PHILOSOPHIES

OF
EDUCATION
ESSENTIALISM
Why teach?

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
 The emphasis is on academic content for students to learn the basic skills

or the fundamental r’s – reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic, right conduct.

 Essentialist curriculum – traditional disciplines such as math, natural

science, history, foreign language, and literature

 Frown upon vocational courses or other courses with ‘watered

down academic content’

 Teachers and administrators decide what is most important for

students to learn and place little emphasis on students interests.

How to teach?

Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of subject matter, expected

to be intellectual and moral models of their students – seen as “fountain” of

information and as “paragon of virtue”.

How to gain mastery of basic skills?

Teachers have to observe “core requirements, longer

school day, and longer academic year.

PROGRESSIVISM
Why teach?

Progressivist teachers teach to develop learners into becoming

enlightened and intelligent citizens of a democratic society. Learners are taught

to live fully NOW, not to prepare them for adult life.

What to teach?
The progressivist are identified with need-based and relevant curriculum

– “responds to students’ needs and that relates to students’ personal lives and

experiences.

They are more concerned with teaching the learners the skills to cope

with change.
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. They heavily

rely on problem-solving method.

field trips (which students interact with nature or society), thought-

provoking games, and puzzles.

PERENNIALISM
Why teach?

We are all rational animals. Therefore, schools should develop the

students’ rational and moral powers.

“If we neglect the students’ reasoning skills, we deprive them of

the ability to use their higher faculties to control their passions
and appetites”.
- Aristotle
What to teach?

The perennialist curriculum is a universal one on the view

that all human beings possess the same essential nature. There is a

less on vocational and technical education. Teachings are lifted

from the Great Books.

How to teach?

The perennialist classrooms are “centered around teachers”. They 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 are engaged in Socratic dialogues, or mutual inquiry sessions.

EXISTENTIALISM
Why teach?

Main concern is to help students understand and appreciate themselves as unique

individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions.

“existence precedes essence” – the existentialist teachers’ role is to help students

define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they take in life by creating
an environment in which they freely choose their own preferred way .
What to teach?

In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of

options from which to choose. Rather than emphasizing historical events,
existentialists focus upon the actions of historical individuals, each of whom
provides possible models for the students’ own behavior.

Vocational education is regarded more as a means of teaching

students about themselves and their potential than of earning a livelihood.

encourages individual creativity and imagination more than copying

and imitating established models.
How to teach?

Methods focused on individual. Learning is self-paced, self-

directed. Teachers relate to students openly and honestly. To know

better of themselves, teachers remain non-judgmental and take care

not to impose their values on their students since values are personal.