Educational Philosophies

Educational Philosophy	Proponent	Description of the Philosophy
Christian Philosophy	Jesus and Saul of Tarsus or St. Paul, the Apostle	Believes in the: a) God is the creator of all things; b) Jesus is the Messiah, Christ, Son of God; c) The Holy Trinity includes the Father, the Son and the Spirit; d) The Human being is a sinner who requires redemption; e) Jesus came down to Earth to redeem the mankind; f) The soul is immortal; g) The Old Testament and the New Testament are the guides to ideal Christian life; h) Baptism is necessary for salvation; and i) There is life after death. (Ali, 2013) The scope, or field of Christian education, though guided by Biblical truth, is not limited to Biblical exposition. A Christian School seeks to develop the learner a worldview, a perspective that enables him to understand, appreciate, and live a Christian life in the world in which God has placed him. The school's education, hopefully, shall help the individual develop the ability to separate truth from error, not only in Bible doctrine, but also in the facts and issues of his everyday life. As a Christian educator the teacher must be both a Christian and an educator. As a Christian he has experienced the reality of God's truth, and he has god's Spirit to empower him and his teaching. As an educator he functions in accordance with the mandate of God to teach in accord with the educational principles contained in the Word of God. Educate means to change one's behavior. A pupil's growth is determined not by what he hears, but by what he does about what he hears. The important thing is what is happening inside the pupil. He may accept or he may reject whatever is going on outside. Learning is what the pupil does and what the outer forces do to him. Teachers can influence the inner factors only by properly using the outer factors. If a teacher will work with the Spirit of God, He can use him to effect the desired inner changes. – LeBar (Cates, 1975)
Rationalism	Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Rene Descartes, Baruch Espinoza, Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant	Views are "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lancey, 1996). Defined as a methodology or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive (Bourke, 1962) Believes that reality has an intrinsically logical structure. Rationalists assert that certain rational principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics that are so fundamentally true that denying them causes one to fall into contradiction. Rationalists have such a high confidence in reason that proof and physical evidence are unnecessary to ascertain truth – in other words, "there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience” (Rationalism vs. Empiricism, 2004).
Empiricism	John Locke, Aristotle, Alhazen, Avicenna, Ibn Tufail, Robert Grosseteste, William of Ockham, Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, George Berkeley, Hermann von Helmholtz, David Hume, Leopold von Ranke, and John Stuart Mill.	States that knowledge comes only primarily from sensory experience. Empiricism is the philosophical stance according to which the senses are the ultimate source of human knowledge. Empiricist claim that all ideas that a mind can entertain have been formed through some experiences or – to use a slightly more technical term – through some impressions; here is how David Hume expressed this creed: "it must be some one impression that gives rise to every real idea" (A Treatise of Human Nature, Book I, Section IV, Ch. vi). Indeed – Hume proceeds in Book II – "all our ideas or more feeble perceptions are copies of our impressions or more lively ones". Under this characterization, empiricism is the claim that all human ideas are less detailed copies of some experience or other (Borghini, 2013).
Pragmatism	John Dewey, Charles Sanders Peirce and William James	Synonymous to practicality and functionality. Believes that reality is constantly changing and that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems as they arise. Recognizes utility as the supreme guide in developing one’s values. Utilitarian Theory: U = T – What is useful is true (Zacal, 2013) For Pragmatists, the world of experience is central and only those things that are experienced or observed are real. Schools should emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All learning is dependent on the context of place, time and circumstances. For pragmatist, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and projects, often having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines together to focus on solving problems in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down organized bodies of knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry. This prepares students for citizenship, daily living and future careers. (Mercado, 2013)
Reconstructionism	Theodore Brameld, Plato, Agustine, Karl Marx, John Dewey, George S. Counts, Harold Rugg, John Childs and etc.	Reconstructionist educators focus on the curriculum that highlights social reform (quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy). Primary concern is for man to become aware of the various social problems that beset him and be able to find ways/solutions for this. This entails his active participation on this to achieve the elusive Social Change. This theory has two predominant themes: 1) Society is in need of change or reconstruction; 2) education must take the lead in the reconstruction of the society. (Zacal, 2013) For social reconstructionists and critical theorists, curriculum focuses on the student experience and taking social action on real problems, such as violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation and inequality. Strategies for dealing with controversial issues (particularly in social studies and literature), inquiry, dialogue and multiple perspectives are the focus. Community-based learning and bringing the world into the classroom are also strategies. (Mercado, 2013)
Confucianism	Confucius	Teaches moral life through devotion to the family, loyalty to elders, love of learning, brotherhood, civil service, and universal love and justice. The concept of superior individual is one who lives in a life of rightness, virtues and propriety. People are social beings; must interact with society without necessarily surrendering to it and the moral individual will attempt to change others to conform to the moral path. Five constant virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity Education should build moral, character than merely teaching skills or information Every person should strive for the continual development of self until excellence is achieved. (Ali, 2013)
Hindu philosophy	Kapila, Iśvarakṛṣṇa, Vachaspati Misra, Guṇaratna	Emphasizes a commitment to an ideal way of life called Dharma, characterized by honesty, courage, service, faith, self-control, purity and non-violence. Dharma can be achieved through Yoga. Believes that one should be able to control and regulate his desires, not to devote life to sensual pleasure or worldly success. Believes that religion should be practical. God is to be realized by living in the world. God is the truth and the best way to seek the truthis by practicing non-violence (Ahinisa). God is an abstraction but a living presence. (Ali, 2013)
Buddhist philosophy	Siddharta Gautama or Buddha	Believes that personal gratification is the root of sufferings in the world. The teachings of Buddha centered on four noble truths: 1) All in life is suffering, pain and misery of  dukkha; 2) This suffering has a cause: selfish craving and personal desire; 3) This suffering can cease; and 4) The way to overcome this misery is through eight Fold Path such as: Right understanding, Right speech, Right Conduct, Right Vocation, Right Concentration, Right effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Thought. Holds that the universe is a Samsara, a stream without end in which the law of karma operates. Stressed non-attachment, concern for humanity, desire to become Buddhalike and to live in harmony with the natural flow of the Universe. (Ali, 2013)
Paolo Freire’s Philosophy	Paolo Freire	"There is no such thing as a neutral education process. Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of generations into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the ‘practice of freedom’, the means by which men and women deal critically with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world." —Richard Shaull, drawing on Paulo Freire (Mayo, 1999) Emphasizes the need to provide native populations with an education which was simultaneously new and modern (rather than traditional) and anti-colonial (not simply an extension of the culture of the colonizer). Champions that education should allow the oppressed to regain their sense of humanity, in turn overcoming their condition. Nevertheless, he also acknowledges that in order for this to occur, the oppressed individual must play a role in their liberation. (Freire, 1970)
Socrates’ Philosphy	Socrates	Dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts such as the Good and Justice. His doctrine of the soul led him to the belief that all virtues converge into one, which is the good, or knowledge of one's true self and purposes through the course of a lifetime. Knowledge in turn depends on the nature or essence of things as they really are, for the underlying forms of things are more real than their experienced exemplifications. This conception leads to a teleological view of the world that all the forms participate in and lead to the highest form, the form of the good.
Plato’s Philosophy	Plato	Plato began convinced of the ultimately harmonious structure of the universe, but he went further than his mentor in trying to construct a comprehensive philosophical scheme. His goal was to show the rational relationship between the soul, the state, and the cosmos. This is the general theme of the great dialogues of his middle years: the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, Timaeus, and Philebus. Plato's philosophical views had many societal implications, especially on the idea of an ideal state or government. It is in these dialogues that the famous Platonic Ideas (see realism) are discussed. Plato argued for the independent reality of Ideas as the only guarantee of ethical standards and of objective scientific knowledge. In the Republic and the Phaedo he postulates his theory of Forms. Ideas or Forms are the immutable archetypes of all temporal phenomena, and only these Ideas are completely real; the physical world possesses only relative reality. The Forms assure order and intelligence in a world that is in a state of constant flux. They provide the pattern from which the world of sense derives its meaning. The supreme Idea is the Idea of the Good, whose function and place in the world of Ideas is analogous to that of the sun in the physical world. Plato saw his task as that of leading men to a vision of the Forms and to some sense of the highest good. The principal path is suggested in the famous metaphor of the cave in the Republic, in which man in his uninstructed state is chained in a world of shadows. However, man can move up toward the sun, or highest good, through the study of what Plato calls dialectic. The supreme science, dialectic, is a method of inquiry that proceeds by a constant questioning of assumptions and by explaining a particular idea in terms of a more general one until the ultimate ground of explanation is reached.
Rousseau	Jean Jacques Rousseau	Not concerned with particular techniques of imparting information and concepts, but rather with developing the pupil's character and moral sense, so that he may learn to practice self-mastery and remain virtuous even in the unnatural and imperfect society in which he will have to live.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau#Education_and_child_rearing) Children learn right and wrong through experiencing the consequences of their acts rather than through physical punishment. For females, “their entire education must be relative to men. To please them, to be useful to them, to be loved and honored by them, to rear them when they are young, to care for them when they are grown up, to counsel and console, to make their lives pleasant and charming, these are the duties of women at all times, and they should be taught in their child hood. To the extent that we refuse to go back to this principle, we will stray from our goal and all percepts women are given will not result in their happiness or our own.” – Rousseau (Noddings, 1995)
Stoic	Zeno of Citium	Teaches that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions. Concerned with the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature. Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life, and they thought that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how he behaved (Sellars, 2006). Emphasizes ethics as the main focus of human knowledge. Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos). A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individual's ethical and moral well-being: "Virtue consists in a will that is in agreement with Nature". This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy,"and to accept even slaves as "equals of other men, because all men alike are products of nature." (Russel, 1967)
Epicureanism	Epicurus	Epicurus believed that what he called "pleasure" is the greatest good, but the way to attain such pleasure is to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desires. This led one to attain a state of tranquility (ataraxia) and freedom from fear, as well as absence of bodily pain (aponia). The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form. Declares pleasure to be the sole intrinsic good, its conception of absence of pain as the greatest pleasure and its advocacy of a simple life. Emphasizes the neutrality of the gods, which they do not interfere with human lives. It states that gods, matter, and souls are all made up of atoms. Souls are made from atoms, and gods possess souls, but their souls adhere to their bodies without escaping. Humans have the same kind of souls, but the forces binding human atoms together do not hold the soul forever.
Naturalism	John Locke, Montaigne	Education is in accordance with nature – application of natural laws in educational process. Hence, one’s conduct is governed by impulse, instincts and experiences. Learning naturally comes as a result of his own actions. The end justifies the means. Preserves natural goodness and virtues of the individual; freeing him to the artificialities of human society. Recognizes natural rights of the individual – free from restraints, punishments, disciplines and coercions; dogmatic instructions/teachings and rituals. Emphasis is given not much on the 3Rs but on the physical education, value health and sound mental development. This philosophy puts the Child at the center of the educational process – preparing him to experience life as it is. (Zacal, 2013)
Idealism	Plato, Descartes, Leibnitz, Spinoza, Kant and Hegel	Ideas are the truth (the reality) that can be found be found inside the mind since matter or the material objects are just representation of it. Stresses on human spirit, soul and mind – the most important element in life. Aims in developing the human mind, and realizing his individual happiness. Self is the ultimate reality. Emphasis is much given on intellectual capabilities, reasoning, judgment, self realization. Subject matter is ideational. Hence, most of the learning will come from the child. The teacher will just facilitate through dialogues, intellectual interactions and the like. For idealist, the world of the mind, ideas and reason is primary. (Zacal, 2013)
Realism	Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Locke and Herbart	Concerns with the actualities in life, what is real. Emphasis is given on natural and social phenomena. Universal elements are unchangeable; education = teaching/knowledge = truth Asserts that “nothing comes into the mind without passing through the senses”. Hence, the world and everything in it exists. These can be all known. Education aims to help the child to survive by providing him/her the essential knowledge. Emphasis must be given to the subject matter (child) accompanied by the form (techniques) that the teacher should have mastered. Learning must be interactive. For realist, the universe exists whether the human mind perceives it or not. Matter is primary and is considered an independent reality. The world of things is superior to the world of ideas. (Zacal, 2013)
Scholasticism	Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas.	Method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics ("scholastics," or "schoolmen") of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending dogma in an increasingly pluralistic context. Places a strong emphasis on dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference, and to resolve contradictions. Scholastic thought is also known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions. In the classroom and in writing, it often takes the form of explicit disputation: a topic drawn from the tradition is broached in the form of a question, opponents' responses are given, a counterproposal is argued and opponent's arguments rebutted. The scholastics would choose a book by a renowned scholar, auctor (author), as a subject for investigation. By reading it thoroughly and critically, the disciples learned to appreciate the theories of the author. Scholastic instruction consisted of several elements. The first was the lectio: a teacher would read an authoritative text followed by a commentary, but no questions were permitted. This was followed by the meditatio (mediation or reflection) in which students reflected on and appropriated the text. Finally, in the quaestio students could ask questions (quaestiones) that might have occurred to them during meditatio. Eventually the discussion of questiones became a method of inquiry apart from the lectio and independent of authoritative texts. In controversial cases, disputationes were arranged in order to resolve difficult quaestiones (Asselt, 2011).
Logical Positivism	Ernst Mach, Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell and the young Ludwig Wittgenstein	Logical positivism or logical empiricism are variants of neopositivism that embraced verificationism, a theory of knowledge combining strong empiricism—basing all knowledge on sensory experience—with mathematical logic and linguistics so that scientific statements could be conclusively proved false or true. Verificationism was inextricably tied with the covering law model of scientific explanation. Constitutes that the entire universe of meaningful judgments; anything else was nonsense. The claims of ethics and aesthetics were subjective preferences. Theology and other metaphysics were pseudo-statements, neither true nor false, simply meaningless nonsense.