Prof Ed 104/106

The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and

Organizational Leadership

By: Cristie Marie C. Dalisay, RGC, RPm, LPT, PhD

Subject Professor
 Unit 1 – Society and Education
A. Philosophical Perspectives
• Classical Philosophies
- Idealism
- Realism
- Existentialism
- Pragmatism
• Modern Philosophies
- Perennialism
- Progressivism
- Humanism
• Post-modern Philosophies
 Your educational philosophy is your
Sources for your educational
beliefs about why, what and how you
philosophy are your life experiences,
teach, whom you teach, and about
your values, the environment in
What is philosophy? the nature of learning. It is a set of
which you live, interactions with
principles that guides professional
others and awareness of
action through the events and issues
philosophical approaches.
teachers face daily.
• Teaching, learning, and technology are always changing and evolving,
but contrary to definition, classical education can and should advance
as well. Classical education will always provide a framework for
students to become critical thinkers through deep reading, writing
and inquiry, but can shift in form and even in content. The next step
for classical education is to explore original cultures beyond Western
Civilization. Offering lessons and knowledge from historic Africa, Asia
and the Middle East will make the practice even more relevant and
global. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-06-19-how-a-classics-education-prepares-students-for-a-modern-world
 Idealism
• A philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true
reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is
enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind.
• Plato, father of Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book,
The Republic. Plato believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or
mental world, which is eternal, permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is
also the world of appearance, the world experienced through sight, touch, smell,
taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly. This division is often
referred to as the duality of mind and body.
• The aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full
moral excellence in order to better serve society.
• The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy,
and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion,
and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students
discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part
logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in
the mind.
• Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.
 Realism

• Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate reality is the world of
physical objects. Truth is objective-what can be observed.
• Aristotle, a student of Plato is called the father of both Realism and the scientific method. In this
metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through "the diligent and unsparing scrutiny
of all observable data.“
• The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and
mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within a discipline,
demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus on mastery of facts and basic
skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability to think critically
and scientifically, using observation and experimentation.
• Curriculum should be scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is
developed through training in the rules of conduct.
 Existentialism
• The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective, and lies within the individual. The physical world has no inherent meaning
outside of human existence. Individual choice and individual standards rather than external standards are central.
• We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices we make. We should not accept anyone else's predetermined
philosophical system; rather, we must take responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development of
authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.
• Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), a Danish minister and philosopher, is considered to be the founder of existentialism. His was a
Christian orientation.
• American existentialists have focused more on human potential and the quest for personal meaning. Values clarification is an
outgrowth of this movement.
• The French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, suggested that for youth, the existential moment arises when young persons realize
for the first time that choice is theirs, that they are responsible for themselves. Their question becomes "Who am I and what
should I do?
• Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of personal choice. Teachers view the
individual as an entity within a social context in which the learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own.
• Character development emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Examining life through authentic thinking involves
students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists are opposed to thinking about students as objects to be measured,
tracked, or standardized. Such educators want the educational experience to focus on creating opportunities for self-direction
and self actualization. They start with the student, rather than on curriculum content.
 Pragmatism

• For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this late
19th century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience.
• Unlike the Realists and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly
changing and that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to
problems, as they arise.
• The universe is dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of the world. There is no
absolute and unchanging truth, but rather, truth is what works.
• Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who
believed that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the mind and lead to
indecisiveness.
• John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approaches. He
believed that learners must adapt to each other and to their environment. Schools should
emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All learning is dependent on the context of
place, time, and circumstance. Different cultural and ethnic groups learn to work cooperatively
and contribute to a democratic society. Character development is based on making group
decisions in light of consequences.
• Teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and projects, often
having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines together to focus on
solving problems in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down organized bodies of
knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their knowledge to
real situations through experimental inquiry. This prepares students for citizenship, daily
living, and future careers.
 Perennialism

• For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings
about the great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving
problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring
truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most
essential level, do not change.
• Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of
the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education.
• The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students'
growth in enduring disciplines. Advocates of this educational philosophy are Robert
Maynard Hutchins who developed a Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler,
who further developed this curriculum based on 100 great books of western civilization.
 Progressivism

• Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. 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. It is active, not passive.
• The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical
and cultural context.
• Effective teachers provide experiences so that students can learn by doing.
• Curriculum content is derived from student interests and questions. The scientific method is used by progressivist
educators so that students can study matter and events systematically and first-hand. The emphasis is on process-how
one comes to know.
• The Progressive education philosophy was established in America from the mid 1920s through the mid 1950s. John
Dewey was its foremost proponent. One of his tenets was that the school should improve the way of life of our citizens
through experiencing freedom and democracy in schools. Shared decision making, planning of teachers with students,
student-selected topics are all aspects.
 Humanism

• The roots of humanism are found in the thinking of Erasmus (1466- 1536), who attacked the religious teaching and thought prevalent in his
time to focus on free inquiry and rediscovery of the classical roots from Greece and Rome. Erasmus believed in the essential goodness of
children, that humans have free will, moral conscience, the ability to reason, aesthetic sensibility, and religious instinct. He advocated that
the young should be treated kindly and that learning should not be forced or rushed, as it proceeds in stages.
• Humanism was developed as an educational philosophy by Rousseau (1712-1778) and Pestalozzi, who emphasized nature and the basic
goodness of humans, understanding through the senses, and education as a gradual and unhurried process in which the development of
human character follows the unfolding of nature. Humanists believe that the learner should be in control of his or her own destiny. Since
the learner should become a fully autonomous person, personal freedom, choice, and responsibility are the focus. The learner is self-
motivated to achieve towards the highest level possible. Motivation to learn is intrinsic in humanism.
• Recent applications of humanist philosophy focus on the social and emotional well-being of the child, as well as the cognitive.
Development of a healthy self-concept, awareness of the psychological needs, helping students to strive to be all that they can are
important concepts, espoused in theories of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Alfred Adler that are found in classrooms today. Teachers
emphasize freedom from threat, emotional well-being, learning processes, and self-fulfillment.
 Post-modern philosophies

• Postmodernism is also called postmodern constructivism, and according to

Webb et. al. (2010), it has been defined as “a contemporary philosophy,
ideology, movement, and process” The reason it has been defined in this way
is that it pulls from a combination of philosophies, including: Pragmatism,
Existentialism, Social Reconstructionism, and critical pedagogy (Webb et. al.,
2010). Each of these philosophies provide essential elements of the
framework for Postmodernism. Perhaps the most important of which is
critical pedagogy, because it incorporates the technique of critical theory
(Webb et. al., 2010).
 Post modernism

• An educational philosophy contending that many of the institutions in our society, including
schools, are used by those in power to marginalize those who lack power. Criticized for using
schools for political purposes
• Modernity is generally viewed as an era of industrialization, urbanization, globalization and
democratization.
• In academic sense, modernity means theoretical revolutions aimed at objective truth.
• There is no objective knowledge of social phenomena. Each theory on any given event partially
explains the phenomena but not wholesomely since it is a product of individual human thinking.
• Power requires knowledge and knowledge reinforces existing power relations. Post modernists
are committed to explore the complexities of power and knowledge.
• https://www.slideshare.net/BoyetAluan/philosophical-perspectives-in-
education2014
• https://kstatelibraries.pressbooks.pub/dellaperezproject/chapter/chapter-9-
postmodernism/
• https://slideplayer.com/slide/14915738/