Republic of the Philippines

SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE

Sorsogon City Campus
Sorsogon City
Telephone No. (056) 211-0200 Email-Ad: ssc@sorsogonstatecollege.edu.ph
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The Teacher and the School Curriculum

Second Semester, SY 2020-2021

Second Set of Queries for Self-Assessment

Instructions: Please provide substantive answers to the following based on your

reflection on the second chapter of the reference book. Substantiate each answer with
grounded and timely infographics.

1. How does philosophy influence curriculum workers?

Philosophy probably has more influence on curriculum access and development in that it

provides educationists, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning
implementation and evaluating curriculum in school.
Philosophy refers to the beliefs that make up the society and constitute the
meaning of educational philosophy. It points out to the society what they aspire to be
achieved through education. Education is an act or experience that has a formative
effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. It is also the process by
which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from
one generation to another through institution. In respect to philosophy, curriculum is
prescriptive in that it gives the general guidelines or specifies what kinds of courses or
topics that must be covered so as to achieve a given level of grade or standard. This is
really to say that curriculum is normative in the sense in which philosophy is. This is
because its ultimate aim is to set the required standards, principles, values, knowledge
and skills to be attained in any particular field of study. Ideally speaking, curriculum is
 not a concrete reality but an ideal. It is not more on the actual deeds or experiences that
form people. It is designed to fit school set up. These are deeds and experiences which
are purposeful and intentional to help students master and gain a certain required
standard for a given grade. Curriculum involves range of courses from which students
choose what subject matter to study. Further, it captures a specific learning program
whereby it collectively describes the teaching, learning and assessment material
available for a given course of study.

2. In what way did each of the four major philosophies influence U.S. education and
Philippine education?

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. Perennialist 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. Perennialist 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 perennialist’ 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.

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.

Reconstructionism/Critical Theory
Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of
social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy.
Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that highlights social reform as the
aim of education. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) was the founder of social
reconstructionism, in reaction against the realities of World War II. He recognized the
potential for either human annihilation through technology and human cruelty or the
capacity to create a beneficent society using technology and human compassion.
George Counts (1889-1974) recognized that education was the means of preparing
people for creating this new social order.
3. What are the differences between perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and
reconstructionism?
Perennialism focuses on the teaching of great works. Progressivism focuses on
developing the student's moral compass. Progressivism is child-centered, encourages
active learning, and realizes that education is not just a preparation for
life. Reconstructionism is the perspective that education is the means to solve social
problems. Essentialism is structured, focused on accountability and meeting standards. 

4. What are some of the works that embodied each of the philosophies of education?
Describe them.
Perennial works are those considered as important and applicable today as
they were when they were written, and are often referred to as great books.
Common examples include Melville’s Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s Macbeth,
Dickens’s Great Expectations, and Dante’s Inferno. Perennialism is sometimes
referred to as “culturally conservative,” because it does not challenge gender
stereotypes, incorporate multiculturalism, or expose and advocate technology, as
would be expected of contemporary literature.
Essentialism tries to instill all students with the most essential or basic
academic knowledge and skills and character development. Essentialists argue
that classrooms should be teacher-oriented. The teacher should serve as an
intellectual and moral role model for the students.
This student-centered philosophy strives to instill a desire to make the world
a better place. It places a focus on controversial world issues and uses current
events as a springboard for the thinking process. These students are taught the
importance of working together to bring about change. These teachers incorporate
what is happening in the world with what they are learning in the classroom.
This is a student-centered form of instruction where students follow the
scientific method of questioning and searching for the answer. Evaluations include
projects and portfolios. Current events are used to keep students interested in the
required subject matter. Students are active learners as opposed to passive
learners. The teacher is a facilitator rather than the center of the educational
process. Student input is encouraged, and students are asked to find their
interpretation of the answer.
5. How do relevant curriculum, humanistic curriculum, and radical school reform
differ?

A relevant curriculum is one that is cognitively demanding and challenging to students

as they apply the essential concepts and skills to real world, complex and open- ended
situations. The content is not just interesting to students, but involves particular
intellectual challenges.

The Humanistic Curriculum is based on the belief that the education that is good for a
person is also best for the well-being of the nation. Here, the individual learner is not
regarded as a passive or at least easily managed recipient of input. S/he is the choosing
or self-selecting organism.

Radical School Reform

It provides a comprehensive examination of the nature of the school crisis and the ways
in which radical thinkers and educators are dealing with it.

6. Discuss two traditional and two contemporary educational philosophies that have been
influential in your country.

TRADITIONAL EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES

A. REALISM (Perennialism)
Realism is the notion that the world exists in terms of matter, separate
from the world of ideas and independent of it. Aristotle (384 BC–322 BC), the
father of realism. Realism has probably had the greatest impact on educational
philosophy, because it is the foundation of scientific reasoning. Realist
educators encourage students to draw their observations and conclusions from
the world around them, rather than confining themselves to an analysis of their
own ideas. The modern role of a teacher—that of an organizer, systematizer,
and promoter of critical thinking—is largely founded on realist principles. Realist
educators are objective, believing in a systematic approach to order and
classified knowledge, building on previously learned information. They are less
likely to encourage their students to seek the truth in literature and ideas,
 instead encouraging them to seek the truth by testing learned principles on the
world around them.
The aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings
about the great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for
solving problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to
seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and
human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. Teaching these
unchanging principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds
need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a
worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural
literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest
accomplishments of humankind are emphasized– the great works of literature
and art, the laws or principles of science.

B. IDEALISM/REALISM (Essentialism)

Idealism seeks to create intellectual beings and places.  Teachers who

follow idealism guide the students to realize their intellectual potential.  Realism
is outside of our minds.  Aristotle said is it not latent or based on internal minds;
“Realism is a philosophy that considers reality to be objective and dualistic in
nature.  Reality has both a material and a formal or structural component”.
Reality is outside our minds—the world is of real existence not made by human
beings, but that human mind can know about the real world.  This knowledge is
the most reliable guide to individual behavior.
Realists believe, “knowledge of these subjects [history, languages,
sciences, and mathematics] informs us about the world in which we live; this
knowledge is our best guide in conducting our daily affairs”.  In the classrooms,
teachers who are realists teach students about the world through reality.  They
teach skills such as reading, writing, and computation and other subjects that
include history, mathematics, and science.
There is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to
students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative
perspective is on intellectual and moral standards that schools should teach.
The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic rigor.
 Although this educational philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism,
Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Schooling
should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society.
It should focus on facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training
students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools
should not try to set or influence policies. Students should be taught hard work,
respect for authority, and discipline. Teachers are to help students keep their
non-productive instincts in check, such as aggression or mindlessness.

CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES

A. PRAGMATISM (Progressivism)

Pragmatism is a modern school of philosophy and plays an important

role in educational system. Pragmatism is essentially a humanistic
philosophy which stress that human creates his own values and course of
activity. Pragmatism believes in change. Therefore, pragmatism induces to
do useful and practical work. Education on the basis on this philosophy
makes the child worthy and independent citizen of the society.
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. Progressivist
teachers try making school interesting and useful by planning lessons that
provoke curiosity. In a progressivist school, students are actively learning.
The students interact with one another and develop social qualities such as
cooperation and tolerance for different points of view. In addition, students
solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter in their
everyday lives. Progressivists believe that education should be a process of
ongoing growth, not just a preparation for becoming an adult. An obvious
example of progressivism would be our class. We are in groups a lot and we
actively learn through discussion. We talk about how what we read can be
incorporated into our future teaching careers. Dr. Theodore takes into
account the suggestions from the previous semester's students and modifies
 his class accordingly.

B. PRAGMATISM (Reconstructionism)

Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing

of social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide
democracy. Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that
highlights social reform as the aim of education.
Reconstructionist not only aim to educate a generation of problem
solvers, but also try to identify and correct many noteworthy social problems
that face our nation, with diverse targets including racism, pollution,
homelessness, poverty, and violence.
With the implementation of social reconstructionism in education, a
student can gain first-hand experience in studying real social problems and
controversial issues. The curriculum applied to education reflects democratic
ideals and "emphasize civic education".