Philo-Social Foundations of

Education

ORNSTEIN
LEVINE
GUTEK
VOCKE
 What is Philosophy?

the science that seeks to organize and systemize all

fields of knowledge as a means of understanding and
interpreting the totality of reality.

The systematic and logical explanation of the nature,

existence, purpose and relationships of things,
including human beings in the universe
 Main Branches of Philosophy

1. Metaphysics deals with the first principles,

the origin an essence of things, the causes and end of
things.

2. Epistemology deals with knowledge and with

ways of knowing.
 Main Branches of Philosophy

3. Axiology deals with purposes and values.

4. Logic deals with the correct way of thinking.

FUNCTIONS of the PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

1. Provide guidelines in the formulation of the

educational policies and programs and in the
construction of curricula.

2. Provide direction toward which all educational

effort should be exerted.
FUNCTIONS of the PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

3. Provide theories and hypothesis which may be

tested for their effectiveness and efficiency.

4. Provide norms or standards for evaluation

purposes.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO
THE TEACHER

1. Provides the teacher with basis for making his

decision concerning his work.

2. Help the teacher develop a wide range of interest,

attitudes, and values concomitant to his professional
life as teacher.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO
THE TEACHER

3. Makes a teacher more aware of his own life and

work, and makes him more dynamic, discriminating,
critical and mentally alert.

4. Philosophy of education saves time, money and

effort.
 NEED OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN
MODERN TIMES

Every behaviour or action has its own principles.

The principles underlying all educational behaviour

are derived from philosophy of education.

It is only through a philosophy of education that one

determines the curriculum, the textbooks, the
methods of teaching, methods and standards of
evaluation, the methods of maintaining discipline,
etc.
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Idealism
Seeks to create schools that are intellectual centers of teaching and
learning.
Teachers are vital agents in guiding students to realize the fullest
intellectual potential
Encourages teachers and students to experience and appreciate the
achievements of their culture.
Teachers introduce students to the classics-art, literature, music- so
they can experience and share in the time-tested cultural values of these
work
Recognize that the internet can make great books accessible
Idealists should insist that technology should be a means, instrument of
education rather than an end. Content matters most, not the apparatus.
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Realism
Teachers bring students ideas about the world into
correspondence with reality by teaching skills ( reading,
writing, computation) and subjects (history, math, science,
etc.) that are based on authoritative and expert knowledge.
Focus on cognitive learning and subject matter mastery.
Realist oppose nonacademic activities that interfere with
schools purpose as a center of disciplined academic inquiry.
Content mastery is important, and methodology is a
necessary but subordinate means to educate.
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Pragmatism
If idealists and realists make teaching subject matter their primary
responsibility, pragmatists are more concerned with teaching students to
solve problems using interdisciplinary approach.
Rather than transmitting subjects to students, pragmatists facilitate
student research and activities, suggesting resources useful in problem
solving, such as those accessible through educational technology.
Teachers expect that students will learn to apply problem-solving
method to situations both in and out of school and thus connect the
school to society.
Social networking can create a global community with opportunities to
share insights and ideas
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Existentialism
Teaching from existentialist perspective is always difficult
because curricula and standards are imposed on teachers
from external agencies.
Teachers cannot specify goals and objectives in advance
because students should be free to choose their own
educational purposes.
Teachers stimulate an intense awareness that students are
responsible for his own education and self-definition.
Teachers must encourage students to examine institutions,
forces, and conditions that limit freedom of choice
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Postmodernism
Postmodernists argue that teachers must first
empower themselves as professional educators
Real empowerment means that as teachers proceed
from pre-service to practice, they take responsibility
for determining their own futures and encouraging
students to determine their own lives.
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Perennialism
The schools primary role is to develop students reasoning
powers.
Teachers need to have a solid academic foundation to act as
intellectual mentors and models.
Primary teachers- fundamental skills
Secondary teachers- great works of art, history, literature
and philosophy
Standards based on the classics
Technology can be used as an avenue to appreciate and
communicate about classics cognitively
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Essentialism
Purpose of education is to transmit and maintain the
necessary fundamentals of human culture.
Schools have the mission to transmit skills and
subjects to the young to preserve and pass them on to
future generations
Essentialist use deductive logic to organize
instructions- basic concepts to facts to general.
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Progressivism
Learners learn successfully if they explore their
environment and construct their own conception of reality
based on their direct experience.
Opposed authoritarian teachers, book-based instruction,
passive memorization, isolation of school from society.
Affirmed that the child should be free to develop naturally,
interest-motivated by his direct experience, needs
cooperation with school, home and community.
Ex. West Tennessee Holcaust Project- The Paper Clip
Project
Implications for Todays Classroom Teacher

Critical Theory
Teachers must focus on issues of power and control in
school and society
Learn who their students are by exploring their own
self-identities
Collaborate with local people to improve school and
community
Join organizations to empower themselves
Participate in critical dialogues about politics, social,
economic, and educational issues