Module IV - Educational Philosophies

INTRODUCTION

Human beings carry beliefs and predispositions gained from experience, tradition,
education, religion, and socialization. These beliefs and it is theses beliefs that guide how we
go about our live – our philosophy in life. Much like in life, there is also our philosophy in
education.

First, what is philosophy? Philosophy in a general sense is conceived a person’s

“sum of his fundamental beliefs and convictions”. We have some ideas concerning physical
objects, our fellow persons, the meaning of life, death, God, right and wrong, beauty and
ugliness, and the like. Of course, these ideas are acquired in a variety of ways, and they
may be vague and confused. Philosophy is a guide for living; because the issues it
addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life. Hence, we can
say that all the aspects of human life are influenced and governed by the philosophical
consideration which includes education.

But whereas general philosophy seeks to answer questions about metaphysics,

epistemology, axiology, and logic, educational philosophies extend to questions about the
general beliefs, concepts, and attitudes people have about education. Some basic
philosophical questions in educational philosophy are the following:

■ What should be taught?

■ Why should this material be taught?

■ How should this material be taught?

■ What should the teacher’s role be?

■ What should the student’s role be?

As can be surmised from the questions above, a philosophy of education can

influence the subject or topics taught, how they are taught, and the supporting beliefs and
values that are implicitly taught within and around the curriculum. Behind every school and
every teacher is a set of related beliefs--a philosophy of education--that influences what and
how students are taught. This module will focus on 4 major philosophies of education:
Essentialism, Reconstructionism, Perennialism, and Progressivism.

4.1 ESSENTIALISM

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Define and discuss the nature of the educational philosophy called Essentialism.
2. Identify the principles and concepts of essentialism in education.
3. Know how to apply the philosophy of essentialism to the classroom in real life.
LEARNING PROCESS

A. Activity

Direction: Match the correct term to complete the sentence given. Get answers from
the box.

PERENNIALISM REALISM THEODORE BRAMELD

JOHN DEWEY BACK TO BASICS WILLIAM BAGLEY
IDEALISM 1930s 1950s

_____________ 1. ________________ is considered as the father of Essentialism.

_____________ 2. Essentialism can be termed the ___________ approach to

education.

_____________ 3-4. It is based on the philosophies on _________ and _________.

_____________ 5. Essentialism started on the _______________ as a reaction

against the progressivist approach on education.

B. Analysis

1. Is it right to only focus on teaching the “essentials” to students?

2. How do we identify what subjects/skills can be considered “essential”?

3. Is it always appropriate to use the educational philosophy of essentialism? Why?

4. Why should teachers put emphasis on “the basics” of education?

5. What are the pros and cons of utilizing essentialism in school?

C. Abstraction

ESSENTIALISM

4.1.1 Origin, Concept and Proponent

Starting in the 1930’s, essentialism is based on the philosophies of idealism

and realism. According to Merriam-Webster, essentialism is an “educational theory
that ideas and skills basic to a culture should be taught to all alike by time-tested
methods.” The essentialist believes there are certain basic or essential knowledge,
skills, and understandings students should master, such as reading, writing,
computing, and, in today’s world, computer skills. 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. 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.

William C. Bagley (1874–1946), known as the “father of essentialism,” was

one of the most influential advocates of essentialism. Bagley believed that education
was not supposed to change society but to preserve it. In addition to Bagley’s
influence, four other occurrences have since revitalized the essentialism movement
by mandating global competition. Other proponents of Essentialism are James D.
Koerner, H. G. Rickover, Paul Copperman, and Theodore Sizer.

There were two major moments in American history that propelled

essentialism to the forefront of education. The first, happened in 1957 when the
Russians launch the Sputnik satellite. Critics of progressivism stated that all this
child-centered teaching had crippled an entire generation who lacked basic skills in
math and science to compete with the Russians. This was a major blow to
progressivism as schools refocused on teaching math and science and having a
subject centered curriculum. Then, the article “A Nation at Risk” is published in the
1980’s and it stated that American education was mediocre and lead to schools
needing to focus on the "five new basics"-- English, social studies, science,
mathematics, and computer science. In reality, computer science was the only new
entry. Thus, essentialism can be termed the “Back to Basics” approach to
education.
By the 1990’s such ideas as “core knowledge” or “common core” was being
pushed. Such ideas demonstrate how there are basic truths and ideas that
supposedly all students need to have. Schools focus on facts -- the objective reality
out there--and "the basics," training students to read, write, speak, and compute
clearly and logically. Accordingly, certain subjects, such as the language arts,
mathematics, science, history, and, in today’s world, computer training, are essential
for people to gain the knowledge and skills they need. Thus, we can say that society
at large decides in general what these essentials are. The educators, in turn, use this
input to help them develop programs of study that will prepare students to enter the
workforce. Schools should not try to set or influence policies. Students should be
taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline.
4.1.2 School

Essentialism in Action: The Coalition of Essential Schools

The Coalition of Essential Schools, headed by Theodore Sizer, offers several

tangible examples of essentialism in action. The 200 coalition schools pledge to
promote intellectual rigor, test students for mastery of information and skills, have
teachers and students work closely together, and develop strong thinking skills
across subjects. But is the Coalition of Essential Schools purely essentialist? Not
entirely. Coalition schools recognize and promote individual student differences, a
clear departure from a strict essentialist interpretation. In fact, schools in the coalition
do not share a fixed core curriculum, but each school continually analyzes and can
alter core contents. The coalition also stresses "less is more," since Sizer believes
that teachers and students should focus on fewer topics, but go into them more
deeply. In fact, these essential schools also incorporate components of perennialism.

4.1.3 Aims of Education

Essentialism maintains that the purpose of education is both to preserve the

knowledge and values of the past and to provide children with the skills essential to
live successful and meaningful lives in the present. In short, Essentialism’s
purpose is to transmit essentials to the students to prepare them for life. The
final aim is to help the citizen develop and transform into an intellectually and
individually well-developed, well characterized, adorned with values like patriotism,
discipline, respectful and hardworking citizen. In the current context, science, the arts
and principal skills which were beneficial in the past should be reflected in the future
and the main function of formal education is to keep the main elements and
essentials of human culture and transfer them to students (Gutek, 2001).

4.1.4 Focus of the Curriculum

Academic subject manner has priority in the curriculum, but its primary
purpose is to transmit useful skills. In response to the growing progressive
movement, essentialism argued that teachers must be returned to their traditional
authoritarian place in the classroom as dispensers of knowledge and skills and as
role models of useful and competent citizens. Essentialism shares widely
perennialism the view that schools should conserve important social traditions and
the curriculum should be teacher- and subject-centered. But there is more emphasis
in essentialism on education's relevance in preparing individuals to live in the current
society and less on absolutism and enduring issues. Essentialism focuses more on
the utilitarian value of these great works that helps individuals develop high-order
thinking skills and acquire knowledge which will benefit society. There is focus on
skills of literacy such as reading and writing, computation or arithmetic essential
subject matters-history, mathematics, languages, science, computer literacy and
literature.

4.1.5 Method of Teaching

Essentialist views teachers as models of discipline, socially-aware and

masters of both content and culture. Teaching must take place in a well-organized
and disciplined environment. Essentialist avoids methodological add-ons and soft
pedagogy and concentrates on sound, proven instructional methods.
 In an essentialist classroom, the students would learn passively by sitting on
the desks and listening to the teacher. An example of essentialism would be lecture
based introduction classes taught at universities. Students sit and take notes in a
classroom which holds over one hundred students. They take introductory level
courses in order to introduce them to the content. After completing one course, they
will take the next level course and apply what they have learned previously.

• Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading,

measurement, and computers.
• Subjects most often associated with the development of creativity such as
Art and Music to be provided.
• The students are required to master a body of information and basic
techniques, gradually moving from less to more complex skills and
detailed knowledge.
• Only by mastering the required material for their grade level, the students
are promoted to the next higher grade

4.1.6 Role of Teachers

The role of the teacher as the leader of the classroom is a very important
tenet of Educational essentialism. Essentialists maintain that classrooms should be
oriented around the teacher, who ideally serves as an intellectual and moral role
model for the students. The teacher is the center of the classroom, so they should be
rigid and disciplinary. Establishing order in the classroom is crucial for student
learning; effective teaching cannot take place in a loud and disorganized
environment. It is the teacher's responsibility to keep order in the classroom. The
teacher must interpret essentials of the learning process, take the leadership position
and set the tone of the classroom. These needs require an educator who is
academically well-qualified with an appreciation for learning and development. The
teacher must control the students with distributions of rewards and penalties.

D. Application

You are to teach a handful of students in elementary education, and you are
given free rein to choose your own subjects/skillsets to focus and your method of
teaching them. You want to find an educational philosophy that will suit the kind of
teaching-learning conditions you want, and in the end, chose Essentialism. To apply
essentialism to your class, list classroom initiatives/rules/guidelines that align to the
said philosophy that will be followed in your classroom.

Rules/Principles/Guidelines of my Essentialist class

Example:
 The teacher will be the main authoritative figure in the classroom, treated with
utmost respect.
 Education promotes society’s goals; it involves authority and moral restraint.
 Gives her quizzes regularly, and they go over the results. “Practice, practice,
practice. They won’t get if they don’t practice.” Students need to acquire basic
and important subject skills, like math skills.
Your turn:
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
E. Assessment

Direction: Fill in the columns below with the major concepts pertaining to each
educational philosophy discussed in this chapter.

ESSENTIALISM

What should be taught?

Why should it be taught?

How should it be taught?

What should the teacher’s role be?

_________________________________________________________________________

4.2 RECONSTRUCTIONISM

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Define and discuss the nature of the educational philosophy called Social
Reconstructionism.

2. Identify the principles and concepts of Social Reconstructionism in education.

3. Know how to apply the philosophy of Social Reconstructionism to the classroom in

real life.

LEARNING PROCESS

A. Activity

Direction: Match the correct term to complete the sentence given. Get answers from
the box.

PAULO FREIRE THEODORE BRAMELD REPAIR

SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISM IMPROVE DEMOCRATIC

RECONSTRUCT LIBERAL

1. ______ ________________ is a philosophy of education that asserts that

society must be changed or reconstructed and that schools are the ideal
instrument to foster such.

2. _____________ was the father of social reconstructionism.

3 – 4. The aim of reconstructionism is to ______________ and _____________

society as need be.

5. A social reconstructionist teacher must model _____________ principles.

B. Analysis

1. Do you think education can be an instrument in reconstructing society?

2. What should be taught to prepare students to change society (alleviate social

inequities, change social orders, etc.)

3. How do you know when a social reconstruction class successfully achieve its
goal or, at least, taking steps towards that goal?

4. What are the teacher’s roles in a reconstructionist classroom?

5. What skills should be developed in children according to reconstructionists?

Why?

C. Abstraction

4.2.1 Origin, Concept and Proponent

Reconstructionist philosophy is based on socialistic and utopian ideas of the

late 19th and early 20th centuries; yet the Great Depression gave it new life. As its
name suggests, the Social Reconstructionist Philosophy of Education asserts
that society needs to be changed (reconstructed) and that schools are the ideal
instrument to foster such changes. Simply, Reconstructionists advocate that schools
should take the lead to reconstruct society. Reconstructionists believe that world
crises require the use of education to facilitate the development of a new social
order, one that is truly democratic in nature. Social reconstructionism encourages
schools, teachers, and students to focus their studies and energies on alleviating
pervasive social inequities, and as the name implies, reconstruct society into a new
and more just social order. They advocated greater emphasis on society-centered
education that addressed the needs of all social classes.

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.

4.2.2 School

Now as educational philosophy is first of all a social philosophy,

reconstruction- ism undertook to emphasize the latent "vanguardism" of progressive
education by its conception of the school as social vanguard.' This conception of the
school as social van- guard was intended to emphasize that the school should lead
society in the development of bold cultural designs for the future, not only by
inculcating in students the sense of the urgency of such designs, but by developing
adequate materials and methods for group consensus on the question, "Where do
we as a people want to go ?" This question was to be central to the learning process,
to curriculum design, and to the control of the educative process, and was to
eventuate in two foci of a reconstructed education-first, the problem of creating
utopian cultural designs; and second, the problem of enlisting a majority consensus
in the active reconstruction of society.
In brief, basic to the vanguardism of the reconstructionist is the notion that the
school is a kind of repair shop to which the social machine should be sent whenever
it breaks down; or, more broadly, that the educative process is identical with the
group process by which a community of per- suasion is developed for the
reconstruction of itself. "Education becomes increasingly a term for the cooperative
methods and objectives by which the widest possible majority of the people, young
and old, actively unite in behalf of the domestic and world order they can agree
upon.2 The vanguardism of the reconstructionist presupposes, then, that the school
should lead society, be the social vanguard, in the task of reconstruction. (Mosier,
1951)

4.2.3 Aims of Education

The aim of reconstructionism is to improve and reconstruct society as

education is for change and social reform. Reconstructionists’ educational aims are
to improve and reconstruct society as need be, as well as education for change and
social reform. Thus, the study of contemporary social problems become the
centerpiece of curriculum content.
The critical social problems might be national or global including such issues
as oppression, poverty, hunger, racial/ethnic strife, war, and health issues such as
HIV/Aids.

The reconstructionists believe that resources are available to solve these

problems and the education profession could be the catalyst to prepare and organize
future generations to make this possible. They, however, try to avoid indoctrinating
children; rather, they seek to lead them in rational discussion and critical analysis of
issues. Skills and subjects needed to identify and ameliorate society’s problems;
active learning concerned with contemporary and future society should be learned.
4.2.4 Focus of the Curriculum

Reconstructionism asserts that curriculum should focus on such issues as

technology, the interdependence of human beings for survival, social inequities, and
population and environmental problems. Like other progressives, reconstructionists
believe that schools must make students social problem solvers and agents of
change if the society is going to survive. A social reconstructionist curriculum can
help students become successful in school by encouraging them to develop a sense
of self-worth (Reed & Davis, 1999). This can occur by engaging students in activities
that instill purpose to their lives, providing them with a sense of accomplishment, and
providing them with a support system. Among these activities are service learning
and experiential learning activities that simultaneously foster students’ academic
achievement and respond to community needs. As you can infer, social
reconstructionist principles are important in helping guide schools, teachers, and
students toward a multicultural emphasis.
Assert for emphasis on social sciences and social research methods;
examination of social, economic, and political problems; focus on present and future
trends as well as on national and international issues.

4.2.5 Method of Teaching

Reconstructionists use multiple teaching materials, and they consider the

inclusion of subject matter that would be useful to serve the central cause of the
issue of concern. Planning of curriculum often involves various stakeholders
including learners, parents, and community leaders. A social reconstructionist
teacher creates lessons that both intellectually inform and emotionally stir students
about the inequities that surround them. A class might read a book and visit a
photojournalist's exhibit portraying violent acts of racism. If the book, exhibit and the
class discussion that follows move the students, the class might choose to pursue a
long-term project to investigate the problem.

In a social reconstructionist class, a research project is more than an

academic exercise; the class is engaged in a genuine effort to improve society. In
this case, the class might arrange to meet with political leaders, encouraging them to
create programs or legislation to respond to issues the students uncovered. The
students might seek a pro bono attorney to initiate legal action to remedy a social
injustice they unmasked. Or perhaps the students might take their findings directly to
the media by holding a press conference. They might also create a Web page to
share their findings and research methods with students in other parts of the country,
or other parts of the world. 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.

4.2.6 Role of Teachers

The teacher's role is to explore social problems, suggest alternate

perspectives, and facilitate student analysis of these problems. While convincing,
cajoling, or moralizing about the importance of addressing human tragedy would be a
natural teacher response, such adult-led decision-making flies in the face of
reconstructionist philosophy. A social reconstructionist teacher must model
democratic principles. Students and teachers are expected to live and learn in a
democratic culture; the students themselves must select educational objectives and
social priorities.
D. Application
You are to teach a handful of students in elementary education, and you are
given free rein to choose your own subjects/skillsets to focus and your method of
teaching them. You want to find an educational philosophy that will suit the kind of
teaching-learning conditions you want, and in the end, chose Reconsrtuctionism.
To apply essentialism to your class, list classroom initiatives/rules/guidelines that
align to the said philosophy that will be followed in your classroom.

Rules/Principles/Guidelines of my Reconstructionist class

Example:
 There will be a certain extent of democracy in the classroom where the
teacher is a guide instead of an absolute authority.
 The class will be kept abreast with social events of the time and learn from
them as much as possible.
 Long-time projects will be included that will investigate societal conditions.
Your turn:
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________

E. Assessment

Direction: Fill in the columns below with the major concepts pertaining to each
educational philosophy discussed in this chapter.

RECONSTRUCTIONISM

What should be taught?

Why should it be taught?

How should it be taught?

What should the teacher’s role be?

________________________________________________________________________

4.3 PERENNIALISM

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Define and discuss the nature of the educational philosophy called Perennialism

2. Identify the principles and concepts of Perennialism in education.

3. Know how to apply the philosophy of Perennialism to the classroom in real life.

LEARNING PROCESS

A. Activity

Direction: Match the correct term to complete the sentence given. Get answers from
the box.

SCIENTIFIC REASONING EVERLASTING RATIONAL

THOUGHT
PERENNIALISM SORTING MECHANISM ACADEMIC
SUBJECTS

1. _______________ is an educational philosophy that centers on enduring themes

and questions that transcends time.

2. Perennial means _________________.

3. Perrenialist hold that courses in ___________ are far more important part of
teacher education than courses on how to teach.

4. Perennialists believe that the goal of education should be to develop

_______________.

5. Perrenialists look at education as a ___________________, a way to identify and

prepare the intellectually gifted for leadership, while providing vocational training
for the rest of society. 
B. Analysis

1. Do the “Great Books” from the finest thinkers of history have all of the knowledge
we need?

2. By directly learning from the thinkers of the past with the assumption that truths
are unchanging, are we not hindering change?

3. When is it appropriate to adapt a Perennialist educational Philosophy?

4. What is the student’s role in a perennialist classroom?

5. What are the pros and cons of utilizing perennialism in school?

C. Abstraction

4.3.1 Origin, Concept and Proponent

Perennial means "everlasting"-- a perennialist education focuses on enduring

themes and questions that span the ages. Perennialism, the oldest and most
conservative educational philosophy, is rooted in realism. It dominated much of
American education from the colonial period to the early 1990s. Perennialists
recommend that students learn directly from the Great Books-works by history's
finest thinkers and writers, books as meaningful today as when they were first
written.
 As a philosophy of education, perennialism relies on the past and stresses
traditional values. It emphasizes knowledge that has stood the test of time and
cherished values of society. It is a plea for the permanency of knowledge and values
that have stood the test of time—an unchanging view of the human nature, truth, and
virtue. Robert Hutchins, a longtime advocate of perennialism, has noted that a
person’s function is “the same in every society. . .. The aim of the educational system
is the same in every age and in every society where such a system can exist. That
aim is to improve people.” From realism comes an emphasis on rationality and the
importance of education in training our intellect in the search for truth.

For perennialists, human nature is constant. Humans have the ability to

reason and to understand nature’s universal truths. The goal of education is to
develop the rational person and uncover universal truths by developing students’
intellect and moral character.

Perennialism has its roots in the Greek classics, which dominated early
education in this country. Its clearest articulation in the United States, however,
occurred primarily in the twentieth century. In the 1930s, Adler and Robert Maynard
Hutchins, then president of the University of Chicago, organized the classics into a
set of more than 400 works titled Great Books of the Western World (1952), which
they believed would enable students to become independent and critical thinkers.
They held that people can discover the truths through their senses and their
reasoning—that they do not construct truths because they are already in existence.
The Great Books of the Western World represent the fruit of these discoveries made
by other people; as students read and discuss them, they, too, can encounter the
great truths of the universe

4.3.2 School

Perennialism in Action: St. John's College

The best-known example of perennialism education today takes place at a

private institution unaffiliated with any religion: St. John's College, founded in 1784 in
Annapolis, Maryland (www.sjcsf.edu). St. John's College adopted the Great Books as
a core curriculum in 1937 and assigns readings in the fields of literature, philosophy
and theology, history and the social sciences, mathematics and natural science, and
music. Students write extensively and attend seminars twice weekly to discuss
assigned readings. They also complete a number of laboratory experiences and
tutorials in language, mathematics, and music, guided by the faculty who are
calledtutors. Seniors take oral examinations at the beginning and end of their senior
year and write a final essay that must be approved before they are allowed to
graduate.

4.3.3 Aims of Education

Perennialists believe that the goal of education should be to develop rational

thought and to discipline minds to think rigorously. Perennialists see education as a
sorting mechanism, a way to identify and prepare the intellectually gifted for
leadership, while providing vocational training for the rest of society. They lament the
change in universities over the centuries, from institutions where a few gifted
students (and teachers) rigorously pursued truth for its own sake, to a glorified
training ground for future careers. It is a universal, broad education that prepares the
individual to think, to prepare for many jobs, and to deal with life. By studying the
great ideas of the past, we can better cope with the future.

4.3.4 Focus of the Curriculum

Society has a natural order, and schools should operate as testing grounds to
determine where children will fit in this order. To do this, schools should offer all
children an academic curriculum based on the classics, compendiums of human
knowledge that have been tested over time. The purpose of such a curriculum is to
train the intellect in a broad, general way. As a result, it will become evident who are
the brightest and best, who will be fit to be the leaders in society. Perennialism
contends that schools should not address either the fleeting, narrow interests of
students or the immediate needs of society. These concerns are left to other social
institutions.

The perennialist’s curriculum is subject centered; it relies heavily on defined

disciplines or logically organized bodies of content, emphasizing language, literature,
mathematics, and sciences. Teachers are viewed as authorities in their fields. They
stimulate discussion and students’ rational powers. Teaching is based primarily on
the Socratic method: oral exposition, lecture, and explication. Here is one curriculum
for all students, with little room for elective subjects or vocational or technical subject
matter. Character training is also important as a means of developing the student’s
moral and spiritual being.

4.3.5 Method of Teaching

A particular strategy with modern perennialists is to teach scientific reasoning,

not facts. They may illustrate the reasoning with original accounts of famous
experiments. This gives the students a human side to the science, and shows the
reasoning in action. Most importantly, it shows the uncertainty and false steps of real
science. Although perennialism may appear similar to essentialism, perennialism
focuses first on personal development, while essentialism focuses first on essential
skills. Teachers might hold seminars, engage students in Socratic discussions, foster
directed readings of great books, explain principles and concepts, and lecture as
effectively as possible, presenting dynamic lessons with all the interest-grabbing
devices available. The work is demanding, and the classroom is disciplined. The
student’s role is to discuss, examine, and reexamine the information presented by
the teacher with the ultimate goal of learning the content.

4,3.6 Role of Teachers

The role of the teacher, who has been trained in the same type of academic
curriculum, is that of moral and intellectual authority figure. Perennialists hold that
courses in academic subjects are a far more important part of teacher education than
courses in how to teach. Teachers should be role models of educated people.
Teacher helps students think rationally; based on Socratic method, oral exposition;
explicit teaching of traditional values.
D. Application

You are to teach a handful of students in elementary education, and you are
given free rein to choose your own subjects/skillsets to focus and your method of
teaching them. You want to find an educational philosophy that will suit the kind of
teaching-learning conditions you want, and in the end, chose Perennialism. To apply
essentialism to your class, list classroom initiatives/rules/guidelines that align to the
said philosophy that will be followed in your classroom.

Rules/Principles/Guidelines of my Perennialist class

Example:
 The teacher is the main authority of the class and should be treated with
utmost respect. They are the source of all the knowledge
 Reading of an assigned classic book will be required and a recitation will be
expected to follow.
 Discipline is a must.

Your turn:
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________

E. Assessment

Direction: Fill in the columns below with the major concepts pertaining to each
educational philosophy discussed in this chapter.

PERENNIALISM

What should be taught?

Why should it be taught?

How should it be taught?

What should the teacher’s role be?

 4.4 PROGRESSIVISM

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Define and discuss the nature of the educational philosophy called

Progressivism.

2. Identify the principles and concepts of Progressivism in education.

3. Know how to apply the philosophy of Progressivism to the classroom in real life.

LEARNING PROCESS

A. Activity

Direction: Match the correct term to complete the sentence given. Get answers from
the box.

NEEDS FACILITATOR CENTER OF INSTRUCTION

JOHN DEWEY DEMANDS JOHANN PESTALOZZI
PROGRESSIVISM WHOLE CHILD

1. In a progressivist curriculum, the focus is on the __________ of students. These

include academic, social, and physical needs and are fueled by the interests of
students.
2. In progressivism, the role of the teacher is to be a ________________ who helps
children examine their experiences as they interact with the physical and social
Worlds and to sort out for themselves a satisfactory role in society. 
3. _________________ is one of the key figures in the progressivist movement. He
believed that the traditional school, where students sat in rows, and passively
received information imparted by the teacher was ineffective.
4. _________________ is an educational philosophy that believes that the purpose
of education is to prepare children to live in society, but since society is in a
 constant state of change, schools should prepare students to confront the
changing world
5. Progressivism lays emphasis on addressing the needs and experiences of the
____________ not just the child’s intellect.
B. Analysis

1. Would the students benefit more when educator’s use a progressivist approach in
teaching?

2. How do we make the students the center of education according to

progressivism?

3. How different is the educational philosophy progressivism to perennialism?

4. What is the role of the teacher in a progressivist classroom?

5. Is it really possible to individualize the curriculum depending on student need?

C. Abstraction

4.4.1 Origin, Concept and Proponent

The dictionary defines progressive as “making use of or interested in new

ideas, findings, or opportunities” and “. . . an educational theory marked by emphasis
on the individual child, informality of classroom procedure, and encouragement of
self-expression” (Merriam-Webster, 2003).

Progressivism developed from pragmatic philosophy, as a backlash against

perennialist thinking in education. The progressive movement in education was part
of the larger social and political reform movement that characterized U.S. society
around 1900. It grew out of the political thought of progressives such as Robert
LaFollette, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, and out of the muckraker
movement of the 1910s and 1920s. Progressivism is considered a contemporary
reform movement in educational, social, and political affairs. The philosophy of
progressivism espouses the idea that the focus of education should be students
rather than content and that whatever is taught should be meaningful. To the
progressivist, the purpose of education is to prepare students to be lifelong learners
in an ever-changing society.
 One of the key figures in the progressivist movement was John Dewey.
Dewey’s writings and his work at the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago,
where he tested and refined his educational ideas, have produced tremendous
innovations in American education. At the end of the nineteenth century, John
Dewey, one of America's leading philosophers and a prominent proponent of
pragmatism, began to channel his interests toward education, challenging the long-
standing grip of perennialism on American education. For Dewey and other
progressivists, the curriculum should be interdisciplinary, and teachers should guide
students in problem solving and scientific projects. Dewey saw the teacher as the
“leader of group activities” and allowed students to analyze and interpret data and to
draw their own conclusions. The teacher and students planned activities together
(although Dewey affirmed that final authority rested with the teacher).

Although such individuals as Rousseau and the Swiss educational reformer

Johann Pestalozzi were forerunners of progressive views of education, it was Dewey
who systematically developed and tested the tenets of American progressivism. To
Dewey, the traditional school where students sat in rows and passively received
information imparted by the teacher was ineffective. He argued that if students are to
learn, they must be involved with real problems and meaningful questions, must
solve problems according to a scientific method, must be free to develop their own
theories and their own conceptualizations, and must be encouraged to test their
conclusions in real situations. The progressivist movement focused on several basic
principles: (1) Students should be free to develop naturally, (2) Student interest
should guide the teaching, (3) The teacher should be a guide, not a taskmaster, (4)
Student development should involve the whole student, and should include physical,
mental, moral, and social growth, (5) Schools should attend to the physical
development of students, and (6) There should be school-home cooperation to meet
the needs of students realistically.

4.4.2 School

Progressivism in Action: The Laboratory School

In 1896, while a professor at the University of Chicago, Dewey founded the

Laboratory School as a testing ground for his educational ideas. Dewey's writings
and his work with the Laboratory School set the stage for the progressive education
movement. Based on the view that educators, like scientists, need a place to test
their ideas, Dewey's Laboratory School eventually became the most famous
experimental school in the history of U.S. education, a place where thousands
observed Dewey's innovations in school design, methods, and curriculum. Although
the school remained under Dewey's control for only eight years and never enrolled
more than 140 students (ages 3 to 13) in a single year, its influence was enormous.
Dewey designed the Lab School with only one classroom but with several facilities
for experiential learning: a science laboratory, an art room, a woodworking shop, and
a kitchen. children were likely to make their own weights and measures in the
laboratory, illustrate their own stories in the art room, build a boat in the shop, and
learn chemistry in the kitchen. They were unlikely to learn through isolated exercises
or drills, which, according to Dewey, students consider irrelevant. Since Dewey
believed that students learn from social interaction, the school used many group
methods such as cooperative model-making, field trips, role playing, and
dramatizations. Dewey maintained that group techniques make the students better
citizens, developing, for example, their willingness to share responsibilities.

4.4.3 Aims of Education

 Progressivism purports that the purpose of education is to prepare children
to live in society, but that since society is in a constant state of change, schools
should prepare students to confront the changing world. Dewey rejected the notion
that reality and ways of knowing and behaving are absolute and of divine origin.
Rather, he argued, reality is continually reconstructed, based on an ever-changing
universe and the changing needs and interests of human beings. This, progressivism
maintains, is the world for which children should be prepared. Whereas the
curriculum emphasized by perennialists is academic and teacher centered, that
proposed by progressives is highly social and student centered. Rejecting the notion
that the function of schools is simply to train the intellect, Dewey argued that children
should acquire knowledge through meaningful activities and apply it to real social
situations. Thus, progressivism rejects classroom practices that involve children
passively learning information "poured" into them by authoritarian teachers or from
books. Further, progressivism stresses the importance of addressing the needs and
experiences of the whole child, not just a child's intellect. Progressive philosophy
increase students’ self-understanding, personalize and individualize learning, and
provide academic experiences that take students’ personal needs and interests into
account.

4.4.4 Focus of the Curriculum

Progressivists focus the curriculum on the needs of students. These needs

include academic, social, and physical needs and are fueled by the interests of the
students. Therefore, the material to be studied is determined jointly among the
school, the teacher, and the students. Learning is considered a natural response to
curiosity and the need to solve problems. In the progressivist school, teachers
expose students to many new developments in science, technology, literature, and
the arts to show that knowledge is constantly changing. Progressivists believe there
are great ideas and thoughts of the past that students should study, but they also
believe knowledge is changing and the job of students is to learn how to learn so that
they can cope successfully with new challenges in life and discover what truths are
relevant to the present.
Students took a more active role in their education and demanded a more
progressive and student-centered curriculum. Students and educators now argued
that students must be motivated and interested in the learning task, and that the
classroom should build on life experiences and interesting activities. They demanded
relevance, advocating (1) individualized instruction (e.g., independent study and
special projects); (2) revised and new courses of interest to students (e.g., courses
on sex education, drug addiction, race relations, and urban problems); (3)
educational alternatives (e.g., electives, minicourses, open classrooms); (4) the
extension of the curriculum beyond the school’s walls (e.g., work-study programs,
credit for life experiences, off-campus courses, and external degree programs); and
(5) the relaxation of academic standards and admission standards to schools and
colleges

4.4.5 Method of Teaching

The progressivist teacher engages students in inquiries that the students

themselves develop. Students learn from one another, so the progressivist classroom
fosters social learning by having students working in cooperative groups. The primary
role of students is to develop new and deeper understandings continuously through
their own investigation. Thus, in an elementary education progressivist mathematics
class dealing with place value, we see children in small groups using various kinds of
 manipulatives to develop their own understandings of place value and helping each
other clarify their ideas. The teacher facilitates these activities but does not lecture.
The classroom is characterized by activity, not passivity; cooperation, not
competition; and many learning opportunities other than textbooks and teacher-
dominated situations.

4.4.6 Role of Teachers

Progressivism maintains that the role of the teacher is as a facilitator who

helps children to examine their experiences as they interact with the physical and
social Worlds and to sort out for themselves a satisfactory role in society. Teachers
are not considered authority figures handing down knowledge and precepts by which
children should live. Rather, it is important that they prepare a wide repertoire of
classroom activities to stimulate and satisfy the interests of all their students. They
need to give students as much contact with real-life situations as they possibly can
so students can test their ideas, and learn from their experiences.

D. Application

You are to teach a handful of students in elementary education, and you are
given free rein to choose your own subjects/skillsets to focus and your method of
teaching them. You want to find an educational philosophy that will suit the kind of
teaching-learning conditions you want, and in the end, chose Progressivism. To
apply essentialism to your class, list classroom initiatives/rules/guidelines that align to
the said philosophy that will be followed in your classroom.

Rules/Principles/Guidelines of my Progressivist class

Example:
 Teachers are facilitators.
 Relate content to students’ personal goals, needs, and interests.
 Offer constructive feedback

Your turn:
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________

E. Assessment

Direction: Fill in the columns below with the major concepts pertaining to each
educational philosophy discussed in this chapter.

PROGRESSIVISM

What should be taught?

 Why should it be taught?

How should it be taught?

What should the teacher’s role be?

F. References

Arends, R.I., Winitzky, N.E., & Tannebaum, M.D. (2001). Exploring teaching.
introduction to education (2nd edition) New York· McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Button, L. (n.d.). Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum – Curriculum Essentials: A

Journey. Pressbooks.
https://oer.pressbooks.pub/curriculumessentials/chapter/philosophical-foundations-
of-curriculum/

Richard D. Mosier (1951). The Educational Philosophy of Reconstructionism. Journal

of Educational Sociology, 25(2), 86–96. doi:10.2307/2263651

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/essentialism
Ornstein, A., & Hunkins, F. (2018). Curriculum: Fooundations, Principles, and Issues.
http://daneshnamehicsa.ir/userfiles/file/manabeh/francis_p_hunkins_allan_c_ornstein
.pdf