Importance Of Pragmatism In Education

INTRODUCTION

In this essay I will be discussing the philosophies and educational philosophies studied. I will identify similarities and differences as well as provide an explanation for the differences in philosophies and ideologies.

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHISING EDUCATION ALL ABOUT?

Philosophising education would be to express or discuss a matter from a philosophical manner.

Idealism focuses on how ideal things are in a perfect manner; its central belief is true reality. Idealism believes in refined wisdom. Idealism is where reality is shaped by our thoughts and ideas. In 400 B.C Plato thought that humans could be improved within, by correcting thoughts and discovering knowledge from birth. It focuses on how someone can establish knowledge from

Pragmatists believe in change and that learning should be done as it is experienced. Charles Sanders (1839-1914) believed that thought must produce action and not linger in the mind. John Dewey (1859-1952) on the other hand believed that learners must adapt to their environment and to each other. Pragmatist’s methods of teaching are to focus on the actual problem and to experiment with real situations.

Existentialism is subjective and focuses on the experiences of the individual. The individual has the ability and power to decide on what they believe is true and meaningful to them. Everything is the individual’s choice; they have the freedom to develop meaning to their lives. They are free willed, like Jean Paul Sartre, suggested “that for youth, the existential moment arises when a young person realizes for the first time that the choice is theirs, that they are responsible for themselves.” Existentialism’s teaching methods focuses on self- direction and self actualization rather than focusing on core knowledge.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES AND HOW THEY ARE USED IN THE

It has a religious connotation where everything is applied to religious beliefs. It is in the nature of fundamentalists to base everything on religious experiences and nature. The mind makes sense of what is truth and righteous. The belief is that religious experience becomes an object of thought. Liberal ideology has views that are generally free of thought. Their way of understanding principles goes according to ideas f civil rights and freedom a religion, speech, thought and press. John Lock, a 17th century philosopher believes that each person has the right to life, liberty and property and that these rights are not to be violated according to social beliefs. Liberalism now plays a huge role in education and in the political world as it has a strong force of social and traditional influences. Reconstructionists view curricula from a social perspective. Reconstructionists believe that something can be done to keep society from destroying themselves. Educators have faith in the ability of education through the medium of curriculum where they see the vision of a better society and world. The main problems that occur with Reconstructionists are racism, war, sexism, poverty, crime etc. it is believed that education, if is revitalized it has the power to educate people to analyse and understand social problems, to envision a world where there is no problems and to bring that vision into existence, thus education