Christian Philosophy and

Reconstructionism

Marticio, Excel Joy C.

Simon, Queeny C.
 Christian Philosophy

• It relates knowledge systematically

• It strives for coherence, the

formulation of a worldview

• Its method is to consult information

from the total experience.
 The Biblical Base Bible

•The primary source for all learning

•Must be the vital part of the content

of the curriculum and integrated
with all subject matter.
 Purpose of Christian Philosophy of
Education

•to develop biblical character in the

lives of the students (virtue).

•to secure for students the

appropriate wealth of knowledge of
Christ
 The Curriculum
•should be lively and appropriate to
the needs of the learner, as well as
to the needs of the community as a
whole.
•must be academically sound and
based upon truth, not on prejudiced
or biased points of view.
•attain mastery of the subject within
the context of a biblical world view.
 Why teach?
• to love the Lord God with all their
hearts.
• to become an effective believer.
• Disciple students to develop
Christian lifestyle characteristics.
• Help the students to articulate the
hope that lies within him/her
 What to teach?
•Virtue or moral maturity
•Knowledge or intellectual maturity
•Self-control or physical maturity
•Fortitude or emotional maturity
•Piety or spiritual maturity
•Kindness or social maturity
 How to teach?
• all procedures and processes must
be based on a definite theory of
knowledge.
 The Implications for the Teaching-Learning
Process
•process of guided learning where the teacher
and the Holy Spirit combine efforts to help
the leaner to spiritually grow and mature, to
more and more conform to the image of
Christ.
•seeks to develop the learner a worldview, a
perspective that enables him to understand,
appreciate, and live a Christian life in the
world in which God has placed him.
Who is Responsible for the Education
of an Individual?

•According to Deuteronomy 6:6-7,

the parents are the primary
educators of the student.
•People in Bible times recognized the
value of placing students under
instructors.
Who is Responsible for the Education
of an Individual?

• Today, parents should see the

church as being a coop in religious
education of their children
 The Role of the Teacher

• The teacher is a model of a

Christian lifestyle (2 Tim. 3:14-17).
• The teacher is an instructor of truth
(1 Tim. 1:3-4)
• The teacher is one who guides,
facilitates, and shapes learning
 Focus On The Learner

•A learner is a real person. Teachers

do not teach lessons They teach
people!

•“Train up a child in the way he

should go: and when he is old, he
will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
 Reconstructionism

Also known as “SOCIAL

RECONSTRUCTIONISM”, this theory
claims to be the true successor of
progressivism and declares that the
chief purpose of education is to
“RECONSTRUCT” society to meet the
cultural crisis brought about by social,
political, and economic problems.
Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) was
the founder of social
reconstructionism, he recognized the
potential for either human annihilation
through technology and human
cruelty or the capacity to create a
beneficent society using technology
and human compassion.
For example:

• Young students should be

encouraged to act in a more limited
setting than older students, such as
the classroom or school, rather than
the larger community.
• Teachers should work with students
to get them to accept the
consequences (good or bad) of their
actions, once they have taken
place, without complaining or
expecting to be let off the hook. This
is important if a sense of commitment
and responsibility is to be nurtured.
 Why Teach?

The educational aims of

reconstructionism is that people act
as change agents. They do not think
that schools should be separate from
society, and educators should be
more involved in the social cause.
 How to Teach?

• Focuses on student experience and

taking social action on real
problems, such as violence, hunger,
international terrorism, inflation, and
inequality.
• Strategies for dealing with
controversial issues (particularly in
social studies and literature), inquiry,
dialogue, and multiple perspectives
are the focus.

• Community-based learning and

bringing the world into the classroom
are also strategies
 Role of the Teacher
• Reconstructionist want teachers to
be social activist. They believe the
improvement in society results from
continuous thoughtful change and
the best change agent is the
educational process. Teachers need
to focus on critical issues and allow
students to have a active say in
education.