Educational Philosophy

1. Presented by
Fatima Batool
Reg: 148-FSS/PHDEDU/S18
Analysis of Philosophical
Thoughts

2. Table of Content
Brief Description and Critical Analysis of:
 Essentialism
 Perennnialism
 Progressivism
 Deconstructionism
 Eclecticism in Education
 Islamic Philosophy of Education

3. Introduction
What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy is set of values and beliefs every individual
has in this life.
Love for “Wisdom”
 Wisdom is ability to make sensible decisions and give
good judgment
Love for a “High Degree of Knowledge”
 knowledge in all the sciences as well as all the social
sciences as we know them today

4. Essentialism
 Proponent: William Bagley
(1874-1946)
 Teachers are supposed to transmit knowledge to
students who usually play a passive role in the
process of learning.
 Schools should equip students with the basic
academic skills to survive in society.
 Standardized testing is seen by essentialists as
an ideal benchmark for assessing students

5. Basic Principles
1. Learning necessarily involves hard work and
application.
2. The initiative in education should lie with the
teacher rather than the pupil.
3. The core of education is the absorption of
prescribed subject matter.
4. The school should retain traditional methods
of mental discipline.

6. Critical Analysis
1. Deny the personal interest
2. Much emphasis on social heritage
3. Limited role of school
4. Have no philosophical basis

7. Perennnialism
 Robert Maynard Hutchins
( 1899-1977)
 Teachers are more knowledgeable than students
 Teachers should assume the authority and command in
the classroom.
 Education implies teaching. Teaching implies
knowledge.
 Knowledge is truth. Truth is everywhere the same.
 Hence, education should be everywhere the same.

8. Basic Principles
1. Human nature is constant
2. Education should concentrate on developing
rationality
3. Education should lead towards adjustment to
truth
4. Education is preparation for life
5. Children should be taught both spiritual and
physical
6. Focus on study of "Great Books"

9. Critical Analysis
1. Classical traditions
2. Injure the personal growth
3. Indefinite concept of truth
4. Emphasis on intellectual freedom

10. Progressivism
 John Dewey(1859-1952)
 Progressivism, is in direct contrast to
essentialism and Perennnialism
 Advocates a student-centered education
 Democracy is a way of life
 Schools are responsible for equipping students
with the problem-solving ability

11. Basic Principles
 Education should be "active" and related to the
interests of the child.
 Learning should take place through problem-
solving projects rather than through the
absorption o f subject matter
 Education, as the intelligent reconstruction of
experience, is synonymous with civilized living
 Education of the young should be life itself
rather than a preparation for life

12. Cont…
 The teacher should act more as a guide or an
adviser than as a figure of authority
 Individuals achieve more when they work with,
rather than against, one another
 School should foster cooperation rather than
competition
 Education and democracy imply each other;
hence, schools should be run democratically

13. Critical Analysis
1. Child-activity movement
2. Contradiction about presentism
3. Misconception about school environment
4. Much emphasis on problem solving method

14. Deconstructionism
 Jacques Derrida
(1930-2004)
 Deconstruction is necessarily complicated and
difficult to explain since it actively criticizes the very
language needed to explain
 Deconstruction is a strategy of critical questioning
directed towards exposing:
 Unquestionable metaphysical assumptions
 Internal contradictions in philosophical
 Literary language

15. Basic Principles
 There is nothing outside or beyond the text
 The notion of difference
 Every text deconstructs itself
 The essential oppositional and conflictual nature
of language

16. Cont…
 There is not one canonical signification to a
text: there are several simultaneous layers of
meaning.
 The nature of language is such that it conceals
meaning.
 There are infinite meanings in the text.
 The necessity of an interminable analysis

17. Critical Analysis
 Unintelligible jargon
 Lack of definitive definition
 Wedge between literature and life
 Overthrows traditional conceptions

18. Eclecticism
 Eclecticism offers an obvious solution to this
lack of comprehensiveness
 As it pulls together a number of theories into
some sort of multi-approach eclecticism
 The assumption is that multiple theories and
categories are bound to be more comprehensive
than any single theory alone

19. Basic Principles
 There is no more need to discover truth, but only
to unite its fragments
 It is the nature of man that he likes change
 Learners always like something new and
exciting
 This approach is broad and may include every
kind of learning activity and saves learner from
monotony

20. Cont…
 It is helpful in stimulating a creative environment
and gives confidence to the learners.
 In this approach children discovers and instill
good ways of learning.
 Above all this approach gives a chance to
our common sense to mould and shape our
method

21. Critical Analysis
1. Incompatibility
2. Gaps in learning
3. Lack of discipline
4. Overwhelmed curriculum

22. Islamic Philosophy of Education
 In order to understand the meaning of Islamic
philosophy, it is best to examine the use of the terms
falsafah and Hikmah in various traditional sources
 The term ‘Hikmah’ appears in twenty places in the
Quran
 It also appears in the Hadith literature in such sayings:
“The acquisition of Hikmah is incumbent upon the:
verily the good resides in Hikmah,” and
“Speak not of Hikmah to fools.”

23. Basic Principles
 Driving force for all other contemporary
philosophies (ROŠKER, 2018)
 Bring man nearer to an understanding of God
 Teacher is given the status of spiritual father.
 Teacher is supposed to have qualities of
tolerance, patience, hardworking, honesty and
punctuality.

24. Cont…
 Student’s character building is given importance
 Student is supposed to be an innocent soul.
 Teachers may use variety of teaching methods:
 Rote memorization,
 Drill Method
 Dictation
 Discussion
 Lecture method,
 Problem solving,
 In-depth study method

25. Cont…
 Curriculum has two essential parts:
1. Revealed knowledge
2. Acquired knowledge
 Leadership is democratic, based on service
with consultancy.
 Evaluation is oral or written tests
 Develop such qualities of a good man which
are universally accepted

26. Critical Analysis
 Practical and useful Education
 Free- Education
 Individual Contact
 Monitorial System
 Status of Teacher
 Patronage of Education
 Promotion of cultural Unity
 Development of Literature and History

27. Conclusion
 According to Perennnialism and essentialism,
what is important in learning-teaching process is
the content. According Progressivism students
are at the centre of educational process
 Deconstructionism laid too much emphasis on
nature of text. Eclecticism offers an obvious
solution to this lack of comprehensiveness

28. Cont…
 Islamic Philosophy is driving force for the
creation of ideas and the shaping of knowledge
that ensure all round human development
 Our professional philosophy should not be a
personal philosophy, but a shared philosophy
built by a community of practice

29. Any Question?

30. Thanks