Philosophy, Ideology, and Theory in Education

Chris Lewis

EDU 570

January 20, 2008

Philosophy is one's own set of basic truths about life, the world, and one's place in it. Philosophy, as it relates to education, is described in terms of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic. These four areas outline the philosophies and what they mean for education. "Metaphysics, the study of the nature of ultimate reality, involves speculation about the nature of existence" (Gutek, 1997, p. 2). In asking the questions about what is reality, educators develop the base from which their philosophy is derived. A teacher's beliefs about whether there is a spiritual realm to the universe, or whether there is a purpose and order to humanity will shape their overall philosophy. G. Gutek (1997) states that epistemology is the study of knowledge and knowing, and that it is very important to educators (p. 2). Epistemology asks the question, “How do we know what we know?”, and examines where we base our claims to that knowledge. Such claims could be based on physical evidence, experience, or even divine revelation (p. 2). A teacher's beliefs concerning the source of knowledge will impact the way a teacher approaches sharing that knowledge with students. Axiology, the study of values, has two divisions which are closely related--aesthetics, the study of beauty, and ethics, the study of moral values and conduct (p. 3). Axiology leads educators to make judgments about what students should and should not do or be taught to do. Combined, ethics and aesthetics make up the statements a teacher makes about what is beautiful and good. For example, if a person describes someone performing an act of kindness as beautiful, then there is a value statement made which includes both the aesthetic aspect of what is pleasing to the eye and an ethical statement about what is good conduct. Separated, one could describe aesthetic statements as ones that outline good taste in arts and music as they relate to a particular culture, and ethics statements describe what is considered right and wrong behavior in that culture. Axiology brings up larger questions like “Which morals should teachers try to instruct their students about? Is teaching moral behavior an imposition on the students that goes beyond a teacher's duties?” Teachers have to decide on a daily basis which morals and behaviors to emphasize while simply teaching the subject matter. Logic refers to the "rules or patterns of correct and valid thinking" (p. 4). It describes the thought processes that one goes through to arrive at a conclusion about a problem or understanding a concept. Logic is divided into two major categories, deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning begins with general statements, and moves to more specific explanations. Inductive reasoning begins with a specific fact and moves toward general statements that can be made based on that fact (Ornstein & Levine, 2008, p. 162).

A teacher combines their philosophy with the ideology of the society in which they live and/or the school system in which they work. Ideology refers to the desires and needs of a group. An ideology, like theories, can be derived from several philosophies. According to G. Gutek, ideology "is used to create a sense of shared ideas, goals and commitments (1997, p.150). He goes to say how ideology is reinforced primarily by two divisions in society, the informal and formal educational agencies. Informal agencies include the media, whereas formal agencies, schools and universities, build a "sense of group identification". Ideology goes beyond philosophy in that it puts philosophical beliefs into action. This shaping of the public mind through schools is further enacted by the use of theories. Gutek contrasts ideologies to philosophies by explaining that ideologies "are distinguished by their contextual and action-oriented nature" (p. 154).

Theory has several definitions. Visual Thesaurus defines theory as “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of excepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena" (2005). As it relates to education, G. Gutek describes very as related clusters of educational ideas, and puts them into three categories, those "(1) that are derived or deduced from some other bodies of knowledge or thoughts such as philosophies or ideologies, (2) those that emerge as reactions against other bodies of thought, and (3) those that arise from practice (1997, p 259). Some theories are in more than one category.

Philosophy, ideology, and theory combine to play an important role in the classroom. Once teachers have adopted an ideology, they develop a theory which carries out the goals that have been outlined by that ideology. As teachers gain more experience, their personal theories change. Teachers revise their methods to accommodate changes in the students, and improve their teaching ability.

References

Gutek, G. (1997). Philosophical and Ideological Perspectives in Education (2^nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Ornstein, A. C. & Levine, D. U. (2008). Foundations of Education (10^th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Visual Thesaurus (version 3.0.2 Desktop Edition) [Computer Software]. (2005) New

York: Thinkmap, Inc.

What Is A Teacher? Defining The Teacher Through Interviews

Chris Lewis

EDU 570

January 14, 2008

What Is A Teacher? Defining The Teacher Through Interviews

Subjects were asked the following questions: What is a teacher’s greatest skill or talent? What should be a teacher’s most important goal? What role does a teacher play in a shaping a young person’s life? Describe what you liked about your favorite teachers. Describe what you didn’t like about your less admired teacher(s).

(J. Collier, personal interview, January 10, 2008)

J. Collier is an eighth grade science teacher with 14 years of experience teaching middle and high school science. Her response to the question about a teacher’s greatest skill is being able to determine the learning styles of individual students using minimal amounts of data available on each child. This is important to present lessons in a way that benefits the students most. It is important to vary the way each lesson is presented. A teacher’s most important goal should be that each child has developed a work ethic and developed study skills for life-long learning. A teacher’s role in shaping the lives of her students lies in his/her interactions with that student on a daily basis. Sometimes the teacher is the only adult a student has true interaction with. The teacher’s attitude and mood does affect the child. Often her students have told her that she is the only one of their teachers that actually talks to them. When speaking about her favorite teachers, she describes them as knowledgeable, organized, prepared for class daily, and most importantly, kind. Teachers that she did not admire did not know their topic, were not willing to do labs or other activities with their students, were lazy and did not like teaching. She asserts that liking kids is an important part of being a good teacher.

(H. Byers, personal interview, January 10, 2008)

H. Byers is a college sophomore majoring in Child and Family Studies. When asked about a teacher’s greatest talent, she felt it was being able to engage higher thinking in their students. A teacher's most important goal should be to teach the subject thoroughly, what the students need to know, and not just teach the test. A teacher's role in a student's life is to push him/her to learn, to be a role model and make students believe in themselves. Personality was an important factor when choosing her favorite teachers. They wanted her personal best and pushed her to learn and think. She described one teacher in particular as “knowing what her students were capable of and in expecting no less than that, with passionate about what she taught, and didn't care about the test.” The teachers she didn't like were the ones that “didn't care and hated the kids.”

(K. Collier, personal interview, January 10, 2008)

K. Collier is a former science teacher, and also taught Emergency Medical Technician classes and trained firefighters. He explained that a teacher's greatest skill should be imparting the information in an understandable and learnable manner. Some teachers know their subject area very well but are unable to explain it in a way so that students understand. The teacher's most important goal should be advancing students understanding and knowledge of the subject matter. The teacher's role in a young person's life is making sure the student is proficient and problem solving and being able to think about how the variable consequences and outcomes of their choices. When asked about his favorite teachers he remarked that he liked their personality, helpfulness, clarity and that they understood their subject well. Teachers that he did not admire

showed an inability to communicate or to teach well. Also, he didn't like teachers that “taught their radical views instead of the subject matter".

(R. Dean, personal interview, January 10, 2008).

R. Dean is a newspaper reporter and photographer. She was educated in studio art. She thought that a teacher's greatest skill or talent should be presenting information to students that actually stays with them. Students are exposed to so much new information, its difficult to make things "stick" with them. A teacher's most important goal should be to recognize the strengths in all students and encourage them. She felt that quiet students are often overlooked. The role a teacher play in a young person's life is to be someone who educates to the best of their ability in a way that will compel students to do well in the world. The teacher gets them to "play an active role in their own life". Her favorite teacher was in high school English and taught students to be themselves. She described her teacher as "someone who was on my level, and didn't pretend to be something she wasn't." . She was open about experiences, made you feel like you could do things in life and still be yourself." When asked about her less admired teachers, another high school English teacher came to mind, and she described her as " snooty and above the students, always looking down on the students." This teacher discouraged anyone who was different, and wanted her students to be "closed up and conformed"

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In the inspirational piece, What Is A Teacher? by Gerald Grow (1977), he describes the many roles a teacher plays in the lives of different kinds of learners. In his conclusion, he says, "To all, the teacher is a mirror that shows not only the self but the path and its choices, the task and its demands--the difficulties, the joys. To all and from all, the teacher is a learner, a person--and a prism through which the ordinary continuously reveals itself to be miraculous." I find the last statement to be profound and very descriptive of an excellent teacher. A teacher is someone who makes the subjects (ordinary) come to life (reveals them to be miraculous) and provides a way for the student to retain and use the information (miraculous, indeed).

In my interviews, I asked about a teacher's greatest skill or talent, what his/her goal should be, and their roles in student's lives. These three things are intertwined in the definition of a teacher. In my opinion, a teacher's greatest skill is to be able to reach all of the students in one way or another. It is difficult to make a lasting positive impression on 150 individual students, but that is the challenge and middle and secondary teachers face. I agree with Ms. Collier that developing a work ethic in students is essential to success in all parts of an education; helping a student learn to manage their work and assignments helps them to be successful in many areas of life. In a perfect world, teachers could get all of the class content presented to every student, and each of them would retain it all. In reality, there are limitations to this. A teacher has to be able to get the content to the students in the many ways they need to be able to learn it. When a teacher cannot help a student with the course content, perhaps they can help them in some other way. This is where kindness and good example are so important. A teacher should motivate the whole person when working with their students, not just the part of them studying the subject at the moment. A teacher's greatest goal should be to see that every student is better off having been in his/her classroom. This is not to say that a teacher shouldn't worry if he/she is delivering the content, but there is much more to the classroom experience than the curriculum. A teacher's role in the lives of their students is often unmeasured. We try to measure this impact through assessment, and we can get a certain amount of feedback this way, but the ultimate effect can only be found years later when students are finished with school and living their lives. It is because of this task before us to shape young lives that we are seeking to define the term teacher and describe our personal philosophies.

References

Grow, G. O. (1977). What is a teacher? Retrieved January 14, 2008 from Gerald Grow's Home Page Web site: http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow/teacher.html