Essentialism

Back-to-Basic movement
Conduct of National Achievement Test to test
acquisition of elementary/secondary learning
competencies.
Mastery of the 3Rs
The traditional approach to education
Subject matter-centered teaching
Authoritarian approach to teaching
A person is a rational animal
For the learner to acquire the basic skills, s/he must go
through the rigor and discipline of serious study.
A person has a rational and moral powers
The teacher and the school head must prescribe what is
most important for the students to learn
For a country to be competitive in the global
marketplace, schools should seek to produce more
competent workers.
Students are too immature to decide what they need to
learn and so the school should decide for them.
A school curriculum should include a common body of
knowledge that all students should know

Perennialism
Use of the Great Books.
Subject matter-centered teaching
A person has a rational and moral powers
Authoritarian approach to teaching
A person has the same essential nature with others
A person is a rational animal
The focus of education should be the ideas that are as
relevant todays as when they were first
Schools must develop students capacity to reason by
stressing in the humanities
The curriculum should focus on the great ideas that
have survived through time and related to present day
challenges.
Students must be questioned and probed until they
discover the truth in the texts selected.
Schools should develop students ability to think deeply
and analytically rather than focus on temporary issues
such as social skills and current trends.
Education is not primarily concerned with producing
future workers but should emphasize learning for its
own sake and students should enjoy reading, learning
and discussing interesting ideas.

Behaviorism
Use of rewards and incentives
A person is a product of his environment
A person has no choice; he is determined by his
environment
A person is a complex combination of matter that
responds to physical stimuli
Change of environment change a person
A person has no free will
Human beings are shaped by his environment

Progressivism
Use of stimulation and problem-solving methods
Student-centered teaching
Non-authoritarian approach to teaching
A person is a social animal who learns well through an
active interplay with others
Teachers must not force their students to learn the
subject matter if it does not interest them.
Since students learn effectively though social
interaction, schools should plan for increased social
interaction in the curriculum.
Students should be active participants in the learning
process, involved in democratic class decision making
and reflective thinking.
Teaching should emphasize relating what is learned to
the real-world through field trips and internship.
There is no substitute for concrete experience in
learning.
In the classroom, students must be encouraged to
interact with one another to develop social virtues such
as cooperation and respect.
Each student should determine his or her individual
curriculum, and teachers should guide and help them.

Existentialism
Learners learning at their own pace
Student-centered teaching
Non-authoritarian approach to teaching
A person first exists then defines himself/herself
A person has no universal nature
A learner must be allowed to learn at his/her own pace.
A person can choose what he can become
Schools should help individuals accept themselves as
unique responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and
actions.

Linguistic Philosopher
Understanding message through verbal, non-verbal and
paraverbal means.
A person is a communicating being
To understand the message from his/her students, the
teacher must listen not only to what his/her students
are saying but also to what they are not saying
The learner must be taught how to communicate his
ideas and feelings.
The truth shines in an atmosphere of genuine dialogue

Constructivism
Making meaning of what is taught
Asking learners to draw meaning from what they are
taught.
A person is a maker of meaning
A person is a constructor of knowledge
The classroom is not a place where teachers pour
knowledge into empty minds of students
The learner is not a bland slate but brings past
experiences and cultural factors to the learning
situation.
Learners produce knowledge based on their experiences

Reconstructionism
Students must be taught about change and how to bring
about change.
Schools should prepare students for analyzing and
solving the social problems that they will face as adults.
Education should enable students to recognize injustices
in society, and schools should promote projects to
redress social inequalities.
Students should be taught to be more sensitive to race,
gender, ethnicity, and differences in general