educational problems. It is concerned with what ought to be in
educational practice suggesting that all other educational discipline must follow the
direction of philosophy for effectiveness.
Philosophy as a discipline classifies and
analyzes meaning in education.
Therefore, educational philosophy directs and guides teachers, school administrators,
and supervisors in formulating educational aims and objectives for an effective
educational process.
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Importance of Philosophy in Education
Philosophy in education trains learners to recognize synthesize, internalize, and assess
various ideas, facts, opinions, voluminous knowledge acquired and encountered. It aims
to develop a learner that is cultured and well rounded, developing him/her into worthy
member of a society. J.A. Nicholson as cited by Zulueta and Maglaya (2004) impressed
on the importance of philosophy in a person’s life and in society, to wit:
There is no other knowledge that so widens
our intellectual horizon and that depends thereby
both our understanding and our sympathies. It
breaks up that intellectual crust of which
Wordsworth speaks the yoke of conventional
customs’ that thinking tends fatally impose upon
itself and by setting thought free, it permits that
full functioning of the life of the spirit that along
constitute the good life.
They further concluded that the “study of philosophy will always be an important
feature of human experience and its importance in the development of [a] complete
social being ready on his [her] responsibility in this rapidly changing world cannot be
over emphasized.” With this claim, the same authors enumerated certain educational
implications of philosophy when education is viewed as life.
Educational Implications of Philosophy
(Zulueta and Maglaya, 2004)
1.
Philosophy guides a person in arriving at the right decision from a broader
perspective because of the wholistic view that philosophy provides and which
will become an integral part of the individual’s development.
2.
It prepares the person to strive and challenge those attempting to control his /her
thoughts and fend off intimidating dogmatic statements.
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3.
It serves as a bulwark against mental servitude and provides a framework within
which the individual can think and act intelligently.
4.
It becomes part of human experience that leads to the development of a complete
social being that can assume the responsibility in a rapidly changing world.
5.
It gives insights to individuals about their significant role as members of society.
To Calderon and Calderon (1979), the true function of philosophy is to give an
individual a critical outlook upon life’s real values and upon human conduct. So,
educational philosophy is perceived as a personal effort to arrive at solutions for
educational problems based [on] the experiences of the thinker. Majority of educational
thinkers assert that educational philosophy is that discipline which applies the findings of
philosophy to educational problems. This assumes that the problems of education have
roots in philosophical positions relative to the nature of humans and the universe, the
problems of truth and knowledge, and the questions of value.
[Moreover,] the nature of educational philosophy suggests the necessity for all
educational disciplines to follow the direction of philosophy. Educational philosophy is
concerned with the analysis of educational meaning and the recommendations of
educational policy. With educational philosophy, students are provided with basis of
philosophical understanding which to enable them to arrive at a logical and systematic
theory of education. Also important understands the place of the school in the
surrounding culture and comprehending the social factors influencing educational
thought.
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Activities
1.
Do you believe that philosophy plays an important role in the educational
process? Explain your answer.
2.
Illustrate by giving a school activity or scenario for your answer in Question #1
3.
How do you explain to students like you the relationship of philosophy and
education?
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MODULE 3
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND ITS AREAS OF CONCERN
This module presents and illustrates philosophy of education as a discipline or an area
of knowledge and the area of philosophy as applied to education. Specifically after this
module you will be able to:
1. identify and define the areas of concern of philosophy of education;
2. explain your beliefs in these areas of philosophy of education;
3.
illustrate these areas to show how these are manifested in the teachinglearning process;
4. explain how a teacher’s philosophy of education is reflected in the school
activities he/she conducts.
What is philosophy of education?
Calderon (1998) stated that “philosophy of education is a point of view that provides
a logical, rational, and valid basis for educational effort and criteria for the selection of a
sound educational practice”. He illustrated this with universal education. To implement
this, government must have the schools accessible to all children in all parts of the nation
and opened to all regardless of economic status, color, religion, ethnic origin, and
physical condition. Admission must be free.
To Gregorio and Gregorio (1979), educational philosophy is a centralized theory of
education concerned with the analysis of educational meaning and the recommendations
of educational policy. It aims to provide learners the
basis of philosophical
understanding and make them arrive at a logical and systematic theory of education. So,
the educational philosopher asserts that aims or goals of education should be based on
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social values. Education must deal with the nature and dignity of human beings, the
nature of knowledge and truth, and the nature and source of values. Likewise, the nature
of the learner, the teaching process and content, and the responsibilities and duties of the
teachers must be considered.
What are the philosophies of education?
Some authors identified four philosophies and claimed these to be the major ones.
Others identified as many as eight.
The four major philosophies of education are
idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. Each of these is taken up individually
in different modules. This was done for you to have a better understanding on these
major philosophies as they apply to educational practice. Table 1 shows the fields of
philosophy and their area of inquiry according to Zulueta and Maglaya (2000). Table 2
presents the philosophies, fields of concern, educational implications and proponents.
Table 3 has capsulized the relationship of the four philosophies to education.
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Table 1. Field of philosophy and area of inquiry (Zulueta and Maglaya, 2000).
Field
Area of Inquiry
Metaphysics
Studies the nature of reality and being
Epistemology
Inquiries about the nature, presuppositions,
and scope of knowledge
Logic
Studies correct thinking or rules of
interference to arguments
Ethics
Inquires into morally right conduct and
morally good life
Aesthetics
Analyzes standards and values in art and
aesthetic experience
Axiology
Studies the nature, status, and types of
values.
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Table 2. Field of Philosophy vis-a-vis philosophies of education
Philosophy
Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology Educational
Implications
Idealism
Reality is
spiritual or
mental or
mental and
unchanging
Knowing is the
re- thinking of
latent ideas.
Realism
Reality is
objective and
is composed
of matter and
form; it is
fixed, based
on natural
law.
Reality is the
interaction of
an individual
with
environment
or experience;
it is always
changing
Reality is
subjective,
with existence
preceding
essence.
Knowing
consists of
sensation and
abstraction
Reality is
verifiable
Knowing
involves
empirical
verification or
logical analysis
of language
Pragmatism
(experimenta
lism)
Existentialism
Philosophical
Analysis
Knowing
results from
experiencing:
use of
scientific
method
Knowing to
make personal
choices
Proponents
Values are Subject matter
absolute
curriculum
and eternal. emphasizes the
great and
enduring ideas
of the culture
Values are A subject
absolute
matter
and eternal curriculum
based on stresses
nature’s
humanistic and
law
scientific
disciplines
Berkely
Butler
Frochet
Hegel
Plato
Values are Instruction is
situational organized
or relative
around
problem
solving
according to
the scientific
method
Values
Classroom
should be dialogues are
freely
designed to
chosen.
stimulate
awareness that
each person
creates a self
concept
through
significant
choices
Values are Instruction
regarded as uses language
emotional
analysis to
preferences clarify
communication
and to establish
meaning
Childs
Dewey
James
Pierce
Aquinas
Aristotle
Broudy
Martin
Pestalozzi
Sartre
Marcel
Morris
Soderquist
Soltis
Russell
Moore
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Table 3. Different philosophies as applied in education
Idealism
Realism
Existentialism
individual growth thru
processes, experience
& problem solving
child and processcentered
facilitator/ dynamic
good classroom
manager result &
process oriented
problem solvers,
observe the scientific
method, curious
critical result &
process oriented
philosophical analysis
of human experience,
life, love & death
child and subject
matter centered
facilitator, moderator,
consultant, adviser
curious, assertive
inquiry, expressive
articulate , personally
and socially aware
child and society
centered
facilitator, liberal,
open minded,
provides for
individual differences.
Free-seekers of
knowledge, inquiries,
adventurous,
indecent.
scientific method and
experimental
flexible, rich in
opportunities for
students to experience
what they’re learning
challenging
experience
group dynamics
group dynamics
1. Aims of Education
development of mind
and body
2. Nature of
Curriculum
3. Role/character of
teacher
4. Role/character of
learners
subject matter
centered
dispenser of
knowledge/ active,
imposing serious,
strict
receives knowledge,
passive, dependent
5. Method of
Teaching
6. Nature of
Classroom
lecture, deductive
method
traditional, rigid,
inflexible
7. Source of
Knowing
books
objects, nature
8. Proponents
Plato
Froebel
Herbart
Buther
Hegel
Berckeley
values, GMRC
Aquinas
Aristotle
Broudy
Martin
Pestalozzi
Dewey,
James, Pierce
Sartre,
Marcel,
Mowes,
Soderquist
use of realia
learning by
experience
the use of group
dynamics
9. Influences on the
Present Educational
System
-
development of mind
and body thru the
sense and reason
subject matter
centered
initiator & facilitator/
practical, organizer,
authoritarian
Pragmatism
discover of
knowledge thru
sensation &
abstraction, good at
classifying & sorting
objects based on their
characteristics
grouping or
classifying objects
traditional but with
little flexibility in the
arrangement of seats
Democracy
welfare of the
individual& society
democratic/liberal
books, experience,
society, environment
books, environment,
experience, society
current issues
social sciences,
anthropology,
sociology
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Special Terms in Philosophy Applied in Education
(Ornstein and Levine, 2000)
Like in any field of inquiry, philosophy of education uses basic terms.
These are
metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.
1. Metaphysics deals with reality and existence by examining the nature of ultimate reality.
The usual questions asked are:
 What is real and what is not real?
 Is there a spiritual realm of existence separate from the material world? For
example, idealists see reality primarily in non - material, abstract, or spiritual
terms.
Realists see it as an objective order that exists independently of
humankind.
A lot of school activities manifest efforts to describe and show learners “reality”. Even
textbooks and printed educational materials have varied interpretations of reality of at least
different focus.
2. Epistemology examines knowledge and knowing, and influences methods of teaching and
learning. Questions that are raised are:
 On what do we base our knowledge of the world and our understanding of truth?
 Does our knowledge derive from divine revelation from ideas latest in our minds from
empirical evidence or from something else?
For example, teachers who believe that human ideas should conform to the ordered
structure of reality will stress orderly and sequential teaching of subjects. On the other hand,
teachers who believe that the process is more important (how we know) than content (what we
know) will stress inquiry or problem solving.
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3. Axiology prescribes values and is divided into ethics and aesthetics. Ethics examines moral
values and the rules of right conduct. Aesthetics addresses values in beauty and art. Teachers
and parents in general convey values implicitly by rewarding or punishing behavior depending
on whether it conforms to their conceptions of what is right, good and beautiful. Moreover, the
school climate as a whole represents the values of the educational community.
4. Logic is concerned with correct and valid thinking. It examines the rules of inference that
enable us to correctly frame our propositions and arguments. Deductive logic moves from
general to particular instances and applications. Inductive logic moves from the particular
instance to tentative generalizations subject to further verification.
Curriculum and instruction are both on conceptions and logic. Does something in the
subject itself logically dictate how a material should be organized and presented to students (the
deductive approach), or should teachers take their cue from students interest, readiness, and
experience in deciding how to present instruction (inductive approach)?
Activities
1. What may your philosophy of education be?
2. How do you illustrate these areas of philosophy in the classroom setting aside from what
were given considering your field of specialization?
2.1 metaphysics
2.2 epistemology
2.3 axiology
2.4 logic
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3. Do you agree with Zulueta and Maglaya’s (2000) separating ethics and aesthetics from
axiology? Explain your answer.
4.
Among the philosophies given in the tables, which of these give importance to the
individual learner? Explain your answer
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MODULE 4
IDEALISM AS PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Idealism
This is a philosophical theory that recognizes reality as the nature of thought or that the
object of external perceptions consists of ideas (Zulueta and Maglaya, 2004). To the idealist,
reality is the mind and idea; matter is only the creation of the mind or its own by- product. What
is real is the mind; matter is only an appearance.
Plato is the oldest advocate of idealism in ancient Athens. He regards ideas as the real and
significant things in the world.
Meanwhile in Germany, George W. F. Hegel “created a comprehensive philosophical world
view based on idealism. In the US, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau developed
a transcendentalist variety of idealism while Frederich Freobel based his kindergarten theory on
idealist metaphysics. Hinduism and Buddhism are seemingly [anchored]on the spiritual outlook
associated with idealism” (Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
Furthermore, the idealist holds that ideas are not evident and independent of the human
experience about them. As such, it is the teacher’s responsibility to “bring this latest knowledge
to consciousness”. That goal of education is to help students arrive at a broad, general and
unifying perspective of the universe (Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
An idealist curriculum is hierarchal.
Considered most important subjects are the most
general disciplines such as philosophy and theology. Being general and abstract, these subjects
“transcend the limitations of time, place, and circumstance, and they transfer to a wide range of
situation”
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Another very important subject is mathematics because “it cultivates the power to deal with
abstractions”. Other subjects of equal importance are history and literature that … serve as
sources of moral and cultural models”, and language because it is an “essential tool at all levels
of learning”.
Of lesser importance in the curriculum are the natural and physical sciences that ‘address
particular cause and effect relationship.”
Anyhow, for the idealist, the highest level of
knowledge is the recognition of the “relationships among these subject matters and integrating
them”.
In terms of values, the idealist prescribes values that have withstood the test of time and
are “applicable to all people”. Philosophy, theology, history, literature, and art are rich sources
for transmitting this heritage of values. The kind of education requires that students be exposed
to worthy models especially the classics. These are great works that “have endured over time”.
(Note: All directly quoted lines on this page were lifted from Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
Some Basic Questions and the Idealist’s Answers (Ornstein and Levine, 2000)
What is knowledge?
To the idealist, “knowledge concerns the spiritual principles that are the base of reality.
This knowledge of reality takes the form of ideas. If knowledge is about universal idea, then
education is the intellectual process of bringing ideas to the learner’s consciousness.”
What is schooling?
The idealist’s answer to this question is that “school is a social agency where students
seek to discover and pursue truth. It is an intellectual institution where teachers and students
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explore the questions Socrates and Plato asked: “What is the truth?” “What is beauty?” “What is
the good life?” Answers to these questions are present in our minds, and we need to reflect
deeply to bring them to our consciousness. Nothing should be allowed to distract us from the
intellectual pursuit of truth.
Who should attend school?
The idealist would say everyone. While all learners do not have the same intellectual
aptitude, they need to cultivate their minds to the limits of their capacities. So gifted students
need the greatest intellectual challenges that the teacher can provide.
How should teaching be carried on?
The idealist would answer this by saying that the Socratic method is the most effective
way of bringing ideas into consciousness. The teacher stimulates the learners’ awareness of
ideas by asking leading questions. Another method of idealist methodology is modeling. The
teachers should be models worthy of imitation by students; they should have wide knowledge of
the cultural heritage and lead an exemplary life.
High knowledge of education for the idealist must be maintained. Educational goals
must be toward developing the intellectual capacity of learners although idealist recognizes the
fact that not all students will go on to the highest stage of education.
Implications to Teaching
Focus of teaching is intellectual development not vocational training. Teachers are seen
as vital agents in helping learners realize their fullest potential. Teachers and students acquire
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themselves with the finest elements of cultural heritage to prepare learners in contributing to the
heritage in their own right.
Idealists use certain subjects to stimulate thinking and develop identification with the
cultural heritage. They use mathematics to develop student’s powers of abstraction, history to
show the contributions of great men and women; the classics in art, literature, and music to make
the learners experience and share with the time tested values conveyed by these cultural works.
An idealist lesson may be illustrated this way.
A history teacher may illustrate the power of ideas and the higher
ethical law by a unit in the life and works of Dr. Jose Rizal, the
Philippine national hero. Students are made to study the biography
of Dr. Jose Rizal and seek to discover the principles of non - violence
and justice that guided him in his writings and decisions to seek his
country’s independence from Spain. The students would study and
recite his “My Last Farewell” to discover the power of ideas in
shaping behavior. Finally, Dr. Rizal would serve as a model worthy
of imitation.
Activities
1. Interview two colleagues each from the department of mathematics, language, and
science about their focus of teaching. Find out who among them are inclined to idealism.
Explain your classifications (as to why you find them as idealist teachers).
2. What about you? Are you an idealist as a person and a teacher? Explain your answer.
3. Give other examples of idealist lessons in your own field/ situation.
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MODULE 5
REALISM AS PHILOSPHY OF EDUCATION
Objectives
This module on the philosophy of realism as applied to education will enable you to:
1. identify the similarities and differences of realism and idealism as philosophies of
education;
2. illustrate the differences by citing school activities conducted in both.
Realism stresses objective knowledge and values. It traces its roots from the ancient
Greek philosopher Aristotle. The doctrines of realism are:
1. There is a world of real existence that human beings have not made.
2. The human mind can know about the real world
3. Such knowledge is the most reliable guide to individual and social behavior
According to the realist, a material world exists independently of and external to the
mind. All objects are composed of matter which in turn assumes the structure of particular
objects.
Humans can know these objects through their senses and their reason knowing is a
process in valuing two stages: sensation and abstraction. First, an object is perceived by the
knower who records sensory data about it such as color, size, smell, weight, or sound. These
data are sorted by the mind into qualities which are always present in the object and those
sometimes present. By abstracting the necessary qualities (those always present), the knower
forms a concept of the object and recognizes it as belonging to a certain class. With this
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classification, the knower understands that it shares certain qualities with other members of the
same class but not with objects of a different class.
In terms of curriculum, the realist is similar to the idealist because both believe in the
curriculum of organized and separate subjects as the most effective way of learning about reality.
Hence, classifying objects is organizing these as a body of knowledge. For example, experiences
of human kind can be organized into history; systematic study of plants via classification into
botany, and units of political organization into political science. The realist way of knowledge
acquisition about “what is real?” is through systematic inquiry into these subjects.
The realist believes that certain rules govern intelligent behavior. For example, human
beings should behave in a rational way according to how objects behave in a reality. From the
realists’ point of view, people can develop theories based on natural, physical, and social laws.
Since natural laws are universal and eternal, so are the values based on them.
The Basic Questions (Ornstein and Levine, 2000)
What is knowledge? To the realist, knowledge is our physical world, the environment,
what we see, feel, taste and think. What we know is always about an object so that concepts are
valid when they correspond to objects that exist in the world.
Formal education to the realist is the study of subject matter disciplines into which
knowledge has been organized and classified. History, language, science, and mathematics are
organized bodies of knowledge. If we know them, we will know something about the world we
live. This knowledge is our best guide in conducting our daily affairs.
The realist says schools are established primarily to provide learners with knowledge
about the objective world. Since learners have rational potentials, schools should be available to
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all with the same curriculum to prepare them for rational decisions. Realist teachers should be
subject–matter specialists who combine their disciplinary expertise with effective teaching
methods.
Implication to Teaching
A realist teacher teaches some skill as reading, writing, or computation, or some body of
disciplined knowledge as history, mathematics, or science. To do this, he/she must be expert in
these disciplines aside from having general education in the liberal arts and sciences as
background for teacher to demonstrate relationships between her/his area of expertise and other
subject matter. So mastery of content is most important in realist teaching. Methodology is
necessary but secondary to content as means to reach the goal of education.
An example of a realist approach in teaching high school students about Newton’s laws
of motion goes this way (Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
First, teacher historically locates Newton and comments
on his/her scientific contributions. Second, he illustrates
the laws of motion – a laboratory demonstration. Third,
the students are made to discuss the demonstration and
frame the scientific generalization that it illustrates.
Finally, students are tested to demonstrate their
understanding of Newton’s laws of motion.
The emphasis of realists on teacher’s expertise and academic learning of students shows
their belief on “competency testing for both teachers and students”. Also, they seemingly require
school administrators and school boards to “maintain high academic standards and encourage a
high level of achievement” (Ornstein and Levine, 20000).
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Activities
1. Look for at least two realist teachers and discuss your reasons for the classification.
2. Compare them with the idealist teachers you have identified in Module 4. Highlight their
differences.
3. Give another example of a realist lesson in your field of specialization.
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MODULE 6
PRAGMATISM AS PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Objectives
This module on philosophy of pragmatism as applied to education will enable you to:
1. identify some pragmatic colleagues of yours;
2. illustrate your classifications to justify it;
3. explain your belief in this philosophy of education.
This is a philosophy which focuses on validity of ideas by doing them and judging the result.
Developed in the US, its proponents (Ornstein and Levine, 2000) were Charles S. Pierce (18391914), William James (1842-1910), George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), and John Dewey (18591952).
Peirce emphasized the scientific method of validating ideas while James used it in the
psychology religion and education. Mead used this approach using the development of a child as
a learning and experiencing human organism while Dewey stressed the use of this approach
particularly in education.
Unlike the idealists and realists who emphasize content or subject matter disciplines, the
pragmatist particularly believed in the process of learning. That is, learning occurs when the
learner engages in problem solving using the scientific method. “For Dewey, the problemsolving method can be developed into a habit that is transferable to a wide variety of situations”
(Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
In educational programs, the only way to determine their
effectiveness is to try out the proposal and judge the result”.
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Key Concepts
As opposed to the idealist and realist that believe strongly on unchanging reality, the
pragmatists (experimentalist) see epistemology (knowledge and knowing) as a process of
evaluating a continually changing universe. To them, knowing is a process of transaction
between the individual and higher environment. So, in school, learning takes place when the
learner is able to solve a problem through the scientific method and add on his/her experience
that in turn contributes to humanity’s body of knowledge.
Since reality is a continued change, the pragmatists particularly Dewey’s followers
believe strongly on the use of problem solving as the “most effective method” of dealing with
change to arrive at a solution to the problem. This solution becomes now a new knowledge
contributing to humanity’s experience.
Pragmatic axiology sees values as non- permanent. They too change like the continually
changing universe. So, values change according to “time, place, and circumstance” so “what
contributes to personal and social growth is valuable; what restricts or limits experience is
unworthy”. Values then to the pragmatist may be clarified by “testing and reconstructing them
in the same way scientific claims are verified.” (Ornstein and Levine, 2000). Thus, pragmatist
logic is inductive since assumption based on empirical experience has to be tested. Pragmatist
logic has reservations over “a priori truths and deductions based on them”.
What is knowledge education, schooling and instruction to the pragmatist?
While traditional philosophers emphasize truth as a permanent body of knowledge,
pragmatiss say knowledge is tentative and subject to revision. Being so, their emphasis is on the
process of using knowledge to arrive at the truth.
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Moreover, pragmatists believe that education is an experimental process that uses the
scientific method in solving problems. Also, they stress on disciplinary education because they
believe that information needed to solve a problem must come from many sources as historical,
political, sociological, scientific, technological, and international. “An educated person knows
how to use information from all these sources.”
The school to the pragmatist is a small community that simplifies, purifies, and balances
the cultural heritage for the learner. This simplifies complex elements of the cultural heritage
approximating the learners’ level of readiness and interest by purifying cultural elements and
eliminating those that hinder human interaction and development. The school balances cultural
heritage by integrating “selected and purified experiences into a harmony” (Ornstein and Levine,
2000).
Diverse cultural grouping in a community is regarded by the pragmatist as a form of
enrichment for the entire society.
The pragmatic school develops understanding and
appreciating other cultures on the learner using the scientific method.
To Dewey, the zenith of a society and its school is reached when widest possible sharing
of resources is made among all members of the community and cultures. “Sharing does not
diminish quality but enriches it.” Thus, schools should offer equal opportunity for all by opening
these to everybody regardless of race, color, ethnicity, physical condition, religion, economic
status, etc.
Implications to Teaching
Pragmatist teachers do not dominate the classroom but they facilitate student’s research
and activities. They use the subject matter to solve problems. Thus, their emphasis is on the
process and not on the subject matter.
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Students in a pragmatic classroom shape their experiences in the use of the scientific
method for personal, social, and intellectual problems. This problem solving method makes the
student apply the process to situations both in and out of school, thus making school and society
closer to each other and not separated from one another.
The pragmatist classroom is a learning mini- community where learners share and
appreciate their interest and problems; cultural- diversity and commonalities, and together help
in creating a larger democratic community of shared interests and values. “They see knowledge
as indeterminate and open-ended, and their educational goals must constitute an on - going
inquiry that leads to action” (Ornstein and Levine, 2000).Here is an example of a pragmatic
lesson (Ornstein and Levine, 2000).
A college teacher-education class defines study of local school
governance as its problem and project. Readings on school district
organization and attendance to meetings of the local board of education are
made by the class.
After these experiences, the class is divided into research groups to
investigate specific areas such as the following:
1. Roles, functions, and responsibilities of the local school board,
provincial, regional, and national.
2. Development and review of curriculum and instruction
3. Teacher staffing, in service training, and organization
4. Composition, organization, and academic assessment of students
5. Role of community organization
After completing the necessary research, each group shares its
findings with the class. Then an additional group prepares a collaborative
paper on school governance. This activity illustrates the usefulness of this
approach to future teacher’s professional development.
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Activities
1.
Look for at least three pragmatic teachers in your school. Do they have the
same approach in the conduct of their class? What field do they teach?
Discuss and justify your choice by giving examples of their activities and the
manner the conduct them.
2.
Give an example of a pragmatist lesson that each of your choice might have
conducted.
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MODULE 7
EXISTENTIALISM AS PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Objectives
This module on existentialist philosophy as applied to education will enable you to:
1. identify existentialist teachers in your school;
2. justify your classification of your choices;
3. give example of existentialist school activities.
This philosophy looks into life in a “very personal way. An existentialist educator
encourages deep personal reflection on one’s identity, commitments, and choices” (Ornstein and
Levine, 2000).
Focus of this philosophy is the will, volition, or freedom of a person to choose and create
his/her purpose for existence. This means that one is free to choose what he/she wants to be; or
one creates one’s essence. He/She has the total freedom to choose his/her being.
Because this freedom of choice – making is constantly threatened by others – people,
institutions, organizations –,we make our own choice on how we can cope with these. We may
opt to be self - determined or be influenced or swayed by others.
An existentialist believes that each person creates his/her own self-definition, or essence,
by the personal choices he/she makes. So, he/she chooses the knowledge that he/she wants to
possess (epistemology).
Axiology is most important for existentialist because humans are believed to create their
own values through the choices they make.
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To the existentialist, the most important about knowledge and education is the human
condition and personal choices we make.
Therefore, the main goal of education to an
existentialist is to conscienticize humans about their freedom to choose and “create a sense of
self-awareness and contribute to our authenticity”.
An existentialist teacher motivates learner to philosophize and participate in dialogues
about the meaning of life, love, and death. Answers to these questions cannot be measured by
standardized tests as these are relative.
An existentialist curriculum consists of subjects clearly implying act of decision making
of men or women including those that are emotional, aesthetic, and poetic. Literature and
biography, drama and films, and fiction are modes portraying human conditions and decision
making that should be studied and discussed by students.
Students then should be free to create their modes of self expression and experiment
using media mix “to dramatize their emotions, feelings, and insights” (Ornstein and Levine,
2000).
The existentialist school is where discussions about one’s life and choices are shared.
The school is a venue to ventilate one’s feelings and emotions, and insights. So both teachers
and students are free to engage in questioning, answering, and arguing.
Implications to Teaching
Specific goals and objectives are difficult to state in advance by the teacher because these
are determined by each student as an individual. So an existentialist teacher would have to
motivate the students into being aware of their responsibility for their own learning and selfdefinition. In doing this, the teacher enjoins the students to examine any limiting factors that
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hinder them from freely making their own choices. This existentialist classroom is open and
self-directed.
Literature, drama, and film are believed to be powerful in existentialist teaching. For
example, movies about oversees workers’ lives maybe viewed by students. An example of this
is a Filipino film entitled ‘Anak” (Child). This is about a mother who had to leave her husband
and growing children to work as domestic help in Hong Kong and take care of a couple’s child
while she left her children in the Philippines.
She decided to come home for good. However, she found her daughter hating her and
rebelling by getting pregnant. She tried to win back her daughter but the more she moved closer
to her, the further the daughter alienates herself from her and even blames her mother for the
death of the father whose burial she was not allowed to witness.. The movie is about motherdaughter conflict which is finally resolved by the decision of the mother to strike back at her
daughter to awaken her self-serving behavior.
The class then probes on the moral situation of a mother to whom all odds were against
when all that she wanted was to work for her family’s survival. The existentialist teacher using
this film will enjoin her students to discuss and express their opinions, feelings, and justifications
for these.
Activities
1.
Find out by interviewing two existentialist teachers. Justify your classification of
them as existentialist. Give examples of their school activities.
2.
Give/Describe an existentialist lesson that your existentialist teachers have
conducted.
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