My Philosophical Orientation to Adult Education - Literature review Example

My Philosophical Orientation to Adult Education Name Course Date Introduction A philosophy of education offers a laid down procedure for teachers to follow. This is because they enhance the teacher’s methods of delivering education. Every teacher should plan on the most convenient philosophical orientation to use to deliver his/her teaching instructions. A philosophical orientation is fundamental to effective, professional teaching practice. It provides guidelines, goals and professional settings for the teacher. This enhances student training through well laid out procedures that ensure consistency, as well as a sense of direction to students. The students manage to grasp the course objectives at ease, as well as increase cognition to the particular unit. The choice of a philosophical orientation should follow the personal attributes of the teacher to create ease in delivery of knowledge. Philosophical orientations are crucial as they enhance the student-teacher relationship by clearly laying down boundaries and the expected scope of work. Thesis statement Philosophical orientation is fundamental to effective, professional teaching practice. Understanding of philosophical orientation used The philosophical orientation used in this paper is the progressive approach. The person behind its success is John Dewey, who was in the field of education as a liberal social reformer. He based his research on a philosophy and psychology background, such as founding the famous laboratory school in University of Chicago, 1896. From this laboratory, he produced solid innovations in American Education by testing his educational ideas (Dhawan, 2005, p. 77). This made education increase its relevance to students’ needs and interests since the curricula broadened. It recognized the existence of change in the world directed by human intelligence. It recognized that as humans change the environment, the experience in turn alters the human character (Dhawan, 2005, p.78). It aimed at engaging schools in order to make America a democratic nation where citizens acquired freethinking (Dhawan, 2005, p. 78). It asserts that human beings learn through relevant interactive activity with others (Dhawan, 2005, p. 78) Progressism views that humans acquire and expand knowledge as they apply previous experiences to solving new meaningful problems. It views education as a reconstruction of experience and an opportunity to apply previous experience to new ways (Dhawan, 2005, p. 79). It relies on scientific methods to define the problem, propose related hypothesis, experience from the situation and test the expected solution (Dhawan, 2005, p. 79). It holds the belief that students learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives. This means that the teachers’ focus is on the student experiences, interests and abilities (Zinn, p. 1990, p. 59). The students engage in theoretical learning and field trips to assist them interact with nature. Group discussions help them to develop social virtues such as cooperation and tolerance. The teachers introduce scientific, technological and social development issues that recognize minorities in the communities such as women. Education should be a continuous process of growth that is interesting and useful to the student (Dhawan, 2005, p. 79). Philosophical orientation definition This is the set of beliefs, ideas and expectations a teacher acquires about the learning process (Dhawan, 2005, p. v). An example of educational beliefs is freedom. Some philosophers view that students should not be subjected to an education system that grades students through the use of examinations. They believe that the teacher should teach the student with an aim of making them understand the course objectives. They believe that grading systems make slow learning students to be discriminated against the fast learners. It varies in how the teacher understands reality and knowledge, whereby each has implications for applications to educational systems. Progressivism respects individuality, has a high regard for science, and contains receptivity to change society. Influences of philosophical orientation on adult training Student participation in learning activities is of crucial relevance. This is because it enhances cognition of ideas as well as promotes self-esteem. According to Merriam (1982, p. 24), philosophical work provides clear guidelines to be followed in order to make decisions that assist in the completion of philosophical work. The use of philosophical orientation assists in increasing human understanding of interrelationships. It influences people to realize their needs with relevance to positive human interactions. Using philosophy, an understanding of personal values is possible. This happens with philosophical frameworks. This promotes continuity as well as consistency among adult students. They are able to become more flexible while working using philosophy than on no base (Dhawan, 2005, p. 71) Philosophy offers a rich source of information since it represents ideas that have received criticism and revision over a vast number of years (Heimstra, 1988, p. 56). It offers a detailed explanation of social rights, individualism, liberty and moral values needed to run society (Heimstra, 1988, p. 56). This is a crucial element in any teaching practice directed towards affecting change in society. Philosophy gives teachers a direction through which to sell their ideas to students. It assists them by providing goals and procedures. These are useful as they create a difference between professional experts and the normal educationist. Teachers using philosophy ensures cognition on the action as well as the reasons for doing them (Merriam, 1982, p. 45). This creates a professional atmosphere to operate. Through the availability of values and attitudes set by philosophy, teachers attain motivation to deliver quality knowledge to students. It provides adult students with relevant information that can be analyzed, organized according to interpretations; this information can then be used to make realistic decisions. The educator should reflect on given philosophical values in order to derive the most desirable meaning before putting them into action. This is not an easy procedure as they lack the time to evaluate the philosophical guidelines. Philosophy should assist people with explanations to their actions to appreciate their efforts (Dhawan, 2005, p. 72) Work description as an adult educator As an adult educator, I use the progressive education philosophy to provide guidance on desirable directions, a facilitator to meet a desired goal, a consultant to give professional advice, a mentor, helper and instructor. His role is to provide the student with advice based on experiences, abundance in knowledge and human relations. The teacher provides the course that students should follow in order to learn a given concept (Zinn, 1990, p. 47). They should plan and help the students to execute the planned action. The adult educator should be socially responsible in a continuous manner and follow changes in society trends. The teacher should embrace changes in society by advocating for social justice, equality and freedom to promote democracy in society through full participation in public issues. The adult educator should provide for both individual and group experiments in order to improve student participation and skills. An adult educator has to engage in driving a social purpose through his students, as well as self-initiative. Heimstra (1988, p. 46) assert that there exist differences in traditional, experimental systems. One system based itself on individual learning theories while the other based itself on group work. The adult educator has to create a balance between the two experiential theories as they deal with their students. Adult educators have the responsibility to create a safe environment by using power dynamics. They should also ensure the examination of existing power structures and challenge them (Alheit, 1999, p. 76). Adult educators should pose the ability to forecast future situations, and as such come up with tools to equip learners. They can also use this information to enhance their teaching skills to be compatible to current trends. The adult educator should be concerned about shaping social behavior and character through his students with relevance to progressive philosophical education. Zinn’s inventory on progressive orientation Zinn’s inventory identifies five key theories of philosophical orientation. These theories describe how adult education implementation occurs by teachers as well as a description of duties. It illustrates the overall differences between the different orientations with relevance to students and teachers (Zinn, 1990, p. 43). The progressive philosophy of education is what I use to teach my students. The progressive orientation allows the learner acquire a wide scope of experiences to learn from by using them to understand taught concepts (Dhawan, 2005, p. 78). This equips the learner with tools of defense from experience that enhance social change to take place. The teacher uses cultural attributes as well as societal structures to promote social change and provide problem-solving skills to the learner. The teacher has to learn what interests the adult student, their needs as well as experiences in order to implement learning. He also has to learn an enormous amount of knowledge about the student’s living environment (Dhawan, 2005, p. 77). The teacher has to participate in issuing of directions and guidance for students to follow. He uses past experiences to create new ideas to his students, to stimulate archived ideas as well as evaluate the learning progress of pupils through stories and practical demonstrations. (Dhawan, 2005, p. 78). Pupils have to take place in carrying out of scientific and casual experiments, as well as field operations. Zinn argues that progressive orientation occurs in community schools, co-operative extension schools and unestablished schools. The people involved in the progressive orientation include Dewy, and Lindeman (Dhawan, 2005, p. 77-80) The liberal orientation is artistic in nature. It is useful in enhancing the brain by using intellectual powers. This enhancement displays itself through the creation of a wide scope of education and a broad sense of learning (Dhawan, 2005, p. 75). The student consistently absorbs ideas from his teacher and continuously seeks more information from him. These students gain knowledge by studying theoretical materials. The teacher assumes the role of a source of information and skills to the student. His role is to equip the student with additional knowledge at all times (Dhawan, 2005, p. 76). Most traditional forms of knowledge transmission took this form. The student-teacher relationship bases itself on criticism and question-answer approaches. The focus is on academic success rather than acquisition of skills (Zinn, 1990, p. 54). Humanistic adult education aims at individual growth of skills and creates an awareness of self-abilities. The student acquires a personal focus on the desired knowledge and steers his learning process (Dhawan, 2005, p. 85). He accomplishes this by actively planning projects to practice his skills. The teacher represents a facilitator to reach a desirable end. He supports the students in their learning process through participating in discussions and information exchange with students. The personal attributes of students steer them to practice authenticity, individuality and openness. The students pose a self-drive to engage in learning activities (Dhawan, 2005, p. 84). They participate in communication activities that assist them acquire additional information to steer up learning activities. They also conduct self-assessment tests through questioning in order to enhance the discovery of new ideas and skills. Maslow is one of the philosophers that made use of this orientation (Dhawan, 2005, p. 86). Behavioral orientation focus on transforming individual behaviors to create competence, develop personal skills and ensure compliance with the societal expectations. The students engage in a systematic process in order to learn. They have to practice the acquired skills in order to perfect them (Zinn, 1990) Objectives set by the teacher have to be attained; he is a pace setter as he designs the goals to be met by the end of a given period. He also structures the direction to which a study should focus (Dhawan, 2005, p. 88). It bases itself on the mastery of laid out skills, change in behavior to suite the design in order to display competence. Theories that utilize this form of learning include religious doctrines, military training as well as certification exams (Zinn, 1990, p. 54). The radical approach aims at improving social, cultural, political and economic spheres through education. In this approach, both the teacher and the student have equal chances to contribute into the learning process (Dhawan, 2005, p. 80). They contribute ideas as to the desirable direction that brings about a common gain. In this orientation, the student acquires the power to influence the situation and learn the process (Dhawan, 2005, p. 81). The teacher facilitates the study but the decision lies on the democratic view of the involved parties. The decision arrived at represents the critical discussion and reflection of issues. The learner as well as he teacher discusses the prevailing problems to reach a desired end (Dhawan, 2005, p. 77). Influence of personal values on philosophical orientation The progressive philosophical orientation bases itself upon my personal attributes and values. Zinn’s inventory reflects a design that proves this fact. This is because I constantly use practicum and field training for my student. According to Zinn, the use of scientific experiments has to be present in the progressive education of philosophy approach (Zinn, 1990, p. 49). As a teacher, maintaining a steady relationship with my students determines levels of success to be achieved. Learning through these situations provides a true representation of facts. The desire to learn from new situations influences the desire to act on a progressive orientation. In order to fit in one of the philosophical orientations, I have to acquire a self-drive from my self-values. The use of philosophical orientations ensures that my students acquire knowledge from the most comfortable education setting in order to maximize their efforts (Zinn, 1990, p. 42). Philosophical orientation in practice As a user of the progressive philosophical orientation, I require to use reflective thinking, and organize my duties and procedures for it to give desired goals. I have to provide relevant information according to student cultural practices, as well as social practices. I also have to be prepared to assist students through giving them guidelines to follow. I also assist my students by providing them with information that would enable the student achieve their desired goals. As an organizer, I have to arrange on how the student will learn from the community by building a collection of learning resources and experiences. I motivate my students by evaluating the student reports to offer advice. This I also use to change student attitudes towards learning and promote confidence to students. I also organize outside speakers that assist adult students to gather adequate information for decision-making. I boost self-confidence to my students by encouraging the use of discussion groups. Conclusion A philosophical orientation is fundamental to effective, professional teaching practice. It provides guidelines, goals and professional settings for the teacher. This enhances student training through well laid out procedures that ensure consistency, as well as a sense of direction to students. The choice of a philosophical orientation should follow the personal attributes of the teacher to create ease in delivery of knowledge. Philosophical orientations are crucial as they enhance the student-teacher relationship by clearly laying down boundaries and the expected scope of work. References Alheit, P 1999, On A Contradictory Way to a Learning Society. Studies in the Education Of Adults, 31(4), 66-82. Dhawan M.L. (2005) philosophy of Education: Educational Implications of Schools of Philosophy. India Isha Books. Rs 740. ISBN: 81-8205-151-7. Pg 71-82. Heimstra, R 1988, Translating Personal Values and Philosophy into Practical Action: Ethical Issues In Adult Education, New York Teacher’s College, Colombia University. Merriam, SB 1982, Linking Philosophy And Practice: New Directions For Continuing Education, Jossey Bass, San Francisco. Zinn, L 1990, "Identifying Your Philosophical Orientation", in ed. Golbraith, Adult Learning Methods, Kreiger, Florida, 39 - 77. Read More