There are many different philosophies of education and as a teacher you can construct your own philosophy by asking the following questions:
“- What is truth, and how do we know and
teach it?
- How do we know what is good and bad and
right and wrong, and how can we teach ethical values and encourage moral
behaviour in our students?
- How can schools and teachers exemplify
what is true and valuable?
- How do teaching and learning reflect
one’s beliefs about truth and value?” (Bentley. I, 2012, p212)
There are 5 main recognised philosophies of
education including Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, Existentialism and
Postmodernism.
- Idealism believes that the world is
ultimately real, created by a great universal mind (God) and that since it is
perfect, it does not need to change.
Implications
Idealism aims to establish schools that are
intellectual centers of teaching and learning. In this instance teachers are a
vital source in guiding students to reach their full potential and
understanding of essential truths that are always the same (shows no need for
change in content or curriculum).
- Realism believes that reality is outside
of our minds and in the 21st century reality exists independently of
our knowing it and we therefore construct theories that fit with our reality.
Implications
Realism seeks to bring students knowledge
and own ideas into the world. A schools main purpose is seen as a center of
disciplined academic inquiry, aimed at mastering skills and content knowledge,
with no room for things such as extra curricular activities. This philosophy
aims to guide students to the same response to fit with reality.
- Pragmatism tests the validity of our
knowledge and ideas and establishes certainty by testing theories. It does not
believe that things are unchanging and looks at how we construct knowledge, in
a world that is constantly changing.
Implications
This implies that subject matter is
constantly changing and that thus problem solving and researching to find your
own ideas is the key to teaching students. This philosophy allows students to
reach their own answers by problem solving and means that a schools curriculum
would be constantly changing to meet new ideas and answers to theories.
- Existentialism is a personal philosophy,
with deep thought and reflection of oneself. This philosophy suggests that we
make our own knowledge and choices independently of the world we live in.
Implications
This philosophy is difficult for teachers
as there is always a strict curriculum to be followed and if students select
their own goals and purposes then teachers cannot plan in advance a student’s
education. This philosophy also indicates constant changes to the school curriculum
and may even regard parts of the curriculum irrelevant if it does not match
with the students’ selection of knowledge and ideas.
- Postmodernism suggests that we construct
our own truths about reality and dismisses claims about universal truth.
Implications
Implies that teachers are responsible for
determining their own truths and philosophies and encouraging students to
determine their own lives and ideas of knowledge. This believes that teachers
have their own values and beliefs that they are likely to teach in a classroom
to their students, but suggests that students may not believe these theories
and will make up their own minds as they go, suggesting that school is not an
institution that forms a person to fit in with society.
With all of these different philosophies of
education it is hard to establish a universal philosophy that in turn provides
an equal education to all students in Australia.
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Bentley. I, “EDU4CCE Changing Contexts in Education 2E,” Cengage Learning
Australia Pty Ltd, 2012.
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