Building an Educational Philosophy in a Changing World

Idealism Learning Focus	Subject matter of the mind: literature, intellectual history, philosophy, religion
Idealism Curriculum goal	The same education for all
Idealism Preferred teaching method	Teaching for the handling of ideas: lecture, discussion
Idealism Character development	Imitation of exemplars, heroes
Idealism Aesthetic development	Study of the master-works; values of the past heritage
Realism Learning focus	Subject matter of the physical world: mathematics, science
Pragmatism Learning focus	Subject matter of social experience
Existentialism Learning focus	Subject matter of personal choice
Realism Curriculum goal	Mastery of laws of the universe
Pragmatism Curriculum goal	Creation of a new social order
Existentialism Curriculum goal	Personal freedom and development
Realism Preferred teaching method	Teaching for mastery of information and skills: demonstration, recitation
Pragmatism Preferred teaching method	Problem solving: project method, product development
Existentialism Preferred teaching method	Individual exploration: discovery method, authentic pedagogy
Realism Character development	Training in rules of conduct
Pragmatism Character development	Group decision making in light of consequences
Existentialism Character development	Development of individual responsibility for decisions and preferences
Realism Aesthetic development	Study of design in nature
Pragmatism Aesthetic development	Participation in art projects based on cross-cultural and universal values
Existentialism Aesthetic development	Development of a personal view of the world; self-initiated activities
Essentialism	An educational philosophy that holds that there is a common core of information and skills that an educated person must have; schools should be organized to transmit this core of essential material.
Essentialism Principles	(1) a core of information, (2) hard work and mental discipline, and (3) teacher-centered instruction.
Essentialist Learning	Transmit cultural heritage and develop good citizens. The role of the student is that of a learner. School is a place where children come to learn what they need to know, and the teacher is the person who can best instruct students in essential matters.
Student Centered Classroom Organization	Open; flexible classroom furniture arrangement and teaching;
Student Centered Motivation	Internal Incentives
Student Centered Discipline	Equal teacher and learner control
Student Centered Classroom Climate	Teacher encourages student voices; community of inquirers
Student Centered Learning Focus	Divergent points of view; diverse subject matter
Student Centered Teaching Styles	Considerably less teacher talk, more learner talk; discovery based learning
Student Centered Leadership Styles	Teacher is model of participatory authority and evaluation.
Humanism	concerned with enhancing the innate goodness of the individual. It rejects a group-oriented educational system and seeks ways to enhance the individual development of the student.
Humanism learning goal	completely autonomous person
Constructivism	emphasizes developing personal meaning through hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning
progressivism	An educational philosophy that emphasizes that ideas should be tested by experimentation and that learning is rooted in questions developed by the learner.
positivism	A social theory and educational philosophy that limits truth and knowledge to what is observable and measurable.