PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

BY
ATAMA BLASIO
 PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophy comes from a combination of two Greek words Philos-
meaning love and Sophia-meaning wisdom. Etymologically philosophy
means love of wisdom. Search of wisdom or truth is called philosophy and
the man who engages himself in this search is called a philosopher.
• Wisdom itself means the ability to make sensible decisions and give
judgement because of the experience and knowledge that some body
has. To have wisdom therefore means the individual must make the
deliberate effort at acquiring knowledge.
• Knowledge acquisition through critical thinking and analysis of issues
before making concrete judgement; the individual must cultivate a very
high degree of questioning ability. The literary meaning of philosophy
therefore is the love for a high degree of knowledge.
 Cont..
• According to Greek philosophers, wisdom meant totality of knowledge i.e.

knowledge in all sciences as well as the social sciences as we know them

today i.e. physics, chemistry, biology, geography, etc. all disciplines were

seen and understood from philosophical perspective and hence philosophy

was referred to as the mother of all disciplines.

• Essentially philosophy is pure reasoning. No trail answers and found no

truth. Unlike other subjects like history, chemistry, geography etc.

philosophy has no clear content. It is a skill on critical reasoning.

 Origin of philosophy

• The earliest Greek philosophers often referred to as “Milesian” traditional thinkers

laid the foundation of philosophy not only in ancient Greece but also in the present
Western world. Their inquiries , they laid the foundation for solid development in
science and other human endeavours.
• In doing so they searched for explanations of life and the creation by the use pure
reasoning through observations, analyses and deductions. From this perspective
it can be seen that it is wonder that directed the attention of man to philosophy.
Man was fascinated by his very creation, that of the world and heavenly bodies.
• As a matter of the fact the ancient Greek philosophers rejected the myths, legends
and fantasies with which the mysteries of creation and the presence of
homosapiens on earth were traditionally explained
 Cont…
• The group of philosophers to pursue this radical shift from tradition were the
Millesian philosophers. They include;
• Thales: held that water was the primary substance . He argued that when water is
heated, it becomes steam, thus all entities that are gaseous, such as the
atmosphere, can be called or described as rarefied water. Naturally, water is liquid
and Thales believed that all things that can flow are made up of water.
Consequently, he held that if water is adequately cooled it becomes ice, therefore
, all solids must be condensed water.
• Anaximander came up with the idea that the primary substance of all things was
not water but something infinite, full of grandeur, in fact eternal and ageless.
• Anaximanes propounded the theory that the primary substances of all existing
mater was air.
 Modes of philosophy
1. Speculative philosophy: it is the way of systematic thinking of everything that
exist or whole. Speculative philosophy means to see things as a whole.
Search for wholeness but it is not applied to particular item or experience. All
knowledge experiences are included.
In brief speculative philosophy is an attempt to find a coherence in the whole
area of thought and experiences.
This mode is limitless as it deals with the real as well as the abstract. It is
interested in the search for order, wholeness and linkages of realm of
experience.
For instance, let us look at investigation stated by the Millesian philosophers.
They wanted to discover the laws that govern the universe. They also
searched for explanations of life and creation. What method did they use.
They made use of pure reasoning
2. Prescriptive philosophy: means to set standards, ground or criteria for the
judgement of values, conduct and appraising art.
• It examines what we mean good and bad, right and wrong, beautiful and ugly.
• It also establishes some fundamental laws for judging which actions are
worthwhile and which not. For example it will be worth a teacher’s time to be
familiar with the value basis of education which he imparts to the child.
 Cont..

3. Analytical Philosophy: concerned with meaning of words. It examines the

meaning of words such as education, curriculum, learning, intelligence,
academic freedom, cause in order to asses different meaning what they
carry in different contexts.

• It endeavours to show where appropriate and how inconsistencies may

come into logical presentation of matter through the use of certain words.

• It also examines issues and problems, which are discussed in the world of
education.

• Benefits of analytic philosophy; develop your critical thinking skills and

improve your ability to think logically and rationally.
 Techniques for writing philosophy

1. Ensure that the concepts you are using are free from ambiguity and vagueness.
For example bank means financial institution, and it also means land near the river.
2. Ensure that your ideas do not contradict one another. Your ideas must be logically
and consistently connected neither should they contradict the existing true ideas.
3. Always support your basic ideas or assertions/claims with sound or convincing
reasons. These should be true and coherent. For example, the proposition “All
bachelors are men” is analytically true, because “man” is connected to “bachelor” in
virtue of its meaning—a fact recognized by analyzing “bachelor” so as to see that it
means “unmarried man”.
4. Try to make a thorough of work see whether it is in consonance with the
objectives you set to achieve or whether it answers the basic problem(s) you are
tackling. Remove all the loopholes which are likely to invalidate it.
 Meaning of Education

• Etymologically, the word education is derived from educare (Latin) “bring

up”, which is related too educere “bring out, bring forth what is within”, “bring
out potential” and educere, “to lead”.

• Education in the largest sense in any act or experience that has a formative
effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual.

• In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately

transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation
to another .

• In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that education was about drawing out
what was already within the student. ( As many of you know, the word
education comes from the Latin educere meaning “to lead out.”)
 Cont..

• The Sophists a group of itinerant teachers, promised to give students the

necessary knowledge and skills to gain positions with the city-state. Thus
we see there are different views and understandings of the meaning of the
term education.

• In the modern times it has acquired two different shades of meaning namely

a) An institutional instruction, given to students in school colleges formally

b) A pedagogical science, studied by the students of education

 Cont…
• According to Adam, education is the dynamic side of philosophy. Philosophy
takes into its orbit, all the dimensions of human life. Similarly education
also reflects the multifaceted nature of human life.

• Therefore education is closely related to various aspects of human life and

environment. Hence, the term education has a wide connotation. It is
difficult to define education by single definition.

• Philosophers and thinkers from Socrates to Dewy in west and a host Indian
philosophers have attempted to define education.

• However education can be understood as the deliberate and systematic

influence exerted by a mature through instruction and discipline. It means
the harmonious development of all the powers of the human being;
physical, social, intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual.
 Cont..
• In the historical development of man, education has been the right of a
privileged few. It is only in recent centuries that education has come to be
recognised as human right.
 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

• Philosophy of education refers to the application of philosophy to the

problem of education, examining definitions, goals and chains of meaning
used in education by teachers, administrators or policymakers.
• It can involve the examination of particular visions or approaches by
researchers and policy-makers in education that often address
contemporary debates and assumptions about innovations and practices in
teaching and learning by considering the profession within broader
philosophical or socio cultural contexts.
• As an academic field, philosophy of education is "the philosophical
study of education and its problems...its central subject matter is education,
and its methods are those of philosophy.
 Scope of philosophy of education

• It is confined to the field of education. Thus, it is philosophy in the field of

education. The scope of philosophy of education is concerned with the
problem of education. These problem mainly include;
 Interpretation of human nature, the world and the universe and their relation
with man.
 Interpretation of aims and ideals of education
 The relationship of various components of the system of education
 Relationship of education and various areas of national life e.g. economic,
social, political and cultural reconstruction
 Educational values
 Theory of knowledge and its relationship to education

NB The above mentioned problems constitute the scope of philosophy of

education and explain its nature. Thus, the scope of philosophy of education
includes following
 Cont…
 Aims and ideals of education, philosophy: education critically evaluates
the different aims and ideals of education. These aims and ideals include
character building, man making, harmonious human development,
preparation for life, development of citizenship.
 Interpretation of human nature: a philosophical picture of human nature is
a result of the synthesis of the facts borrowed from all the human science
with the values discussed in different normative sciences. The
philosophical picture, therefore is more broad as compared to the picture of
man drawn by biology, sociology, economics and other human science.
 Educational values (respect, honesty, empathy): Value is typically a
philosophical subject since it is more abstract, integral and universal.
Philosophy of education not only critically evaluates the values but also
systematizes them in a hierarchy.
 Theory of knowledge: education is related to knowledge. It is determined
by the source, limits, criteria and means of knowledge. The discuss of all
falls within the jurisdiction of epistemology, one branches of philosophy,
therefore an important area of the functioning of philosophy of education is
related to theory of knowledge.
 Cont…
• Relationship of education and various area of national life and various
components of the system of education. One of the most important
contribution of the philosophy of education to the cause of education is the
provision of criteria for deciding the relationship of state and education,
economic system and education, curriculum, school organisation and
management . These problems have led to the evaluation of different
philosophies of education.
 IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN EDUCATION

1. Helps the teacher to become aware of the implications of various

issues involved in education.

2. It gives weight to the validity of the argument than to the authority

of the person arguing the case. It would encourage the teacher to
look at the educational problems more critically by diversifying
them of the confusion that personal interests and prejudiced
emotions usually introduced into educational issues.

3. It has a humbling effect on those who pursue it i.e. encourages

flexible attitude and activities and development of new /fresh ideas.
 Cont..
4. Philosophy of education offers personal intellectual education for

teacher since it is his task to stimulate the intellectual interest of his

students he himself must be intellectually curious.

5. Philosophy of education helps in curriculum development or

curriculum reconstruction i.e. what values, subjects to be taught

and helps in selecting the aims of education.

6. Philosophy of education helps teachers to employ good methods

of teaching e.g. Socratic, project, group methods.

 Cont..

1. Philosophy of education shapes professional teachers. When philosophy is

looked at from the stand point of content, its relevance to education is quite
obvious e.g.s axiology is concerned with values, epistemology is central is
central to educational enterprise because education deals in knowledge so
the teacher will employ good teaching methods.

2. Prepares the young generation to face the challenges of the modern time:
 Relationship between philosophy of teaching and
teaching styles

Select this paragraph to edit

 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

The branches of philosophy include the following;

 metaphysics

 Epistemology

 Axiology

i. Ethics

ii. Aesthetic

iii. Logic
 METAPHYSICS

• Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy whose roots date back to the time of

the ancient Greeks 2500years ago. Along the side of epistemology and
axiology, metaphysics is considered as one of the branches of philosophy.
• Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of
reality or existence.
• It asks questions such as ‘What exists?’ or ‘What is real?’ Metaphysicians
seek an irreducible foundation of reality or ‘first principles’ from which
absolute knowledge or truth can be induced and deduced.
 Cont..

• The term metaphysics is derived from the Greek words “meta” means(“beyond”,
“upon” or “after”) and physika, means (“physics”). Literally it refers ‘those things
after the physics.
• It looks into things that have to do with ultimate reality especially the nature of
God, the nature of man, nature of universe. Aristotle’s writings on ‘first philosophy’
came after his treatise/work on physics, therefore, Aristotle’s editor, Andronicus of
Rhodes, named them metaphysics.
• Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask because they provide the
foundation upon which all subsequent inquiry is based. Metaphysical questions
may be divided into four subsets.
• Cosmological aspect: Cosmology consists in the study of theories about the
origin, nature, and development of the universe as an orderly system. Questions
such as these populate the realm of cosmology: “How did the universe originate
and develop? Did it come about by accident or design? Does its existence have
any purpose?”
 Cont…
•
Theological aspect. Theology is that part of religious theory that deals with
conceptions of and about God. “Is there a God? If so, is there one or more
than one? What are the attributes of God? If God is both all good and all
powerful, why does evil exist? If God exists, what is His relationship to
human beings and the ‘real’ world of everyday life?” what is life? What is
evil? What is the origin of evil?
• Anthropological aspect. Anthropology deals with the study of human
beings and asks questions like the following: What is the relation between
mind and body? Is mind more fundamental than body, with body depending
on mind, or vice versa? What is humanity’s moral status? Are people born
good, evil, or morally neutral? To what extent are individuals free? What is
our position in the world? What is man? What is the origin of man?
 Relevance of Metaphysics
• Helps teachers to be God fearing which brings about positive effects to the
learners
• Helps teachers to learn the nature of learners
• Provides the teacher with an opportunity of utilizing the environment to start
with the choice of conducive learning environment.
• Helps teachers to give valid content to the students and employ good content
to the learners
• Helps teachers to be social, promote social efficiency and develop a culture of
working with others
• Helps teachers to look at the curriculum as something flexible that is there is
possibility of new subject matter
• Metaphysics tends to stress the importance of education to the society that is
to build a morally sound society
 Epistemology and Education

• Epistemology comes from two Greek words that is episteme meaning

knowledge and logos means theory.

• Therefore epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature

and sources of knowledge and develops a theory knowledge. As such

epistemology is referred to as the study of knowledge.

• Epistemology asks questions like what are the reliable sources of

knowledge?, what are the types of knowledge ? What are the essential

conditions of knowledge?, What does it mean to say that we know

something?
 Sources of knowledge
a) Empirical knowledge: is the type of knowledge we obtain through observation of
the things around us, through our senses and through personal experiences from
actions in which we are involved. Knowledge acquired through seeing objects,
hearing tasting, feeling or smelling odour is empirical knowledge.

Limitations of empirical knowledge

• Empirical instruments sometimes give wrong information

• Empirical instruments are very expensive to acquire and deploy in class

Why should teachers be introduced to empiricism as a source of knowledge?

• Students should be encouraged to observe and find out tings for themselves and
to record their observation and seek further proofs of the truth of the origin
discoveries.

• The teacher should appeal to both sensation and reason of the learner to produce
knowledge
 Rational knowledge

b) Rational knowledge: this is the knowledge derived by reasoning that is

not by observation but by inferring knowledge from what we already know.
For example the fact that there is a teacher implies that must be a learner
From the presence of the teacher, we logically infer or deduce that there
be a learner or some learners whom he teaches.

importance of rationalism as a source of knowledge

• It demands of us to include in the curriculum, subjects that will develop the

rational faculties like mathematics.

• In terms of methodology, teachers should be encouraged to give students

opportunity to think for themselves rather than being told everything.

Limitations of rational knowledge

 Cont..
c) Revealed knowledge or Revelation: is that body of knowledge that exists
independent of human conception. This form of knowledge was revealed to the
prophets of different religions who faithfully recorded the knowledge for mankind
and imparted the contents to their followers.
• The method of the original acquisition was by vision or trance possible only to
those who are holy enough or those whom God or Allah had chosen to reveal
himself.
Importance of revealed knowledge
Limitations of revealed knowledge
• It needs faith in order to acquire knowledge from the holy books
• Some stories seem unbelievable
• It is hard to understand things to do with revelation e.g. tounges
• Not sufficient evidence
 Cont..
• Intuitive or insight knowledge: is knowledge that is acquired by an immediate
contact of the mind with the object without going through the process of
reasoning. It is sudden understanding of something.
• It makes a person to move and arrive at accurate conclusion without having had
either previous exposure to a topic or experience in the area
• Intuitive knowledge, which is considered unreflected knowledge . It enables the
anticipation of a situation’s possible outcomes in comparatively less time than refl
ecting about the situation.
• Following conclusions are drawn concerning intuitive knowledge
a) Previous experiences cannot be ruled out but they are at unconscious level
b) There is no logical thinking about a given problem
c) But in a sudden flash of insight ( or instantly) one recognizes a solution to a
problem
 Conditions of knowledge
• What constitutes knowledge? In an attempt to answer the question as to
what constitute knowledge A.J. Ayer (1955) gave three conditions of
knowledge as follows;

a) What one said to know be true

b) That one be sure of it (ability to justify)

c) That one should have the right to be sure

NB: the words that stand distinct in Ayers’s conditions of knowledge are:
certainty, and justification for knowledge. Knowing is being in the
appropriate position to certify or give one’s authority or warrant to the truth
of what is said to be known. This man who has a tue opinion is the man who
has the right to be sure.
 Implications of all conditions of knowledge for teaching and learning process

1) The inculcation of a strong knowledge base, which be proved, justified and

which is acceptable.

2) The teacher should help learners to distinguish between knowledge and

belief, knowledge and opinion.

3) The school stands out as the most formidable agency in the transmission of
specialized knowledge of every day experience.

4) A person who knows has cause to be sure, certain and to guarantee what is
known. To know is stronger than to believe or hold an opinion. This is
because knowledge enlarges and enriches one’s idea, choices, alternatives
and initiatives to make an action deliberately.
 CRITERIA FOR KNOWLEDGE

• Existence: this means that knowledge should have existential reference. In

other words, what should constitute knowledge should exist. The
geography teacher for instance teaching the relief features of Africa should
make reference to such features that exist.
• Certainty: this means that knowledge should be validly proved. The man
who has a true opinion is the man who has the right to be sure. I know,
therefore is related to I guarantee.
• Validity: this means that knowledge should not be self contradictory
• Veracity: this means knowledge expresses truth. Falsehood does not
constitute knowledge. It is the truth in knowledge that makes it reliable and
certain.
• Utility: this is to say knowledge is either useful in its direct benefit to the
knower or in its potential for creating further knowledge.
 Relevance of Epistemology in Teacher education
• Helps teachers to employ good teaching methods like Socratic, discussion
method etc. These methods help to reduce on rote learning and boredom in
class.
• Helps teachers to employ good teaching aids and practicals during teaching
and learning process.
• Helps teachers to know the relevant sources of knowledge like reason,
empiricism, authority etc.
• Helps teachers to know the limitations of various sources of knowledge e.g.
text book knowledge, pamphlet knowledge gets obsolete.
• Helps teacher to provoke the thinking of students during teaching-learning
process.
• When selecting curriculum content one has to decide on the most
worthwhile knowledge
• Helps the teacher to know the different types of knowledge and the
appropriate methods used help learners to grasp it
 Axiology and Education

• The term axiology was first used by Paul Lapie in 1902 and Edward Von
Hartman in 1908. The term axiology is derived from two Greek words axios
meaning worth or value and logos meaning theory. Axiology is the study of
values and “value” originally meant the worth of something.

It is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with various criteria which

underline the choices we make, or with the factors which affect our desires,
interest, needs, like performance.
• Axiology concerns itself with three main question:
a) Are values subjective or objective?
Objective values exist in their own regardless of human preferences. That
is it is no anybody who decides that something or somebody is good.
Certain things are things, actions or qualities are inherently good. Education
has objective value. It is worthwhile in itself.
To maintain that values are subjective is to claim that they reflect personal
preferences. Whatever is valuable is so not itself but because we happen to
value it so. Education is also valuable because most people attach value to
it.
 Cont…
b) Are values changing or constant
There are certain values that are absolute and eternal. These values are as
valid as they were in the past. They are valid for everyone everywhere e.g.
charity.
Other people maintain that all values are relative to men’s desires. As our
values change so do the values that express them. Desires and values,
change in response to new developments especially in religion, politics,
science and technology etc.
c) Are there hierarchies of values?
Different philosophers differ whether values are in hierarchy
i. Idealist philosopher maintains that there is a fixed hierarchy of values in
which spiritual values are higher than the material ones.
ii. The realist also believes in hierarchy of values. But for idealist rational and
empirical values are ranked high because they help us to adjust to
objective reality, the laws of nature and the rules of logic.
iii. A pragmatic philosopher does not believe in any hierarchy of values. For
him one activity is likely to be good as another if it satisfies an urgent need.
 Components of Axiology
ETHICS.

• Ethics also known as moral philosophy Is the study of values in the realm of
human conduct. It is concerned with morals values and conduct.
In philosophy, ethics studies moral behaviour of humans and how one should act. It
deals with such questions as “what is correct or acceptable behaviour. How we
ought to behave? How should I behave?” These are ethical questions. Ethical
theory seeks to provide right values as the foundation for right actions. What is good
and evil, right and wrong? Is it ever right to take something that does not belong to
you?
• The Purpose of Ethics

a) To ensure that human behaviour conforms to norms.

b) Helps to elevate one’s moral standards

c) A training in ethics should enable us see the defects in our own and other people’s conduct and to understand exact
nature so that if the desire is there, we are better able to set things right in our own conduct and make profitable
suggestions to others.
 Aesthetics

• Is a branch of axiology that deals with the problem of beauty and art. Aesthetic
values are difficult to assess because they are likely to be personal and subjective
e.g. piece of music, art evoke varying reactions, excitement and appreciation.
Aesthetics asks such questions as “What is beautiful?” and “What should I like?”
How do we recognize a great piece of music? Art? Can there be beauty in
destruction?

• What criteria can be used to judge the beauty or quality of art, music or literature?
a) Rely on the authoritative experts
b) Judge basing on the majority view
NB -A teacher should help pupils to grasp the basic principles in the field of literature,
music or art
- A teacher should help the learners to be able to defend their impression, attitude to
or judgement of a piece of work.
 Relevance of Axiology in Teacher Education

• Helps in lesson planning i.e. it helps teacher to know what type of values,
their activities and subjects are fostering in their students.

• Promotes professionalism in schools. Teachers need to be decent, exibit

fortitude etc.

• The study of aesthetics helps teachers to appreciate the environment and

work for its conservation.

• Axiology helps in curriculum development i.e. what to include and when to

teach what nests in Axiology.

• Good seating arrangement in classroom rests on Axiology i.e. short

students in front and tall ones at the back.

• Ethics helps to elevate man’s moral standards.

 Schools Of Thought On Education

• Schools of thought is regarded as a group of notable people who have

common point of view or principles on some issues. This common opinion
is often held at a very high esteem by the society and respected since such
opinion has a very rich contribution to the educational system of that
society.

• Thus the study of such schools of thought is very vital in teacher education
because it exposes us as teachers to various educational tenets and their
implications.
 Naturalism
• Naturalism is a doctrine which separates nature from God, Subordinates
spirit to matter and sets up unchangeable laws as supreme. Naturalism is
also termed as materialism. According to this philosophy the basis of the
world is matter.

• Naturalism is an artistic movement advocating realistic description: in art or

literature, a movement or school advocating factual or realistic description of
life, including its less pleasant aspects.

• In literature, the doctrine rejecting spiritual explanations of world: a system

of thought that rejects all spiritual and supernatural explanations of the
world and holds that science is the sole basis of what can be known.

• A belief that all religious truth is derived from nature and natural causes,
and not from revelation. The whole universe is governed by laws of nature
and they are changeable.

• It’s through our sense that we are able to get the real knowledge. The
senses works like real gateways of knowledge and exploration is the
method that helps in studying
nature.
 Chief exponents of naturalism

 Democritus (460-370)

 Epicurus (435-355 BC)

 Bacon (1562-1626 A.D)

 J.A Comenius (529-1670)

 Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

 Rousseau (1712-1778 A.D

NB: Naturalism is the oldest philosophy in the western world. As a distinct

philosophy, it is extremely difficult to define it because its basic ideas tend to
overlap with other philosophies. Its fundamental principles which explain its
nature, scope and implications are:
 Cont..

 According to naturalism, material world is the real world

 Mind is subordinate to matter

 Nature’s alone is the source of knowledge

 Values are created in terms of specific needs

 All real values exist in nature-living close to nature

 There is possibility of any supernatural being

 The individual is always given precedence

 Man creates societies only to meet some of his needs

 Metaphysical perspective of naturalism

 Naturalists argue that beyond the physical world, there is no reality.

To them reality is what is physical, perceivable and can be tested.

 They also argue that beyond physical world there is no true

existence, so reality is made up of natural objects like man and

woman, trees , water, rocks etc

 The nature of man according to naturalism

• Man is offspring of nature. His origin is nature, locus is nature and his
destination is nature
• God does not exist, there is no life after death. To naturalists death is a
personal extinct and all man’s value end at death. When he dies, he
becomes humus like any other object.
• Man’s behaviour is determined by environment and hence he cannot act
otherwise. All that man does has been predetermined.
• Students are physical beings, whose first requirement is good health
• Students are capable of contributing to their own education and living
basically through spontaneous activities i.e. learning is a natural process
• Self-conscious and self- actualizing i.e. children are born wit abilities to use
their environment
 Epistemological perspective of naturalism

• Naturalism is of the view that knowledge comes exclusively from five

senses e.g. taste, smelling, sight, hearing.

• Teachers have the responsibility of ensuring that you develop more

particularly the phenomena of observation, experimentation, and
verification.

• Teachers should put emphasis on reflective teaching –learning process

because it fulfills the requirements of the scientific approach.
 Axiological perspective on naturalism
• According to naturalism, values are residents in nature; they are looked at from
utilitarian and hedonistic point of view.
PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION ACCORDING TO NATURALISM
 Naturalism lays stress on physical environment
 Naturalism emphasizes the present life of the child as the basis of education
 Naturalism accords an important place to the child in the educative process
 Naturalism advocates education in accordance with the nature of the child
 Naturalism gives prominent place to the concept of freedom in the education of
the child.
 Naturalism has an insignificant place for knowledge from books or bookish
knowledge
 Aims of education according to naturalism
 Self-expression: It is the main aim of education. It means giving the child full
opportunity to express or reveal his hidden capabilities and qualities.
 Autonomous development of individuality: every individual possesses his
individuality and Special traits. The aim of education should be the development of
his Individuality.
 Preparation for the struggle for existence: Biological Naturalists believe that life is a
struggle, in which only stronger living beings are successful. Hence the aim of
education should be to prepare the individual for the struggle of life.
 Perfection of human Machine: Mechanical naturalism suggests that education
should aim at the efficiency and perfection of human machine.
 Curriculum of naturalism

Chief characteristics of curriculum are;

 It is based on the nature of the child, his interests etc.
 It lays stress on subject that are helpful in self preservation
 It stresses basic sciences: naturalists believe in science subjects
viz. Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany. They also give due
importance to Mathematics and languages.
 It emphasizes physical and health education
 No rigid curriculum:
Naturalism does not advocate any rigid or fixed type of
curriculum. Child learns best in a natural setting and nature is
a grand book. Naturalistic curriculum is based upon the
psychology of child and gives maximum importance to the
age and stage of his development.
 Select this paragraph to edit
Teaching methods
Naturalism lays stress on;
• Learning by doing
• Learning through experience
• Learning through observation
• Learning through heuristic method
 Role of the teacher

• Naturalists do not like that children should be taught in classes by teachers

who are spoiled by the artificial atmosphere teacher, in whose close contact
the child develops normally and naturally. In the process of education, the
place of the child is more important and central than the teacher. The
teacher should not impose upon the child any things under his own authority
or supremacy.
• According to naturalism, the teacher plays the role of an observer and stage
setter
Discipline
• Nature will punish the child if he contravenes the law of nature and thus he will
learn by the consequences of his own action. Thus nobody should interfere in this
process of nature. The child should be allowed full freedom to indulge in the
activities of his choice. The teacher should provide such experiences for free
activity.
• Naturalism accords maximum freedom to the child. It has no scope for
external discipline or restraint.
 JEAN JACQUE ROUSSEAU

 Rousseau accepted deism, a view that God exists, his quite apart and
disinterested in the physical universe and human beings but created both
and is the author of all natural and moral laws.

 Rousseau's metaphysics would not be described as naturalistic, then why is

his way of thinking associated to naturalism. The reason is that his
glorification of nature throughout his epistemological and axiological views
had the effect of promoting naturalism particularly in education and politics
 Jean Jacque Rousseau’s Conception Of Human Nature (1712-
1178)

• He asserted that child’s education should be free to develop according to

the laws of its own nature. Rousseau maintained that the following inborn
tendencies should be developed and modified by the school.
1. Self preservation
2. Exploration
3. Self-assertion
4. Self-abasement
5. Constructivism
• He emphasized natural goodness of human nature. He believed that man is
naturally good, he is wholly good as he springs from the hands of nature.
He rejected the traditional religious doctrine of the original sin.
• Rousseau advocated for child centered education. He knew that the learner
is born good but due to exposure to human prejudice, authority, etc. man
would soon or later loose his original purity and consequently advocated for
child centered education
 The principles of child centered education
• The child is naturally good and develops naturally along lines if un interfered
with by adults
• The needs of the child should be the starting point of education i.e. the
present needs of the child not his wishes should determine education that is
offered.
Rousseau divided education into four levels
• Infancy stage which is purely sensory stage. Here children are taught
through playing method
• Childhood stage: which involves sensation and sense judgement. Here
education should be meant to harmonize the child with his surroundings
(learning by doing_
• Early adolescence (12-15 yeas). This calls for intellectual knowledge. It is
a stage to introduce sciences, where practical thinking occurs
• Late adolescence (15 years above): here education should be according to
the learner’s stage of development because nature cannot be hurried.
NB: He also asserted that education should be sponsored and funded by the
state. He believed that public education under regulation presented by the
government and under magistrate established by the sovereign is one of the
fundamental rules of population legitimate government
 Rousseau's’ contribution to the development of theory
and practice of modern education

 The child’s learning should be started from his own experience but he must
make progress towards what is not known within his experience.
 Education is more that what takes place in the formal school or classroom.
The whole environment of the child is a resource for learning.
 Readiness of the child should be put into consideration. No new learning
task should be presented to him until he demonstrates that he is ready.
 The child is not a miniature adult and so should not be treated as such nor
should his education consist mainly of preparation for adult life which could
only destroy all the joy and excitement of learning for the child
 Each child is a unique individual and should be studied and understood as
such
 The teacher should cultivate affection for is pupils, should deeply respect
their individual nature and in general should be sympathetic guide and
adviser but under no circumstances should the teacher impose himself or
his ideas.
 Education should be government sponsored and a good class size is that of
one tutor to one student.
 The curriculum and the teaching methods should be governed by nature of
the child rather than by preconceived plan
 Child Centered Method

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 Advantages of child centered method

 It promotes critical thinking amongst the learners since students are

involved in the learning experience.

 It enables students to express their views confidently, since they are also
involved in search for knowledge

 It facilitates the teaching learning process. This is true in the sense that
students take the initiative in the learning process. it helps to identify
teachers to identify slow and fast learners; so that appropriate methods of
teaching are applied (remedial teaching can be organised).

 The teacher is likely not to be overloaded since the problem solving tasks
are given to students who practically defend on themselves than the
teacher.
 Disadvantages of child centered method

1. The required content may not be covered in the required time

2. The method is not economical in terms of materials meant to cater for the
children individual differences

3. The teacher must be intellectually curious or resourceful or else the children

may not choose the most fruitful activities or options in their lives
 Herbert Spencer (1820-1903 )
• Spencer was one of the naturalists.

• Unlike other ancient Greek naturalists, who were believers in the elemental,
physical substance, was an energist.

• For him, ultimate reality was not a form of physical substance but
unperceivable energy or force constituting the foundation of all aspects of
the perceivable world
 Educative process

• His theory of education centers upon the idea of complete living within the
context of nature by which the learners are taught should ultimately enable
him to complete life.
• Spencer divides life into five prime constituent areas of human activity which
he arranges in a successive order of their decreasing importance. It
includes the following;
 Those activities which directly minister to self- preservation
 Those activities which by securing the necessities of life indirectly minister
to self-preservation
 Those activities which have for their end, the rearing and discipline of off
springs
 Those activities which are involved in the maintenance of proper social and
political relations
 Those miscellaneous activities which fill up the leisure part of life devoted to
the gratification of tastes and feelings
 Spencer methods
• Spencer was a thoroughgoing in the efficacy of the scientific method.
• He maintains that the habit of drawing conclusions by observation and experiment
and then verifying these conclusions by observation can alone give the power of
judging correctly
• In his view, Spencer maintained that the most appropriate educative process is
that which is based on the following principles;
 Educative process should conform to the natural processes of growth and mental
development
 It becomes pleasurable
 It practices the art of delay of respecting nature’s pace to avoid premature
orientation
 It employs methods of teaching cheerfully of inductive type to encourage self-
activity and discovery
 It determines punishments constituted by natural consequences of wrong deeds
(it should be certain and moderated with sympathy
 Contributions of naturalism to education

 Naturalism advocates that education should be a pleasurable activity for

children. The child’s interest in and readiness to learn a topic has been
assigned due importance.
 Naturalism stresses that education should engage the spontaneous self
activity of the child.
 According to naturalism, methods of instruction must be inductive to make
teaching effective, inspirational and attractive
 The concept of discipline according to naturalism is very desirable.
Punishment is based on the consequences of wrong deeds. Children share
freedom as well as responsibility
 Naturalism in education draws our attention to the aesthetic aspect of
surrounding. This implies that schools should be located in natural
surrounding. Education can be imparted in the open.
 New schools and new movements came into being as a result of naturalism.
Froebel’s Kindergarten, the Montessori method, etc are representatives of
this movement
 Weakness of naturalism in education

 Naturalism in its extreme form neglects books and other media. It is very
difficult to assume that we can neglect vast quantities of printed materials.

 Physical nature alone is not sufficient for providing education

 Absolute freedom to child is a myth. It cannot exist. Child cannot be allowed

the freedom to hang himself

 It is very difficult to find naturalistic surrounding for location of educational

institutions

 Naturalism assigns very little importance to the teacher in the educative

process.

 Children’s are given over freedom and giving most importance to exercises.

 More emphasis on present needs of the children’s.

 Idealism and education

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