1.

Meaning of Philosophy

Philosophy is a way of thinking about certain subjects such as ethics,

thought, existence, time, meaning and value. That 'way of thinking'
involves 4 Rs: responsiveness, reflection, reason and re-evaluation. The
aim is to deepen understanding. The hope is that by doing philosophy
we learn to think better, to act more wisely, and thereby help to improve
the quality of all our lives.

Philosophy of education is the branch of applied or practical philosophy

concerned with the nature and aims of education and the philosophical
problems arising from educational theory and practice. Because that
practice is ubiquitous in and across human societies, its social and
individual manifestations so varied, and its influence so profound, the
subject is wide-ranging, involving issues in ethics and social/political
philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind and
language, and other areas of philosophy. Because it looks both inward to
the parent discipline and outward to educational practice and the social,
legal, and institutional contexts in which it takes place, philosophy of
education concerns itself with both sides of the traditional
theory/practice divide. Its subject matter includes both basic
philosophical issues (e.g., the nature of the knowledge worth teaching,
the character of educational equality and justice, etc.) and problems
concerning specific educational policies and practices (e.g., the
desirability of standardized curricula and testing, the social, economic,
legal and moral dimensions of specific funding arrangements, the
justification of curriculum decisions, etc.). In all this the philosopher of
education prizes conceptual clarity, argumentative rigor, the fair-minded
consideration of the interests of all involved in or affected by educational
efforts and arrangements, and informed and well-reasoned valuation of
educational aims and interventions.

Philosophy of education has a long and distinguished history in the

Western philosophical tradition, from Socrates’ battles with the sophists
to the present day. Many of the most distinguished figures in that
tradition incorporated educational concerns into their broader
philosophical agendas (Curren 2000, 2018; Rorty 1998). While that
history is not the focus here, it is worth noting that the ideals of
reasoned inquiry championed by Socrates and his descendants have long
informed the view that education should foster in all students, to the
extent possible, the disposition to seek reasons and the ability to
evaluate them cogently, and to be guided by their evaluations in matters
of belief, action and judgment. This view, that education centrally
 involves the fostering of reason or rationality, has with varying
articulations and qualifications been embraced by most of those
historical figures; it continues to be defended by contemporary
philosophers of education as well (Scheffler 1973 [1989]; Siegel 1988,
1997, 2007, 2017).

2. Enumerate and explain the different Philosophy of Education

Within the epistemological frame that focuses on the nature of

knowledge and how we come to know, there are four major educational
philosophies, each related to one or more of the general or world
philosophies just discussed. These educational philosophical approaches
are currently used in classrooms the world over. They are
Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and
Reconstructionism. These educational philosophies focus heavily on
WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect.

Perennialism
For Perennialists, 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. Advocates of this
educational philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who developed a
Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler, who further
developed this curriculum based on 100 great books of western
civilization.

Essentialism
Essentialists believe that 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. This approach was in
reaction to progressivist approaches prevalent in the 1920s and 30s.
William Bagley, took progressivist approaches to task in the journal he
formed in 1934. Other proponents of Essentialism are: James D. Koerner
(1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul Copperman (1978), and Theodore
Sizer (1985).

Existentialism as an Educational Philosophy

Just as its namesake sprang from a strong rejection of traditional
philosophy, educational existentialism sprang from a strong rejection of
the traditional, essentialist approach to education. Existentialism rejects
the existence of any source of objective, authoritative truth about
metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Instead, individuals are
responsible for determining for themselves what is "true" or "false,"
"right" or "wrong," "beautiful" or "ugly." For the existentialist, there
exists no universal form of human nature; each of us has the free will to
develop as we see fit. In the existentialist classroom, subject matter
takes second place to helping the students understand and appreciate
themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for
their thoughts, feelings, and actions.

The teacher's role is to help students define their own essence by

exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an
environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred way.
Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the
existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the
mind. Although many existentialist educators provide some curricular
structure, existentialism, more than other educational philosophies,
affords students great latitude in their choice of subject matter. In an
existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options
from which to choose. To the extent that the staff, rather than the
students, influence the curriculum, the humanities are commonly given
tremendous emphasis. They are explored as a means of providing
students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own
creativity and self-expression. For example, rather than emphasizing
historical events, existentialists focus upon the actions of historical
individuals, each of whom provides possible models for the students'
own behavior.

In contrast to the humanities, math and the natural sciences may be

deemphasized, presumably because their subject matter would be
considered "cold," "dry," "objective," and therefore less fruitful to self-
awareness. Moreover, vocational education is regarded more as a means
of teaching students about themselves and their potential than of
earning a livelihood.

In teaching art, existentialism encourages individual creativity and

imagination more than copying and imitating established models.
Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced,
self-directed, and includes a great deal of individual contact with the
teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly. Although
elements of existentialism occasionally appear in public schools, this
philosophy has found wider acceptance in private schools and ill
alternative public schools founded in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Progressivism
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child,
rather than on the content or the teacher. 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. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem
solver and thinker who makes meaning through his or her individual
experience in the physical and cultural context. Effective teachers
provide experiences so that students can learn by doing. Curriculum
content is derived from student interests and questions. The scientific
method is used by progressivist educators so that students can study
matter and events systematically and first hand. The emphasis is on
process-how one comes to know. The Progressive education philosophy
was established in America from the mid-1920s through the mid-1950s.
John Dewey was its foremost proponent.

One of his tenets was that the school should improve the way of life of
our citizens through experiencing freedom and democracy in schools.
Shared decision making, planning of teachers with students, student-
selected topics are all aspects. Books are tools, rather than authority.

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.

Critical theorists, like social reconstructionists, believe that systems must

be changed to overcome oppression and improve human conditions.
Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian whose experiences living in
poverty led him to champion education and literacy as the vehicle for
social change. In his view, humans must learn to resist oppression and
not become its victims, nor oppress others. To do so requires dialog and
critical consciousness, the development of awareness to overcome
domination and oppression. Rather than "teaching as banking," in which
the educator deposits information into students' heads, Freire saw
teaching and learning as a process of inquiry in which the child must
invent and reinvent the world.

For social reconstructionists and critical theorists, curriculum focuses on

student experience and taking social action on real problems, such as
violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation, and inequality.
Strategies for dealing with controversial issues (particularly in social
studies and literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives are
the focus. Community-based learning and bringing the world into the
classroom are also strategies.

Eclecticism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eclecticism is a

conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or
set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or
ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different
theories in particular cases. It can be inelegant, and eclectics are
sometimes criticised for lack of consistency in their thinking, but it is
common in many fields of study. For example, most psychologists accept
parts of behaviorism, but do not attempt to use the theory to explain all
aspects of human behavior. A statistician may use frequentist techniques
on one occasion and Bayesian ones on another. An example of
eclecticism in economics is John Dunning's eclectic theory of
international production. Existentialism "Childhood is not adulthood;
childhood is playing and no child ever gets enough play. The Summerhill
theory is that when a child has played enough he will start to work and
face difficulties, and I claim that this theory has been vindicated in our
 pupils' ability to do a good job even when it involves a lot of unpleasant
work."

Comparison of Attributes of Educational Philosophies

3. Relate all Philosophy of Education to Special Education Program

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.