Key Proponents of

Educational
Philosophies
Contributions to Educational Thinking, Its Purpose in Education
and Curriculum
Presenter: LORELYN L. MEDICO
 Philosophy of Education
▪ Application of philosophical methods to the theory
and practice of education.
▪ Among the topics investigated in the philosophy of
education is the nature of learning, especially in
children:
 Philosophy of Education
the purpose of education, particularly the question of
whether the chief goal of educators should be imparting
knowledge, developing intellectual independence, or
instilling moral or political values;
the nature of education-related concepts, including the
concept of education itself;
the sources and legitimacy of educational authority; and
the conduct of educational research.
 “I believe that education,
therefore, is a process of
living and not a preparation
for future living.”

(Oct. 20, 1859-June 1, 1952)

 JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952)
▪ U.S. philosopher and educator who was one of the
founders of pragmatism, a pioneer in functional
psychology, and a leader of the Progressive movement
in U.S. education.
▪ He developed an instrumentalist theory of knowledge
that conceived of ideas as tools for the solution of
problems encountered in the environment.
 JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952)
▪ Believing the experimental methods of modern science
provided the most promising approach to social and
ethical problems, he applied this view to studies of
democracy and liberalism.
▪ He asserted that democracy provided citizens with the
opportunity for maximum experimentation and personal
growth.
 PRAGMATISM
▪ Based on the principle that the usefulness, workability, and
practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals are the criteria
of their merit.
▪ It stresses the priority of action over doctrine,
of experience over fixed principles, and it holds that ideas
borrow their meanings from their consequences and their
truths from their verification.
▪ Ideas are essentially instruments and plans of action.
Nature and the Construction of Ends
▪ He developed a metaphysics that examined
characteristics of nature that encompassed human
experience but were either ignored by or misrepresented
by more traditional philosophers. Three such
characteristics—what he called the “precarious,”
“histories,” and “ends”—were central to his
philosophical project.
 Histories
▪ The constancy of change does not imply a complete lack
of continuity with the past stages of natural processes.

▪ His conception of history has an obvious implication for humanity:

no person’s fate is sealed by an antecedently given human nature,
temperament, character, talent, or social role.

▪ With an appropriate knowledge of the conditions necessary for

human growth, an individual may develop in any of a variety of
ways.
 Ends and Goods
▪ End is a deliberately constructed outcome of a history. Hence, his expression “the
construction of good” encapsulates much of the significance of his philosophy.

▪ A person confronted by a spontaneous intrusion of the precarious world into the seemingly
steady course of his life will identify and analyze the constituents of his particular situation
and then consider what changes he might introduce to produce, in Dewey’s parlance, a
“consummatory” end.

▪ Such an end is a fulfillment of these particular conditions, and it is unique to them.

Similarly, there is no such thing as an absolute good against which actions may be
evaluated; rather, any constructed end that promotes human flourishing while taking into
account the precarious is a good.
 The Precarious
▪ A precarious event is one that somehow makes ongoing experience
problematic; thus, any obstacle, disruption, danger, or surprise of any
kind is precarious.

▪ Since humanity is a part of nature, all things that humans encounter in

their daily experience, including other humans and the social
institutions they inhabit, are natural events.

▪ Human knowledge is wholly intertwined with precarious, constantly

changing nature.
 INSTRUMENTALISM
▪ The view that knowledge results from the discernment of correlations between events,
or processes of change. Inquiry requires active participation in such processes: the
inquirer introduces specific variations in them to determine what differences thereby
occur in related processes and measures how a given event changes concerning
variations in associated events.

▪ Ideas are instruments, or tools, that humans use to make greater sense of the world.
Specifically, ideas are plans of action and predictors of future events.

▪ People possess an idea when they are prepared to use a given object in a manner that
will produce a predictable result.
 Democracy as a Way of Life
▪ Dewey conceived of democracy as an active process of social planning
and collective action in all spheres of common life.

▪ Democracy is also a source of moral values that may guide the establishment and
evolution of social institutions that promote human flourishing.

▪ However, unlike other moral frameworks (e.g., great religious traditions or

political ideologies), democracy as a way of life is neither absolutist nor relativistic,
because its norms and procedures are fallible and experimental.

▪ It is a consciously collaborative process in which individuals consult with each other to

identify and address their common problems.
 Notable Works
▪ The School and Society (1899)
▪ The Child and the Curriculum (1902)
▪ His work in psychology focused on the total organism
in its efforts to adjust to the environment.
▪ In 1904 Dewey joined the Columbia University faculty.
In 1925 he published his magnum opus, Experience and
Nature.
 Educational Philosophy
▪ It is known that Dewey firmly believed that education
should be more than teaching students mindless facts
they would soon forget.
▪ Instead of relying on rote memorization to learn, he
thought education should consist of a journey of
experiences, building upon each other to create and
understand new ideas.
 Educational Philosophy
▪ He believed that school activities and the life
experiences of students should be connected to make
real learning possible.
▪ Cutting students off from their psychological ties (i.e.,
society and family) would make their learning journey
less meaningful and thereby make learning less
memorable.
 Influence on Curriculum
▪ Dewey’s theory has had an impact on a variety of
educational practices including:
Individualised Instruction
Problem-based and Integrated Learning
Dialogic Teaching
Critical Inquiry
 Individualised Instruction
▪ Teachers learn about students and their motivating interests
and desires to find subject matter, events, and experiences that
appeal to students and that will provoke a need to develop the
knowledge, skills, and values of the planned curriculum.

▪ Students are encouraged to relate learning to their lives

and experiences.
Problem-based Learning and Integrated
Learning Approaches
▪ Begin with a practical task or problem that is complex, comprehensive, multi-layered,
collaborative, and involves inquiry designed to extend students’ knowledge, skills, and
understandings. Problem-based learning should:
o start by supporting students to intellectualize exactly what the problem is;
o encourage controlled inquiry by helping students to develop logical hypotheses;
and
o encourage students to revise their theories and reconstruct their concepts as their
inquiry unfolds.
 Student Engagement
 Engaging students in deeper perception – going beyond the
simple recognition of objects to look carefully at colors, lines,
and textures, question perceptions, and use new
understandings to perceive things in new ways.

 Building intellectual, sensory, emotional, or social connections

to a topic.

 Encouraging risk-taking, such as suggesting a calculation, or

experimentation.
 Dialogic Teaching
 This emphasizes the importance of open student
dialogue and meaning-making for learning and builds
on the importance of communication and social
interaction.
 Students are encouraged to form habits of careful
listening and thoughtful speaking.
 Critical Inquiry
 Students engage in intellectual reflection and inquiry, critique, test and
judge knowledge claims, make connections, apply their understandings
in a range of different situations, and go into depth, rather than be
given quick answers or rushed through a series of content.

 It highlights the importance of imagination to drive thinking and

learning forward, and for teachers to provide opportunities for students
to suspend judgment, engage in the playful consideration of
possibilities, and explore doubtful possibilities.
 Teaching as Inquiry
▪ This suggests that teachers should cultivate an energetic
openness to possibilities alongside a commitment to
reflectively learning from experiences, be willing to
experience ambiguity and use problems as an
opportunity to get deeper into an understanding of self,
students, the subject, and the context.
 “There’s no such thing as
neutral education. Education
either functions as an
instrument to bring about
conformity or freedom.”

(Sept. 19, 1921-May 2, 1997)

PAULO FREIRE
 PAULO FREIRE (1921-1997)
▪ A Brazilian educator.
▪ His ideas developed from his experience teaching Brazil’s peasants to
read.
▪ His interactive methods, which encouraged students to question the
teacher, often led to literacy in as little as 30 hours of instruction.
▪ He was influenced by Marxist thought and a pioneer of "popular
education.” His work was intended to empower the oppressed through
literacy programs to raise social and political awareness.
 PAULO FREIRE (1921-1997)
▪ Freire advocated experiential education, particularly service
learning, as the best method of education.
▪ He believed that through such active participation, people come
to recognize their need for more knowledge or training and that
this motivation is key to successful learning.
▪ Though, he emphasized dialogue as the only
legitimate pedagogical method, claiming that teacher and
students must be seen as equal.
 Educational Philosophy
▪ At the heart of Paulo Freire's educational philosophy
lies the belief that education should be liberating rather
than oppressive.
▪ He advocated for a dialogical approach, emphasizing
mutual respect, collaboration, and critical thinking.
 Aims of Freire’s Philosophy
▪ Liberate individuals from oppressive systems and foster a more
just and equitable society.
▪ He believed that education had the power to break the chains of
ignorance and empower people to become active agents of
social change.
▪ He sought to eradicate the hierarchical relationship between
teacher and student, emphasizing the importance of a horizontal
learning environment where knowledge and experiences are
shared and respected.
 Critical Consciousness
▪ Education should encourage learners to become
critically aware of their social reality and question
existing power structures and injustices.
▪ By promoting critical consciousness, students could
identify and challenge oppressive systems, leading to
personal and societal transformation.
 Dialogical Pedagogy
▪ He stressed the importance of dialogue between
educators and learners, treating education as a
reciprocal process.

▪ This method allowed students to actively participate in

shaping their learning experience, fostering creativity,
and enhancing problem-solving skills.
 Praxis
▪ The integration of reflection and action.
▪ Education should not remain limited to the theoretical
realm; it should inspire learners to take action and
create positive change in their communities.
 Influence on Curriculum
▪ Freire's curriculum diverged significantly from
traditional curricula that follow rigid structures and
standardized content. Instead, his curriculum was
dynamic and emerged from the lived experiences of the
learners themselves.
 1. Contextualization
▪ He stressed the significance of understanding learners'
contexts, including their cultural, social, and economic
backgrounds.
▪ The curriculum should be rooted in the realities of the
students, ensuring relevance and meaningful learning
experiences.
 2. Themes of Significance
▪ He focused on themes relevant to the learners' lives and
societal issues.
▪ These themes could be drawn from their local
communities, encouraging students to analyze and
engage with real-world problems.
 3. Problem-Posing Approach
▪ In contrast to the traditional teacher-centered model, he
embraced a problem-posing approach.
▪ Educators would pose thought-provoking questions,
encouraging students to critically explore various
perspectives and seek solutions collaboratively.
 4. Action-Oriented Learning
▪ His curriculum placed great emphasis on praxis,
bridging the gap between theory and practice.
▪ Students would learn through action, addressing
community issues, and reflecting on the outcomes to
refine their understanding.
 Notable Works
▪ Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970)
▪ Freedom will be the result of "praxis"—informed action—when a balance
between theory and practice is achieved.
▪ Concerning education, he argued that words involve a radical interaction
between reflection and action and that true words are transformational.
▪ Dialogue requires mutual respect and cooperation to not only develop
understanding but also to change the world.
▪ "Authentic" education, according to Freire, will involve dialogue between the
teacher and the student, mediated by the broader world context.
Philosophical
Contributions
a. Critical Pedagogy vs. The Banking Model
of education
▪ Rather than continuing with the established cultural patterns of
relating to people through a hierarchy of power, his starting
point in the classroom aims to undermine the power dynamics
that hold some people above others.

▪ He emphasized that a democratic relationship between the

teacher and her students is necessary in order for the
conscientização process to take place.
a. Critical Pedagogy vs. The Banking Model
of education
▪ The banking method of education is characterized as a
vertical relationship:

teacher
↓
student
 a. Critical Pedagogy vs. The Banking Model
of education
▪ The critical pedagogy that Freire proposes allows for a horizontal type of
relationship:

teacher ↔ student

▪ This relationship is democratic insofar as both the teacher and the student are
willing and open to the possibility of learning from each other.

▪ Both the teacher and the student acknowledge that they each have different
experiences and expertise to offer to each other so that both can benefit from the
other to learn and grow as human beings.
 b. Internalization
▪ He also realized that teaching people how to read and write so they
could vote in elections, that is, enabling people through positive rights,
was still not enough for people to realize their freedom and end their
oppression.

▪ He recognized that the oppression of a human being runs much deeper

than political institutions and legal guarantees.

▪ He discovered that while we may actively seek our freedom, besides

institutional obstacles like colonization and dictatorships, there are also
internal obstacles that prevent us from being free.
 c. Conscientizacao
▪ Often described as the process of becoming aware of social and political
contradictions and then acting against the oppressive elements of our
sociopolitical conditions.

▪ This entails developing a critical attitude to help us understand and analyze

the human relationships through which we discover ourselves.

▪ Given that their dialect, race, work, and culture were constantly demeaned
by a system of oppression, he affirmed the worth of every person and that
person’s work.
 d. Freedom
▪ Freedom may mean being able to move about freely or it may mean not
being enslaved, for instance.

▪ Freire believed that “freedom” is the right of every human being to

become more human. Freire noticed that “freedom” meant something
different for the peasants with whom he worked.

▪ Freire’s goal was to help students realize that their reality was not
determined, but rather that history is made by one’s choices.
 REFERENCES
▪ Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024, February 9). Paulo Freire. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paulo-Freire

▪ Gouinlock, J. S. (2024, February 28). John Dewey. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Dewey

▪ Hargraves, V. (2021). Dewey’s educational philosophy. THE EDUCATION HUB. https://theeducationhub.org.nz/deweys-

educational-philosophy/

▪ Institute, F. (n.d.). Paulo Freire. Freire Institute. https://freire.org/paulo-freire#:~:text=Freire%20developed%20an%20approach

%20to

▪ Kendra Cherry. (2018). John Dewey’s Instrumental Contributions to Educational Philosophy. Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/john-dewey-biography-1859-1952-2795515

▪ PAULO FREIRE EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY, ITS AIMS AND CURRICULUM by urvah tulvusqa. (n.d.). Contra.com.
Retrieved March 21, 2024, from https://contra.com/p/UEoUOAL6-paulo-freire-educational-philosophy-its-aims-and-
curriculum
Thank You!