Assignment No.

1
Name: Bushra Saeed
Roll No.: BV685036
Course Name: Philosophy of Education
Course Code: 8609
Level: B.Ed (1.5 Year)
Semester: Spring, 2020
Q.1 How philosophies influence teaching learing process? Explain.
Educational thinking like every other branch of knowledge, started in the philosophical deliberation of the
ancient Greek philosophers. Thus, the meaning of education in west is initially available in the world of Plato. It
is interesting to note that thousands of years ago Plato gave a meaning to education which is even now followed
in the west with slight changes here and there. Philosophy of education is a general philosophical study and
explanation of every aspect of education. The phrase 'Philosophy of Education‟ is not only a part of philosophy,
but also a part of education. It is a branch of axiology as it studies about educational value. Again it is accepted
as a branch of education as it is the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. William K
Frankena, the analytic philosopher of education considers it a part of axiology because the philosophy of
education questions the aims, methods and all the elements of education related to the moral and social
conditions. It is a part of education also when it consists of normative and analytical aspects of education. The
problems of philosophy of education are not limited; it does not take a partial view of education. Instead, it
comprehends every aspect of educational process. It interprets various areas such as curriculum, context,
method, learning, teaching, motivation and others. When the philosophy of education is considered as a part of
education, it discusses only an aspect of education, such as educational psychology, environmental education,
educational statistics, etc., which are related to different areas and share a very limited ground of education. As
a branch of education, philosophy of education is more experimental and practical. But as a part of philosophy,
it is a major subject matter of philosophy. It helps in the understanding of not only an aspect of education but of
education as a whole. It is concerned with the aims of education and the basic philosophical problems arising in
the fields of education. It is a synthesis of educational facts with educational values. The phrase „Philosophy of
Education‟ has been used to replace the phrase „Educational Philosophy‟. „Educational Philosophy' stands for
comprehensive theories of education. It also refers to the general theories which try to deal with education, like
metaphysicians deal with reality. But these historical general theories with great merits also had considerable
shortcomings. They were often grounded on assumptions not generally acceptable and often adopted without
argument. They were seldom based on systematic research. 'Philosophy of Education‟ on the other hand does
not elaborate general theories. It is based on analysis and criticism. It deals with every educational problem
engaged in everyday educational affairs. In its present analytical mode philosophy of education owes its origin
to the analytical work of the British philosophers. The e philosophical method is in essence analytical, clear and
critical. It is concerned with such tasks as elucidation of concepts, logical appraisal of different kinds of
statements and arguments, validation of theories and justification of grounds of belief and knowledge.
Philosophy of education is such an activity performed on education, its concepts, theories, beliefs and
arguments. Dr. K.M. Chatty in his paper “Philosophy of Education in the Changing World Order wrote, in the
philosophy of education, both philosophers and educators who come together should have a common concern
and commitment about the nature of education that is required to uphold the dignity of human beings. They
should keep in their mind the different values that go into safeguarding the whole humanity. It is with this
broader perspective that both philosophers and educators join together to build a philosophy of education."
Therefore the chief activity of the philosophy of education is to bring out its nature of education and the values
which safeguard the whole humanity. D J O‟Connor defines the philosophy of education as “those problems of
philosophy that are of direct relevance to educational theory.‟6 He points out that every educational theory
contains moral judgments and that some educational theories rest upon religious claims. This leads him to
inquire 1) in what ways, If any, an educational theory is similar to a scientific theory, 2) how ethical judgments
can be justified, and 3) whether religious claims are meaningful.

The philosophy of education as an independent study has its own scope and function. The scope of the
philosophy of education includes the critical evaluation of aims, ideas and education, analysis of human nature,
educational values, the theory of knowledge and the relationship of education and social progress. It seems to
perform three functions: 1) speculative, 2) normative, and 3) critical. The speculative function of philosophy of
education consists in pursuing and enquiry, forming theory about education, its causes and nature. While doing
so it tries to make a survey of the whole field. Normative functions are related to the formation of goals,
rigorously the terms and propositions involved in educational thought and practice. Now the question arises,
what are the problems “philosophy of education” deals with? In his Preface to Indian Philosophy of Education
R.S. Pandey mentioned some problems, which are analyzed by the 'philosophy of education. Though these
questions are regarded as the primary questions for the philosophical analysis of education, however, for every
philosopher of education the aim is not the same. They are contradictory in their views regarding acquisition of
knowledge, character development, individual development and social development. The philosophers who
support knowledge as the aim of education recognize knowledge as power, virtue and happiness. For others
either the materialistic development or the social adjustment is the only aim of the philosophy of education. Few
of them emphasize on the metaphysical up liftment as the aim of education. But if we show interest only in one
side of the development as the aim of philosophy of education, it will be the same as the old story of the six
blind men and the elephant. As such, both prescribed certain patterns of education for the gymnastics of the
body and music for the soul. Therefore it should be remembered that in determining the aims of education no
thinker is exclusively an idealist or a pragmatist. Corresponding to different aspects of life, different
philosophies and ideologies are provided and all these ideologies are complimentary rather than contradictory.
To emphasize one at the cost of the “other” is to see the part and identify with the whole.
There are many different types of philosophies in education. Here we will focus only on the four main types of
philosophies that may help you to form your teaching philosophy and write your teaching statement -
Perennialism, Essentialism, Romanticism and Progressivism. A mix of more than two philosophies is called
Eclecticism.
Perennialism
Perennialism values knowledge that transcends time. This is a subject-centered philosophy. The goal of a
perennialist educator is to teach students to think rationally and develop minds that can think critically. A
perennialist classroom aims to be a closely organized and well-disciplined environment, which develops in
students a lifelong quest for the truth. Perennialists believe that education should epitomize a prepared effort to
make these ideas available to students and to guide their thought processes toward the understanding and
appreciation of the great works; works of literature written by history’s finest thinkers that transcend time and
never become outdated. Perennialists are primarily concerned with the importance of mastery of the content and
development of reasoning skills. The adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” summarizes
the perennialists’ perspective on education. In this philosophy skills are developed in a sequential manner. Here,
the teachers are the main actors on the stage.
Essentialism
Essentialism is also a subject-centered philosophy. Essentialism is the educational philosophy of teaching basic
skills. This philosophy advocates training the mind. Essentialist educators focus on transmitting a series of
progressively difficult topics and promotion of students to the next level. Subjects are focused on the historical
context of the material world and culture and move sequentially to give a solid understanding of the present
day. Essentialism is a common model in U.S. public schools today. A typical day at an essentialist school might
have seven periods, with students attending a different class each period. The teachers impart knowledge mainly
through conducting lectures, during which students are expected to take notes. The students are provided with
practice worksheets or hands-on projects, followed by an assessment of the learning material covered during
this process. The students continue with the same daily schedule for a semester or a year. When their
assessments show sufficient competence, they are promoted to the next level to learn the next level of more
difficult material. William C. Bagley was one of the most influential advocates of essentialism.
Romanticism
Romantics believed in the natural goodness of humans which is hindered by the urban life of civilization.
Romanticism was a philosophical movement during the Age of Enlightenment (roughly 18th century) which
emphasizes emotional self-awareness as a necessary pre-condition to improving society and bettering the
human condition. Romantics believed that knowledge is gained through intuition rather than deduction. This is
a student-centered philosophy that focuses on differentiation - meeting the students learning readiness needs. At
a school founded on the philosophy of romanticism there is no set curricula, no formal classes and tests.
Students decide what they want to learn and, in some cases, the students are expected to take the full
responsibility of their learning. Sometimes meetings are set-up with professionals of a field to give them insight
to that topic. The five essential characteristics of romanticism are imagination, intuition, individuality, idealism,
and inspiration. Some stalwarts of romanticism are Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Maria Montessori.
Progressivism
Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one's education. Believing that
people learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives, progressivists center their curricula on the
needs, experiences, interests, and abilities of students. Progressivists like romantics, believe that education
should focus on the whole student, rather than on the content or the teacher. They emphasize on group activity
and group problem solving so that the students learn through cooperative learning strategies. It is
antiauthoritarian, experimental and visionary and aims to develop problem- solving ability. This educational
philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions
of learners that arise through experiencing the world. Progressivism was developed by John Dewey's pedagogic
theory, being based on Pragmatism. Experience represented the core concept of his philosophy. Some American
schools also follow this philosophy.
Conclusion
Philosophy of education as a special area of scientific work appeared in the 20th century in English-speaking
countries and, first of all, in the USA. Inspirational work of J. Dewey (1859-1952) stimulated the acceptance of
“philosophy of education” as mandatory measurement of competent and responsible practice in education.
Before Dewey nobody had been proving so hard the need of teaching practice based on philosophical
principles. None of the philosophers before and after him completed so many works dedicated to education
(over 40 books and 800 articles). As a result, an idea appeared in the English-speaking world that practicing
teachers should use educational philosophy as potential grounds for the whole of educational thought and
practice. According to B.M. Bim-Bad, one of the most significant events in practical activities was the
emergence of the Department of Cultural Extension in Brazil. It was founded by P. Freire, philosopher and
education practitioner. Groups of cultural extension were formed within the scope of the Department, the
education was voluntary, class-and-lesson system was given up, explanatory method was replaced by dialogue,
while teacher became a coordinator of students’ joint work. Originally, it had been aimed at adults and illiteracy
eradication, but Freire’s philosophy soon found wide use in pre-higher and higher education and later extended
over general education school. Since 1980s Freire’s philosophy, merging with long and well tested project-
based learning and J. Dewey’s philosophy lying at the heart of it, has found wide use in engineering and
management education in Europe and the USA, especially in corporate education of the latter. As a result, as
B.M. Bim-Bad notes, philosophy of education, which begins and ends with practice, has reached general
education school under the name of Service Learning. Service Learning is an independent training course,
within the scope of which practical skills, basics of social project planning and conduct of social events are
taught.