The Teaching Profession

Dr. Renelda P. Nacianceno- Professor

MODULE 8 PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

Introduction:

It is important for us teachers to understand how philosophy and education are

related. In order to become effective teachers, we must understand our own beliefs, while
at the same time understanding others. In this chapter we will examine the philosophies
passed on to us by great thinkers.

Lesson 1: Our Philosophical Heritage: Philosophies of Education

Lesson Outcome:
At the end of the lesson, the students must have:
explained at least 7 philosophies of education
Teaching Delivery:
Home-based learning
Self-paced learning
Synchronous/ Asynchronous Discussion

Activate:
What is philosophy?
What is philosophy of education?
What is the educational philosophy that you adhere to?

In order to make things clear, let us first define the terms philosophy and educational
philosophy before we examine thoroughly the seven philosophies of education. Defining
these two terms will give us clearer view of the topics we will be discussing today.
The word philosophy is a Greek word which means “lover of wisdom”. It is derived
from two Greek words “phileo” (love) and “Sophia” (wisdom). Philosophy is a set of
values, beliefs and realizations derived from human experience which can become the
basis for human action.
Educational philosophy on the other hand consists of what you believe about
education—the set of principles that guides your professional action.
Philosophy and education are related for they complement each other. Philosophy is
the initial knowledge and views about life and reality itself while the education will help
 us form this initial knowledge into a more complex but comprehensible manner.
Education helps us shape this philosophy into a more structured knowledge and
information. While Philosophy maybe perceived as vague or shapeless thought,
education will help us mold this into a more structured form, however this process of
forming is greatly influence by various philosophies.
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP1.html

Seven Philosophies of Education

➢ Essentialism

Essentialism refers to the "traditional" or "Back to the Basics" approach to

education. It is so named because it strives to instill students with the "essentials" of
academic knowledge and character development.
Essentialism contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society.
Rather, essentialists argue, schools should transmit the traditional moral values and
intellectual knowledge t students need to become model citizens. Essentialists believe
that teachers should instill such traditional virtues as respect for authority,
perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality.
This philosophy contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire basic
knowledge, skills, and values. They teach basic skills or the fundamental R’s -- reading,
‘riting, ‘rithmetic, right conduct-- as these are essential to the acquisition of higher or
more complex skills needed in preparation for adult life. Curriculum includes the
traditional disciplines such as math, natural sciences, history, foreign language, and
literature. Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of subject matter. They are
expected to be intellectual and moral models of their students. Thus, they are seen as
fountain of information and as exemplar of virtues.

➢ Progressivism

Progressivists emphasize in their need-based curriculum the study of the natural

and social sciences. Teachers expose students to many new scientific, technological,
and social developments, reflecting the progressivist notion that progress and change
are fundamental. For them, change is the only thing that does not change. Students are
also exposed to a more democratic curriculum that recognizes accomplishments of
women and minorities as well as white males. In addition, students solve problems in
the classroom similar to those they will encounter outside of the schoolhouse; they learn
to be flexible problem solvers. In this philosophy, teachers should collaborate with
students of the class to construct knowledge about topics that concern both the
students and society. Students work in groups and are often encouraged to help
determine curriculum and “learn by doing (Cohen, 1995).
Progressivists believe that education should be a perpetually enriching process
of ongoing growth, not merely a preparation for adult lives. They also deny the
essentialist belief that the study of traditional subject matter is appropriate for all
students, regardless of interest and personal experience. By including instruction in
industrial arts and home economics, progressivists strive to make schooling both
interesting and useful. Ideally, the home, workplace, and schoolhouse blend together to
generate a continuous, fulfilling learning experience in life. It is the progressivist dream
that the dreary, seemingly irrelevant classroom exercises that so many adults recall
from childhood will someday become a thing of the past.
➢ Existentialism

Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self-

directed, and includes a great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to
each student openly and honestly. Although elements of existentialism occasionally
appear in public schools, this philosophy has found wider acceptance in private schools
and all alternative public schools founded in the late 1960s and early 1970s
In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the
students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept
complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. The teacher's role is to
help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may
take in life and creating an environment in which they may freely choose their own
preferred way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the
existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind. Teachers
teach for students to understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who
accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Although many
existentialist educators provide some curricular structure, existentialism, more than
other educational philosophies, affords students great latitude in their choice of subject
matter. In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options from
which to choose (Cohen, L., 1999).
Moreover, vocational education is regarded more as a means of teaching students
about themselves and their potential than of earning a livelihood. In teaching art,
existentialism encourages individual creativity and imagination more than copying and
imitating established models.
 ➢ Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a branch of psychology that when applied to a classroom setting

focuses on conditioning student behavior with various types behavior reinforcement and
consequences called operant conditioning.
Behaviorist schools are concerned with the modification and shaping of students’
behavior by providing a favorable environment, since they believe that they are products
of their environment (Bilbao, 2018). According to a pure behaviorist, human beings are
shaped entirely by their external environment. Alter a person's environment, and you will
alter his or her thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Provide positive reinforcement
whenever students perform a desired behavior, and soon they will learn to perform the
behavior on their own. In other words, behavior is determined by others, rather than by
our own free will. By carefully shaping our behavior, morality and information is learned.
Learners will acquire and remember responses that lead to satisfying after effects.
Repetition of a meaningful connection results in learning. If the student is ready for the
connection, learning is enhanced; if not, learning is inhibited. Motivation to learn is the
satisfying aftereffect, or reinforcement (oregonstate. Edu/instruct/ed416/PP4.html).
➢ Constructivism

Constructivism is a theory that recognizes the learners’ understanding and

knowledge based on their experiences prior to entering school. Constructivism is a
philosophy in learning founded on the premise that by reflecting in our experiences, we
construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own
“rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning,
therefore is simply the process of adjusting our mental model to accommodate new
experiences.
Constructivist sees to develop intrinsically motivated and independent learners
adequately equipped with learning skills for them to be able to construct knowledge and
make meaning of them. The teacher provides data or experiences that allow them to
hypothesize, manipulate objects, investigate, imagine and invent. Thus they are taught
how to learn, how to draw insights and how to construct knowledge out the information
learned (Bilbao, 2018).
➢ Perennialism

Perennialism values knowledge that transcends time. This is a subject-centered

philosophy. The goal of a perennialist educator is to teach students to think rationally
and develop minds that can think critically. A perennialist classroom aims to be a closely
organized and well-disciplined environment, which develops in students a lifelong quest
for the truth. Perennialists believe that education should epitomize a prepared effort to
make these ideas available to students and to guide their thought processes
toward the understanding and appreciation of the great works; works of literature written
by history’s finest thinkers that transcend time and never become outdated.
Perennialists are primarily concerned with the importance of mastery of the content and
development of reasoning skills. The adage “the more things change, the more they
stay the same” summarizes the perennialists’ perspective on education. In this
philosophy skills are developed in a sequential manner. Here, the teachers are the main
actors on the stage. It strives above all to develop our capacity to reason and regards
training in the humanities as particularly essential to the development of our rational
powers. Perennialists argue that allowing students to take vocational or life-adjustment
courses denies them the opportunity to fully develop their rational powers. As Plato
might claim, by neglecting the students' reasoning skills, we deprive them of the ability
to use their "higher" faculties to control their "lower" ones (passions and appetites).
➢ Linguistic Philosophy

Linguistic philosophy is a unique approach towards understanding languages and

philosophy. Linguistics implies anything related to language and philosophy is a subject
matter that inculcates an attitude of logical reasoning and a thorough examination of the
regular life activities, human nature, life, knowledge and humanitarian ethics.
In here, teachers teach students to develop the communication skills of the learner
because the ability to articulate, to voice out the meaning and values of things that one
obtains from his/ her experience of life and the world is the very essence of man.
Linguistic philosophy believes and wants students to believe that solutions to
philosophical problems can be found by reformation of a language or a deeper and
better comprehension of the language.
Teachers also teach to develop in the learners the skill to send messages clearly and
receive messages correctly. They should be taught to communicate clearly-how to send
and understand messages sent (https://cer.jhu.edu/files ta/4major educational
philosophies).

Apply:
Now, let’s apply what you have learned:
Test your Understanding of philosophies

I. Answer each with a Yes or No. If your answer is NO, explain your answer in a
sentence.

ESSENTIALISM
1. Do essentialists aim to teach students to reconstruct society?
2. Is the model citizen of the essentialist the citizen who contributes to the re-
building of society?
 3. Do the essentialist teachers give up teaching the basics if the students are not
interested?
4. Do the essentialist teachers frown on long academic calendar and core
requirements?

PROGRESSIVISM
1. Do the progressivist teachers look at education as a preparation for adult life?
2. Are the student’s interests and need considered in a progressivist curriculum?
3. Does the progressivist curriculum focus mainly on facts and concepts?
4. Do the progressivist teachers strive to simulate in the classroom life in the
outside world?

PERENNIALISM
1. Are the perennialist teachers concerned with the student’s mastery of the
fundamental skills?
2. Do the perennialist teachers see the wisdom of ancient, medieval and modern
times?
3. Is the perennialist curriculum geared towards specialization?
4. Do the perennialist teachers sacrifice subject matter for the sake of the student’s
interest?

EXISTENTIALISM
1. Is the existentialist teacher after student becoming specialist in order to
contribute to the society?
2. Is the existentialist concerned with the education of the whole person?
3. Is the course of study imposed on the students in the existentialist classroom?
Does the existentialist teacher make heavy use of the individual approach?

BEHAVIORISM
1. Are behaviorists concerned with the modification of student’s behavior?
2. Do behaviorist teachers spend their time teaching their students on how to
respond favorably to various environmental stimuli?
3. Do behaviorist teachers believe they have control over some variables that affect
learning?
4. Do behaviorist teachers believe that students are the product of their
environment?

LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY
1. Do linguistic philosophers promote the study of language?
 2. Is the communication that linguistic philosophers encourage limited verbal
language only?
3. Do linguistic philosophers prefer the teacher who dominates discussion to save
time to the teacher who encourages dialogue?
4. Is the curriculum of the linguistic philosopher open to the learning of as my
languages, like Mother Tongue, as possible?

CONSTRUCTIVISM
1. Does the constructivist agree to the teaching methodology of “telling”?
2. Do constructivists believe that students construct knowledge?
3. Do constructivists approve of teaching learners the skill to learn?
4. Do constructive believe that meaning can be imposed?

II. Test Your Mastery.

To which philosophy does each theory of man belong?

A person:
1. is a product of his environment.
2. has no universal nature.
3. has rational and moral powers.
4. has no choice; he is determined by his environment.
5. can choose what he can become.
6. is a complex combination of matter that responds to physical stimuli
7. has no free will.
8. has the same essential nature with others.
9.is a rational animal
10. first exists then defines him/herself
11. Is a social animal who learns well through an active interplay with
others
12. is a communicating being.

A. With which philosophy do you associate the following quotations?

1. “Education is life not a preparation for life”

2. “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself…”
3. “Gripping and enduring interests frequently grow out of initial learning
efforts that are not appealing or attractive.”
4. Give me a dozen healthy infants, well informed, and my own specified
world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to tale anyone at random and
train him to become any type of specialist I might select ---doctor, lawyer,
artist, merchant---chief; and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of
 his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
ancestors.
5. “Existence precedes essence.
6. “Life is what you make it.
7. “Listening in dialogue is listening more to meaning than to words… In true
listening, we reach behind the words; see through them, to find the person
who is being revealed. Listening is a search to find the treasure of the true
person as revealed verbally and non-verbally…
8. When a relationship is working the act of communicating seems to flow
relatively effortlessly.

B. Upon which philosophy/ies is each program/practice anchored?

1. Back-to-the Basics movement
2. Conduct of National Achievement Test to test acquisition of
elementary/secondary learning competencies
3. Use of the Great Books
4. Use of rewards and incentives
5. Us of simulation and problem-solving method
6. Leaners learning at their own pace
7. Mastery of the 3r’s – reading, writing and ‘arithmetic
8. The traditional approach to education
9. Subject matter- centered teaching
10. Student-centered teaching
11. Authoritarian approach to teaching
12. Non-authoritarian approach to teaching
13. Making meaning of what is taught
14. Understanding message through Verbal. Non-verbal and Para-verbal means
15. Asking learners to draw meaning from what they are taught.

https://www.academia.edu/34986583/An_Exercise_to_Determine_Your_Educational_Philosoph
y
 MODULE 8
LESSON 2: FORMULATING MY PHILOSOPHY OF
EDUCATION

Lesson Outcomes: Formulated their philosophy of education

Teaching Delivery:
Activate:
After studying the lesson on philosophy of education, to which philosophy do you
think you adhere? Are you a constructivist? A progressivist?
Perennialist, behaviorist ? Why do you say so?
(Limit your answer to 200 words maximum)
Today we will learn how to formulate a philosophy of education.
ACQUIRE
As future educator it is essential for you to have your own philosophy of education.
According to Corpuz (2018) your philosophy of education is your “window” to the world
and your “compass” in life. It is your guiding principle and it speaks of who you are as a
person.
A philosophy of education is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching
and learning. It should discuss how you put your beliefs into practice by including
concrete examples of what you do or anticipate doing in the classroom.
Generally, philosophy refers to an individual’s belief system. Your belief system
originates from your experiences, your spiritual perspective, and your reading of
literature. As we encounter life, questions arise that do not have one true answer that is
right for everyone: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? What happens when we die?
As we search for answers to what we believe to be true, we develop our own personal
philosophies. Questioning and exploring your educational beliefs is similarly important,
as it allows you to develop a philosophy of education.
The philosophy of education statement is a written description of what you interpret the
best approach to education to be. Examining your philosophies concerning the learning
process, the students, the view of knowledge, and the essential skills and information
that should be learned and using them to compose a statement will give others a good
idea of what your classroom might be like.
In addition, your philosophy of education is reflected in your dealings with students,
colleagues, parents and administrators. Your attitude towards problems and life as a
whole has an underlying philosophy.
In this lesson, you will be formulating your philosophy of education.
Here is a sample of a philosophy of education adapted from (Corpuz, 2018)
Study the example of Teacher Macrina’s Philosophy of Education given below:
My Philosophy of Education of Education as a Grade School Teacher

I believe that every child…

• has an natural interest in learning and is capable of learning
• is an embodied spirit.
• can be influenced but not totally by his/her environment.
• Is unique, so comparing a child to other children has no basis
• Does not have an empty mind, rather is full of ideas and it is my task to raw out
these ideas.

I believe that there are unchanging values in changing times and these must be passed
on to every child by my modeling, value inculcation and value integration in my lessons.
I believe that my task as a teacher is to facilitate the development of every child to the
optimum and to the maximum by:
reaching out to all children without bias and prejudice towards the “least” of the children
making every child feel good and confident about himself/herself through his/her
experiences of success in the classroom
helping every child master the basic skills of reading, communicating in oral and written
form, arithmetic and computer skills
teaching my subject matter with mastery so that every child will use his/her basic skills
to continue acquiring knowledge, skills and values for him / her to go beyond basic
literacy and basic numeracy
inculcating or integrating the unchanging values of respect, honesty, love and care for
others regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, appearance and economic status in my
lessons
consistently practicing these values to serve as model for every child
strengthening the value formation of every child through “hands-on-minds-on-hearts-on”
experiences inside and outside the classroom
providing every child activity meant to develop the body, the mind and the spirit
teaching not only what to learn but more important how to learn

Let’s Analyze

Analyze the given example, then answer the following questions providing a maximum
of 100-200 words only to explain your answer:

1. Which of the philosophies studied in Lesson 1 are reflected in the given

Philosophy? Why?
2. What are Teacher Macrina’s concepts/s of the learner?
3.Who, according to Teacher Macrina’s philosophy, is the good and educated
person?
4. What is the teacher’s concept on values?
5. What does Teacher Macrina believe to be her primary task?
6. Do her concepts of the learner and the educated person match with how she
will go about her task of facilitating every child’s full development
7. You notice that Teacher Macrina’s thought on the learner, values and methods
of teaching begin with the phrase “I believe.” Will it make a difference if she
writes her philosophy of education in paragraph form using the third person
pronoun?
8. Why is one’s philosophy of education said to be one’s “window” to the world or
“compass” in life?

Let’s add to what already you know

Your philosophy of education is your concept of the learner, concept of what must be
taught and how this must be taught. These thoughts are the bases of your actions and
decisions when you prepare to teach and when you teach.

Teacher Macrina subscribes to the Christian philosophy because she believes that the
learner is an embodied spirit and she wants to provide every child with activities that are
meant to develop the learner’s body, mind and spirit. The fact that she is mindful of the
development of the mind makes her a rationalist. Because she is after the holistic
development of the learner-body, mind and spirit-she is also humanist in thinking and in
practice.
She also believes in the behaviorist philosophy because she accepts that the
learner can be influenced by the environment. However, she does not totally adhere to
the behaviorist philosophy because she does not agree that the learner can be totally
influenced by his environment. Teacher Macrina is constructivist in philosophy because
she does not agree that the learner has an empty mind (John Locke’s tabula rasa),
rather she believes that the child is full of ideas and it is her task to draw out these
ideas.
Teacher Macrina is also essentialist in orientation. She is convinced that her
primary task is the child’s mastery of the basic skills of reading, communicating in oral
and written form, arithmetic and computer skills. She believes that mastery of these
basic skills prepares the child to go beyond the basics. Her behaviorist philosophy
makes her work hard for every child to experience success which surely contributes to a
favorable learning environment.
Teacher Macrina is also essentialist and perennialist in thinking. She believes in
unchanging values of respect, honesty, love and care for others regardless of gender,
race, ethnicity, nationality, appearance and economic status and therefore inculcates
them in her lessons.
She is also cognitivist in thinking and practice because like Bruner, she believes
that modeling these values is the most effective way to teach these values.
 She wants to make use of “hand-on-minds-on-hearts-on” experience inside and
outside the classroom. This makes her a progressivist. Teacher Macrina applies the
progressivist’s dictum learning by doing and the whole world (outside the classroom) is
a classroom. She is also progressivist in the sense that she teaches learners not only
subject matter but also how to learn.
This is how one’s philosophy of education govern one’s practice as a teacher.

APPLY:
Analysis (Answers should be 200 words maximum for each philosophy analysis)
Here is another example of a short philosophy of education. Read and analyze each
statement and tell what philosophy Teacher Austin adheres to.
As an educator, I value creative thinking almost as much as content mastery. I want
students to value their own ability to think creatively, and I encourage them to use novel
ways to demonstrate their knowledge.
I believe students should apply what they learn in one subject to another subject they
are studying. I work to break down the barriers between individual topics and encourage
cross-functional application and transference of knowledge.
• I strongly feel that the social and emotional development of students is paramount and
that good content mastery can only happen when children feel safe in the school
environment. I work to ensure my classroom is a safe space for sharing feelings and
allowing students to be themselves.
• Education is not a one-size-fits-all discipline, and I believe it's essential that my
approach is tailored to the specific learning needs of each student. I get to know the
students as individuals so I can appropriately support and challenge them academically.
https://www. academia.edu/34986583

ASSESS:
Using any of the two examples above as your pattern, formulate your own philosophy of
education. (Take note: when you apply for a teaching position, you might be asked to
write your own philosophy of education.)