Educational Theories

Perennialism is an educational theory similar to the philosophy of idealism, in that it focuses on wide truths that are universal to everybody and unchanging. Some of the traits of perennial theory is that is has less focus on facts than other theories, as facts can change while the underlying truths do not.

Essentialism is an educational theory that seems to be one of the more widely utilized in the public eye. Essentialism focuses on the idea that there are many truths and subjects that should be learned by everybody. This seems like a fairly straightforward, if more complex, rendition of the “reading, writing, and arithmetic” system. One important note about essentialism is that it is also backed by cultural literacy, the idea that functioning members of society have certain universally shared cultural knowledge.

Behaviorism is an educational theory, based in large part on the writings of B.F. Skinner. Rather than perennialism, which argues that smaller facts are misleading and larger ideas are key, behaviorism posits that what really matters is not the overarching ideas, but rather the behavior, or acted manifestations of those ideas. Without each individual action or behavior, there are no larger principles.

Positivism is an educational theory focused on scientific knowledge, discovered and verified by empiricism. While perennialism may teach scientific method and veer from facts, positivism focuses on both, not discrediting facts until they are scientifically disproven. This constructs a sort of “knowledge pool.” There is an emphasis in this theory on sense verification.

Progressivism is an educational theory, again based in science, which argues that students learn best from experiential situations, specifically in solving problems. Progressivism has a focus on the “social animal” aspect of learning, using schools as a system of socializing students to function in society.

Reconstructionism is a socially based educational theory that focuses on social issues and how they can be solved. This educational theory was based in opposition to ugly realities about the world we live in over the past several decades, and has been gaining momentum.

Humanism is another educational theory based on the goal of social development. Rather than creating a science-based world, however, humanism is grounded in the humanities, seeking to develop a society of eloquent thinkers and writers. This sort of grounding, according to humanism, is the basis for a society geared towards civil service.

Constructivism is a theory of learning similar to the educational philosophy of pragmatism in that it focuses on the students’ abilities to construct their own knowledge. The instructor’s role in constructivism is to facilitate learning, while the student’s progress and learning process are the really important parts.

The two theories that I feel I relate the most with are humanism and constructivism. I feel strongly about the value of language and developing a complex understanding of literature. Lots of art is intended to reflect life, and learning to interact with a variety of literary characters can definitely build social understanding. Reading and responding to texts that are portrayed from different perspectives can also help learners step outside their own minds, putting them in a position to feel more sympathy and relate with other individuals more. As for constructivism, I think the things that we learn the most are the things we learn ourselves. One of the best things we can due for a student’s learning is to give him or her the satisfaction of successful learning. Too often is learning and teaching portrayed as an act that an instructor does to a student, while in reality the learning occurs in the student’s mind, completely independently of the instructor. Therefore, it should be the instructor’s job to help stimulate students, not to “fill them” with learning.