Ideology and philosophy impacts on program planning approaches

Ideology/Philosophy Impacts on Approaches

To Program Planning

This work will consider how ideology/philosophy impacts on approaches to program planning and will do so through considering the similarities and differences in approach to educational intervention based on differing philosophical assumptions: (1) liberal; (2) progressive; (3) humanist; and (4) radical liberatory education ideologies. Part II of this work will express the personal philosophical program planning reflections of the writer in relation to basic assumptions of human nature, learner's role, teacher's role and the purpose of adult education.

The Liberal philosophy acknowledges the Western canon as the source of authority in adult learning and holds that learning is for the sake of learning and that this should take place through lectures, study groups as well as critical reading and discussion. In contrasts the Progressive school of thought holds that learning is derived from the experiences of the learner through problem-solving and ongoing learning. The Humanist school of thought views the source of learner to be the learner and that learning takes place experientially. The Radical school of though views the sources of learning to be the imbalance existing socioeconomically and socio-politically and holds that noncompulsory learning and autonomy combined with critical thinking skills are the optimal learning methods.

PART II

Elias and Merriam (1980) identified six philosophies of adult education: (1) Behaviorist: Behavior modification; (2) Liberal: Organized knowledge for intellectual development; (3) Analytic: Logical and scientific positivism; (4) Progressive: Social reform; (5) Humanistic: Personal growth; (6) Radical: Radical social change (Strom, 1996) it was the belief of Elias and Merriam that adult education is influenced greatly by "progressive, humanistic and radical philosophies" and that "the purposes and contexts of specific fields of practice will often determine the philosophic influence..." In adult education. (Strom, 1996) it was the position of Elias and Merriman that the philosophy of adult education can assist adults in their attaining "education-for-work" in that the progressive and humanistic philosophies of adult education" have been found to be useful in the design and implementation for "certain learning situations, like diversity education and training in business and industry and the institutional classroom." (Strom, 1996) From the view of adult education the purpose of the liberal thinker is development of intellectual powers of the mind. Within this framework the learner is a seeker of knowledge on the conceptual and theoretical base and the teacher is the expert which transmits knowledge. The Progressive view holds that transmission of cultural and societal structure is the path to promoting change on a social level therefore the provision of practice knowledge and skills for problem-solving are necessary if society is to be reformed. From this view the learner needs, interests and experiences are primary factors in learning and the teacher is the organizer and learning experience guide, instigator and evaluator. The Humanistic philosophy holds that development of those who are open to change and ongoing learning and enhancing the personal growth and development of these individual is the path to societal reform. From this view the learner is self-directed and motivated while the teacher is the facilitator of learning and while not actually directing the learning is a resource fro the learner. Finally, the racial view holds that fundamental change on a societal, economic or political level requires that society be changed structurally and culturally via the education system. From this view the learner is equal to the teacher in the learning process and is autonomous and the teacher is a provocateur who makes suggestions but does not attempt to direct the learner's experience.