The Teaching

Profession
Assignment #:1

Created by: Patricia Honey O. Celero

BSOA

Philosophical Heritage of
Education

Existential Question
Passed on to us are a number of

philosophies of various thinkers who live

before us.
They occupied themselves searching for

answers to questions human existence.

What is life?
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What am I living for?
How should I live life meaningfully?
Why do I teach?
What should I teach?
What is the nature of the learner?

Five Philosophies of Education

Essentialism
Why teach?

Teachers teach not to radically reshape

society but rather to transmit the traditional
moral values and intellectual knowledge that
students need to become model citizens.

What to teach?

The emphasis is on
academic content for
students to learn the basic
skills or the fundamental Rs
------ reading, riting,
rithmetic, right conduct ----as these essential to the
acquisition of higher or more

How to teach

Essentialist teachers emphasize

mastery of subject matter. They
are expected to be intellectual
and moral models of their
students. They are seen as
fountain of information and as
paragon of virtue, if ever there
is such a person.

Progressivism
Why to teach?

Progressivist teachers teach to

develop learners into becoming
enlightened and intelligent citizens
of a democratic society. This group
of teachers teach learners so they
may live life fully NOW not to
prepare them for adult life.

What to teach

The progressivists are identified

with need-based and relevant
curriculum. This is a curriculum
that responds to students needs
and that relates to students
personal lives and experiences.

How to teach

Progressivists teachers employ

experiential methods. They
believe that one learns by doing.
For John Dewey, the most popular
advocate of progressivism, book
learning is no substitute for
actual experience.

Perennialism
Why to teach?

We are all rational animals. School

should, therefore, develop the
students rational and moral powers.
What to teach

The perennialist curriculum is a

universal one on the view that all
human beings possess the same

How to teach

The perennialist classrooms

are centered around
teachers The teachers do
not allow the students
interests or experiences to
substantially dictate what they
teach.

Existentialism
Why to teach
The main concern of the
existentialists is to to help
students understand and
appreciate themselves as
unique individuals who accept
complete responsibility for their
thoughts, feelings and actions.

What to teach

In an existentialist curriculum,
students are given a wide variety
of options from which to choose.
The humanities, however, are
given tremendous emphasis to
provide students with vicarious
experiences that will help unleash
their own creativity.

Behaviorism
Why to teach?
Behaviorist schools are
concerned with the modification
and shaping of students
behavior by providing for a
favorable environment, since
they believe that they are a
product of their environment.

 What to teach

Because behaviorist look at

people and other animals as
complex combinations of matter
that act only in response to
internally or externally generated
physical stimuli, behaviorist
teachers teach students to
respond favorably to various
stimuli in the environment.

How to teach

Behaviorist teachers ought to

arrange environmental conditions so
that students can make the
responses to stimuli. Physical
variables like light, temperature,
arrangement of furniture, size and
quantity of visual aids have to be
controlled to get the desired
responses from the learners.

Formulating your
Philosophy of Education
What does a philosophy of

education contain or include? It

includes your concept about:
The human person, the learner in

particular and the educated person

What is true and good and

therefore must be taught.

How a learner must be taught
in order to come close to the
truth.
What is true and good and
therefore must be taught.
How a learner must be taught
in order to come close to the

Here is an example:
My Philosophy of Education
as Grade School Teacher

I believe that every child

Has a natural interest in

learning and is capable of

learning
Is an embodied spirit.
Can be influenced but not
totally by his/her environment.
Is unique and so computing a
child to other children has no