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8 Educational Theories

The document outlines 8 educational theories: Essentialism focuses on a core set of knowledge and skills. Behaviorism believes environment determines behavior. Perennialism focuses on enduring principles of knowledge. Positivism limits knowledge to what is observable and measurable. Progressivism emphasizes experimentation and learner-developed questions. Humanism believes humans are innately good. Constructivism highlights hands-on, activity-based learning. Reconstructionism calls for schools to teach democratic control of institutions. The reflection favors progressivism and constructivism for their emphasis on the scientific method, individual beliefs, hands-on learning, and allowing students to explore ideas.

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Charlie Dorado
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127 views2 pages

8 Educational Theories

The document outlines 8 educational theories: Essentialism focuses on a core set of knowledge and skills. Behaviorism believes environment determines behavior. Perennialism focuses on enduring principles of knowledge. Positivism limits knowledge to what is observable and measurable. Progressivism emphasizes experimentation and learner-developed questions. Humanism believes humans are innately good. Constructivism highlights hands-on, activity-based learning. Reconstructionism calls for schools to teach democratic control of institutions. The reflection favors progressivism and constructivism for their emphasis on the scientific method, individual beliefs, hands-on learning, and allowing students to explore ideas.

Uploaded by

Charlie Dorado
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The 8 Educational Theories

Abstract
The eight educational theories are Essentialism, Behaviorism, Perennialism,
Positivism, Progressivism, Humanism, Constructivism, and Reconstructionism.
Essentialism is a teacher-centered locus of control which reflects the belief that there
is a basic core of knowledge and skills that an educated person must have. The
curriculum focuses on subject matter that includes literature, history, foreign
language, and religion. Essentialists generally agree about teaching the laws of nature,
and the accompanying universal truths of the world. Behaviorism is a psychological
and educational theory that holds that one’s behavior is determined by environment
rather than heredity, and states that human behavior can be explained as responses to
external stimuli. Behaviorists believe that the school environment should be organized
and the curriculum based on behavioral objectives. Perennialism is an educational
theory that focuses on enduring principles of knowledge; nature, human nature, and
the underlying principles of existence are considered constant, undergoing little
change. Positivism is a social theory that limits truth and knowledge to what is
observable and measurable. It requires schools to develop content standards that
represent the best understandings of experts, and students are encouraged to master
these understandings and to develop their own skills of observation, classification, and
logical analysis. Progressivism is a student-centered locus of control and emphasizes
that ideas should be tested by experimentation and that learning is rooted in
questions developed by the learner. This theory views the individual as an
experiencing, thinking, exploring individual. Humanism is a theory that contends that
humans are innately good, that they are born free, but become enslaved by
institutions. It seeks ways to enhance the individual development of the students,
unlike a group-oriented educational system. Teachers who follow humanistic theory
emphasize instruction based on student interests, abilities, and needs. Constructivism
is an educational theory that highlights hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning
during which students develop their own frames of thought. Constructivist curriculum
focuses on the personalized way a learner internalizes, shapes, or transforms
information. Reconstructionism is an educational theory that calls on schools to teach
people to control institutions and to be organized according to basic democratic
ideals.

Reflection
The two educational theories that I feel reflect my views as a teachers would be
progressivism and constructivism. Progressivism favors the scientific method of
teaching and learning, allows for the beliefs of individuals, and stresses programs of
student involvement that help them learn how to think. Constructivism emphasizes
the hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning. I think students should be given
the opportunity to explore and discover ideas for themselves, and at the same time
keep the functions of school in place.

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