Personal Philosophy Of Education

My personal philosophy of education. The reflective teachers as leaders

The field of education is vast, broad, complex and dynamic. It co exists with the various domains of the society and is of utmost importance. There is abundant work being done and work yet to be done with regards to philosophy in the education system. There area of interest ranges from object- level interactions, discourse between teachers and school leaders, between teachers and a group of learners, aims of education, about how children ought to be treated, the type of curriculum which will deliver the desired outcomes and the interest of the child itself.

It is challenging to understand the how educational philosophy and education are related as both have gone through
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With more studies done in this area of “teacher professionalism”, there was more focus on the individual and the fraternity as a whole to be more engaged in critical reflective practice. The core idea here is that teaching cannot be thought of in solely technicist tems, but rather can be understood only as an intellectual- and a critical intellectual- undertaking( Giroux, 1988).
As professionals, teachers must be responsible and accountable for that which is under their control, both individually and collectively (Preston, 1996). For teaching to considered as profession, some underlying characteristics and contributing factors would be a sound subject knowledge inclusive of pedagogical knowledge; grounded classroom practice where practical and experimental knowledge can be delivered; an underlying interest with issues in curriculum, assessment and other policy matters in education; a meaningful and progressive career progression; a common code of ethics enforced and practiced by all members of the profession; and a underlying commitment to personal and professional
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The reflective teaching- learning process cannot be placed as part of a linear process but rather as a small circle within a larger circle.
The term reflection in the development of an educator would bring about a lot of debate. It is common to see and hear educators very often saying that they do not have sufficient time to reflect on things they do. Here we assume that if there was time at hand it would be spent on quality reflections. Many at times we look upon knowledge gained from external sources and experts rather than from personal experience. Thus reflection becomes productive when one is able to understand one’s practice which leads to changes.
The effectiveness of reflection can only be observed by investing considerable time in observation and discussion. Neither a single lesson observation nor a checklist would be able to ascertain the effectiveness of a reflective educator. To assess the extent to which an educator is being reflective would require multiple lesson observations coupled with subsequent discussions with attention paid to details such as assumptions, beliefs, and scenarios being slot in. Not all changes implemented would be successful, but prior to the change there would be quite a bit of thought process put in for opting for the