 Essentialism

 Existentialism
 Perennialism
 Progressivism
 Behaviorism
Essentialism
Essentialism
 Why teach?
• This philosophy contends that teachers
teach for learners to acquire basic
knowledge, skills and values. Teachers
teach “not to radically reshape society "but
rather “to transmit the traditional moral
values and intellectual knowledge that
students need to become model citizens.”
 What to teach?
• Essentialist programs are academically rigorous. The emphasis is on
academic content for students to learn the basic skills or the
fundamental r's
• - reading, 'riting, ‘rithmetic, right conduct – as these are essential
to the acquisition of higher or more complex skills needed in
preparation for adult life. The essentialist curriculum includes the
"traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history,
foreign language, and literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational
courses... or other courses with 'watered down ‘academic content...
The teachers and administrators decide what is most important for
the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests,
particularly when they divert time and attention from the academic
curriculum."
 How to teach?
• Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of
subject matter. They are expected to be
intellectual and moral models of their
students. They are seen as “fountain" of
information and as "paragon of virtue", if ever
there is such a person. To gain mastery of
basic skills, teachers have to observe “core
requirements, longer school day, a longer
academic year..."
What
• Essentialism is the basis of the core curriculum
philosophy. It means to teach what is essential to
know. Subscribers to the essentialism philosophy
believe that students should be taught the core
essential curriculum of reading, mathematics,
literature, history, science and foreign language.
Subscribers to this philosophy do not believe in
vocational training, such as co-op, work program
or student internships. Instead, they focus on
teaching to the state academic tests.
Progressivism
Progressivism
 Why teach?
• Progressivist teachers teach to develop learners
into becoming enlightened and intelligent citizens
of a democratic society. This group of teachers
teach learners so they may live life fully NOW not
to prepare them for adult life.
 What to teach?
• The progressivists are identified with need-based
and relevant curriculum. This is a curriculum that
“responds to students' needs and that relates to
students' personal lives and experiences.”
 How to teach?
• Progressivist teachers employ experiential
methods. They believe that one learns by doing.
For John Dewey, the most popular advocate of
progressivism, book learning is no substitute for
actual experience. One experiential teaching
method that progressivist teachers heavily rely on
is the problem-solving method.
Perennialism
 Why teach?
• We are all rational animals. Schools should.
therefore, develop the students' rational and
moral powers. According to Aristotle, if we
neglect the students' reasoning skills, we
deprive them of the ability to use their higher
faculties to control their passions and
appetites.
 What to teach?
• The perennialist curriculum is a universal one on the
view that all human beings possess the same essential
nature. It is heavy on the humanities, on general
education. It is not a specialist curriculum but rather a
general one. There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education. Philosopher Mortimer Adler
claims that the Great Books of ancient and medieval
as well as modern times are a repository of
knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which
must initiate each generation”. What the perennialist
teachers teach are lifted from the Great Books.
 How to teach?
• The perennialist classrooms are "centered around
teachers”... The teachers do not allow the students'
interests or experiences to substantially dictate
what they teach. They apply whatever creative
techniques and other tried and true methods which
are believed to be most conducive to disciplining
the students' minds.... Students engaged in Socratic
dialogues, or mutual inquiry sessions to develop an
understanding of history's most timeless concepts”.
Existentialism
 Why teach?
• The main concern of the existentialists is “to help
students understand and appreciate themselves as
unique individuals who accept complete responsibility
for their thoughts, feelings and actions”. Since 'existence
precedes essence', the existentialist teacher's role is to
help students define their own essence by exposing
them to various paths they take in life and by creating
an environment in which they freely choose their own
preferred way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason
in decision making , the existentialist demands the
education of the whole person, not just the mind.”
 What to teach?
• "In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety
of options from which to choose.” Students are afforded great
latitude in their choice of subject matter. The humanities,
however, are given tremendous emphasis to “provide students
with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own
creativity and self-expression. For example, rather than
emphasizing historical events , existentialists focus upon the
actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides possible
models for the students' own behavior. ...Moreover, vocational
education is regarded more as a means of teaching students about
themselves and their potential than of earning a livelihood. In
teaching art, existentialism encourages individual creativity and
imagination more than copying and imitating established models.”
 How to teach?
• “Existentialist methods focus on the individual.
Learning is self-paced, self-directed. It includes a
great deal of individual contact with the teacher,
who relates to each student openly and honestly. To
help students know themselves and their place in
society, teachers employ values clarification
strategy. In the use of such strategy, teachers
remain non-judgmental and take care not to impose
their values on their students since values are
personal."
Behaviorism
 Why teach?
• Behaviorist schools are concerned with the
modification and shaping of students' behavior by
providing for a favorable environment, since they
believe that they are a product of their
environment. They are after students who exhibit
desirable behavior in society.
 What to teach?
• Because behaviorists look at “people and
other animals... as complex combinations of
matter that act only in response to internally
or externally generated physical stimuli”,
behaviorist teachers teach students to
respond favorably to various stimuli in the
environment.
 How to teach?
• Behaviorist teachers “ought to arrange environmental
conditions so that students can make the responses
to stimuli. Physical variables like light, temperature,
arrangement of furniture, size and quantity of visual
aids have to be controlled to get the desired
responses from the learners. ... Teachers ought to
make the stimuli clear and interesting to capture and
hold the learners' attention. They ought to provide
appropriate incentives to reinforce positive responses
and weaken or eliminate negative ones.”
• Worksheet #1
• Quiz #1
• Assignment #1
 Assignment
• Research work- Research on the following philosophies. Those marked with
asterisk(*) are a must. Give the gist of each philosophy. Cite those thoughts with
which you agree and also those with which you disagree.

*1. Christian philosophy *9. Paolo Freire's philosophy

2. rationalism 10. Socrates és philosophy

3. empiricism 11. Plato's philosophy

4. pragmatism *12. Rousseau's philosophy

5. reconstructionism 13. Stoic philosophy

*6. Confucianism 14. Epicureanism

7. Hindu philosophy 15. Philosophical Analysis

8. Buddhist philosophy 16. Phenomenology

17. Logical positivism