PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION 1

 

There are so many attitudes towards life. As it is said the answers are one thousand and one and even if we narrowed our focus to only education we would still get many different answers. Different philosophers have interpreted or reacted to educational issues differently. These interpretations will be referred to as philosophies of Education. Each philosophy is linked to metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology. The following are some philosophies of Education;

Idealism

Idealism is the kind of philosophy traced to Plato according to Western civilization. The idealistic philosophers agree that; a) the human spirit is the most important element in life and b) the universe is essentially nonmaterial in its unanimated nature.

The idealists claim that the ultimate reality is a spirit in nature rather than the physical. The universe is viewed as essentially nonmaterial in its ultimate nature. The idealists do not deny the existence of the physical houses, hills stars, and so on (as perceived through senses) but they are not ultimately real. They are the manifestations of something spiritual and so the universe is spiritual.

A human is a spiritual being. He exercises free will and is personally responsible for his actions because he is intelligent and purposeful. For a Christian idealist, the ultimate reality is the God of three persons. Though idealists agree that a human being is spiritual they disagree as to exactly how he is related to the ultimate spiritual reality from which he springs.

The matter is not real. It is a notion, an idea in the mind. All material things that seem to be real are reducible to mind and spirit. Therefore it is only the mind that is real. Ultimate reality is therefore mental rather than material.

According to idealists, all knowledge is dependent on sense experience. They believe;

·         That the mind can organize data derived through the senses,

·         intuition,

·         reason that involves identifying logical consistency of ideas,

·         Revealed knowledge.

The idealists believe that values and ethics are absolute. The good, the true, and the beautiful do not change fundamentally from generation to generation or from society to society. Essentially they remain constant. There are two main sources of values; i) belief in God and ii) belief in the interpersonal spiritual force of nature or the order of nature. Others attribute their behavior to their consciences which agrees with idealists who emphasize the mind and the spirit.

Idealists believe that the purpose of education is to contribute to the development of the mind and self of the learner. The curriculum content must cater to mental and moral development. It should be fixed, constant, and compulsory for all learners. A teacher is expected to be intelligent and morally upright. They should be a role model.

Realism

The second philosophy of Education is realism which refers to matter as the ultimate reality. The world is made of real substantial, material, entities or features. Hills, areas, cities, and stars are not simply ideas in the minds of anyone observing them. They exist in and of themselves independent of the mind. Materials and entities (features and objects) according to the realist relate to each other by the natural law that determines and regulates their existence in the world of nature.

Knowledge is derived through sense experience. The senses are a gateway to knowledge. Without them, according to the realist, the mind of man would remain blank. Knowledge is sourced from the material world. Knowledge is obtained through a process of searching the universe for facts along scientific lines. It is true if it corresponds to the world as it is. It should be verifiable and testable and it’s objective and factual.

Classical realists agree with Aristotle that there is a universal moral law. This can be obtained from reasoning because all of us are rational beings. The Christian realists accept reasoning about the moral law but insist that it has been established by God. They believe that even reasoning ability has been given by God. According to both of these versions, standards of values are found using the act of reason. However, a value judgment is never considered to be factual. It is a subjective judgment based on feeling. The scientific realists do not associate values with any supernatural factors. Right and wrong come from an understanding of nature and not from religious principles. God is that which accommodates us in our environment, evil is that which repulses or destroys us. Disease is evil and health is good. This will depend on how we work in our environment. So to a large extent, man can influence values depending on how he relates to the environment.  

Society as a reality also sets standards of values by which the values of an individual can be judged. Generally, a person’s own values should not contradict the values of society.

According to realists the purpose of education is to provide the pupil with essential knowledge required for survival in the natural world. Such knowledge will provide the skills necessary to achieve a secure and happy life. The curriculum must be organized in such a way that simple principles are covered first and they must include the;

·         Science and mathematics,

·         Humanities and social sciences,

·         Values.

They advocate that sciences and mathematics, according to realists, should be treated as most important because they enable man to know and adjust to his environment. However, humanities are also important because they help a person to adjust to his social environment. A teacher should not impose values on learners when teaching but help them to analyze them objectively.

Realists emphasize teacher-centered methods. A teacher teaches authoritatively by presenting well-organized facts but considering learners' abilities and interests. He rewards those who perform well.