1. Educational Philosophy
Presented by:
Prof. Danielle Zimecki

2. What is philosophy? Literally means love of wisdom An activity
Noting what philosophers do
Examining, synthesizing, analyzing, speculating, prescribing, and evaluating
A set of attitudes
Self aware, comprehensiveness, flexibility, penetration
Body of content
Reality, truth, value

3. Metaphysics Deals with the nature of reality What is real?
Example: Floor
Solid, flat, smooth, color, wood or concrete, supports weight
Physicist
Chemist
Categories:
Cosmological
Origin, nature, and development of the universe in an orderly system
Theological
Religious theory that has to do with concepts of and about God
Anthropological
Study of human beings
Ontology
What it means for anything to be

4. Epistemology Studies nature, sources, and validity of knowledge
What is true? How do we know?
Dependability of knowledge
Can reality be known?
Is truth relative or absolute?
Is knowledge subjective or objective?
Sources of knowledge – senses, revelation, authority, intuition, variety of resources
Propriety of various methods of researching warrantable truth

5. Axiology What is of value?
Rational individual and social life is dependent on values
What society conceives of being good or preferable
Ethics
Moral values and conduct
Are ethical standards and moral values absolute or relative?
Do universal moral values exist?
Does the end ever justify the means?
Can morality be separated from religion?
Who or what forms the basis of ethical authority?
Aesthetics
Principles governing the creation and appreciation of beauty and art
Should art be imitative and reprehensive, or should it be the product of private creative imagination?
Should the subject matter of artistic forms deal with the good in life only, or should it also include the ugly and grotesque?
What is good art?
Should art have a social function or message?
Can there be art for art’s sake, or must it have a practical significance?

6. Idealism
Idealism asserts that, since the world is constantly changing, ideas are the only reliable form of reality.
Idealists
William E. Hocking, Plato
Idealism and education
The learner
Process of becoming more like the absolute self
Strives for perfection
The teacher
Serve as a living example of what students can become

7. Realism
Realism suggests that the features of the universe exist whether or not humans are there to perceive them.
Realists – Aristotle, Francis Bacon, John Locke
Realism and Education
The Learner
Functioning organism that can through sensory and experience, perceive the natural order of the world and thereby come into contact with reality
Not free in their choices
The Teacher
To give accurate information to the student
Teacher’s biases and personality muted

8. Neo-scholastism/ Thomism
Intellectual movement that developed in the 1300’s
Faith by reason
Combination of realism and idealism
Thomists – Thomas Aquinas, The teacher
Mental disciplinarians that can develop reason, will power, and memory
The student
Rational being that is capable of acquiring Truth and knowledge

9. Pragmatism
Pragmatism rejects the idea of absolute, unchanging truth, instead asserting that truth is “what works.”
Pragmatists – Charles S. Pierce, William James, John Dewey
Pragmatism and education
The students
Students have experiences
Learn from their environment and react to their environment and consequences
The teachers
Seen as fellow learners
Guides

10. Existentialism
Existentialism suggests that humanity isn’t part of an orderly universe; instead, individuals create their own realities.
Refusal to belong to any school of thought
Dissatisfaction with traditional philosophy
Existentialists – Walter Kaufmann, Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Paul Sartre, Albert Camus
Existentialism and Education
The teacher
Willing to help students explore possible answers
Concerned with the individual learner
The learner
I am a choosing agent.
I am a free agent.
I am a responsible agent.

11. Perennialism
Perennialism suggests that nature, including human nature, is constant.
Return to classics – mind, reason,
Perennialists - Mortimer J. Adler, Robert M. Hutchins, St. John’s College
Beliefs
People are rational animals
Knowledge is universally consistent
The subject matter, not the child, should stand at the center of the educational endeavor.
The great works are relevant today.
The educational experience is preparation for life, rather than real-life situations

12. Essentialism
Essentialism emphasizes a critical core of knowledge and skills that all students should learn.
Combination of realism and idealism
Revamping of the school
Essentialists – Mortimer Smith, Arthur Bestor
Beliefs
The school’s first task is to teach basic knowledge.
Learning is hard work and requires discipline.
The teacher is the locus of classroom authority.
Report from government in 1983 – “A Nation at Risk”
Minimum standard for graduation
Four years English
Three years Math
Three years Science
Three years Social Studies
1 and ½ years Computer Science
2 years of Foreign Language for College Bound Students

13. Progressivism
Progressivism focuses on real-world problem solving and individual development.
Progressivists– John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Beliefs
The process of education finds its genesis and purpose in the child.
Pupils are active rather than passive.
The teacher’s role is of advisor, guide, fellow traveler, rather than that of authoritarian and classroom director.
The school is a microcosm of the larger society.
Classroom activity should focus on problem solving rather than on artificial methods of teaching subject matter.
The social atmosphere of the school should be cooperative and democratic.

14. Postmodernism
Postmodernism contends that many of the institutions in our society, including schools, are used by those in power to marginalize those who lack power.
Rejection of the modern view of things
Postmodernists – Hume, Kant
Education
Very undeveloped

15. Developing Your Philosophy of Education
Philosophy can guide practice and help you explain and defend your educational goals.
The process of developing a philosophy begins with examining your own beliefs about teaching, learning, and students.
An analysis of educational philosophies can assist teachers in forming their own personal, and probably eclectic, personal philosophy.

16. Philosophies of Education in Urban Environments
Because of the challenges involved in urban teaching, developing a coherent philosophy of education is even more important.
Beliefs, both positive and negative, about urban learners can have profound influences on urban teachers and the way they teach.