PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

1. PERENNIALISM
➢ Teacher/Subject Centered Philosophy
➢ The goal is to teach students to think rationally and
develop minds that can think critically. To cultivate
intellect.
➢ Truth is universal and does not change.
➢ Learning is not diverse.
➢ Primary concern is the importance of mastery of the
content and development of reasoning skills
➢ Perennialist classroom aims to be a closely organized
and well-disciplined environment, which develops in
students a lifelong quest for truth.

2. ESSENTIALISM
➢ Teacher/Subject-centered Philosophy
➢ Teaching basic skills (3 Rs)
➢ Believes that there is a common set of skills and
knowledge that educated people should have.
➢ Students should be taught of hard work, respect for
authority, and discipline.
➢ The tools include lecturing, memorization, repetition,
practice, and assessment.
➢ William C. Bagley (1874-1946) most influential
advocates of essentialism. He believed that education
was not supposed to change society but to preserve it.
 3. PROGRESSIVISM
➢ Believed that education should focus on the whole
child, rather than on the content or the teacher.
➢ Believed that individuality, progress, and change are
fundamentals to one’s education. And that ideas
should be tested by experimentation, and learning
comes from finding answers from questions.
Reasons why progressivism is important in the field of education.
1. Emphasize Active Learning
➢ Actively involved in their own learning.
➢ Given opportunities to explore their own interests and
discover new things.
➢ Encouraged to ask questions and think critically.
2. Encourages Creativity
➢ Given opportunities to express themselves creatively
and explore their own ideas.
➢ Innovation is essential to success.
3. Teaches Students hoe to think, Not what to think
➢ Provide them with multiple perspectives on any given
issue to develop their own opinions.
4. Encourages Social Interaction
➢ Given opportunities to work together and interact.
5. Promotes individualized instruction
 ➢ Should be given instruction tailored to his or her own
needs and abilities. This allows the students to learn at
their own pace and their way.
6. Encourages democratic values
➢ Students should be taught to participate in their own
governance and make decisions about their own
education.
7. Encourages lifelong learning
➢ Given opportunities to continue learning even after
leaving the form education system. And later on
succeed in their careers and personal lives.
Common ways in which progressivism may be applied in the
classroom include:
1. Student-centered learning – curriculum is designed to meet
the needs of each student and that students are given
opportunities to direct their own learning.
2. Discovery Learning – emphasizes self-discovery.
3. Project-Based Learning – this is an innovative method of
instruction that gives your students opportunities to work
on long-term projects with real-world applications.
4. Cooperative learning – encourages student collaboration
and competition, build stronger relationships, learn from
one another’s mistakes and success.
5. Experiential learning – is an exciting and an engaging way for
students to gain insight into their world.
 4. RECONSTRUCTIONISM
➢ Student-centered philosophy
➢ Firmly believe in the power of democracy to change
society for the better.
➢ Students are encouraged to an agent of change
➢ The curriculum provides students with the opportunity
to engage in service learning opportunities that would
provide them with first-hand experiences to study
social problems and controversial issues.
➢ Social Reconstructivism is focused on looking at what is
wrong is society and seeing how it can be improved.
➢ the instructional methods used in the classroom are
focused on problem solving, critical thinking, research,
and cooperative learning (Webb et. al., 2010).
➢ In order to be an effective Social Reconstructivist
teacher, teachers must be willing to undergo constant
change and updating of their personal and professional
lives and have a very high tolerance for ambiguity.
Within this student-centered approach to instruction, Reeves
(2013) found that Social Reconstructionist instructors:

➢ Spend less time lecturing and more time allowing

students to work in cooperative groups.
➢ Facilitate instruction, guiding students in the direction
they need to go, but never mandating the direction
students should take.
 ➢ Encourage student to form their own opinions based
on what they think and what their research has told
them, not what they are told to think by the teacher.
According to research by Revees (2013), the teachers role in the
Social Reconstructivist classroom includes:

• Creating a safe and democratic environment for their

students so that lessons and topics may be discussed,
debated, and all students voices will be heard.

• Presenting students with material that looks into social

injustices so that their students know that these injustices
exist.
• Creating lessons to inform students but also evoke an

emotional response from their students.

• Being fearless in presenting material to students.

• Setting up a democratic environment in the classroom.

• Inspiring students to be the change they wish to see in the

world.
• Helping to shed light on social inequities.

• Providing students with the knowledge they need and the

critical thinking skills to process it in meaningful ways so

they can make positive changes in society.
In order to accomplish all of these tasks, Social Reconstructivist
teachers have to take on a leadership role in the classroom so
that they can effectively facilitate student learning.