Major Philosophies Discussed in Chapter Two

The following are the four major philosophies that have been discussed in chapter two:

Idealism 

Idealism, which is a philosophy that was developed by Plato, seeks to portray learning as a primary intellectual process that seeks to build on the idea of working with differentiated approaches. From an idealist perspective, it can be argued that education reflects on conceptual matters; thus, leading to the idea of having a curriculum that is solely focused on ideas and concepts. Idealism has had a significant influence on modern education, as it reflects on a somewhat proactive framework through which to establish a cultural hierarchy that is based on learned disciplines. That means that it seeks to create a standard through which to ensure that students develop conceptual thoughts that build on their approach to using the different ideas.

Realism 

Realism, which is linked to philosopher Aristotle, reflects on learning as a process through which must occur through senses and reasoning. The philosophy seeks to build on the understanding that everything that one would learn is derived from nature; thus, suggesting that it is subjected to its natural laws. Realism has had a significant impact on modern education, as it has emphasized the inclusion of subjects that include history and zoology. Realists believe in the fact that students ought to be cultivated in an environment that would seek to spur logic, as well as, establish a transparent approach to abstract reasoning. It is from this perspective that students are expected to maximize their understanding of nature, as it enhances the generalized expectations in conveying the moral truths of the world.

Pragmatism 

Pragmatism is a philosophy that has been built on three main expectations, which are change, process, and relativity. As opposed to both idealism and realism, pragmatism emphasizes on the fact that knowledge ought to be based on the fact that reality is continually changing. Pragmatists believe in the need for having to ensure that teachers should place more focus on promoting critical thinking among their students. The influence that this philosophy has had on modern education can be seen from the fact that it seeks to highlight the importance of a child's experiences and interests. The expectation for teachers, in this philosophy, is that they will create curriculums around the backgrounds and benefits associated with a specific student. The ultimate aspiration is that this will help in preparing the student for life's affair while providing him or her with problem-solving skills reflected on the scientific method.

Existentialism 

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individualism and personal self-fulfillment as the two may aspects of consideration towards creating positive avenues through which people would define themselves. When evaluating this philosophy, as it relates to education, it can be seen that it seeks to suggest that students ought to be placed within a free environment allowing them to choose both how and what they study. In essence, this means that the philosophy goes against the set-out principles in society, which views education as a defined process that occurs within controlled institutions. That has led to significant criticism touching on the fact that this philosophy tends to have limited application within education, as it does not seek to establish a positive framework through which to promote learning.

School Reform Movements 

In the past 100 years, the United States has seen a significant number of school reform movements focused on different areas of the education system. The following is an analysis of three such reform movements that have had a considerable impact on the education system in the country:

Progressive Education Movement 

The progressive education movement was founded in the early 1900s but has extended its reach towards seeking to shape education within the 20 th century. The action finds itself in the presence of experience as one of the ways through which to advance overall knowledge while seeking to change the way students are engaged as part of the education system. The leading cause for the progressive education movement revolved around, ensuring that students would be involved as part of the learning process through engagement in hands-on projects. Additionally, the campaign also sought to establish a curriculum that would place more emphasis on thematic units as one of the ways through which to help create holistic students.

Back-to-the-Basics Movement 

Back-to-the-basic movement, which was founded in the 1970s, reflected on the fact that the quality of education within the United States was dropping at a rapid rate; thus, creating concern among educational stakeholders. The movement was created with the sole intention being towards ensuring that schools would seek to shift their pedagogical approaches as a way of ensuring that they help improve on the quality of education. Some of the critical areas of change that the movement identified to help improve on the quality of education included the re-introduction of phonics while seeking to deal with the rising cases of indiscipline, as well as, ensuring that the cost of education would be controlled.

“ Too-Much-Testing” Movement 

In 2015, President Obama raised questions regarding the quality of graduates that the United States was producing, which were defined by the “too-much-testing” movement adopted as part of the country’s educational reforms. The main area of focus for this movement was the fact that the education system is placing much more emphasis on standardized testing rather than having to focus on creating holistic students. The founders of the movement believed that it was important for the country to change its approach in seeking to determine the qualification of students other than having to pay more attention to testing. The expectation was that this would help call for changes in the manner in which students are exposed to testing, instead, seeking to ensure that the students would be engaged in progressive learning.

Education Philosophy for Each Reform 

The progressive learning movement stemmed from the pragmatism educational philosophy, as it highlighted the need for having to ensure that students would be encouraged to engage in hands-on projects as part of their learning process. Hayes (2006) takes into account that the progressive learning movement solely reflected on the need for having to understand a child’s experience and interest to determine the approaches to learning. Consequently, this serves as a clear indication that the pragmatism philosophy may have had a significant influence on the development of this reform. The impact extends to the fact that the movement sought to call for changes in the learning environments as a way of ensuring that students would be in a much better position through which to build on their social skills.

When evaluating the cause associated with the back-to-basics movement, what is clear is that it was notably influenced by idealism, as it reflects on the need for having to ensure that new ideas and concepts ought to be introduced as part of the learning process. The founders of the back-to-basics movement believed in the fact that education ought to be viewed based on conceptual matters that define learning (Hutchison & Bosacki, 2000). It is from this perspective that it can be seen that indeed, idealism may have played a critical role in influencing the expectations as had been set out by the back-to-basics movement. Perfectionism may have helped in highlighting the fact that indeed, the educational environment and demands within the United States were changing at a rapid rate. Consequently, this called for significant change in the way stakeholders in education would help students transition from school to the real world.

On the “too-much-testing” movement, it can be seen that it seeks to lean towards pragmatism as its underlying educational philosophy, which had a significant influence on attempting to change the way education matters are considered. The “too-much-testing” movement sought to highlight the need for change from an emphasis on standardized testing to ensuring that students are well amerced in the learning process (Brookhart, 2013). Pragmatism seeks to highlight the need to understand knowledge from the perspective that reality is continually changing, which would be of value towards ensuring that students are well rounded. The movement sought to establish a clear understanding of the fact that the world is changing in a significant way, which calls for the need to build a more proactive platform for lifelong learning.

Common Factor in the Reform Movements 

A comparison of the movement indicates that they each reflect on seeking to change the educational environment within the United States as a way of ensuring that students not only pass standardized tests but acquire knowledge that would be valuable in their later lives. From the analysis, it can be noted that each of the movements brings to floor the question of how the education system would be able to create holistic students. What can be learned from the study of the changes is the fact that although the education system adopted within the United States may be viewed as being notably advanced, it does not cover all basics in quality education. The movements have helped in ensuring that the federal government would maintain reforms to the education system. The expectations of the improvements are that they would help in making the education system for the betterment of society, as a whole.

Reforms as a Contributor to Rising of Public Schooling in the United States 

The changes contributed to the fact that the United States federal government was able to focus more on improving public schooling through the funding of public schools as a way of ensuring that they conform to expected international standards. Each of the reforms has pointed to specific aspects of the United States education system that ought to be changed as a way of improving on the expected outcomes in ensuring that the students are well rounded. The reforms also helped in establishing precise approaches through which to advance investment in public schooling. The expectations are that this would be of great value towards ensuring that public education remains competitive from a quality perspective when compared to private school, which is on a steady rise in the country.

References

Brookhart, S. M. (2013). The public understanding of assessment in educational reform in the United States.  Oxford Review of Education ,  39 (1), 52-71.

Hayes, W. (2006).  The Progressive Education Movement: Is it Still a Factor in Today's Schools? . Rowman & Littlefield Education. 15200 NBN Way, PO Box 191, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214-0191.

Hutchison, D., & Bosacki, S. (2000). Over the edge: Can holistic education contribute to experiential learning?. Journal of Experiential Education ,  23 (3), 177-182.