Philosophical Foundation

of Curriculum

Prepared by:ARNOLD M. DUPING

Philosophy ? set of ideas about

The nature of realityThe meaning of lifeDescribe your current

personal philosophy of education

•Philosophy provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools.

•It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used.

•In decision making, philosophy provides the starting point and will be used for the succeeding decision making.

Philosophy and Curriculum

•It clarifies education’s goals, suitable content, teaching and learning processes, and the activities and experiences that schools should emphasize.

ALMOST ALL ELEMENTS OF CURRICULUM ARE BASED ON PHILOSOPHY Philosophy is the beginning point in

curriculum decision making and then basis for all subsequent decisions- John Goodlad.

Philosophy becomes the criterion for determining the aims, means and ends of curriculum.

The philosophy of curriculum planner, implementer, or

evaluator reflects his or her life experiences,

common beliefs, social and economic background and

education.For example, JOHN DEWEY

(1916) looks at“education as a way of life”

a laboratory in which philosophy becomes

concrete and is tested

School Purpose

s

Studies ofLearners

Suggestions

from Subject

SpecialistsStudies

of Contempo-rary Life

Use of Psycho-logy of

Learning

Use of Philosoph

y

Tyler’s View of Philosophy in Relation to School Purposes

4 MAJOR PHILOSOPHIESIDEALISM

REALISM TRADITIONA

L

PRAGMATISM

EXISTENTIALISM

CONTEMPORARY

IDEALISM

The highest aim is the search for truth and enduring values (US Idealists)

Ideas could be integrated into universal concepts and a meaningful whole (Plato).

To Plato, truth is perfect and eternal and not found in the world matter.

It is possible to achieve moral clarification but not possible to arrive absolute or universal truths (Kant).

We can’t rely on our senses as they deceive us. (Criticism) a “truth” sometimes is only in the

eye of the beholder.

Idealist Curriculum They prefer curriculum that relates ideas

and concepts to one another. The curriculum is hierarchical; it

constitutes human kind heritage based on learned disciplines by the liberal arts curriculum

Top of the hierarchy are abstract subjects (philosophy and theology)

Mathematics ranks high bec. It cultivates abstract thinking.

Literature and History-they offer moral and cultural models.

Idealist Curriculum

Language- it enables communication and conceptual thought.

In the lower ladder are the sciences, which only deal with particular cause and effects.

Learning is primarily intellectual process that involves recalling and working of ideas.

Education at any level should teach students to think

Back-to-basics approach in education

REALISM

Realists view the world in terms of object and matter.

Everything is derived from nature and is subject to its laws.

Human behaviour is rational when it conforms to nature’s law and when it is governed by physical and social laws.

Everything had a purpose and that human’s purpose is to think (Aristotle)

However, True Peace is derived not from thinking about something but from thinking about nothing (Buddhism).

The universe is ordered; things happen for a purpose and education should illuminate purpose (Aristotle, Aquinas).

Realist Curriculum

Realists stress a curriculum comprising separate content areas such as history and zoology.

They also rank the most general and abstracts subjects at the top of hierarchy.

Lessons that cultivate logic and abstract thoughts are stressed

The three R’s are basic to education Realists value the sciences as much as

the arts.

PRAGMATISM and the Curriculum

Pragmatism (aka Experimentalism) is based on change, process and relativity.

Pragmatism construes knowledge as a process in which reality is constantly changing.

Learning occurs as the person engages in problem solving, which is transferrable to a wide variety of subjects and situations.

Both the learner and learner’s environment are constantly changing.

PRAGMATISM and the Curriculum Pragmatists reject the idea of unchanging and universal

truths.

Teaching should focus on critical thinking. It is more exploratory than explanatory.

The method is more important than the subject matter.

The ideal teaching method is concerned not so much in teaching the learner what to think as with teaching them to critically think.

Dewey viewed education as a process for improving human condition.

Ideally, CURRICULUM was based on a child’s experiences and interests and prepared the child for life’s affairs.

The subject matter was interdisciplinary and emphasized on problem solving and scientific method

EXISTENTIALISM

Existentialists stress on individualism and self-fulfilment

“People continually make choices and thereby define themselves”.

Existentialists advocate that students be free to choose how and what they study.

They also believe that the most important knowledge is knowledge of the human condition.

Education should develop consciousness of choices and their significance.

Existentialism rejects imposition of group norms, authority and established order.

EXISTENTIALIST CURRICULUM

The curriculum consists of experiences and subjects that lend themselves to individual freedom and choice.

Arts are stressed because they cultivate self-expression and portray human condition and situations involving choices.

Teachers and students discuss their lives and choices.

Literature, drama, filmmaking, music and art reflect self-expressive activities and illustrate emotions, feelings, and insights.

4 OTHER EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES

PERENNILAISMESSENTIALISMPROGRESSIVISM

RECONSTRUCTIONISM

PERENNIALISM The oldest and most conservative

educational philosophy rooted in realism.

At elementary, the curriculum stressed the three R’s as well as moral values and religious trainings.

At secondary level, it emphasized subjects such as Latin, Greek, grammar, rhetoric, logic and geometry.

As Ph of Ed, it relies on the past and stresses traditional values.

It emphasizes knowledge that has stood the test of time and cherished values of society.

The aim is to improve people (Robert Hutchins)

PERENNIALISM For perennialists, human nature is constant.

Humans have the ability to reason and to understand nature’s universal truth.

The goal of education is to develop the rational person and uncover universal truths by developing students’ intellectual and moral character.

It’s curriculum is subject centered; the curriculum relies heavily on defined disciplines or logically organized body of contents, emphasizing language, literature, mathematics and sciences.

Teachers are viewed as authorities in the fields.

Teaching is following the Socratic Method: oral exposition, lecture and explication.

PERENNIALISM

One curriculum for all students with little room for elective subjects or vocational or technical subject matter.

Character training is also important as means of developing students’ moral and spiritual being.

ESSENTIALISM: Reaffirming the Best and Brightest Essentialists emphasize on mastering

the skills, facts and concepts that form the basis of subject matter.

Discipline, Training, homework and serious study are emphasized.

The teacher is considered a master of a particular subject and a model worthy of emulation.

The teacher is responsible for the class and decides on the curriculum with minimal student input.

ESSENTIALISM: Reaffirming the Best and Brightest Like in the perennialism, the teacher

is respected as an authority, exhibits high standards and expects the same from students.

Essentialism is reflected in the demand of increasing academic standards.

PROGRESSIVISM

Democracy and education go in hand. Dewey viewed that the school is a miniature democratic society in which students learn the skills necessary for democratic living.

Progressivists believe that school should nurture cooperation and self-discipline and transmit the society’s culture.

Progressivism emphasized on how to think not on what to think.

PROGRESSIVISM

The curriculum should be interdisciplinary and teachers should guide students in problem solving and scientific projects.

Teacher (Dewey) served as the leader of group activities and allowed students to analyze and interpret data and draw their own conclusions.

The teacher and students planned activities together.

PROGRESSIVISM

The progressivism splits into several groups:

The child centered

Activity centered

Creative

Neo-Freudian

PROGRESSIVISM

The progressivists were united in opposing:

1. Authoritarian teaching

2. Overreliance on textbook methods

3. Memorization of factual data by constant drill

4. Static aims and materials of discipline

5. Intimidation or corporal punishment

6. Attempts to separate education from individual experiences and social reality

RELEVANT CURRICULUM

Progressivists demand relevance advocating:

1. Individualized instruction

2. Revised and new courses of interest to students

3. Educational alternatives

4. Extension of the curriculum beyond the school’s walls

5. Relaxation of academic standards and admission standards to schools and colleges.

HUMANISTIC CURRICULUM

This began as a reaction to a perceived overemphasis on subject matter and cognitive learning.

This curriculum emphasizes affective rather than cognitive, outcomes.

The humanistic teacher is dedicated and enjoys teaching, treats learning as enterprise,, inspires his students to learn, encourages them to develop of power of thought, taste and character.

RECONSTRUCTIONISM

This advocated greater emphasis on society-centered education that addressed the needs of all social classes.

Curriculum must be transformed in keeping with a new social-economic-political education; it must incorporate reform strategies.

A curriculum based on social issues and services is ideal.

RECONSTRUCTIONISM

The reconstructionists advocated a program of education that:

1. Critically examines a society’s cultural heritage

2. Examines controversial issues

3. Commits to brining about consecutive social change

4. Cultivates a future oriented attitude that considers school reform

5. Enlists students and teachers to enhance educational opportunities

The End

Thank you for listening