Philosopher Philosophy on aim/s and method/s of
education
John Locke To produce virtuous and useful men and
women, whatever their station in life.
Herbert Spencer Spencer promoted automatic learning
based on students' interests and
emphasized the importance of interest in
the educational process.
John Dewey All goals, according to Dewey, start off as
a "mere tentative sketch." Teachers' goals
for students, as well as students' own
goals, should be fluid because new
information may lead to refinement or
revision of the goal while working toward
it.
George Counts John Dewey's philosophy was also an
influence on Counts' educational
philosophy. Both men believed that
education had enormous potential to
improve society and that schools should
reflect life rather than being separate
from it.
Theodore Brameld Reconstructionist educators focus on a
curriculum that emphasizes social reform
as the aim of education
Paulo Freire According to Paulo Freire, the goal of
education is to free human potential.
Problem-posing education is a teaching
technique that promotes critical thinking
for the sake of liberation, coined by
Brazilian educator Paulo Freire in his 1970
Classroom/school application
The goal of education, according to Locke, is to
produce a person with a sound mind and a
sound body who can better serve his country.
Locke believed that the substance of education
should be determined by one's social status.
Moral, social, and vocational knowledge were all
that was required of the average man.
Herbert Spencer was an English social scientist
who made a significant contribution to
education by emphasizing the importance of
science in education systems.
Dewey felt that in order for pupils to remember
information and modify it for personal use, they
needed to feel connected to it in the classroom.
Increase student motivation by emphasizing how
subject matter may be applied in the actual
world
George S. Counts challenged teachers and
teacher educators to use school as a means for
critiquing and transforming the social order.
Brameld believed the creation of a new social
order through education would fulfill the basic
values of society and harmonize with the
underlying social and economic forces of the
modern world.
Freire felt that the classroom might be a catalyst
for social transformation. Freire, like Dewey, felt
that rather than being passive consumers of
knowledge, students should take an active role
in their own education.
book Pedagogy of the Oppressed.