I believe a particular philosophy of education should guide every school. The religious philosophy of education that we adopt encompasses various aspects of learners' academic life, such as character building, core subject curriculum, and practical life both in the present and in the coming years. We believe that religious education offering in the classroom is well enacted in favorable conditions which are not debilitative, and are motivating, nurturing, and free from destructors. My teaching and learning philosophy are based on learning values and ethical issues taught from my home, teachers, peer discussions, past experiences, and religious books. One of the most commonly used terms in higher education is the issue of quality. Since the 80s, the quality of education has been a subject of discussion in the larger America and Europe. Before the emergence of quality education, the system had faced numerous challenges including lack of finances, fierce competition, and massification of the education system. There are various concepts such as epistemology, axiology, metaphysics, anthropology, and adult learning pertinent to my personal philosophy This teaching and learning philosophy is in learners, fellow educators, the learning environment, and the teaching and learning cycle. We believe that our facilities must provide opportunities and inputs for student-centered learning and maximize the student’s output. I desire to create the best atmosphere where learners can achieve their full capability. I will offer the safest environment and integrate these concepts where each student can share ideas on any aspect and take risks, as they are essential in adult learning.
The classroom I wish each of my students study must have strong religious basics for nurturing the children and constitutes five fundamental aspects. One of them is the provision of students with accessible hand-on activities. Secondly, the teacher should act as a guide to the learners, and third, students can make choices and let their curiosity direct their learning. Fourthly, a suitable environment for the students to practice their skills, and lastly, an excellent technological infrastructure incorporated into the school day.
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Activities inside and outside the classroom should foster and exploit the learning environment. Creating a religious environment means that every learner should be affiliated with a particular religion while at school. I encourage my students to follow religious teachings since they teach people how to emulate good deeds in and out of school. The current education systems are now adopting a contemporary culture where a specific religion within a school is now outdated. According to Lawrence (2007), the curriculum has now reflected a change in philosophy and attitude. In the recent past, schools offered moral ethics courses, had a compulsory chapel, and equipped students with commonsense strategies to problem-solving. However, in the present contemporary world, moral philosophy allows teachers to offer more social sciences that make students better and happier. Offering students with a diversified religious environment improves the learning experience since each student is natured with a different religion from his or her colleagues. Therefore, I will enhance my learning environment by adopting a contemporary culture that gives room for religious affiliations.
Epistemology, at its cire is the study of the methods of knowledge acquisition. It answers the question of how we know what we know. Epistemology is quite fundamental for adult learning as it helps create awareness and form conclusions about various aspects of reality. Therefore, knowledge helps us keep our minds vigorous and equip adults with the ability to confront situations, solve conflicts, and have profound solutions. Furthermore, the fundamental aim of knowledge is education. For example, science is the promotion of true beliefs. Research reveals that the philosophy of science is the belief system and assumptions that underpin knowledge creation (Biedenbach & Jacobsson, 2016). Essentially, the philosophy of science comprises of all the steps and considerations made by researchers when developing new insights in a certain field of research. Therefore, the scientific philosophy encompasses epistemology, and axiology.
Axiology, at its core, refers to the theory of value. Coined in the 20 th Century, axiology refers to the notion of the good and bad, right and wrong, beautiful and ugly and real and apparent (Biedenbach & Jacobsson, 2016). In other words, axiology addresses questions of the desirable good for both human beings and society at large. In adult learning, axiology is essential in that it aids in knowing the different values in society. Furthermore, there are various values which include religious value, intellectual value, economic value, social value, moral value, political value, and aesthetic value. The categorization of these values gives a good empirical overview of what is valued in society in different ways but does not help determine what different values have in common. Thus, it right to state that axiology is essential in understanding the various values such as religions. s
Diverse religion should help the students in building their character. As a teacher, I will ensure that students can engage in religious activities in their independent affiliations. According to research, schools should integrate a system that encourages character building and disciplinary action approaches based on virtues. Establishing a religious environment means that students will develop the best character. To nurture good character, I will ensure I set classroom rules that help in behavior expectation integration and setting academic goals. Classrooms rules and regulations bring order in the classroom. Religion also has its own rules and therefore, my religious students won’t find it difficult to abide with the school rules and regulations. Students with an essential religious background adhere to classroom rules easier than those who are not. Through all these aspects, I will establish a classroom full of ethics and excellent behavior.
Notably, axiology has three major dimensions which include intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic values. In their research, Biedenbach and Jacobsson (2016) describes intrinsic value as the pure value of something. Its essentiality in adult learning is that it will help students identify the actual value of various subjects in society. For example, on the issues of environmental sustainability, research reveals that the actual value is beyond the economic value. Therefore, it helps the students in identifying the true value of various subjects in society. Extensional value, on the other hand, reveals the extensional goodness of something. Lastly, there is the systemic value that posits for something to have value, it must follow a logical structure for that specific something. The understanding of such values in adult learning is essential as it leaves the students with open choices of how to value objects and people.
I will equip my students with measures to develop their ability to make choices and let their curiosity direct their learning. Students who make choices mostly do so out of curiosity. According to a neurological study done by some researchers, curiosity makes the human brains receptive to learning and tunes them to how students enjoy the learning process. Curiosity enhances learning by making it more enjoyable and creative. The more a student develops his or her intellectual curiosity, through studying and reading, the more their view on contemporary culture develops, and they find it difficult to hold on to religious orthodoxy. With that, the students will find learning in an environment with religious diversity enjoyable.
Besides axiology and epistemology, metaphysics also plays a major role in adult learning. Currently, there is not a single universally accepted worldview in education. However, the western paradigm is imposed in academics whereby students in higher education across the world can use the dominant worldview while respecting their cultures and traditions. Furthermore, students perceive their worlds through their diverse cultures and therefore it is essential for teachers to be more inclusive of the various diverse cultures (Carjuzaa & Ruff, 2010). For example, they can use varying assessment standards for a more inclusive interpretation of the assignment yet exhibit an equal level of quality, Furthermore, as previously mentioned, quality is a very sensitive aspect of higher education. Essentially, standards that are used for assessments in various institutions of higher learning should be renegotiated such that they are more inclusive (Aikin & Talisse, 2016).
I believe that the teacher should act as a guide to the learners, and his or her ultimate goal is to smoothen the learning process. As a teacher, the main focus I have is on lighting the candle of my students rather than dispensing my knowledge. According to Cassum (2015), it's the student's responsibility to learn while imparting knowledge is the educators' role. However, I have the perception both students and educators have a role to play in learning. In this case, the students are supposed to come up with their topics in the class to learn, and the educator has to make the learning process interactive to actively involve the students in the learning process (Cassum, 2015). I will always reflect on my teachings when I see my students being passive learners in the class and developing new ways of making the class interactive. This explains why standards of assessment should be renegotiated. This can be done by having a system that reciprocates the learning process. Reciprocity simply implies that the education system be give and take as opposed to the Western one where the teacher has the sole power (Bertolin, 2013). Reciprocity should be crowned with collaboration between adult students and their teachers. Furthermore, educators have the sole responsibility of learning other than operating from a point of power. This promotes a venue for each other’s voice as well as projects equipment with leadership skills.
Lastly, students should be well natured with leadership skills. Religions teach more about leadership basics. For example, by allowing students to study the history of religion and some religious stories, they can nature their leadership skills. According to Setran (2014), studying the history of anything has a formation significance. As we continue to look at the history of those who learned and wrote religious literature before us, we start gaining a sense of a great story that everyone is part of, including us. Therefore, by attributing all classroom basics to religion, we prepare the students for both Christian and community leadership. I believe that integrating technology into the classroom infrastructure will enhance the accessibility of teaching and learning materials. I will encourage my students to make fair use of the school's internet and technological facilities to enhance their learning and avoid all distractors present in technology. Through all these facilities, I am sure the teaching and learning journey of my learners will be successful.
In conclusion, the process of learning is dynamic and challenging. As a teacher, I need to brace myself with the best teaching and learning strategies to make sure my students achieve the best out of school. The learning environment I develop should ensure that I allow students to practice what they learn and nurture them to become better people. . I will offer the safest environment by incorporating technological infrastructure, and mentorship activities, where each student can share ideas on any aspect and take risks. It’s my role as a teacher to mentor my learners to ensure they work hard towards achieving their goals. As a dedicated educator, I will act as a bridge through which I will invite students to cross, facilitate their crossing, and become independent.
References
Aikin, S. F., & Talisse, R. B. (2016). Pragmatism and pluralism revisited. Political Studies Review , 14 (1), 17-26.
Bertolin, J. (2013). Worldviews and Quality in Higher Education: a dichotomy between productivity and social responsibility. Journal of Arts and Humanities , 2 (10), 8-15.
Biedenbach, T., & Jacobsson, M. (2016). The open secret of values: the roles of values and axiology in project research. Project management journal , 47 (3), 139-155.
Carjuzaa, J., & Ruff, W. G. (2010). When Western epistemology and an Indigenous worldview meet: Culturally responsive assessment in practice. Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , 10 (1), 68-79.
Cassum, L. (2015). My teaching and learning philosophy. Open Access Library Journal , 2 (01), 1.
Lawrence, T. A. (2007). Philosophy, religion, and education American style: A literature review. Journal of Research on Christian Education , 16 (2), 243-267.
Setran, D. (2014). Guest Editorial “History Matters”: Reflections on Studying the History of Christian Education. Christian Education Journal , 11 (2), 294-299.
