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Educational Philosophy The four Educational Philosophies

Essentialism

Essentialism argues that a common core of knowledge needs to be passed to learners in a disciplined and systematic manner. The concentration in this traditional viewpoint is on moral and intellectual standards that academic institutions should educate. The curriculum focuses on knowledge, skills, and academic rigor. Although this academic viewpoint is similar in some ways to Perennialism, Essentialism accepts the idea that this core curriculum may change. Education should be realistic, preparing learners to become useful people in the society. It should concentrate on facts and "the fundamentals," training learners to speak, write, read and think clearly and rationally. Schools must not try to set or influence guidelines. Students should be trained self-discipline, respect for authority, and hard work. Instructors are to help learners keep their non-productive intuition in checks, such as mindlessness or aggression. This strategy was in response to progressivism techniques frequent in the Twenties and 30s (Barnes, 2008). William Bagley introduced the concept of essentialism in 1934. Other supporters of Essentialism are James Koerner, H.G. Rickover, Theodore Sizer and Paul Copperman.

Perennialism

Perennialism claims that the aim of education is to ensure that learners acquire understanding about the excellent concepts of civilization. These concepts have the potential for fixing problems in any era. The focus is to educate concepts that are long-term, to seek sustained facts, which are constant, as the natural and human planets at their most essential level, do not change. Educating these constant concepts is critical. Humans are logical people, and their minds need to be expanded. Thus, cultivation of the intelligence is the most important in a beneficial education. The challenging curriculum concentrates on acquiring cultural knowledge, pushing kids' growth in enduring professions. The loftiest achievements of humankind are emphasized -- the excellent works of art and literature, the principles or laws of science. Supporters of this educational viewpoint are Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler.

Experimentalism

They have a common historical break from the most conventional concepts of idealism and realism. The essentialist concept that truth, knowledge, and morality exist as absolute and outside people is disputable (Segall & Wilson, 2004). The growing trust in the scientific technique, the capability of people to make their machines, principles and law and the point that such man-made technology would work for them required an accompanying philosophy. Experimentalism served that philosophy. Managers are not exclusively conveyors of age-old wisdom; they are both the conveyers of the standard literacy of the time and the guiders of trial-and-error, exploratory learning.
Existentialism

Existentialism is the cultural and philosophical concept, which claims that the starting point of philosophical reasoning must be the encounters of the person. Ethical and scientific reasoning together cannot be sufficient to comprehend human existence, so a further set of groups, controlled by" authenticity," is necessary to comprehend human existence. Existentialism started in the mid-19th century as a response to the then-dominant methodical philosophies, such as those designed by Kant and Hegel. Kierkegaard S, usually regarded to be the first existentialist thinker, posited that a person is completely accountable for providing meaning to life and for leading a passionate and sincere life. Other well-known supporters associated with the philosophy were Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, Simone de Beauvoir, Karl Jaspers and Fjodor Dostoyevsky.

Differences between the four Educational Philosophies

Although the notions of existentialism and essentialism seem to be similar often, there are still serious variations regarding primary ideologies. First, essentialism states that all things are created with a set, essence that describes them. Existentialists, notably Jean-Paul Sartre, go against this idea as they declare that people are born with no definition or purpose. As such, they must act through free will and choice to create meaning to an innate purposeless life.…

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References

Barnes, W. (2008). The Philosophy And Literature Of Existentialism. Woodbury, N.Y: Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

Bigge, M.L. (2012). Educational Philosophies For Teachers. Columbus: Merrill.

Segall, W.E., & Wilson, A.V. (2004). Introduction To Education: Teaching In A Diverse Society. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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