NATURALIS

M
WHAT’S NATURALISM?

It is the belief that only natural

laws and forces operate in the
world.
Naturalism based on Metaphysics
A worldview which holds that there
is nothing but natural elements,
principles, and relations of the kind
studied by the natural sciences.
TWO KINDS OF NATURALISM
1. Ontological – refers to the Philosophical study of the nature of
reality. Such as the study of the principle of mass, energy, and
other physical and chemical properties accepted by the scientific
community

2. Methodological – it is the systematic and theoretical analysis of

the applied to a field of study. It comprises the theoretical
analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with
a branch of knowledge.
 JEAN-JACQUES
ROUSSEAU 1712-1778
 JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU 1712-1778
born on June 28, 1712 in Geneva and died in
1778.
Motherless at birth he had a difficult childhood.

He had five children of Thérèse Levasseur who

were sent to an orphanage.
 JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU 1712-1778
His personal life contradicts his work.

In 1759, He published his famous book “Emile”

 “EMILE”
It is a novel that contains his ideas on naturalism. It
was published in 1762.
It focuses on the private education of the boy.
 Five Sections of EMILE
Stage 1: Infancy (birth to two years): The first stage is
infancy, from birth to about two years.

Stage 2: Boyhood (from two to ten or twelve): This is

'the age of Nature'.
 Five Sections of EMILE
Stage 3: Early-adolescence (12-15)
Stage 4: Adolescence (15-20). 

Stage 5: Marriage
Rousseau's philosophy of education
It is naturalistic.

He believed that education does not only mean to

memorize or store information and knowledge rather
it is the process which results in the development of
the child’s nature and personality internally.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
1. The education aims of Naturalism to education
2. The school
3. The naturalist curriculum
4. The student
5. Teacher – learner relationship
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS

The aims of Naturalism in Education

 To develop the individual in accordance with laws of
nature and human development
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
The school

 Naturalist teaching and learning values experiences over

books, depth over breadth, wisdom over intelligence. In
short, naturalist teaching is about doing. It is one thing to
read about making fire by friction, but it's completely
different to actually carve a kit and make fire.
 Books are useful, of course, especially field guides, but
without accompanying experiences, the knowledge can
be virtually lifeless. For example, the simple
identification of animals without understanding their
habitats, growth cycles, behaviors and more. Because
naturalists often seek deep knowledge, they can happily
sit in the same spot every day, noting and valuing even
minute changes.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
The school

 Whereas science classes are often about abstract

processes like global warming, photosynthesis, and
mitosis, naturalist classes are about tangible experiences
such as identifying a tree by the texture of its bark, or
tracking an animal across various surfaces, or exploring
what edible plants grow in the neighborhood. These
differences are bigger than they first appear to be.
 Finally, naturalist teaching often incorporates many
other components drawn from indigenous cultures,
including storytelling, hunting, cooking, ceremony,
mentoring, philosophy and many more. Those interested
in other areas typically outside the scope of the
traditional classroom can get more ideas for teaching.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
Naturalist curriculum (Child – Centered Curriculum)
 Its curriculum is usually based on the needs, interests and abilities of the
child in relation to its levels of development.
 It helps the Naturalist to recognize individual differences and
experiences of the child should form the core element of the curriculum.
 Education must satisfy the basic needs of a man as an individual. It is
the role of the education to provide knowledge and skills that are
fundamental forces within the individual to seek satisfaction
 Education is geared to individual growth. Each child follows a logical
pattern of growth and development and that education must be attuned
to these natural patterns.
 Education is not simply mental in nature, but advocates the education of
both mind and body. It encourages the development of moral character,
discipline and physical well being.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
Naturalist curriculum (Child – Centered Curriculum)
 Its curriculum is usually based on the needs, interests and abilities of the
child in relation to its levels of development.
 It helps the Naturalist to recognize individual differences and
experiences of the child should form the core element of the curriculum.
 Education must satisfy the basic needs of a man as an individual. It is
the role of the education to provide knowledge and skills that are
fundamental forces within the individual to seek satisfaction
 Education is geared to individual growth. Each child follows a logical
pattern of growth and development and that education must be attuned
to these natural patterns.
 Education is not simply mental in nature, but advocates the education of
both mind and body. It encourages the development of moral character,
discipline and physical well being.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
The student
 The freedom of child disciplines him and he is naturally controlled by
his own learning and experiences. There is stress given to discipline by
natural consequences. There should be believers of self-government by
the students and co-education has to be adopted as it is more natural
means. 
 Students educate themselves, and it involves self activity. Activities are
offered for explanatory purposes and for the development of aesthetics
and self expression.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS
The teacher – learner relationship
 The teacher’s role is to remain in background. The natural development
of child should be stimulated. Since, Nature is considered to be best
educator, the teacher should remove himself from the scene.
 The teacher has an awareness of the nature of the child. Awareness that
natural environment is responsible for the development of the individual
differences, each child has a distinct learning needs that require
individualized learning activities
 Teacher as a guide in the intellectual process. The education and
instruction used must be based on the understanding level of the
children to naturally develop them according to their needs and interests
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF
NATURALISM TO WESTERN COUNTRIES
Rousseau’s Contribution
 Education is first of all the benefit of child, not for the sake of any conception.
However, of hallowed of function of the teacher, or curriculum or the school
 Education should be a practical preparation of life
 Naturalistic education is a method of instruction that should be based upon the
psychological principles governing the development of the child
 This must be provided first-hand contact with physical environment.

Added by Spencer
 All knowledge should be evaluated in terms of evolutionary naturalistic principles of
education which must conform to them
 The knowledge that the individual acquires through experiences and verifies and uses
to solve his life problems, is utterly superior to that knowledge supplied by traditional
sources.

Added by Epictus
 Education teaches the moral primacy of the will
MERITS OF NATURALISM TO EDUCATION
 It gives the child a very important place in the educational process. It
treats a child as child and not as an adult. The child is good and pure at
the time of birth
 It considers Nature as the best teacher in whose company the child
learns better.
 It lays stress on the psychological development of the child in the lap of
Nature
 It considers individual interests, aptitude, inclination, needs and
capacities while structuring the curriculum
 It introduces different methods of teaching techniques such as play-way,
observation, and learning by doing, which occupy an important place in
modern education
MERITS OF NATURALISM TO EDUCATION
 It assigns importance to science subjects, which are real. It prepares and
encourages the child to engage in experimentation, discoveries and
inventions.
 It considers man as a social animal and he has to build societies to meet
his requirements. Individual life is not possible on the earth.
 It advocates full freedom for the child for his natural development. It
motivates the child to acquire more knowledge in the natural
environment
 It revolts against old, traditional methods and bookish system of
education, based on the rote method
 It gives direct inspiration to the concept of psychological, sociological
and scientific education
DEMERITS OF NATURALISM TO
EDUCATION
 Unsatisfying aim of education: Naturalists concentrate on natural environment and
natural development of the child. If the child is developed according to his natural
in the laps of Nature only, the child will become unsocial with no feeling of social
service. Thus, the aim of naturalistic education is one sided unsatisfactory
 Neglects spiritual world: Naturalism ignores the spiritual world and considers the
material world one. For balanced development of the child, it requires knowledge
of both the spiritual and the material worlds. The material attitude of the people
makes them selfish which is dangerous for a society
 Neglects future: Naturalism lays stress on solutions for only the present needs and
problems of an individual and neglects his future needs and problems. It has failed
to prepare the child for the future life.
 Neglects moral and spiritual values: Naturalism advocates for the spiritual values
and the remote future. But these values are essential for the balanced development
of a child. But these values are essential for the balanced development of a child.
Education is futile if it avoids moral and spiritual values.
DEMERITS OF NATURALISM TO
EDUCATION
 Neglects books: Naturalists neglect the bookish system of education. We
cannot neglect the treasure of knowledge contained in the printed materials.
They insist that the education of the child should be based on his activities
and his life experiences. But these activities and experiences cannot bring
about the total development of a child’s personality. Therefore, the role of
books in the education system cannot be ignored.
 Emphasis on science subjects: Naturalists emphasize scientific education.
Like Spencer has given priority to scientific subjects and only a secondary
place to humanities in the curriculum. In fact, both are equally important
and essential in the development of child’s personality.
 Unlimited freedom to child: Naturalism advocates unrestricted freedom for
the child to develop himself naturally. This may lead to self-assertion
resulting in arbitrary behavior without any consideration for others. This is
undesirable, and harmful to the child. Full freedom will never exist in a
civilized society.
DEMERITS OF NATURALISM TO
EDUCATION
 Little role for teacher: Naturalism minimizes the role of the teacher in the
educative process. A teacher is an observer, a sympathetic guide and helper in
structuring experiences for the child. This attitude is not considered very healthy
and desirable in modern democratic countries where various social, moral, and
spiritual qualities are to be inculcated among the children by the educational
processes. Even in the electronic age, a teacher occupies an important place in
the teaching – learning process.
 Unappealing principles of discipline: the principle of discipline by natural
consequences is quite unsuitable and very often harmful. For instance, lighting
of a matchstick without proper guidance may start a conflagration of a gigantic
magnitude. This, this principle appears very unjust, hazardous, rash and
unhealthy.
 Ignores the development of society: Naturalism emphasizes individual
development ignoring the society which is equally important. The development
of an individual maybe achieved with the close cooperation and development of
the others. They are like two sides of the same coin. But this philosophy has
failed to emphasize the development of the society.
REFERENCES:
MAJOR PHILOSOPHIES IN EDUCATION, http://goo.gl/Kp2zrW
THE PHOLOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION, http://goo.gl/TUQX4O
NATURALISM – ANOTHER WAY TO EDUCATION A CHILD, http://goo.gl/N5emm4
NATURALIST TEACHING AND LEARNING, http://goo.gl/hTBb7u
A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF EDUCATION, https://goo.gl/FU4ma4