Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 1/What are Philosophies? 1

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Philosophies of Education

Throughout the centuries, several different philosophies of education have been introduced and have helped shape what we now know and consider to be education. While many of these philosophies share certain ideals, all are individual and structured enough to be independent of one another and each should be considered in its own right. Five of these philosophies are essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, existentialism, and behaviorism. Certainly, other philosophies and theories exist, but these five have strongly influenced educational practices, theories and movements in western culture, with some waning in popularity only to regain interest among philosophers and educators decades later.

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One such philosophy is essentialism, which is sometimes referred to as “traditionalism.” This philosophy supports the idea that educators should focus on teaching traditional skills, primarily the “three r’s:” reading, writing and arithmetic (Shaw). In addition, essentialists seek to expound upon students the importance and necessity of character values. Essentialists strive to educate students to be intellectually capable to “mastering a body of information and basic techniques” (Shaw) and also to become respectful, loyal and responsible citizens. Essentialism was the underlying philosophy of American education virtually from its inception, but the theory and ideals were formally introduced to American educators and policy makers by educational psychologist/philosopher William Bagley in the 1930’s (Ravitch). Essentialists believe in strict academic programs with little or no focus on extracurricular activities. This harsh view elicited criticism in the early half of the 20th century. However, in the late 50’s, science and technology grabbed international attention as Sputnik was launched (Shaw). The renewed interests in the sciences at that time revived essentialism as a viable philosophy for America.

Perennialism shares many similarities with essentialism. Both focus on basic or traditional educational skills and require strict adherence to a curriculum that promotes understanding of these skills. Both also discourage the teaching of vocational and practical skills in lieu of strengthening and mastering reasoning skills (Shaw). But perennialism accepts the ideas of greater being or powers, and is even promoted by perennialist proponents such as Plato and St. Thomas Aquinas (Shaw). And though both perennialists and essentialists agree on curricular content, perennialists feel that students should be taught in a more conceptual style, through discussions, instructor-guided analyses and seminars (Shaw). The perennialist philosophy is not linked to any specific time period, but has been advocated over centuries by educator and philosophers, each in his own style, of course. Such advocates include those mentioned above as well as Aristotle and modern-day philosopher Mortimer Adler (Shaw.)

The philosophy of progressivism was another shaping force of American education in the early 20th century. This philosophy, most notably linked to educator John Dewey and first introduced in the 1920’s, focused more on individuality and a combined emphasis on academic, social and cultural awareness (Shaw). Unlike essentialists, progressivists stress the importance of practical application of skills learned (Wikipedia, Dewey). They are firm believers in pragmatism, testing the validity of concepts by evaluating practical results (Webster, 1989). They felt that this philosophy would strengthen “problem solving and critical thinking skills” (Wikipedia, Dewey) and would encourage students to grow intellectually and socially. Social views and ideals held by progressivists include cooperation and tolerance of others (Shaw), which again, would support an individualized and freethinking society. While these ideals did influence American schools to take a broader approach to curricula, the philosophy itself was never widely adopted by school systems, which were concentrating on science and technology rather than humanities (Wikipedia). Progressivism became prevalent in the 1960’s and 70’s only to fall by the wayside in American education during the 1980’s (Shaw).

Another educational philosophy that strongly promotes a sense of individuality is existentialism. While existentialists commonly disharmonize amongst themselves on basic philosophical views, they do commonly discredit traditional theories on education (Shaw). Existentialists, rather, believe that “individuals are responsible for determining for themselves what is ‘true’ or ‘false,’ ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ ‘beautiful’ or ‘ugly’” (Shaw). They support an educational environment in which content and structure are secondary to personal growth and the acceptance of responsibility for individual behavior. The existential philosophy of education also focuses on the premise that emotion and reason are both factors in personal judgment and that both should be addressed at the educational level (Shaw). They stress the importance of educating “the whole person, not just the mind” (Shaw). Two strong advocates of educational existentialism are Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. This philosophy relies strongly on self-direction of education and thus has not been accepted by mainstream educational institutions. Instead, existentialism is more common in private and alternative schools (Shaw).

Finally, the behaviorist philosophy of education focuses on environment and observation of surroundings as the driving force behind an individual’s thoughts and actions. Behaviorists believe that society and education are not two separate entities – one strongly influences the other (Wikipedia, Skinner). In behaviorism, educational strategies center primarily on learned behavior and positive reinforcement (Shaw). Supporters of the behaviorist philosophy include Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov and, more recently, B.F. Skinner, whose theories and ideas on behaviorism renewed this philosophy later in the 20th century (Shaw). While educators have not adopted this philosophy as a whole, it can be argued that some of Skinner’s pedagogy is present in many modern day schools.

Regardless of the ideals and theories proposed by each different philosophy, the desired results are consistent: to create a society of citizens who care and provide for themselves, are morally astute, ethically grounded and independently responsible. The debate over philosophies will continue, no doubt, but what we may see (or should at least hope to see) is a combination of these and other philosophies and ideals into a productive educational system that will produce these desired results nationally.

Sidebar

“Students of education…should be helped to see that knowledge is value dependent, culture dependent and changeable – that we are not searching for a fixed, universal philosophy of life and education.”

-Clive Beck, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Essay Question

Of the five philosophies of education outlined, which most closely reflects your own personal philosophy of education? Explain.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did progressivism not become widely accepted by public education system in America?

a. Its ideals were too radical

b. It did not focus enough on individuality

c. Schools were more concerned about science & technology than individualism

d. It didn’t focus enough on basic skills

2. Which two theories are the most similar?

a. Essentialism and Progressivism

b. Essentialism and Perennialism

c. Behaviorism and Existentialism

d. Progressivism and Behaviorism

3. The launching of Sputnik in 1957 caused a resurgence of what philosophy?

a. Essentialism

b. Progressivism

c. Perennialism

d. Existentialism

4. Existentialism strongly promotes a sense of what in students?

a. Accountability

b. Individuality

c. Practicality

d. Learned behavior

5. Positive reinforcement is a key element in which philosophy?

a. Essentialism

b. Progressivism

c. Behaviorism

d. Existentialism

Sources

Beck, Clive. “Postmodernism, pedagogy and philosophy of education.” Philosophy of Education Yearbook 1993. <http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES- Yearbook/93_docs/BECK.HTM> (June 19, 2006)

Ravitch, Diane. “Recycling Reforms.” Education Next 2004. <http://www.educationnext.org/20041/34.html> (June 18, 2006)

Shaw, Larry J. “Five Educational Philosophies.” <http://edweb.sdsu.edu/LShaw/f95syll/philos/phintro.html> (June 16, 2006)

Wikipedia. “John Dewey.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey> (June 20, 2006)

Wikipedia. “Philosophy of education.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_education> (June 16, 2006)

Multiple Choice Answers

1. C

2. B

3. A

4. B

5. C