1.

Perennialism in Philosophy of Education

2. What is Perennialism?
 Comes from the word “ perennial” meaning “everlasting”. A very
conservative and inflexible philosophy of education.
 A teacher-centered philosophy that emphasizes the importance of
transferring knowledge, information, and skills from the older
(presumably wiser) generation to the younger one.
 Perennialism says since people are human, one should teach first about
humans, not machines or techniques.
 The most conservative, traditional, or inflexible of five philosophies is
perennialism, a philosophy.
3. 3.According to classical definition:
 Education for pevennialist,
 Is a prepration for life, and
 Students should be taught the world’s permanencies through structured
study.
4. Two kinds of Perennialism in Education:
Secular Perennialism:
 the word perennial suggests something that lasts for an indefinite long
time, recurs again and again, or is self-renewing.
 Perennialism is learning to reason Advocates using original work in
education Comprises the humanist and scientific traditions Formulated in
the 20th century by Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler.

Religious Perennialism:

 Perennialism was originally religious in nature, developed first

by Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century in his work (On the
Teacher).Father of perennialism.
  Focuses on the personal development of the student, and says that all
learning could not come from within. First developed by Thomas
Aquinas.
 Religious Perennialism continues to shape the nature of Catholic schools
throughout the world.
5. General Principles of Perennialism

 Permanence is more real than change Human nature remains

essentially the same no matter the culture the good life-the life that
is fit for man/woman to live-remains essentially the same moral
principles remain.
 essentially the same Education that men/women receive should
remain essentially the same.
6. People of Perennialism
Robert Hutchins:
 Perennialist educator who strongly believed in having traditional liberal
arts in all schools Introduced the Great Books program Wanted no
extracurricular activities in schools…said they were irrelevant to the
learning process Stated that textbooks “have probably done as much to
degrade the American intelligence as any single force.”Professor and
Dean at Yale Law School.

Mortimer Adler:

 Helped Hutchins organize the Great Books programProposed a single

elementary and secondary curriculum for all students, with no curricular
electives except the choice of a second language Professor of Philosophy
at Columbia University.
7. References: www.oregonstate.edu www.successfuleducation.info
[(Edgier, M. (1997). Influence of ten leading educators of American
 education. Education, 118(2), 267. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.Perennialism (2003). Retrieved fromSadker, D., Zittleman, K.
Teachers, Schools, and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education. p
Retrieved fro)]

8. Aims of Education:
 It is a teacher-centered educational philosophy that focuses on everlasting
ideas and universal truths.
 To clarify, Perennialism suggests that the focus of education should be
the ideas that have lasted for centuries believing the ideas are as relevant
and meaningful today as when they were written.
  This educational philosophy aims to prepare students for life by
developing their intellectual and moral qualities through emphasizing
knowledge and the meaning of knowledge, servings to enhance student’s
 critical thinking skills in their search for individual freedoms, human
rights and responsibilities through nature.
9. Role of Student:
 The goal of a perennialist education 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.
10.Discipline:
 Discipline in the class room is essential to learning.
 A noisy classroom is not a discipline place for learning to take place.
 Students should be taught have work, respect for authority, discipline.
Teachers are to help students keep their non- productive instincts in
check, such as aggregation and mindlessness.
11.Role of Teacher:
 perennailism is a teacher- centered philosophy, in which the teacher is
less concerned with student interest and more concerned with transferring
knowledge from older generations to younger generations.
 The teacher will focus on the importance of reading and will often use the
underlying reading lessons to make a moral point.
 Teachers use history, religion, literature, and the laws of science to
reinforce universal ideas that have the potential to solve any problem in
any era.
12.Curriculum and Methods:
  Perennialism is the classroom is focused on the curriculum and nature
need.
 Curriculum will focus on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students’
growth in enduring discipline.
 They stress learning through reading and analyzing the works by history’s
finest thinkers and writers.
 Perennialists believe that reading is to be supplemented with mutual
investigations  with teacher and minimally directed discussions through
the Socratic method in order to develop historically oriented
understanding of concepts.
 Less emphasis on vocational and technical education and more on the
humanities.
13.What is knowledge worthy:
 The aim of Perennialism in Education is to develop power of thought,
internalize truths that are universal and constant and to ensure that
students acquire understanding about the great ideas of Western
civilization.
 This is the most conservative, traditional, and flexible philosophy.
 Perennailism stimulate students in  how to think critically and
thoughtfully; cultivating the rational mind.
14.Reference:

Abadli, R., 2011. Process of opening the Algerian economy, twenty years of
transition: Evolution and performance (Doctoral Dissertation, Paris 8)..
15.Perennialism in the Classroom:

 Schools are organized around books, ideas, and concepts teach from
the Great Books-works by history’s finest thinkers and writers
teachers do not lecture but lead and facilitate discussions.
  Role of the teacher teach time-honored classics lifelong learner
discussion Leader…
 Not lecturer role of the Student Active Thinker/Learner.
 Teaching tools standardized tests teacher-made tests memorization
 Classic Books Classroom Management orderly rows Neat/Clean
room Strict rules Punishment/Rewards.
16.Does Perennialism Still Exist??

 Perennialism was started in the 1930s.

 Perennialism is still around St. John’s College in Annapolis,
 Maryland Adopted the Great Books as a core curriculum in
1937Readings in Literature, Philosophy, Theology, History, Social
Sciences, Mathematics, and Music Students write extensively and
attend weekly seminars to discuss assigned readings.
17.How Perennialism fits with Content Standards

 the high school reading standards sound very similar to the ideas of
Perennialism.
 About PerennialismWith this philosophy,
what happens to the students who are poor readers or who do not like
to read? Are we setting them up for failure? Research showed that
religious schools use the Perennialism philosophy…why? Are
electives really not important? How can teachers teach all subjects
without the use of textbooks?
18.References:

[(Abadli, R. and A. Otmani, 2014. Clusters and outsourcing innovation activity.

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 12(2): 237-247.Available
at: https://doi.org/10.1504/ijbg.2014.059464)]