The Categories of Various Teaching Philosophies
There are many different educational philosophies that have developed over the years. Some of these philosophies are teacher-centered and some are student-centered, but they all have the same goal, and the goal is to provide students with the best education possible. The following is a list of educational philosophies and their basic ideas.
Perennialism is a teacher centered philosophy that focuses on the values associated with reason. It considers knowledge as enduring, seeks everlasting truths, and views principles of existence as constant or unchanging.
Progressivism is a student centered philosophy that believes that ideas should be tested by experimentation, and learning comes from finding answers from questions. This philosophy values the scientific method of teaching, allows individuals to have their own beliefs, and promotes the interaction of students as valuable to the learning process.
Reconstructionism is another student centered philosophy that promotes world social progress, focuses on world events, controversial issues, and developing a vision for a new better world. This philosophy is associated with pragmatism and essentialism.
Positivism is a teacher centered philosophy that rejects intuition, matters of mind, essences, and inner causes. This philosophy relies on laws of matter and motion as valid, and bases truth on provable fact. It is also known as logical positivism.
Constructivism is a student centered philosophy that emphasizes hands on learning and students actively participating in lessons. Constructivists believe that students should be able to discover lessons on their own through hands on activity because it is the most effect way of learning and is considered true learning.
Behaviorism is a teacher centered philosophy that is closely related to realism. This philosophy focuses on human behavior as a reaction to external stimuli, and believes that changing the environment can change misbehavior.
Humanism is a student centered philosophy that focuses on enhancing ones innate goodness, rejects the idea of group-oriented education, and upholds the idea of enhancing individual development. This philosophy also believes that students should be actively involved with their education on all levels, and students should be able to make choices about what they will be learning.
Essentialism is a teacher centered philosophy that believes there is a common set of skills and knowledge that educated people should have. It focuses on respect for authority, developing sound habits of the mind, and training in fundamentals. Essentialism is similar to perrenialism
Although all of these philosophies differ in many ways they all focus on teaching students effectively. These philosophies are beneficial to all students and should be applied in school environments.
