Part III Philosophical Foundations of Education

Question 1

Metaphysics

Answer 1

An area of philosophy that deals with questions about the nature of ultimate reality. Literally, metaphysics means “beyond the physical.” It deals with such questions as “What is reality?” “What is existence?” “Is the universe rationally designed or ultimately meaningless?” Metaphysics is a search for order and wholeness—a search applied not to particular items or experiences but to all reality and to all existence.

Question 2

Epistemology

Answer 2

An area of philosophy that deals with questions about the nature of understanding and how we know things.

Question 3

Axiology

Answer 3

An area of philosophy that deals with the nature of values. It includes questions such as “What is good?” and “What is value?”

Question 4

analytic thinking

Answer 4

A thinking strategy that focuses on questions of the “what seems to be” type; includes abstractions, imagination, generalization, and logic.

Question 5

prophetic thinking

Answer 5

A thinking strategy that focuses on questions of the “what ought to be” type; includes discernment, connection, tracking hypocrisy, and hope.

Question 6

abstraction

Answer 6

A thought process that involves drawing away from experiences to a conceptual plane.

Question 7

idealism

Answer 7

A school of philosophy that considers ideas to be the only true reality.

Question 8

pragmatism

Answer 8

A late-nineteenth-century U.S. school of philosophy that stresses becoming rather than being.

Question 9

realism

Answer 9

A school of philosophy that holds that reality, knowledge, and value exist independent of the human mind. In contrast to the idealist, the realist contends that physical entities exist in their own right.

Question 10

existentialism

Answer 10

A school of philosophy that focuses on the importance of the individual rather than on external standards.

Question 11

Indian thought

Answer 11

Far Eastern Indian thought has a long, complex history and is permeated by opposites. To Western philosophers, opposites need to be reconciled, but to the Eastern mind, this need for consistency is unimportant. For example, great emphasis is placed on a search for wisdom, but this does not mean a rejection of worldly pleasures.

Question 12

Chinese thought.

Answer 12

The emphasis of Far Eastern Chinese philosophy is on harmony; correct thinking should help one achieve harmony with life. This harmony of government, business, and family should then lead toward a higher synthesis. Confucianism and Taoism provide two major contexts for Chinese thought.

Question 13

Japanese thought.

Answer 13

Japanese thought is rooted in Shinto, a way of thinking that recognizes the significance of the natural world. This respect for all nature permeates Japanese thought and life. Shinto accepts the phenomenal world (the world people apprehend through their senses) as absolute; this acceptance leads to a disposition to place greater emphasis on intuitive, sensible, concrete events rather than on universal ideas.

Question 14

Essentialism

Answer 14

A teacher-centered approach to teaching and learning. An educational philosophy that holds that there is a common core of information and skills that an educated person must have; schools should be organized to transmit this core of essential material.

Question 15

Behaviorism

Answer 15

A teacher-centered approach to teaching and learning. A psychological theory and educational philosophy that asserts that behaviors represent the essence of a person and that all behaviors can be explained as responses to stimuli.

Question 16

Positivism

Answer 16

A teacher-centered approach to teaching and learning. A social theory and educational philosophy that limits truth and knowledge to what is observable and measurable.

Question 17

Progressivism

Answer 17

A student-centered approach to subject matter, classroom organization, teaching methods, and assessment. An educational philosophy that emphasizes that ideas should be tested by experimentation and that learning is rooted in questions developed by the learner.

Question 18

Humanism

Answer 18

A student-centered approach to subject matter, classroom organization, teaching methods, and assessment. An educational philosophy that contends that humans are innately good—that they are born free but become enslaved by institutions.

Question 19

Constructivism

Answer 19

A student-centered approach to subject matter, classroom organization, teaching methods, and assessment. An educational philosophy that emphasizes hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning during which students develop their own frames of thought.