DIVIRGENT PHILOSOPHIES These Philosophies Have an Affect on the Business Education Curriculum

Idealism Classical or traditional theory of education Began in Greece Stresses the intellect The mind takes precedent over all Mind over matter There is something ideal Eternal values and truths Almost in the area of metaphysics

Idealism --Continued Idealists are dogmatic, they see things very clearly and are organized The mind can reveal many things in you that you cannot reveal in nature (abstraction) Idealists stress law, order, design, discipline, etc. Education must stress the eternal values and truths Students must think beyond their levels of experience

Idealism and Education Idealism can be viewed as the antithesis of all forms of materialism Idealism stresses ideals, concepts, and universals Idealism’s educational emphasis has been more upon social studies and the humanities than upon science, mathematics, and physical and vocational training

Idealism (according to Sawyer) is identified with the following: Rigid curriculum “All students” take the same courses Mental Discipline Theory Use notes to reinforce

Realism Opposed to Idealism Objective reality In philosophy, the doctrine that material objects exist in themselves, apart from the minds consciousness of them Comes from the Age of Reason— Science—Knowledge

Realism—Continued Realist are concerned with the objectivity of the external world Knowing (knowledge) is a process of disclosure—not creation Objectivity and facts Must fit reality into the environment—not the “external truths” of idealism

Realism—Continued Scientific method. Eliminate personal bias, prejudice That which is worth knowing can be measured Test and measurement advocates All behavior is caused behavior Use notes to reinforce

Pragmatism A system of or tendency in philosophy which tests the validity of all concepts by their practical results Useful Workable Utilitarian Experience is important Must experience to know Knowledge is functional and is an instrument for change

Pragmatism—Continued Pragmatist refutes the classical idea of fixed, eternal truths Concerned with the practical and not too much concerned with consistency Individual centered Truth is relative—do not fear change You learn by doing! Pragmatism is stimulated by utilitarianism, which seeks the greatest happiness for the greatest number

Pragmatism and Education Chief concern of education should be the needs, aptitudes, talents, interests, and special abilities of the individual learner Education should not force students to conform to an outmoded set of subject-matter requirements Education, is then student centered. Free activity is preferred to an imposed pattern of discipline. Education consists of self-motivated activity instead of teacher directed activity

Pragmatism and Education— Continued Learning is achieved through experience, as opposed to memorizing texts or listening to lectures Education problem is the selection from a variety of experiences that appeal to the students What a student learns through his or her educational experience is not a fact to be stored away until needed, but a pattern for dealing with an individual situation in his or her present environment Use notes to reinforce

Use Satire to Reinforce Curriculum to Meet the Needs—or—The Animal School The End