1. Foundations in Education for the 21st Century
Philosophical Thought
Foundations in Education for the 21st Century
Gail Hendrix
Bossier Parish Community College

2. PERENNIALISM FOCUS ON CLASSIC IDEAS DEVELOP REASON AND MORAL QUALITIES
EMPHASIS ON HUMANITIES AND THE GREAT BOOKS
TEACHERS SET CURRICULUM
LITTLE FLEXIBILITY IN CURRICULUM
FOCUS ON CONCEPTS RATHER THAN FACTS
EMPHASIS ON LEARNING FOR LEARNING’S SAKE
Hutchins and Adler were advocates for this learning theory.
Teacher is there to teach and student is there to learn.
Never forget what can be learned through classic literature.

3. ESSENTIALISM EMPHASIS ON ACADEMICS
PROMOTION BASED ON MASTERY OF MATERIAL
ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS
CURRICULUM DETERMINED BY ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS
“Back to the Basics” Curriculum
Totally teacher-directed
Started by William Bagley who was against Perennialism

4. PROGRESSIVISM A child-centered curriculum
EDUCATION BASED ON NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF STUDENTS
STUDENTS LEARN BY DOING AS WELL AS FROM TEXTBOOKS
TEACHING THROUGH FIELD TRIPS AND GAMES
EMPHASIS ON NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
GROUPING BY INTEREST AND ABILITIES
A child-centered curriculum
Theory spread through the writings of John Dewey in 1920’s-1930’s
Equip with ability to problem solve for the future.
Used again during the 1960’s when JFK was President of the U.S.

5. EXISTENTIALISM A theory that allows students to assign
EMPHASIS ON INDIVIDUALITY
STUDENTS DETERMINE WHAT IS TRUE, RIGHT, BEAUTIFUL
HELPING STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES
TEACHERS EXPOSE STUDENTS TO VARIOUS PATHS: STUDENTS CHOOSE WHICH TO FOLLOW
HUMANITIES EMPHASIZED
MATH AND SCIENCE DEEMPHASIZED
RARELY FOUND IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
NO GRADING SYSTEM
A theory that allows students to assign
meaning to their own lives.
Advocates of this learning theory are
Jean-Paul Satre and Maxine Greene.

6. SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISM
PHYSICAL WORLD AS THE BASIS OF REALITY
LEARN FROM MEANINGFUL SOCIAL EXPERIENCES
FOCUS ON SOCIAL, POLITICAL, & ECONOMIC NEEDS
LEARN BY RECONSTRUCTING SOCIETY
BECOME INTELLIGENT PROBLEM SOLVERS, ENJOY LEARNING, LIVE COMFORTABLY IN AND RESHAPE THE WORLD
Schools should take the lead in changing the current social order.
Theodore Brameld was the founder of this learning theory.
Has some ties to Progressivism

7. CONSTRUCTIVISM CENTERED ON THE LEARNER
CONSTANT NEED TO MAKE SENSE OF NEW INFORMATION
SCAFFOLDING LINKS NEW INFORMATION
STUDENT AND TEACHER CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS
Students’ understanding and learning
is influenced by prior knowledge,
experiences, attitude, and social
interaction.

8. BEHAVIORISM VIEWS FREE WILL AS AN ILLUSION
REALITY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION
POSITIVE REWARDS ENCOURAGE DESIRED BEHAVIOR
CURRICULUM BASED ON INCREMENTAL LEARNING
CURRICULUM IS CONTROLLED BY SCHOOL PERSONNEL
Behaviorism comes from the field of
psychology and teachers use many of its
components as a part of their own beliefs
About how students learn.
Key people: Watson, Skinner, Pavlov,

9. Your Educational Philosophy of Teaching
Based on your beliefs about teaching and learning
Based on your beliefs about students
Based on your beliefs about knowledge
Based on your beliefs about what is worth knowing
Based on your own personal beliefs
You should be able to write your own
educational philosophy if you will address
these topics listed.
Our educational philosophy changes as we
grow and mature.
You may have an eclectic philosophy,
which embodies parts of many learning
theories.