PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

“EDUCATION WITHOUT PHILOSOPHY IS BLIND

AND PHILOSOPHY WITHOUT EDUCATION IS
INVALID
PHILOSOPHY
 The term has been derived from two Greek words, ‘Philos.
means love and ‘Sophia’ means wisdom.
 Philosophy means love for knowledge or passion for learning

MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY
 Love of knowledge
 An Activity
 A comprehensive picture of the universe
 A guide to a way of life

DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
 Philosophy is a search for comprehensive view of nature, an attempt at a universal
explanation of nature of things. – Alfred Weber
 Coleridge defined philosophy as the ‘Science of sciences’
 John Dewey- “Philosophy may be defined as the theory of education in its most general
phase”

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Philosophy of education may be defined as the application of the fundamental principles of a

philosophy of life to the work of education.

TYPES OF PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

Traditional philosophies are:
 Idealism
 Realism
 Naturalism
 Pragmatism

Modern Contemporary Philosophies are:

 Supernaturalism
 Progressivism
 Human Existentialism
 Behaviorism
 Humanism
 Re-constructionism
  Eclecticism
 Perennialism
 Essentialism
 Reconstructionism

Naturalism

 Naturalism is concerned with “natural self” or “real self”. It believes that the ultimate

reality is matter, and not mind or spirit.

 Naturalism does not believe in spiritualism. It denies the existence of a spiritual universe

— the universe of ideas and values.

 According to naturalism, the material world is the only real world. It is the only reality.

This material world is being governed by a system of natural laws and the man, who is

the creation of the material world, must submit to them.

 Behind everything there is Nature. It denies the existence of anything beyond nature.

Naturalism believes that everything comes from nature and returns to nature. Nature,

according to naturalism, is a self-sufficient entity. I

EXPONENTS
 Comenius
 Bacon
 Bernard Shaw
Basic concept of Naturalism
1. Nature is the final reality. All things originated from matter, all are ultimately to be reduced to

matter. Matter takes different forms.

2. Mind is the brain functioning and brain is matter.

3. All types of mental activities – imagination, thinking, reasoning etc. are the functions of the

brain.
4. The entire universe is governed by the laws of nature which are unchangeable Science reveals

the mysteries of nature; hence only that knowledge is true that is derived from science5. There is

no God or Spirit. Man himself creates values in interaction with the environment in which he is

placed.

6. “Follow Nature” is the greatest slogan of naturalism in education. Natural development of the

child, the naturalists believe, takes place in the natural environment rather than in artificially

designed atmosphere.

7. The child occupies the central position in the educative process. The child should be educated

according to his nature. “It is the child himself rather than the educator, the school the book or

the subjects of study that should be in the foreground of the educational picture.” Unnecessary

interference on the part of parents or teachers should be avoided Children should be treated as

children and not as small adults. Instead of imposing adult ideas on them, let them have the

opportunity of formulating their ideas through personal experiences.

10. Senses are the gateways of knowledge. Real knowledge comes through the senses and,

therefore, the sensory experiences should be provided for effective learning.

10. Senses are the gateways of knowledge. Real knowledge comes through the senses and,
therefore, the sensory experiences should be provided for effective learning.

10. Senses are the gateways of knowledge. Real knowledge comes through the senses and,

therefore, the sensory experiences should be provided for effective learning.

Forms of naturalism
 Physical naturalism
 Biological naturalism
 Mechanical naturalism.
Principles of naturalism
 Child centered education
 Education as natural development of child's power and capacities

 Negative education is good in early childhood, instead of forcing him to learn

 Education should be based on child psychology

 Role of teacher to be as a guide and facilitator.

NATURALISM AND AIMS OF EDUCATION

 Self-Expression- Naturalists believe that students should be provided with

an opportunity to express their ideas and talents.
 Self-Preservation- In naturalistic point of view, self-security or self-preservation is an
unavoidable aspect in life and education should enable the child to develop these
qualities.
 Redirection of human instincts- Naturalists believes that each child is born with certain
instincts, which are the guiding force behind all human conduct.
 Struggle for existence- Naturalists says that individual child may have to face several
painful and stress laden situations in the physical world.
 Education according to nature- While educating the child, his whole nature i.e,
tendencies, developmental status, capacities, instincts, likes and dislikes should be
considered.

 Perfect development of individuality- Education should aim at developing the child

into joyous, rational, balanced useful and mature person.

Naturalism and Curriculum:

 The naturalists strongly advocate inclusion of natural sciences — such as physics,

chemistry, zoology, botany,garderning,agriculture,geography,astronomy,art,craft — in

the curriculum.

 Curriculum is activity centered, not book centered.

 No fixed curriculum.

 Subjects to be correlated with play activity.

 They also want that the pupil should not be plunged into poetry and literature.
Naturalism and Methods of Teaching:
 It attaches no importance to formal schools and textbooks as these hinder the natural

development of children.

 It encourages learning by doing, auto-education and self-learning through personal

experience of the child.

 The creed of the naturalists is “follow nature” . Play is nature’s mode of education

 According to the naturalists the proper method of imparting scientific knowledge is

through observation and experimentation. They decry “chalk and talk method”.

Naturalism and the Teacher:

 The educator should not interfere in the natural development of the child. He should not

impose ideals or ideas on him. He is only to help the child in the discovery of truth as a

facilitator.

 The educator must see that the child develops freely. He should not make an artificial

effort to educate the child.

 He has to provide suitable opportunities .

 The place of the educator is not primary but secondary. He is an observer of the child’s

development rather than a giver of information.

 The role of the educator is that of a friend, philosopher and guide.

Naturalism and Discipline:

 Naturalists have no faith in discipline based on external force as it represses the impulses

and instincts of the children.

  The only discipline to be applied is the discipline of natural consequences. The child

should be left perfectly free to act in any way he likes and then face the consequences of

his actions. Nature spares none

 If the consequences of his action turn out to be pleasant and favorable, it would be
repeated and, therefore, learnt. On the contrary, if consequences of an action are found to
be unpleasant, it shall be given up. Thus, the forces of pleasure and pain will effectively
teach discipline to the child.

Evaluation naturalism do not advocate use of formal written examinations at all. All round
development of child is emphasized

Limitations of Naturalism:

1.It ignores the spiritual and moral aspects of human nature. It totally neglects the moral
development of the child.

2. Naturalism allows complete freedom to the child from the very start of his life, even when he

has not yet learnt the right use of freedom.

Contribution of Naturalism: Naturalism has tremendously influenced the modern educational

theories and practices.

Pragmatism
Philosophy of Pragmatism : is mainly an American concept which come into prominence after
1850. The word Pragmatism is derived from a Greek word ‘Pragma’ which mean ‘to do’, ‘to
make’ and ‘to accomplish’ Pragmatism also known as ‘Practical Philosophy’ and Utilitarian
Philosophy.
Exponents of pragmatism – C.B. Pierce, William James, John Dewey, Kilpatrick and others.
“Pragmatism offers us a theory of meaning, a theory of truth of knowledge, and a theory of
reality” - Gomes. B. Prett

Types of Pragmatism
1. Humanist Pragmatism Those things or principles are true which satisfy the needs
requirements aspirations and objectives of human beings and cater the welfare of man kind
2. Biological pragmatism Power or capacity of a human being is valuable and important which
enables him to adjust with the environment or which makes him able to change his environment
according to his needs and requirements.
3. Experimental Pragmatism According to this ideology that thing or principle is true which
can be verified as true by experiment.

Principles of pragmatism
1. Experience is the central idea in pragmatism.
2. There are no absolute values of life.
3. Action is real and ideas are tools.
4. Man is an active being.
5. Man has the ability to solve his problems.
6. Utilitarian aspect is supreme.
7. Past has little value.
8. Present and future are more important

Pragmatism $ Education
 Education is based on philosophy and science.
 It emphasizes experiment and practice.
 Child is the focal point of all educational activities.
 It opposes book learning.
 Only sociability is emphasized.
 It is a progressive dynamic and changeable ideology.

Pragmatism $ Aims of education

 Harmonious development of all abilities in the child.
 Educational aims change according to times, places and circumstances.
 Education should provide more and more purposeful experiences.
 Creation of new values.
 Social efficacy $ productive life .

Pragmatism $ Curriculum
 Principle of Utility : The school must provide the experience that are useful to the child.
 Principle of Natural Interest: It should be based on the natural instant of the child.
 1. Interest in conversation 2. Interest in investigation 3. Interest in construction 4. Interest
in creative expression
 Principle of graded curriculum : The curriculum should consider the stages of child
development.
 Principle of experiences based in occupations : Curriculum attaches limited
importance to book learning. Besides the subject the curriculum include purpose,
procedure and socialized activity.
 Principle of Integration : The subjects are treated a mode of activities in relation to life
situation.
 Principle of Social worth : Curriculum, provides socially useful activities.
 Principle of dynamism : It does not believe the rigidity of the curriculum. It changes
according to the needs of the pupils and the society

Method of teaching
 Learning by doing It is the principle of pragmatic methodology “the child learns by
doing” - John Dewey
 All learning must come as a byproduct of action, and never as something learned directly
for its own sake.
 The pragmatic teacher suggests a few problems, indicates the lines of activity and loves
the child to experiment for himself.
 The Project method It is a direct outcome of pragmatic philosophy.

Pragmatism $ discipline.
 Pragmatism holds that discipline should be social through free, purposeful and co-
operative activities organized in the school that lead to social discipline as well as self
discipline.
 Such activities create values like interactive, self relations tolerance, sympathy.
 These values help in building the morals and training the character.
 There is no place for rewards and punishments
 Morals grow from democratic living.
 Students develop a sense of self control.

Pragmatism $ Teacher
 Teacher as a helper and guide.
 The teacher assume the role of an arranger of experience or he is a facilitator or stage
setter and the teacher create a suitable environment for learning. According to Dewey,
“The teacher is a guide and director, he steers the boat, but the energy that propels it must
come from those who are learning”

Pragmatism $ Student
 The child is creative and constructive by nature.
 He is not a passive listener but an active participant in the educative process.
 Educators must exploit the activities of children for the teaching and learning processes.
 Unlike the previous conception of education as a bipolar process, the child and the
educative process being the two poles, pragmatists think of it as a tri – polar process, the
immediate society being the third pole.
 The child needs to be familiarized with the life – customs, traditions, norms, values and
behavior of the society.

Pragmatism $ School
 The progressive school classroom is one in which students assume more responsibility
and initiative for their own learning.
 They are actively engaged in learning activities, such as conducting their own science
experiments.
 Instruction is individualized to accommodate their different interests, needs and learning
need.
 Socialization activities such as discussion, dramatics, music and other group activities are
emphasized.
 The progressive classroom provides more freedom and activity Fundamental skills are
taught more through the discovery method

Evaluation
Objective test , project reports, Anecdotal records, rating scale etc.
Merits of Pragmatism
 Importance on child.
 Emphasis on activity
 Faith in applied life
 Progressive and optimistic attitude
 It keeps the children close to their experiences
 It has promoted the value of experimentation in educational practice.
 The project method of learning is the most important contribution of pragmatism to
educational practice.

Demerits of Pragmatism
 No pre-determined aims of education
 Negation of spiritual values
 Condemnation of formal education
 Difficulty in the construction of curriculum
 Modern contemporary philosophies

Supernaturalism
According to the philosophy there is personal God .God is the author and creator of nature
and man. God has created the universe and placed man in the universe as his child.
God helps his children to attain eternal destiny that is union with God.
Supernaturalism and aims of education
The aims of education are Social development, physical development, economic
competency, moral development $ spiritual perfection.
Supernaturalism and curriculum
High ranking given to spiritual and moral values Social science, behavioral science,
biological science are also included as subjects
Methods of teaching
Discussion method, lecture method, practical experience
Supernaturalism and discipline
It is against rigid discipline and favour self discipline. Teacher's role is important in
hosting self discipline among children
Supernaturalism and teacher
Teacher exercises for all round development of child. Teacher brings child’s hidden
potential and nurtures leadership in child.

Progressivism
Progressivism it is an American philosophy which is The revolt against the formal or
traditional system of education. It became popular in 1929,when the economic depression
of USA badly affected educational system.
Meaning
 Education is centered on present life itself.
 The development of individual and society is only possible when education
facilitates growth of every phase of child.
Exponents
 John Dewy
 William James
 Kilpatrick
Progressivism and aim of education
 To Develop personality of individual through providing democratic environment in
educational institution.
Progressivism and curriculum
Based on actual giving environment of the child. It must reflect his daily life.
Methods of teaching
 Project method- active participation of pupil in learning.
 Socialized method -to bring all individuals into a group system of interaction.
 Conferences
 Consultation
 planning and participating in activities.
Progressivism and teacher
 Human elements and human beings are given more importance
 The teacher has to meet the needs of people as a good human being
 Teacher is a stage settler, guide and coordinator but not the total authority.
Progressivism and school
School provides a conducive and democratic environment to the ch

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