History of education - Essay Example

Therefore, in consideration of various educational philosophies, their similarities and differences in approaches, which points to the possibility of integrating and merging the philosophies to generate a common deliverable, the curriculum and instructional foundation of the school would be based on a combination of perennialism, realism and experimentalism philosophies of education. Perennialism This is a philosophy of education that considers education as a constant for human life, upholding the fact that all humans are constant, except for their ability to reason (Power, 1990).

Therefore, perennialism philosophy of education provides that education should be based on rationality; where students are taught the world’s constant and permanent phenomena, with a view to prepare the students for the life they are going to face. According to this educational philosophy, students learn reality and life truths through studying and also through divine acts, where the ability to reason and be rational gives rise to goodness itself (Bhattacharya, 2002). Therefore, perennialism as an educational philosophy emphasizes on a high level of discipline and behavioral control, which eventually translates to an all round personality, which is well adaptable to the realities of the world, that easily exudes goodness.

The curriculum based on this philosophy would require the study of subjects and doctrines that teaches students the value of rationality, while enabling them to face life as it is. This creates a breed of students who are appreciative of life, and who applies reasoning in each aspect of their undertaking. This enables the students to internalize the life truths, while perceiving the external environmental changes as merely superficial (Pathak, 2007). This educational philosophy is relevant for adoption into the newly created curriculum and instructional foundation, since it would prepare students to face life with all its realities, while also making them more rational and disciplined, which are some of the most relevant virtues for human survival in the world.

Realism This is yet another educational philosophy that perceives the world as it is, thus defining the role of school and education as that of teaching students about the world. Realism as an educational philosophy emphasizes on the need to obey the laws of nature, while fitting into the prevailing conditions of the physical world, without any attempts to interfere or change what nature has dictated for the world (Power, 1990). Therefore, this philosophy requires that the school curriculum should be based on subjects and disciplines that correspond to natural observations, such as Mathematics and sciences.

Thus, under this educational philosophy, the role of the teacher is to impart the relevant knowledge to the students, with a focus on feeding them the natural facts. The philosophy also requires that order and discipline forms the core aspect of students’ value system, similar to the Mother Nature, which is disciplined and orderly, observing natural and predictable trends, unless when it is interfered with, by humans (Bhattacharya, 2002). Thus, this philosophy is not resistant to changes that might occur to the school and in the curriculum applied in teaching the students, since change is