to discuss at least six (6) philosophical thoughts on education. Activity
In a Grade 3 Science class:
Teacher: What is the function of the mouth? Student: To break the food into smaller pieces. Teacher: Very good! What about the stomach? Student: To digest the food. Teacher: Very good! Perfect! And the small intestines? Student: To absorb the food nutrients. Analysis
What classroom scenario is/are depicted
by the teacher-student question and answer? Abstraction
The Banking Method
John Locke (1632-1704): The Empiricist Educator
Acquire knowledge about the world through
the senses – learning by doing and by interacting with the environment
Simple ideas become more complex through
comparison, reflection and generalization – the inductive method John Locke (1632-1704): The Empiricist Educator
Questioned the long traditional view that
knowledge came exclusively from literary sources, particularly the Greek and Latin classics Opposed the “divine right of kings” theory which held that the monarch had the right to be an unquestioned and absolute ruler over his subjects. John Locke (1632-1704): The Empiricist Educator
Political order should be based upon a
contract between the people and the government Aristocrats are not destined by birth to be rulers. People were to establish their own government and select their own political leaders from among themselves; civic education is necessary John Locke (1632-1704): The Empiricist Educator
People should be educated to govern
themselves intelligently and responsibly Comments on John Locke’s Thoughts
For John Locke, education is learners
interacting with concrete experience, comparing and reflecting on the same concrete experience. The learner is an active not a passive agent of his/her own learning. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Spencer’s concept of “survival of the fittest”
means that human development had gone through an evolutionary series of stages from the simple to the complex and from the uniform to the more specialized kind of activity. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Social development had taken place
according to an evolutionary process by which simple homogenous societies had evolved to more complex societal systems characterized with humanistic and classical education. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Industrialized societies require vocational
and professional education based on scientific and practical (utilitarian) objectives rather than on the very general educational goals associated with humanistic and classical education. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Curriculum should emphasize the practical,
utilitarian and scientific subjects that helped humankind master the environment.
Was not inclined to rote learning; schooling
must be related to life and to the activities needed to earn a living. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Curriculum must be arranged according to
their contribution to human survival and progress.
Science and other subjects that sustained
human life and prosperity should have curricular priority since it aids in the performance of life activities. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Educator
Individual competition leads to social
progress. He who is fittest survives. Comments on Herbert Spencer’s Thoughts
To survive in a complex society, Spencer
favors specialized education over that of general education. We are in need of social engineers who can combine harmoniously the findings of specialized knowledge. Comments on Herbert Spencer’s Thoughts
The expert who concentrates on a limited
field is useful, but if he loses sight of the interdependence of things, he becomes a man who knows more and more about less and less. Comments on Herbert Spencer’s Thoughts
The expert who concentrates on a limited
field is useful, but if he loses sight of the interdependence of things he becomes a man who knows more and more about less and less. Spencer’s Survival of the Fittest
He who is fittest survives. Individual
competition leads to social progress. Spencer’s Survival of the Fittest
The whole-child approach advocates
competition in class. It is a powerful tool for SELF-focused schools and it has as tenets – “each student learns in an environment that is physically and emotionally safe for students and adults” and “each student has access to personalized learning and is supported by qualified and caring adults…” John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
Education is a social process and so school is
intimately related to the society that it serves.
Children are socially active human beings
who want to explore their environment and gain control of it. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
Education is a social process by which the
immature members of the group, especially the children, are brought to participate in the society. The sole purpose of education is to contribute to the personal and social growth of individuals. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
The school is a special environment
established by members of society, for the purpose of simplifying, purifying and integrating the social experience of the group so that it can be understood, examined and used by its children. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
The steps of the scientific or reflective
method which are extremely important in Dewey’s educational theory are as follows: The learner has a “genuine situation of experience” - involvement in an activity in which he/she is interested. Within this experience the learner has a “genuine problem” that stimulates thinking. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
The learner possesses the information or does
research to acquire the information needed to solve the problem. The learner develops possible and tentative solutions that may solve the problem. The learner tests the solutions by applying them to the problem. In this way, one discovers validity for oneself. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
The fund of knowledge of the human race-
past ideas, discoveries and inventions was to be used as the material for dealing with problems. The school is social, scientific and democratic. The school introduces children to society and their heritage. The school as a miniature society is a means of bringing children into social participation. John Dewey (1859-1952):Learning through Experience
The authoritarian or coercive style of
administration and teaching is out of place because they block genuine inquiry and dialogue. Values are relative but sharing, cooperation, and democracy are significant human values that should be encouraged by schools. Comments on John Dewey’s Thoughts
The Fund of Knowledge of the Human Race
Dewey does not disregard the accumulated wisdom of the past as these will be used as the material for dealing with problems and so will be tested. The ideal learner for Dewey is not just one who can learn by doing but one who can connect accumulated wisdom of the past to the present. Comments on John Dewey’s Thoughts
Schools are for the people and by the people
Schools are democratic institutions where everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, social status is welcome and is encouraged to participate in the democratic process of decision-making. George Counts (1889-1974): Building a New Social Order
Education is not based on eternal truths but
is relative to a particular society living at a given time and place.
By allying themselves with groups that want
to change society, schools should cope with social change that arises from technology. George Counts (1889-1974): Building a New Social Order
There is a cultural lag between material
progress and social institutions and ethical values. Instruction should incorporate a content of a socially useful nature and a problem-solving methodology. Students are encouraged to work on problems that have social significance. George Counts (1889-1974): Building a New Social Order
Schools becomes instruments for social
improvement rather than an agency for preserving the status quo.
Teachers should lead society rather than
follow it. Teachers are agents of change. George Counts (1889-1974): Building a New Social Order
Teachers are called on to make important
choices in the controversial areas of economics, politics, and morality because if they failed to do so, others would make the decision for them. Schools ought to provide an education that afford equal learning opportunities to all students. Comments on George Counts’ Thoughts
Schools and Teachers as Agents of Change
Schools are considered instruments for social improvement rather than as agencies for preserving the status quo. Change should always be for the better. Teachers are called to make decisions on controversial issues. Like Dewey, problem solving should be the dominant method for instruction. Comments on George Counts’ Thoughts
Lag Between Material Progress and Ethical
Values Material progress of humankind is very evident but moral and ethical development seem to have lagged behind. With science and technology, we have become powerful and yet powerless. Theodore Brameld (1907-1987): Social Reconstructionism
Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that
emphasizes the reformation of society. It contends that: There is a serious lag in cultural adaptation to the realities of a technological society. Humankind has yet to reconstruct its values in order to catch up with the changes in the technological order and organized education has a role to play in reducing the gap…. Theodore Brameld (1907-1987): Social Reconstructionism
The social reconstructionist asserts that
schools should critically examine present culture and resolve inconsistencies, controversies and conflicts to build a new society and not just change society. Technological era is not an era of interdependence and so education must be international in scope for global citizenship. Theodore Brameld (1907-1987): Social Reconstructionism
Education is designed “to awaken students’
consciousness about social problems and to engage them actively in problem-solving”.
They are firmly committed to equality and
equity in both society and education. Barriers of socio-economic class and racial discrimination must be eliminated. Theodore Brameld (1907-1987): Social Reconstructionism
They also emphasize the idea of an
interdependent world. The quality of life needs to be considered and enhanced on a global basis. Comments on Theodore Brameld’s Thoughts
Like Dewey and Counts, Brameld believe in
active problem-solving as the method of teaching and learning. Social reconstructionists are convinced that education is not a privilege of the few but a right to be enjoyed by all. Education is aright that all citizens regardless of race and social status must enjoy. F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997): Critical Pedagogy
Freire, a critical theorist, believed that
systems must be changed to overcome oppression and improve human conditions.
Education and literacy are the vehicles for
social change. Dialogue, critical consciousness, and the development of awareness are required to overcome domination and oppression. F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997): Critical Pedagogy
Rather than ‘teaching as banking’ , he saw
teaching and learning as a process of inquiry in which the child must invent and reinvent the world.
Teachers must not see themselves as the sole
possessor of knowledge and their students as empty receptacles. F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997): Critical Pedagogy
A democratic relationship between the
teacher and her students is necessary in order for the conscientization process to take place.
His critical pedagogy is problem-posing
education. F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997): Critical Pedagogy
A central element of Freire’s pedagogy is
dialogue. It is love and respect that allow us to engage people in dialogue and to discover ourselves in the process and learn from one another. We develop tolerant sensibility during the dialogue process. F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997): Critical Pedagogy
Dialogue means the presence of equality,
mutual recognition, affirmation of people, a sense of solidarity with people, and remaining open to questions. It is the basis for critical and problem-posing pedagogy, as opposed to banking education, where there is no discussion, only the imposition of the teacher’s ideas on the students. Summary
All of the education philosophers point to the
need of interacting with others and of creating a “community of inquiry” (Peirce). This is “a group of persons involved in inquiry, investigating more or less the same questions or problem, and developing through their exchanges a better understanding both of the questions as well as the probable solutions”. Application
1. The modern of knowledge has led to an age of
specialization with this concomitant quip: A specialist knows more and more about less and less. An expert knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing. A related joke cleverly twists this saying: A generalist knows less and less about more until he or she knows nothing about everything. Should schools produce generalists or specialists? Defend your answer. Application
2. Is free tertiary education really pro-poor in
the sense that it is the poor who are indeed benefited? Justify your anzwer. Thank you.