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VOCATIONAL EDUCAITON
Three Part Lesson
1. An Introduction to Philosophy
2. Philosophies of Education
3. Principles of Vocational Education
By
David Agnew
Arkansas State University
Objectives
At the completion of the lesson
you should be able to:
1. Define terms associated with philosophy.
2. Name and describe the four major branches of
philosophy.
3. Explain why and how philosophy is important to
educators.
4. Describe the major educational philosophies and
their origin.
5. Name the leading philosophers which have
shaped thoughts about education.
Objectives… Continued
6. List the major questions about education that
philosophy attempts to answer.
7. Identify the major principles that define the
parameters of vocational education and
distinguish it from other types of education.
8. Compare and contrast the early philosophical
viewpoints concerning vocational education.
9. Identify your educational philosophy.
10. Write a personal philosophy statement.
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
German word for philosophy is
WELTANSCHAUUNG, means world view or
way of viewing the world.
“Love of Wisdom” Origin Definition
developed by Socrates
Raises questions about central issues of life
Most questions deal with:
Reality
Truth
Values
PHILOSOPHY is…..
The search for a consistent,
comprehensive answer to basic
questions. The attempt to give
meaning to existence.
A search for meaning and truth.
The body of principles underlying a
branch of learning or major discipline
Philosophy as a Noun:
Philosopher
A person who lives and thinks according to a
particular philosophy.
A person who is calm and rational under any
circumstances.
One who philosophizes; one versed in, or
devoted to, philosophy.
a wise person who is calm and rational;
someone who lives a life of reason with
equanimity
Philosophy as a Verb:
Philosophizing
• To reason like a philosopher; to search into
the reason and nature of things; to
investigate phenomena, and assign rational
causes for their existence.
Who has a Philosophy?
Individuals
Families
Institutions
Professions
Religious groups
Political parties
Nations
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO
CONSIDER PHILOSOPHY?
Standard by which we In institutions it
live or die becomes a statement of
who we are and how
Wars are fought we interact with others
People die for their Provide clarification for
views what is or has been
All action in everyone’s done by others
life and at work Provides a framework
originate from a for life and our action
philosophy or view of Can be useful in solving
the world educational problems
A good mental activity
Why is Philosophy Important?
Continued…2
Job searches, interviews Dealing with students
Affects how we deal How to schedule classes
with problems
What to do in certain
Basis for decisions situations
Many job applications
ask for a statement of What methods to use
your philosophy Who comes first
Written or verbally Students?
Asked directly or Faculty?
Indirectly in situational Convience?
questions
Where Does One’s
Philosophy Come From?
Your life experiences…
Parents
Friends
Church
School
Organizations
Work or Profession
Media, TV, Radio, books, Newspaper, etc…
The Philosophic Attitude, Values
and Disposition
• Frequent Reflection (Reflective Practitioners)
• Critical Inquiry, seeks knowledge & understanding
• No stone left unturned in quest for truth
• No scared cows, Everything is “up for grabs”
• Thinks outside the box
• Answering Questions vs. Questioning Answers
• Questions Party Line?
• Open minded
• Reluctant to Assume
• Altruistic, Not self centered,
How are Philosophies
Expressed?
Code of: Conduct, Ethics, Honor, etc…..
Mission Statements
Creeds
Pledges
Handbooks
Constitution and by laws
Motto
No Child left behind
Learning to do, doing to learn, Earning to live and
Living to serve
Major Branches of Philosophy
Axiology: theory of values. Concerned with
what is good, what is beautiful, and what is
desired or preferred and the relationships
involved. Divided into two parts:
Ethics: examines moral values and the rules of right
and wrong
Aesthetics: beauty and art.
Epistemology: the branch of philosophy
dealing with the nature of knowledge and
truth.
Metaphisics: dealing with the search for first
principles. Usually of a spiritual nature.
Ontology: deals with the nature of reality.
Epistemology
Concerned with theories of
the nature of knowledge
Epistemological questions:
How do people learn?
What knowledge is of utmost value?
What are the different types of knowledge?
What are the educational goals of our
area?
Axiology
Concerned with theories of value
Two major divisions of axiology
ethics
What is right and wrong?
What is evil and good?
aesthetics
What is beautiful and ugly?
Some common terms used that relate to axiology
are, pessimism, optimism, hedonism, egoism, and
altruism.
Hedonism -- The ethical doctrine holding that only what is
pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.
If it feels good do it….
Metaphysics
Concerned with theories of the nature
of reality.
Why does the earth exist?
How did it come into being?
Is mankind free?
Is there a God?
What is real?
Metaphysics
Common terms used in metaphysics are:
theology
creationism
evolution
spirit
free will
atheism
Metaphysics is the area many people think of
when they hear the term philosophy.
Terms of Some Importance
Observations
The Systematic Process of
Finding New Information or
Solutions to a Question or
Problem is Called:
Curriculum?
Methods of instruction?
Practical Applications of
Philosophy to Education
Budgeting Dealing with students
Curriculum content How to schedule classes
Student course What to do in certain
assignment situations
Teacher assignment
What methods to use
Resource allocation
Who comes first
Teacher responsibility
Students?
Student Discipline
Faculty?
Duty assignment Convienence?
Policy
check your school handbook
School board sets policy
Philosophical
Schools of Thought
Idealism
Realism
Pragmatism
Existentialism
Reconstructionism
Idealism
Idealism (Idea-ism)
Idealist believe that
ideas are the only true reality.
The material world is characterized by
change, instability, and uncertainty;
some ideas are enduring
Idealism
We should be concerned primarily with
the search for truth. Since truth is
perfect and eternal, it cannot be found
in the world of matter that is both
imperfect and constantly changing.
Methods of Idealism
Study the classics for universal truths
Mathematics (2+2=4 is an absolute
truth)
Dialectic (critical discussion)
The dialectic looks at both sides of an issue
Lecture is used to transmit known
truths and to stimulate thinking.
The Dialectic
Thesis Antithesis
“War is “War is
good” bad”
Synthesis
Leaders of Idealism
Socrates (469-399 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
St. Augustine (350-4300
Descartes (1596-1650)
Berkeley (1685-1753)
Kant (1724-1804)
Socrates
Regarded as the father of philosophy
Believed we learned through
questioning (the Socratic method)
Wrote nothing, what we know of his
views were written by his followers,
most notably Plato
Plato
A student of Socrates
Known as the father of idealism
Operated a school named
the “Academy”
Plato’s views toward education
The state must take an active role in
educational matters
The curriculum must lead bright
students from a concern with concrete
data toward abstract thinking
Students with little ability for
abstraction should go into the
military, business and industry.
Plato
Those who demonstrate proficiency in the
dialectic would continue their education and
become philosophers in positions of power to
lead the state toward the highest good (the
Philosopher-King)
Believed both boys and girls
should be educated and girls
should be equals.
Augustine (354-430)
Born in North Africa (Roman citizen)
Mother - Christian, Father - Pagan
Attended Roman Primary School
grammar and literature emphasized
At 16 went to Carthage and studied:
rhetoric, music, geometry, grammar, mathematics
During his younger days “He lied,
he stole, he wenched.”
Augustine. . .
Became a grammaticus in his native town
Taught rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, Milan
While in his 30’s was converted to
Christianity, took his holy orders and became
a great evangelist and priest.
Found great favor in the church and
became a great religious leader.
Augustine
People do not create knowledge; God
has
already created it,
but people can discover it
through trying to find God.
Augustine’s Beliefs
Women were held in low regard (this
view was incorporated into the church
and held for a thousand years)
Only a few people possessed the
mental ability to quest for the truth.
Therefore most people should rely on
the church for knowledge.
Augustine’s Beliefs
Augustine used Greek writings but began to
have doubts how people who did not know
God could write anything which could be of
value to Christians.
In 401 the Church outlawed pagan writings
such as Plato and Aristotle (even the church
leaders were not allowed to read the
ancient literature). This continued
for 1000 years.
Augustine’s Beliefs
about Teaching
Encouraged the use of summaries
Believed teachers should teach through
persuasion and by leading impeccable lives.
Teachers should not expect to increase their
worldly stores through teaching.
The “stick and fist” were needed to
keep students in line since people
were wicked (because of Adam).
The Church and Idealism
Idealism has exerted a great amount of
influence on Christianity.
For centuries the Christian church was
the creator and protector of schooling.
Generations educated in these schools
were indoctrinated with the idealist
point of view (including early
American education).
Descartes (1596-1650)
A renown mathematician
Wrestled with the question of what was
real and did he really exist (perhaps he
was a dream). He finally concluded:
“I think, therefore I am”
Thinking and ideas are the
ultimate truth.
George Berkeley (1685-1753)
Existence is dependent upon some
mind to know it, and if there are no
minds, nothing would exist unless it is
perceived in the mind of God.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
“…the greatest and most difficult problem to
which a man can devote himself is the
problem of education…”
Education should teach students how to think
according to principles -
moral laws, moral ideals and
moral imperatives
Enlightenment is the goal of
education
Educational Aims of Idealism
Develop the mind
Search for true ideas
Character development
Self-realization
Educational Aims of Idealism
True education is concerned with ideas
rather than matter.
The idealists wants to give students a
broad understanding of the world in
which they live.
The Idealist and the Chair
To an idealist, the
concept of “chair” is
important. You could
destroy all the chairs
in the world but
they would still exist
in the mind. The
idea of a chair is the
ultimate truth.
Realism
Realism
Reality, knowledge and value exist
independent of the human mind. Trees,
sticks and stones exist whether or not
there is a human mind to perceive
them.
Realism
Ideas must be subject to public
verification
must be proven through scientific
experimentation
“Science for the sake of science”
Realism
Universal properties of objects remain
constant and never change, whereas
particular components do change
Realism
Need to study nature systematically
Deductive reasoning - truth is derived
from
generalizations
Earth is the center of the universe
Leaders of Realism
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
John Locke (1632-1704)
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Ideas may be important but a proper
study of matter could lead us to better
and more distinct ideas.
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Golden Mean - a path between
extremes
Balance is key - body and mind operate
together in a balanced whole
Aquinas (1225-1274)
God created matter; therefore it must
be ok to learn about it.
This view helped lead civilization out of
the dark ages, replaced the influence of
Augustine
Aquinas
Truth was passed from God to Humans
by divine revelation, but God also
has endowed humans with
the reasoning ability to
seek out truth.
Bacon (1561-1626)
Novum Organum - challenged
Aristotelian logic
Science must be concerned with inquiry,
pure and simple with no preconceived
notions
We need to examine all previously
accepted knowledge
Bacon (1561-1626)
Need to rid our mind of “idols”
Idol of the Den - we believe things because of
limited experience
Idol of the Tribe - we believe things because many
people believe them
Idol of the Marketplace - we are mislead by
language
Idol of the Theatre - Religion and philosophy may
prevent us from see the world objectively
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Known as the father of inductive
reasoning
arrive at generalizations from systematic
observations of particulars
Died as a result of the only experiment
he performed - stuffed a dead chicken
with snow to see if it would preserve
the flesh, caught a cold and died
John Locke (1632-1704)
At birth, the mind is a blank sheet of
paper - a tabla rasa
All ideas are derived from experience by
way of sensation and reflection
Realism and Education
Promotes the study of science
and the scientific method
There are essential ideas and
facts to be learned; therefore
lecture and other formal
methods of teaching are useful
Realism and Education
Find specialization to be desirable
Like structure
ringing bells, departments, daily lesson plans
If something exists, it can be measured
IQ, Effective teaching
Approve of competencies,
performance-based teaching,
accountability
Realism and Education
Teacher should present material in a
systematic, organized way and teach
that there are clearly defined criteria for
making judgements in art, economics,
politics, etc.
The Realist and the Chair
To a realist, the
actuality of “chair” is
important. A realist
would measure the
chair, weight it, examine
the physical
characteristics, etc. The
fact that the chair exists
is the ultimate truth.
Pragmatism
Pragmatism
The root of the word Pragmatism is a
Greek word meaning “work”.
It is primarily a 20th century philosophy
developed by Americans.
Truth is what works in the real world.
We must keep the desired end in mind.
Ideas should be applied to solving
problems; including social problems.
Leaders in Pragmatism
Planning-
Comprehensive planning is stressed in vocational
education.
Research-
Research on a continuing basis is fundamental to
the dynamics of vocational education.