LESSON 1

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

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.

Different Educational Philosophies

1. Essentialism
 Educational essentialism is an educational philosophy whose adherents believe that
children should learn the traditional basic subjects thoroughly. In this philosophical
school of thought, the aim is to instill students with the "essentials" of academic
knowledge, enacting a back-to-basics approach.
2. Perennialsm
 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.
3. Progressivism
 Progressivism is a student centered philosophy that believes that ideas should be tested
by experimentation, and learning comes from finding answers from questions.
Proponent- John Dewey 1859-1952. He is a philosopher, psychologist and educational
reformer.
4. Social 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.
5. Existentialism
 Existentialists believe that every individual is unique and education must cater to the
individual differences. Therefore, the objective of education is to enable every
individual to develop his unique qualities, to harness his potentialities and cultivate his
individualities.
6. Behaviorism
 Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction
with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the
environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little influence on
behavior.
7. Constructivism
 What is constructivism? Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct
knowledge rather than just passively take in information. As people experience the
world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and
incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge (schemas).
8. Humanism
 Humanistic learning is student-centered, so students are encouraged to take control
over their education. They make choices that can range from daily activities to future
goals. Students are encouraged to focus on a specific subject area of interest for a
reasonable amount of time that they choose.

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PROPONENTS

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