Philosophy provides a framework for curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation by helping answer questions about the purpose of schools, important subjects, how students should learn, and appropriate materials and methods. A curriculum developer's philosophy reflects their life experiences, beliefs, background, and education. For example, John Dewey viewed education as a way of life and laboratory for testing philosophy. Philosophies like idealism, realism, and existentialism provide different perspectives on the role of the teacher, student, and school community.

1. Philosophical Foundation of Curriculum Prepared by: Rowena M. Tivoli MAED Student

2. Philosophy provides educators. teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools. It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used. In decision making, philosophy provides the starting point and will be used for the succeeding decision making.

3. The philosophy of curriculum planner, implementer, or evaluator reflects his or her life experiences, common beliefs, social and economic background and education. For example, JOHN DEWEY (1916) looks at “education as a way of life” a laboratory in which philosophy becomes concrete and is tested

4. Suggestions from Subject Specialists Studies of Learners Studies of Contempo-rary Life School Purposes Use of Psycho- logy of Learning Use of Philosophy

7. Philosophical Foundations of Education The most remarkable thing about philosophy…is that the questions raisednever seem to get answered.

8. Idealism - The most significant philosophy…most of the world’s religions are based on idealism- Idealism as idea-ism- Plato—the Academy opened in 397 B.C., believed that material things are of littleconsequence…the everyday world of things and objects is a shadowy copy of the true idea which the soul carries within itself from heaven, reason is rooted in a spiritual soul - No discipline problems, because the teacher knows the content well, likes to teach, and knows the students- The idealist philosophy views the school as representing the community

9. Idealist philosophers - Plato, Descartes, Kant, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Schopenhauer- Students are encouraged to stretch themselves through higher-level thinking to become truth seekers- The teacher will devote considerable time and energy to the one who goes astray

10. Realism - Objects exist regardless of how we perceive them- Focuses on the scientific method and personal experience- The crux of realism is science—empirical, objective, and experimental…with precisemeasurements

11. Realist philosophers - Aristotle, Comenius, Pestalozzi, Herbart, Montessori, Hobbes, Bacon, Locke- Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann embraced realism- Accountability in the schools is an outgrowth of realism

12. Existentialism - Focuses on the individual- Not a logical theory, but one that can be felt as an attitude or mood- Awareness, anxiety, choice take on special meaning- Revolt against the traditional philosophical stance- A way of life which involves one’s total self in complete seriousness about the self

13. Existentialist philosophers - Kierkegaard, Sartre, Nietzsche- Kierkegaard—themes of passionate choice, absolute freedom, total responsibility- Life must be understood backward, but lived forward- The theory focuses on value questions

14. The End Thank you for listening