4 Major Educational Philosophies

There are many different types of philosophies in education. Here we will focus only on the four
main types of philosophies that may help you to form your teaching philosophy and write your
teaching statement - Perennialism, Essentialism, Romanticism and Progressivism. A mix of more
than two philosophies is called Eclecticism.

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outdated.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 anti-
authoritarian, 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.

Reference
Schools of Educational Philosophy, Chapter 9: What are the philosophical foundations of
American Education.
 4 主要教育理念

教育哲学有许多不同的类型。在此，我们只集中讨论四种主要的哲学，这四种哲学可以帮

助您形成自己的教学理念并撰写教学陈述--常年主义、本质主义、浪漫主义和进步主义。

两种以上哲学的混合称为折衷主义。

常年主义

常年主义重视超越时间的知识。这是一种以学科为中心的哲学。常年主义教育者的目标

是教导学生理性思考，培养批判性思维。常年制课堂旨在营造一个组织严密、纪律严明

的环境，培养学生终生追求真理的精神。常年主义者认为，教育应体现为一种有准备的

努力，使学生获得这些思想，并引导他们的思维过程，以理解和欣赏伟大的作品；由历

史上最优秀的思想家写的文学作品，超越时间，永不过时。常年主义者主要关注的是掌

握教学内容和培养推理能力的重要性。事物越是变化，就越是保持不变 "这句格言概括了

常年主义者的教育观点。在这一理念中，技能是按顺序发展的。在这里，教师是舞台上

的主角。

本质论

本质主义也是一种以学科为中心的哲学。本质主义是一种教授基本技能的教育理念。这

种哲学主张训练思维。本质主义教育者注重传授一系列难度逐渐增加的主题，并将学生

提升到下一个层次。课程以物质世界和文化的历史背景为重点，按顺序进行，使学生对

当今社会有一个扎实的了解。本质主义是当今美国公立学校的普遍模式。在本质主义学

校里，典型的一天可能有七节课，学生每节课上不同的课。教师主要通过讲课传授知识

，在讲课过程中要求学生做笔记。学生会得到练习作业或实践项目，然后对这一过程中

所涉及的学习材料进行评估。学生在一个学期或一年内每天都按照同样的时间表学习。

当他们的评估显示出足够的能力时，他们就会晋升到下一级，学习下一级更难的材料。

William C. Bagley是本质主义最有影响力的倡导者之一。

浪漫主义
浪漫主义者相信人类的天性是善良的，而文明的城市生活阻碍了这种天性。浪漫主义是

启蒙时代（约18th 世纪）的一场哲学运动，它强调情感上的自我意识是改善社会和人类状

况的必要前提。浪漫主义者认为，知识是通过直觉而非演绎获得的。这是一种以学生为

中心的理念，注重差异化--满足学生的学习准备需求。在建立在浪漫主义哲学基础上的学

校，没有固定的课程，没有正式的课程和考试。
学生决定他们想学什么，在某些情况下，学生要对自己的学习负全责。有时会安排与某

一领域的专业人士会面，让他们深入了解该主题。浪漫主义的五个基本特征是想象力、

直觉、个性、理想主义和灵感。让-雅克-卢梭（Jean-Jacques Rousseau）和玛丽亚-蒙台梭

利（Maria Montessori）是浪漫主义的代表人物。

进步主义

进步主义者认为，个性、进步和变革是
教育。进步主义者认为，人们从他们认为与自己生活最相关的事物中能学到最好的东西

，因此他们的课程以学生的需求、经验、兴趣和能力为中心。与浪漫主义者一样，进步

主义者认为教育应关注学生的全面发展，而不是教学内容或教师。他们强调小组活动和

小组解决问题，使学生通过合作学习策略进行学习。它反专制、具有实验性和前瞻性，

旨在培养学生解决问题的能力。

这种教育理念强调学生应通过积极的实验来检验自己的想法。学习源于学习者在体验世界

的过程中产生的问题。进步主义是由约翰-杜威（John Dewey）在实用主义基础上发展起来

的教学理论。经验是其哲学的核心概念。一些美国学校也遵循这一理念。

参考资料

教育哲学流派》第9章：美国教育的哲学基础是什么。