Three years ago, when I began my graduate school journey, the very first class I took was

CCE/AHE 554 Foundations of Continuing and Higher Education. I had already been an
educator for several years. Reading the text for this class was like beginning to think in a
different way about what I did every day. I had not consciously considered the philosophy of
how I taught. I had heard of Malcolm Knowles and his assumptions about adult education (Elias
& Merriam, 2005, p. 133). Learning about the different philosophies and how they fit in with
history and society was fascinating. In the end, no one philosophy reflected my personal one. I
can say the one that spoke to me the least was post-modernism.
The class began by learning about the Liberal philosophy. To me, this seemed interesting
but very idealistic and perhaps unattainable by many. I had heard of the great books programs
but it just seemed not to be practical.
Next, we read about Progressive philosophy. I was intrigued by the use of the scientific
method, democratic and student centered teaching. The text stated The philosophical basis of
progressivism is pragmatism (Elias & Merriam, 2005, p. 53). This made a lot of sense to me.
When we began our investigation into the Behaviorist philosophy, I could sense that
many of my classmates were dismissing it. Pavlov, conditioning, feedback and
reinforcementcan education be reduced to a stimulus/response? Probably no other system of
psychology has had as much impact on general and adult education, or had its principles be the
cause of debate, as behaviorism(Elias & Merriam, 2005, p. 83). I could get behind the idea of
having clear instructional objectives. There were some elements here I could not reject.
We began the chapter on Humanism. The text states Humanism is a broad philosophical
point of view that holds sacred the dignity and autonomy of human beings (Elias & Merriam,
2005, p. 111). This idea appealed to the nurse in me. In nursing we learn to hold sacred each
persons humanity. Each patients right to know their choices and have them honored by their
caregivers is vital. And Rogers said the facilitation of significant learning rests upon certain
attitudinal qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the facilitator and the
learner (Merriam, 1995, p. 92). Based on my experiences teaching this rang true with me. The
teachers role as a facilitator was one I had relished. Also, as a new educator I had relied
heavily on the Knowles principles of adult learning and found them to be very useful.
The artifact I am attaching is my personal philosophy statement from 554. Although it
was written three years ago, I think it is still an accurate reflection of me.
Recently, I took an online test that scores you on your educational philosophy beliefs.
My scores were:
Liberal 69
Behaviorist 66
Progressive 98
Humanist 81
Radical 70
This seems pretty accurate, I was surprised by how strongly progressive I am! But I think it fits
with the current role I have as a clinical educator. Progressive educations emphasis upon
vocational and utilitarian training, learning by experience, scientific inquiry, community
involvement, and responsiveness to social problems (Elias & Merriam, 2005, p. 57) really
does describe the type of adult education I currently practice.






References
Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Philosophical Foundations of Adult Education (3rd ed.).
Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Merriam, S. B. (Ed.). (1995). Selected Writings on Philosophy and Adult Education (2nd ed.).
Malabar, FL: Krieger.

Educational Philosophy Statement.docx