UNIT 4: Global Philosophical Foundations in Education

Topics
Paulo Freire Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Islamic Philosophy
Dewey & Confucius
Philosophy of Indigenous Education
Horace Mann
John Locke
Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

Examine various educational philosophers and their philosophies, globally and their impact
on educational system.
Evaluate Critical Pedagogy, its impact on education, and relate to personal practice.
Analyze educational philosophies and their impact on changing instructional models over
time.
Tasks
Peer-assess Unit 3 Written Assignment
Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
Continue working on the Group Work assignment
Complete and submit the Portfolio Assignment

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Introduction
Unit 4 will introduce you to a variety of educational philosophers who hold vastly different
ideas and ideals. You will have the opportunity to compare the thoughts of philosophers such
as Confucius, Locke, al-Ghazali, Dewey, and Freire. Although the philosophies have stark
differences, there are often commonalities found.

Educational philosophy is often rooted in the social, political, and religious context of the
place and time, reflecting the world around it. Issues such as the history of colonization must
be considered as we consider the philosophy of indigenous education. All of these factors
impact the purpose of schooling and the issue of education as a human right as we will
consider in upcoming units.
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Reading Assignment
To access the LIRN resources you must log in to Moodle and access the Library and
Information Resource Network (LIRN) located under the Resources link on the Home page.
Click on the Alphabetical View tab at the top of the page and scroll down to the database
where the resource is located (eBook Central, ERIC, Gale, etc). Copy and paste the title of
the resource into the search bar. A link to the resource will appear. If you have any problems
please contact library@uopeople.edu.
1. Bonnie, M. (2010, April 30). Two key theories in education: Confucius and John Dewey.
Academia.
https://www.academia.edu/1120169/Two_Key_Theories_in_Education_Confucius_and_John
_Dewey
This article discusses some of the similarities and differences between Confucius and
Dewey, two philosophers not often grouped together.
2. Faryadi, Q. (2015). An Islamic perspective of teaching philosophy: A personal justification.
IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 5(6), pp. 49-60.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED574266.pdf
Read sections I-IX to learn more about an Islamic perspective of teaching
3. Petrovic, J. E., & Mitchell, R. M. (2018). Comparing reflections on philosophies of
indigenous education around the world. In Indigenous Philosophies of Education around the
World, pp. 249-263. Academia.
https://www.academia.edu/35861136/Introduction_to_Indigenous_Philosophies_of_Educatio
n_around_the_World_

Download the PDF file using Adobe Reader and use the feature in the upper right corner to
rotate the file. This chapter discusses how we should view different philosophies of
indigenous education and poses some interesting questions. (13 pgs)
4. Schools of philosophy graphic org.docx. (2015). Encyclopedia of Science Education,
447–447.
https://lumen.instructure.com/courses/211470/files/22401734?module_item_id=5567015

Print and complete this Schools of Philosophy Graphic Organizer as a tool for your paper
and group project
5. Schor, I. (1992). Education is politics: Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. In Paulo Freire: A
critical encounter. [pdf] (pp. 24-36). Retrieved from eBook Central in LIRN.

This chapter discusses Paulo’s Freire’s pedagogy.

You will need to create an account with Proquest eBook Central to access this resource. You
can access this for 21 days.
6. Sharpes, D. K. (2001). Nineteenth and twentieth-century trends. In Advanced Educational
Foundations for Teachers: the history, philosophy, and culture of schooling [pdf] (pp.
431-450). Retrieved from eBook Central in LIRN.

This chapter will introduce you to 4 philosophers from around the world and discuss their
place in educational history.
7. Stinson, D. W. (2016). Dewey, Freire, and Foucault and an ever-evolving philosophy of
(mathematics) education. Journal of Research in Curriculum & Instruction, 20(2), 70–78.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=mse_facpub

Read sections I-V of this article for a comparison of the thoughts of Dewey, Freire, and
Foucault.

Optional Videos

1. AhChickenLittle. (2012, October 25). John Locke’s thoughts on education [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaWj0qBAUPo (4:59)

This video provides you with an overview of John Locke and his thoughts on education.
2. Jordan, Adam. W. (2016, March 3). Horace Mann’s impact on education [Video] .
Study.com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/horace-manns-impact-on-education.html

3. Wiseman, A. (2013, April 18). Human rights: Friere's pedagogy of the oppressed, part 1
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk6zyEiyaXA; (8:24)

This video walks you through the pedagogy of the oppressed theory.

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Discussion Assignment
In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of
discourse. Please post your initial response as early in the unit as possible and continue to
participate throughout the unit. You are required to post an initial response to the
question/issue presented in the Forum and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’
initial posts. You should also respond to anyone who has responded to you.

Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and the idea of what has come to be known as
"critical pedagogy" pose education in a different light than many other educational
philosophies. Do any of the points made by Freire speak to you? Is there something you
intensely disagree with? What are your views on the idea of critical pedagogy?
Discussion Forums will be assessed using the Discussion rubric.

Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 2020; Fobes and Kaufman, 2008), with the
intention of transforming social practices, was based on the following ideas:
1. The relationship between students and teachers should be in the terms of respecting
each other’s knowledge and experience. Teachers are not the only ones with the
knowledge, and students are not the object of teaching. Everybody brings something
to the table and it should not be ignored.
2. Though teachers do have the past knowledge that is beneficial and can be passed
on to current students, still it cannot be the reason for using the banking concept,
when teachers deposit more and more content knowledge to students. Problem
posing education should be encouraged to develop student’s learning.
3. Both teachers and students should have the same level of curiosity in the pursuit of
searching for a better life in the future.
4. The classroom praxis should be around the reflection and action of current
phenomena.

The one idea Freire’s pointed out that called out to me is the praxis of reflection and action.
As he mentioned in his book, “Through their continuing praxis, men and women
simultaneously create history and become historical-social beings” (Freire 2020, p. 101).
That a history is made as a result of constant reflections and actions. This brought the
importance of having dialogues among students, or between teachers and students.
Because as exerted by Drainville (2003), students are not merely the technicians, they
possess an ability to process and analyze the society’s issues and they can create a
movement to bring the world into a social change. In which, it would be done pretty easily
with the availability of information and communication technology.
Since critical pedagogy is focused on transforming society through the development of
students’ inquiry and analysis skills, Monschinski (2008) explained that Freire’s critical
pedagogy is balancing between “theorizing practice and practicing theory”. However, to
certain subjects, this cannot be done as easily as the other subjects. For example, in subject
matters related to religion education, not all practices can be theorized and vice versa.

I am against the idea of critical pedagogy because of its political element. Although its
practices might empower students to challenge the knowledge power of the oppressor,
politically and socially, critical pedagogy does not provide a guarantee that a student’s mind
can be persuaded from their original point of view (Fobes and Kaufman, 2008).

Nevertheless, I’m interested in the practices of cycles of reflections and actions towards a
social transformation that the critical pedagogy brings. In order to develop students into
responsible citizens and compassionate human beings, they should be given chances to
exercise the dialogue back-and-forth between reflecting on their actions and taking actions
as a result of their reflection.

References:
Drainville, A. C. (2003). Critical Pedagogy for the Present Moment: Learning from the
Avant-Garde to Teach Globalization from Experiences. International Studies Perspectives,
4(3), 231–249. doi:10.1111/1528-3577.403001
Fobes, C., and Kaufman, P. (2008). Critical pedagogy in the sociology classroom:
Challenges and concerns. Teaching Sociology, 36(1), 26-33.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of The Oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.
Monchinski, T. (2008). Critical Pedagogy and The Everyday Classroom. Explorations of
Education Purpose, Vol. 3. Springer.

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Group Activity
Continue to work with your group, getting started on creating the presentation that will be
turned in at the end of Module 7.

Group Assignment
Group Assignment Rubric
This assignment will be assessed by your instructor.

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Portfolio Activity
Did any of the varied philosophies surprise you? Did you find that any components ‘spoke’ to
you although you didn’t initially think you would agree with that philosophy? Do you think any
philosophies spark changes in educational practice or instructional models over time?

This activity is assessed by your instructor using the Portfolio Rubric.

My philosophy of education is to educate children to be the best version of themselves, not

the version of what I, teachers, parents or schools want them to be. Meaning that, whatever
activity, project, or task given to students, it’s solely for the purpose of emerging students’
true potentials. It’s not for the teachers’ showcase or the parents’ or schools’ image to boast
about. I believe that if a child is confident with themselves, and able to accept his identity
and purpose of his existence, he would be able to develop their competencies towards
becoming a confident and functional member of society.

In order to achieve that, it means that I should create classroom practices that encourage
students to embrace their uniqueness as well as teaching them how to optimize their
strengths and potentials. I cannot just shoving theories into students’ minds and making
them do drilling exercises so they are able to pass the exam with a high score. That’s why
though I disagree with Freire’s (2000) political elements in education, I agree with him that
we cannot do the banking concept of education. Just because a child is born to this life later
than us, it does not mean that they are a blank slate. We have to believe that they have
potential, knowledge, and experience that shape the way they act and think.

Dewey’s (1910) training of the thought was the first one that caught my attention. His book,
“How to Think”, was written in simple sentences so that I was able to grasp many of the
concepts that are aligned with my educational philosophy and classroom practices. Both
Freire and Dewey also discuss the importance of reflective thoughts and encourage
dialogues between members of the society. So as my classroom practice, I often engage
students in meaningful conversations with regards to how they are able to implement the
concept they are learning to solve real world problems.

Since I’m a Muslim and also work in an Islamic school, our school philosophy is based on
developing our children to be able to develop both their naqli or revealed knowledge and aqli
or rational knowledge (Faryadi, 2015). We believe that the aqli or rational knowledge is the
one that differentiates humans from other living creatures. The purpose of Islamic education
is “to produce a good human being (al-insān al- āli), who is capable of delivering his/her
duties as a servant of Allāh (abdullāh) and His vicegerent (khalīfah) on earth.” (Yasin and
Jani, 2013, p. 1). It means that the purpose of education in our school is to develop students’
competency in critical, rational and reflective thinking as the future caretaker of the earth.
This is so that they can gain spiritual happiness because they are able to use their
competency to give contributions back to create a better environment and they feel their
existence is valued.

I think that Dewey, Freire, and Islamic philosophies have changed the educational practice
or instructional models over time. Why? Because all require teachers to connect students
with the theory as well as the real context. If the context now is human life surrounded by
technology, then the educational practice or instructional models should definitely integrate
technology within the classroom. Integrating technology in the classroom would challenge
students to be productive with technology, to solve problems and to develop their rational
thinking. Also, the instructional models should engage students in discussions and reflective
dialogues.

References:
Dewey, J. (1910). How to Think. DCHeath
Faryadi, Q. (2015). An Islamic perspective of teaching philosophy: A personal justification.
IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 5(6), pp. 49-60. Retrieved September,
2021 from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED574266.pdf
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of The Oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.
Yasin, F. B. R., & Jani, M. (2013). Islamic education: The philosophy, aim, and main features.
International Journal of Education and Research, 1(10), 1-18. Retrieved September 29, 2021
from: http://ijern.com/journal/October-2013/18.pdf