philosophy of education essay examples

philosophy of education essay examples

Exploring the Philosophy of Education Through Key Concepts and Contemporary Examples

1. Introduction to Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of education has been studied from different philosophical traditions of man. It runs in an actual world that is also in our personal exact world and that is therefore full of individual experience. Principles are not necessarily the same as we believe them. Education can be self-empowerment in the sense that it actually empowers us to change ourselves. Over time, this domain of education has developed in several distinct ways. Educational philosophy is the formal and systematic examination of such questions. The educational philosophy teacher certainly needs education, from the first time he is hired until he retires.

Philosophy of education is a significant sub-disciplinary area within the field of education. Although, from ancient times, educational philosophy has been a core issue in the entire educational history in all philosophical traditions, from the teachers, in particular humanistic-oriented educational traditions. This area is historical in the sense that the philosopher traditionally looks back onto the past and tries to give meaning to the present as well as to the future. It includes every relationship which establishes in the process of education between educator and educate, learner and learning, social pragmatic as well as learners’ humanity. In other words, there is a growing realization among professionals that individuals are products of society and repositories of the value systems of each society.

2. Key Concepts in Philosophy of Education

Realism, the concept that reality is objective, that the human mind can provide a go-between with that popular quality of the earth while operating as an exoteric observational instrument that produces data to the understanding by the use of the external personal information with the world through the intellect or the mind.

Idealism has long had an influence on all areas of philosophy, education, skills, values, and learning. It is the view that reality consists of spiritual content and that individuals and the universe basically are as one. This is the thought or view that our nickname, our innermost self-existence or realization, and body continue living past the physical death of our figure. Accordingly, the idealist vision of education is predicated on that view. An educational institution is responsible not only for transmitting knowledge in numerous subject fields but also for creating possibilities for coming into affirmational consciousness. We do this by teaching subjects such as visual art, music, dance, ideas/ideology about formal discourse on values, morality, ethics, justice, gender equality.

The philosophy of education is a discipline that applies philosophical ideas and practice to educational concerns and problems of policy, and of learning, teaching, and cooperative actions of inquiry, debate, and other kinds of exploratory interaction between people of different (and sometimes common) values, backgrounds, and ways of life. The philosophy of education tends to address fundamental questions in the following areas: ontology, cosmology, epistemology, ethics, political theory, social theory, and aesthetics. This module gives a short overview of the philosophy of education through delving into some of its key concepts: namely, idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism.

3. Contemporary Examples of Philosophy of Education in Practice

The IB learner profile is a list of ten attributes to teaching and learning intended to “develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.” The “attributes” are outlines for both teacher practice and school philosophy. They are generally interpreted creatively, and often adopted (or rejected) at varied times by different individuals and according to changing funding and faculty. As one participant pointed out, education is “part of exporting American Democracy” and “as someone who is pacifist, I have a visceral reaction against the IB.” This comment does not draw on a working (functional or procedural) knowledge of views, but rather expresses a value regarding the program’s ideological relationship with governmental policy making and a point of view regarding how the United States should engage in political discussions with countries other than our own. The following table presents our functioning educational concepts, a verbal-form gloss and their features and functions.

On paper, these concepts are philosophically rooted ideas about education. Let’s now explore three case studies to see if we can find connections between conceptual claims and educational practices. Our first example is a contemporary instance of an educator drawing from his own lived experience. Comparison is a cognitive asset because it allows us to distribute features scattered among objects and concepts. We could compare these desk chairs to the chairs used in a historical era, such as the highly ornate and ornamented chairs used in the 17th and 18th centuries by the British government. We could compose essays about how the features of our 21st-century chairs are but a poor reflection of the wealth and power we have when compared to those older chairs. Essays like these show that we have drawn on our working knowledge of features and function of historical, British government office décor and chair function in order to make claims about ourselves. Of course, such knowledge and insights could be drawn from other, related activities (such as discussions related to chairs generally) as well. But our group experience draws upon the former.

4. Impact of Philosophy of Education on Teaching and Learning

We align with Meld and colleagues and add that there is frequently also structure to that individual or personal approach, from such frameworks as idealism, realism, pragmatism, experimentalism and existentialism, rather than having the educational thought “in one eloquent jumble” without organization. Indeed, the philosophical outlook tends to guide the professional activities of educators by influencing purpose, content and methodology alongside other important decisions on selecting, sequencing, and structuring human knowledge and experiences or, in other words, determining what should be taught and how it should be taught. These decisions impact the seemingly practical details of schooling, such as the organization of curriculum, the design of instruction, the types of assessment, and the arrangements of classrooms or groupings of students. In summary, philosophical orientation influences the design of curriculum and instruction and shapes every aspect of what operates in schools—including how teachers teach, what they want students to learn, and what role they see for their students and for themselves.

The development of philosophy of education as an academic area and the individual differences in the personal philosophies of students and educators provide the background to exploring our philosophy of education through this special section in Education Sciences. The personal philosophy of each teacher and the principal, often referred to as a personal educational philosophy or individual philosophy of education, reflects a certain philosophy of education of value system. Due to those differences in philosophies, individualization on the route to learning and in the nature of teaching is imperative to provide quality opportunities for education that meet the differing needs of diverse groups of students. In fact, deeply embedded in the philosophy of education are theories surrounding the teacher, the teaching and learning environment, the student, the curriculum, and the community. Exploring our unique educational philosophy is an empowering and strategic step for a teacher and for future teachers: “The inclusivity that begins when teachers examine their own philosophical orientations can assist in opening the door to varied viewpoints among and between professionals, reflecting that diverse learners require diverse options, especially with multiple theories of teaching to guide and inspire them.”

5. Conclusion and Future Directions in Philosophy of Education

We began this introduction with the claim that engaging with philosophy of education is an enlightening way for us to think about the future. But why? How can those of us interested in the complex and multi-faceted task of planning for and participating in the development of the tools, techniques, and attitudes of further generations draw on the foundational and practical insights offered by this field? The first step is to recognize the critical role that education plays in the development and maintenance of the ideals that we foster in our society. Education shapes our values in such a way that it becomes difficult, or impossible, to see the extent of its influence on our beliefs and motivations. Taking an interest in the philosophy of education can offer a demystifying view of what we value, how those values are transmitted, and how they might change in the future. It would certainly be interesting to understand whether such groundwork has been laid in other contexts, for instance, museums, galleries, and libraries. Would the same or similar conclusions be drawn in those contexts to this philosophical examination of the role of education in the future?

In this anthology, we have collected some of the top scholars discussing contemporary issues in philosophy of education. The articles herein discuss topics such as critical thinking in the classroom, teacher education, justice in education, technology and surveillance on the university campus, homeschooling, and libertarianism. Given the variety of topics and levels of education with which they deal, it would be difficult to summarize and glean insights from each of these papers. Nonetheless, we can tie together a few loose ends and make some general recommendations for the role of philosophy and the future of education.