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/
