Educational Philosophies on Educational Goals, Teaching Methods, and Curricula and My Reflection

 

Educational Philosophies on Educational Goals, Teaching Methods, and Curricula and My Reflection

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Abstract

A teacher plays a vital role inside the classroom in imparting knowledge through the various educational pedagogical aspects and philosophies he applies that ultimately impact the outcome of learners. The impacts on learners depend on the beliefs, values, and understanding that every individual teacher possesses based on how he teaches and deals with the topic to make some differences in support of their values and beliefs (The Digi Teachers, n.d.). They are all dependent on the type of educational philosophies that a teacher carries in his mind. Education philosophies are integral in every aspect as they enable an individual to identify and interpret the syllabus its failure and the way forward to construct for the development process of the learners.

Educational Philosophies on Educational Goals, Teaching Methods, and Curricula

Educational philosophies depend on the four major schools of thought based on the theories put forward by Plato, Aristotle, 19th-century American philosophers, and Jean-Paul Sartre. They are Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism respectively (The Digi Teachers, n.d.).

Idealism focuses on the subject matters whereby it allows students to discover their abilities and develop moral superiority through lecture and discussion so that they gain in-depth ideas, concepts, and knowledge. They based their learning purely on reasoning and questioning. (Narejo, 2015).

Realism focuses on experimentation and observation through investigation and research for character development of the learners to discover the knowledge whereby the teacher will be engaged in organizing and presenting the contentment and students are critically engaged in observing and experimenting with the help of objective criteria (Narejo, 2015).

Pragmatism follows a problem-solving curriculum whereby they focus on the application of learner's experiences to solve problems with the idea of change since reality is changing now and then. Mostly, students are engaged with problem-solving assignments or projects through experimental inquiry, especially in groups to exchange their ideas or collaborate their ideas for better learning outcomes (Narejo, 2015).

Existentialism focuses the learners to create their conclusion based on their focus on the present situation of the world and its reality. It is the learned-centered philosophy whereby the teacher's role is just to facilitate the learning process and they give freedom to the learners to draw their conclusions through the questioning and answering process (Narejo, 2015).

The above educational philosophies can be broken down into three categories of teaching philosophies such as teacher-centered philosophies, child-centered philosophies, and society-centered philosophies. They are directly dependent on the concepts based on the combination of two or more schools of thought (The Digi Teachers, n.d.). From many, some of the most important teaching philosophies of education are:

Progressivism: It is the philosophy in which the whole child is considered as the center of the focal point, not the content or the teacher. The students are engaged in the scientific methods of questioning to test ideas through their active participation and experimentation. They are assessed through their writing portfolio or projects. The students act as problem solvers in which they come up with their solutions through their own experiences and research (Presbitero, n.d.). Teachers are just the facilitators to check their progress and encourage learning by making positive changes. Books are just used as a medium to discover and learn new things. The curricula are based on the needs, interests, and abilities of the students (The Digi Teachers, n.d.).

Essentialism: It is the philosophy in which students are engaged in identifying themselves based on their characters through basic skills in life teacher-centered philosophies. In fact, students are more into identifying and directing themselves on what they should be learning and teachers lay out their choice through a systematic and disciplined manner. Its curriculum basically focuses on skills and knowledge building through proper discipline and hard work that prepare them to be productive members of society (Presbitero, n.d.). On the other hand, the teacher will be engaged in molding students by making them define themselves and refining them to be the complete person and are capable of identifying good and bad about life for self-awareness. They are open to creativity and are given the freedom of expression (Presbitero, n.d.). According to Matthew Lynch, he stated, "Essentialist educators focus on transmitting a series of progressively difficult topics and promotion of students to the next level or grade. Subjects are focused on the historical context of the material world and culture, and move sequentially to give a solid understanding of the present-day" (Lynch, 2016).

Social reconstructionism: It is the philosophy in which students are used as tools to overcome some of the social problems. Since school prepares the future leaders and citizens of the country, each student should be well educated about life, not simply to achieve good marks in their academics, but also to be a good human being so that they value cultural differences, religious differences, poverty, respect for others, etc. (Lynch, 2016). Such a classroom prepares students with good moral values through the lessons and makes students understand the values of life through discussions on the subject and analysis. Moreover, students are also engaged in improving in public speaking, leadership, building core skills, etc.

Nationalism: It is the philosophy in which students are prepared to showcase their love and respect for their country and its customs and traditions. Although there is no change in the curriculum, teachers will be engaged in imparting national values and biased information about the country so that they develop a sense of respect, love, and patriotism towards their country (The Digi Teachers, n.d.).

My Reflection on Beliefs and Practices on Educational Philosophies and the Philosophies I Would Subscribe To

As a teacher, I believe that I am a responsible person who plays an integral role in shaping the future of my nation, and my students, by making them capable and independent students. For this, I should be a role model with an outstanding teaching philosophy in front of them so that I can inspire them through the correct measures. It is because having an outstanding teaching philosophy means having a clear map to go ahead while teaching. We are responsible for the future of every student we teach because we are the future creators of the nation and we help them choose the correct profession and help them make perfect identities (edsys, 2018). It is the teacher who builds them to be independent thinkers and decision-makers in the future. I believe that we play the key role in providing them with the right values and lessons so that they stand in their shoes on their own by being judgmental. Having desired teaching philosophies means practicing better teaching strategies, knowledge about the purpose of education, and dedication while teaching. I think I am not too far away from the educational philosophies and teaching philosophies. At times, I might have deviated and might have compromised with the philosophies due to academic pressure, time factors, and peer influences, but now, I realize that our main focus on the learners is to be prioritized and should not be compromised with any other factors.

At present, my class is mostly interactive whereby I act as a facilitator, facilitating the class during the learning process. I engage my learners more in inquiry learning, cooperative learning, learning through research, drawing conclusions, role play, project writing, portfolio maintaining, reading logs, etc. focusing purely on the wholesome development of a child. However, after going through the educational philosophies, I felt that I needed to do more than what I had been doing with the clear objectives in mind.

Nevertheless, I would like to subscribe to all the philosophies stated above because they are equally important to make our students complete one. Progressivism is important because it gives students hands-on experience to work independently in the future. Moreover, skills and knowledge are important aspects of life and it is through essentialism that students get to identify themselves better which is very important. On the other hand, simply having knowledge and understanding about oneself is not enough in anyone's life, one needs to understand the system the society, and the problems in society, and acting wisely is pivotal in life. Therefore, social reconstructionism is also a very important aspect because moral values are what matters for a better society to mend. Finally, in Bhutan, a small country situated between two giants India and China, nationalism in education is very important. We need to preserve our culture, customs, traditions, and identity to exist independently forever. Therefore, students should be aware of all those things. And it can happen only through the teaching philosophies that we adopt wisely. I also should not forget that I am preparing my students to face the challenges that they are going to face soon and it is only through having clear philosophies in our mind we can make the differences in the class that we go extraordinarily. For this, I should also be determined, dedicated, and hardworking.

 

Reference:

The Digi Teachers. (n.d.). Understanding the Different Types of Teaching Philosophies. Retrieved July 3, 2021 from https://thedigiteachers.com/teaching-philosophies/

Narejo. I. (2015). Philosophical School of Thought. Retrieved July 3, 2021 from https://www.slideshare.net/irshadirshad75457/philosophical-school-of-thought

Presbitero, J. ( n.d.). Educational Philosophies Definitions and Comparison Chart. Retrieved July 3, 2021 from https://www.academia.edu/6866854/Educational_Philosophies _Definitions_and_Comparison_Chart

Lynch. M. (2016). Philosophies of Education: 3 Types of Student-Centered Philosophies. Retrieved July 3, 2021 https://www.theedadvocate.org/philosophies-education-3-types-student-centered-philosophies/

Edsys. (2018). Why Is It Important For Teachers to Study Philosophy of Education. Retrieved July 3, 2021 https://www.edsys.in/why-is-it-important-for-teachers-to-study-philosophy-of-education/