Application of Philosophical Thoughts in Education

Application of Philosophical Thoughts in Education

Introduction

Previous research studies have indicated that educational institutions that apply philosophical thoughts during the instructional process can meet the required learning objectives. Furthermore, philosophical ideologies provide the educational curriculum developers as well as frameworks with cultural knowledge and creates awareness of the learner’s interest and abilities allowing them to form a curriculum that aligns efficiently with the societal needs. Philosophy refers to the basic essence of life, intelligence, and truth, while education is an informative experience designed to edify learners. Thus, the philosophy of education aims to create a constructive transformation of the knowledge gained about the learner himself, his culture, and the environment in institutions of learning.

Application of Philosophical Ideas in Education

Post- Modernism Philosophical Thought in Education

According to (martin, 2009), scholars who support this philosophical thought argue that the main purpose of educating students is to empower them. Empowerment would equip the learners with the knowledge required for leading transformation in the society by liberating the marginalized groups from oppression. Furthermore, the advocates of postmodernism that is, Henry Giroux, Cleo Cherry Holmes, and Michel Foucault among others reject the concept of empirical and universal knowledge in the conflict that those in authority establish knowledge to create and maintain their dominance over the marginalized and exploited in society. Another category necessitating liberation is the disadvantaged groups of people because of race, gender or class. Thus, postmodernists criticize the educational institutions teaching learners that, for them to acquire the knowledge they need to embrace and learn from an educational curriculum that is officially defined and authoritative. Furthermore, postmodernists explain that teachers who utilize this philosophical thought in the instruction process acquire the following teaching skills efficient for transforming society:

1. Teachers are equipped with knowledge of how to begin teaching from the simple knowledge of the learner’s concrete environment proceeding to the impartation of abstract knowledge.
2. A postmodernism teacher can help his learners understand how to apply educational knowledge in serving political and ideological issues faced in their societies.
3. The teacher acquires knowledge on effective ways to assist his learners to identify various discussions regarding the voices of the oppressed, not addressed in historical records such as the poor civilians during the second war.
4. The teacher effectually assists the learners to explore diverse versions of histories and ways in which other culture analyses their social and historical conditions, which provides them with a more standard knowledge of liberating the oppressed in their societies.
5. The instruction process allows the learners to integrate various constructions of knowledge and purpose of historical frameworks and learn how to reflect on them to understand their histories and identities.

Edward (2007), states that an interdisciplinary approach is preferred in the instruction process where the curriculum moves away from the conventional topic division, and focuses on common problems and information concerns from multiple disciplines. Besides, opposing the idea of universality in education renders educational specialization serving the specific cultural needs of the learners, a necessity that universal educational knowledge cannot solve because of diverse cultural beliefs and values. However, despite postmodernism emphasis on educating learners on various techniques of liberating their cultures from the oppressive powers in the society, other educational philosophers oppose their thoughts on cultural specialization in education. The objection of postmodernism philosophical idea emanates from the critical view that teaching learners based on their cultural needs tend to devalue the educational ethical standards and academics.

Perennialism philosophical Ideal in Education

The Perennialism educational theory is rooted in the realism and Idealism thoughts of philosophy in education. According to Perennialism proponents that is, Mortimer. A and Hutchins. R, both philosophical thoughts have played an essential role in facilitating effectiveness in the instruction process. For instance, the idealism philosophical thought perpetuated the need for education to focus on assisting learners to internalize universal values and ideas that are applicable in their entire lifetime encounters. Kelvin (2019), the instructional process should utilize timeless knowledge-concepts that have thrived over time and space. On the other hand, realism philosophical ideas triggered the necessity of developing learner’s intellectual knowledge and fostering their reasoning capacity. Thus, for the perennials, the function of educational institutions is to offer training to a class of intelligent elite. Before the instructional process. Learners ought to know their community traditions to help them apply relevant concepts in solving societal problems as well as develop procedures that are more systematic in enhancing development.

Michael (2009), also, states that the music, literature and music classics capture the nature of the human quest enabling the learners to identify real and moral aspects in their lives. Besides the teaching materials, learning programs, and curriculum objectives do not rely on the preferences of the students, but on what is required to develop their intellectual ability. Nonetheless, since perennialists believe all students should obtain a liberal education, they are opposed to streaming where certain students receive solely technical and vocational training. Thus, Perennialism emphasis on the development of learners’ intellectual capability allows them to apply this knowledge in all the practical aspects of their lives. Furthermore, the concepts of Perennialism equips teachers with goal-oriented techniques of teaching as described below:

1. A perennialist instructor is highly skilled in instilling perpetual and timeless knowledge and upholds high educational standards while teaching his students. For example, in a literature class, the teacher can pinpoint the theme of love from the novels to depict the essence of togetherness in societal living.
2. The teacher can instruct his learners systematically, by utilizing basic numeracy and literacy skills to help them understand comprehensive subjects such as Mathematics, literature and science.
3. A perennialist instructor can improve learner’s rationality using pedagogical approaches to teach the great works of history such as Western civilization.
4. The teacher is also able to competently assist his learners to comprehend human concerns and fundamental ideas in all the subjects in a cohesive manner.

The Philosophical Idea of Progressivism

The Progressivism philosophy originated from the American education system between the 19th and 20th century. The main advocates of this philosophical ideal, that is, William James and John Dewey among others argue that the human experiences are dynamic and keeps on changing depending on various factors such as economic changes and cultural changes. Thus, the progressivists imply that education should prepare learners to make significant contributions in a liberal independent system. Further, the idea of progressivism in education has its roots in pragmatism philosophical thought, which holds that nature is always evolving and that knowledge and values are subjective. Progressivism also plays a crucial role in facilitating the educational process because it views schools as social institutions and so education systems using this philosophical ideal provide students with the skills and attitudes to engage in democracy. Therefore, progressivism equips the learners with advanced means of communicating with an ever-changing world.

Similarly, problem-solving skills aspect of progressivism is of great importance in education for learners to be able to tackle their personal and social problems. Thus, learners develop communication skills, analytical progressions and empirical methods of inquiry rather than learning from a set curriculum. The curriculum should be interdisciplinary since the problems are multi-dimensional by nature and require answers from a range of subjects. Therefore, Progressivists claim that there is no fundamental and unchanging knowledge and values to pass down centuries, as knowledge and values depend on contextual human experiences. According to Maxwell (2019), progressivism educational instructors acquire the following skills, which are vital for democracy knowledge acquaintance among the learners:

1. A progressive instructor can assist his learners to acquire problem-solving skills that are applicable in their daily life encounters.
2. The instructor resourcefully utilizes learner’s environment to equip them with relevant educational concepts. For example. Field trips and artistic drawings provide an opportunity for the teacher to help the learners gain techniques for developing advanced projects based on their previous experiences and environmental surroundings.
3. A progressive instructor can plan the educational curriculum based on his learners’ needs and interests, which provides a room for a creative learning environment where there is minimal unhealthy competition involved.
4. The teacher utilizes his professional skills to integrate various instructional resources such as newspapers, songs among others during the instructional process, which enables his learners to develop holistically in all aspects of growth.

The Essentialism philosophical perspective

William Bagley, the advocator of this philosophical ideology in education asserts that the function of educational institutions is to transmit chronological and cultural heritage with appropriate values, skills and attitudes to the learners. Essentialism educational theory borrows its ideas from realism and idealism philosophical thoughts. From the idealism philosophy, essentialists explain that education should entail the principle of universality and permanence whereby learners can apply the content learnt in class in future encounters. On the other hand, Essentialism also extracts its ideas from the realism philosophy that emphasizes the mastery of facts and concepts so that the students can understand the physical world around them. Thus, essentialism educational perspective plays a vital role in the education sector because for a learner to apply knowledge learnt in class effectively, he must be able to comprehend scientific facts. Nonetheless, just like the perennialists, the curriculum is subject-centred based on learner’s cultural environment, which allows for specialization of each learner’s societal, needs.

However, essentialists oppose interdisciplinary studies such as arts, social studies and language because they prefer specialized topics created and coordinated by experts. The implementation of educational curriculum basis its guidelines on values and history that the learners need to learn, rather than their’ interests. Hence, the curriculum allows the educational implementers to focus on the formulation of relevant frameworks and segregation of irrelevant frameworks for the effective instructional process. Essentialists also prepare the necessary skills and subjects for advanced schooling, the world of work and successful political and social participation and so learners can adjust to diverse environmental contexts. Beacon (2019) further explains that an essentialist instructor acquires the following skills essential for effective instruction:

1. An essentialist instructor can maintain order, discipline and control learning activities during the instructional process in a systematic manner.
2. Based on essentialism curriculum objectives, the teacher sets high educational goals for his learners and relevant evaluative tests to assess their level of competence.
3. The teacher can instruct his learners using methods of teaching such as, use of experiments in science, which allow learners to comprehend scientific principles easily.

Conclusion

Philosophical thoughts have played a vital role in the expansion of teaching techniques, curriculum development and facilitating a good relationship between instructors and learners during the instructional process. Besides, the application of knowledge from various philosophies and concepts of education will also help educators examine and address current challenges and issues experienced by the educational sector. For instance, there have been concerns about the unsatisfactory quality standards of American educational institutions of recent decades. Some scholars attribute the cause to American public schools failing to teach the basic knowledge and skills based on a set curriculum for the students. Similarly, the introduction of student-centred learning, interdisciplinary education, experiential learning, and moral and cultural relativism in schools has contributed to the loss of academic competence in learners. Therefore, integration of philosophical thoughts in educational institutions works together for the achievement of educational goals and objectives enhancing transformation in learner’s societies.

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