FOUNDATION OF SPECIAL

AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHIES
Philosophies in Special and Inclusive
Education

Developmental
Behaviorism
Psychology

Humanistic
Theory
 BEHAVIORISM
▪ It states that all behaviors
are learned through
interaction with the
environment through a
process. Thus, behavior is
simply a response to
environmental stimuli.
▪ emphasized the outward
behavioral aspects of
thought and dismissed the
inward experiential, and
sometimes the inner
procedural aspects
DEVELOPMENTAL HUMANISTIC
PSYCHOLOGY THEORY
▪ All systematic changes in ▪ Student-centered
humans contribute to the teaching
overall learning
experience. ▪ Students must be given
chances to develop freely
▪ Learning is most effective
when differential ▪ The aim of education is
self-actualization
development within and
across physical,
intellectual, emotional
and social domains is
taken into account
 Major Theories used in Special and
Inclusive Education

Edward John B. B.F.

Ivan Pavlov
Thorndike Watson Skinner

Abraham Carl Friedrich

John Locke
Maslow Rogers Froebel

John Lev Maria Jerome

Dewey Vygotsky Montessori Bruner
 Major Theories used in Special and
Inclusive Education
John B. Watson
Edward Thorndike Ivan Pavlov B.F. Skinner
(Conditioned
(Connectionism (Classical (Operant
Emotional
Theory) Conditioning) Conditioning)
Responses)

Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers John Locke Friedrich Froebel

(Hierarchy of (Person-Centered (Experiential (Importance of
Needs) Approach) Education) Play)

John Dewey Lev Vygotsky Maria Montessori

Jerome Bruner
(Learning by (Zone of Proximal (Sensory-Based
(Spiral Curriculum)
Doing) Development) Pedagogies)
Edward Thorndike Connectionism Theory
• Learning involves making and rewarding connections between stimulus and response
or avoiding and punishing such connections

Ivan Pavlov Classical Conditioning

• A learning through association between an environmental stimulus and naturally
occurring stimulus

John B. Watson Conditioned Emotional Responses

• Emotional reaction patterns in infants such as fear, rage, love can be elicited by an
increasing range of stimuli paired with neutral stimuli can result to conditioned
emotional response
B.F. Skinner Operant Conditioning
• Behavior is shaped through its consequences
 Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
• A motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs
• From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological, safety, love
and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
Carl Rogers Person-Centered Approach
• Accept the learner's needs and purposes and create educational experiences and
programs for the development of the learner's unique potential.

John Locke Experiential Education

• Sense perception, or experience, leads the way to knowledge

Friedrich Froebel Importance of Play

• Play is the purest, most spiritual activity of man and the highest phase of
child development
 John Dewey Learning by Doing
• Learning flows from the interests of the child as children should be socially active,
engaged in physical activities, and should discover how objects worked

Lev Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development

• The distance between the actual development level as determined by an
assessment and the level of potential development as determined through
observation
Maria Montessori Sensory-Based Pedagogies
• Training the senses before training the mind
• Children learn at their own pace through manipulation of objects
Jerome Bruner Spiral Curriculum
• Activating prior knowledge or building new learning on prior knowledge
produces good learning gains