Lecturer: Dr.

Leng Phirom Advanced Philosophy and History of Education

Reflection Paper
Eastern philosophy, religion and education in Unit 3 by Ozman and Craver (2003) emphasizes the value of
religion's influence on people's perspectives. The authors provide an introduction to the philosophy of
education and the thought of China, Japan, the Middle East, and India. There are many things I have learnt
from.

The first point I have learnt is that eastern philosophy places a greater emphasis on gods, observation,
intuition, inner calm, and development of attitudes to shape human behaviour. For example, in Hinduism,
humans should not devote their lives to the pursuit of worldly possessions and success, but to the gods.
Similarly, in Buddhism, people aim to free people from desires of worldly things and follow the middle path
to lead to happiness. Also, in Jainism, it is neither absolutely true or false judgment and places the
importance of harmony and correct thinking, which is in line with Zen Buddhism, which focuses on
transcending the framework of rational thinking. Similarly, Judaism emphasizes on building the relationship
among people. Moreover, Confucianism, it is believed that building moral character is more important than
merely teaching skills or important information. Furthermore, Taoism puts the emphasis on the inner
development of each person so that they can live happily.

The second point is that eastern philosophy holds that education should be centered on educating students
about the moral and spiritual learning and cultural contexts in order to better help them comprehend and
appreciate the reality of nature, and assist them develop the abilities and attitudes needed to deal with the
world's changing and challenging circumstances.

Personally, the qualities of teachers in eastern philosophy such as being knowledgeable of sacred literature
and oral tradition, having a solid rapport with students, being patient and wise, and setting a role model for
prayer and meditation are the characteristics of a good teacher. However, the assessment of students’
performance by teachers’ intuition might not be accurate. There should be more ways to evaluate students'
abilities, such as quizzes, presentations, or written tests. Moreover, teachers should be more than just
knowledge transmitters; they should also be prompters, tutors, facilitators, or resource providers. Also,
students should participate more in discussions, debates, and questions rather than just being passive
recipients of what their teachers say.

All in all, the aims of eastern philosophy in education are fabulous, but the method of teaching and learning
might not fully accomplish.

Song Bunmean