Three Educational Philosophies

Introduction

In this discussion assessment, three educational philosophies will be critically appraised, focusing on educational goals, teaching methods and curricula or subjects.

Five main educational philosophies are broadly categorized: Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism. Essentialism and Perennialism are traditional philosophies, whereas the rest are modernist and postmodernist philosophies (Krutka, 2016). However, many more, both Eastern and Western, educational philosophies may be found in our readings.

The selected educational philosophies for our discussion will be essentialism, progressivism, and existentialism.

Essentialism

Essentialism, expounded by Arthur Bestor and William Bagley, assumes that people and things have natural and essential common characteristics, which are intrinsic, innate, and unchanging. Essentialism aims to offer disciplined, practical ways of applying information from lessons learnt to the world. Students will learn to respect authority, fidelity to duty, perseverance, practicality, and consideration for others. Learners will be better citizens. The teaching methods are mainly transmission of subject matter and instruction, using standardized tests and pre-determined curriculum materials. The subjects are maths, literature, history, natural sciences, and foreign languages (?ahin, 2018).

Progressivism

This philosophy relates to two groups of critical importance, mainly administrative progressives and pedagogical progressives. John Dewey is a great proponent of this type of philosophy, where interaction and collaboration are required in the class. Hence, setting an environment for learning by doing for the students is imperative for students’ success. The goals of progressivism are to impact educational rhetoric from pedagogical perspectives and the impact on the structure and practice of education for students’ developmental and holistic achievements, as well as social efficiency from administrative perspectives. The teaching methods facilitate, coach, and mentor students into learning by doing. The curricula are focused on vocational training and differentiated outcomes as part of democracy in learning (Labaree, 2005).

Existentialism

This philosophy originated before the turn of the twentieth century and became popular after World War II (1938-1945). It is a way of philosophizing that leads to adopting a different conviction about the world and man’s life in the world. A. S. Neill is a great proponent of this philosophy, believing that all students are naturally curious and will explore the world as it appeals to them individually. The main goal is to create an environment where students are assumed to take control of their learning and will grow as they learn. The teaching method is one of scientific enquiry where teachers create systematic events for students to explore, investigate and derive their strengths and understand their weaknesses to overcome them. The curricula emphasize students as active learners and focus on their needs, experiences, interests, and abilities. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is another great proponent and father of modern existentialism. His view highlighted that subjectivity and intensity should be priced as the criteria of truth and genuineness. He advocates that reality happens during intense moments of deep anxiety and life and cannot be reduced to a system of ideas (Sikhauli, 2018).

Reflection on my beliefs and practices

As a higher education practitioner, I believe essentialism is critical for specific curricula for students to master the subjects in the business and management domain. Hence, basic science and math are required for economics and social sciences. Regarding progressivism, holistic development in administrative and pedagogical perspectives is required to give students greater autonomy in critical thinking and decision-making. Finally, on existentialism, students must know the sole purpose of their education and how they seek ontological and epistemological grounding in pursuing knowledge and adding value to society.

References

Krutka, D. (02 June, 2016). 5 Educational philosophies. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H0DbcDbIbs&t=610s&index=2&list=WL (12:09)

Labaree, D. (February, 2005). Progressivism, schools, and schools of education. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/7055356/Progressivism_Schools_and_Schools_of_Education

?ahin, M. (2018). Essentialism in philosophy, psychology, education, social and scientific scopes. Journal of Innovation in Psychology, Education and Didactics,, 22(2), 193-204.

Sikhauli, S. (3 March, 2018). Western philosophies of education. (n.d.). 49-55. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/34327764/M.A._Edu._Philosophy