Philosophy of Education

Chapter 5 : Perennialism
Chapter 6 : Essentialism

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 Robert Maynard
Huthins

Religious
Perennialism
PARENNIALISM

Jacques Maritain

Conclusion
Perennialism

The perennialist philosophy of education

draws heavily from the Realist and Thomist.
Education should aim to cultivate man’s rational
powers.The Parennialist education philosophy
develops the intellectual and spiritual
potentialities of the child to their fullest extend
through a subject-matter curriculum that is
inclined to such disciplines as history, language,
mathematics, logic, literature, the humanities, and
science.
 Although there are certain important variations
in the philosophical position of Hutchins and Maritain,
they agree on the following basic principles:
1. There is a body of truth which is universally valid
degardless of circumstance and contingencies
2. A sound education will contribute to the pursuit of
truth and to the cultivation of the permanent
principles of right and justice
3. Truth can best be taught through the systematic
study and analysis of man’s past- as portrayed in the
great works of religion, philosophy, literature,and
history.
Robert Maynard Hutchins

There is some of the basic priciples of

Hutchins’educational philosohy:
1. Cultivation of the basic foundational tool skills of
reading, writing,and arithmetic are indispensable for
literate and civilized man.
2. A liberal education should contribute man’s
understanding of the graet works of civilization.
3. Proffesional and specialized education should be
deferred until one has completed the requirement
of general education, that education which every
man should have as a rational human being.
 Hutchins bases his educational
philosophy on two basic concepts:
1. Man’s retional nature
2. A conception of knowledge based on
eternal, absolute, and universal truths.
Hutchins argues that the curriculum
should be composed of permanent studies
which reflect the common elements of human
nature and which connect each generation to
the best thoughts of mankind .
 Hutchins recommends to the student to study
of grammar, rhetoric, logic and mathematics.
Grammar, the analysis of languange, contribute to
the understanding and comprehension of the
written word. Rhetoric, provides the student with
the rules of writing and speaking so that he is
capable of intelligent expression. Logic, the critical
study of reasoning, enable one to think and express
himself in an orderly and systematic fashion.
Mathematic is of general value since it represents
reasoning in its clearlest and most precise form.
 In order to restore the rules of the
rationality in higher education, Hutchins
recommend the revitalizing of metaphysics. As
the study of firts principle, metaphysics
pervades the entire range of intellectual
pursuits. Hutchins, who is critical of the
specialization that has occured in teacher
education, balieve that prospective teacher
should have a good general education in the
liberal arts and sciences.
Religgious Perennialism

Roman Catholic education, believe that

there are universal truths and values. They
believe in the permanent or perennialist
curriculum which is useful for all man
regardless of the contingancies of differing
cultures. The religious parennialist, in contrast
or their secular collegues, believe that the
universe and man within were created by a
Supreme Being who is a knowing and a loving
God.
Jacques Maritain

Maritain’s philosophy of education is clearly

expressed in his book Education at the Crossroads,
where he indicate that the purpose of education
are two-fold :
1. To educate man in those things which will
cultivate his humanity.
2. To introduce man to the requirements and
particularities of his cultural heritage.
Maritain asserts that the proper end of
education is to educate man so that he can
realize his human potentialities.
 According to Maritain, the basic
dispositions to be fostered by education are:
1. Love of truth
2. Love of goodness and justice
3. Simplicity and openness with regard to
existance
4. Sense of a job well done
5. Sense of cooperation
Mariatain follows what is basically a
subject-matter curriculum based on the various
systematic disciplines. Primary education
cultivate the basic tool skills which are needed
for the successful study of the more systematic
disciplines.
 Relationship between Theology and
Philosophy Maritain is concerned that modern
society, with its stress on specialization, has
destroyed the sense of integration that give
order and purpose to life.
As the most basic, general, and integrating
of the disciplines, theology and philosophy will
suply the unity that will overcome the
disintegrating tendencies of over specialization.
Conclusion

Parennialist of both the secular and religious

varieties subscribe to a number of principles which
exemplify their educational beliefs. They assert :
1. Permanence is of greater reality than change
2. The universe is orderly and patterned
3. The basic features of human nature recur in
each generation of man
4. Human nature is universal
5. Education aims to cultivate that which is
humane in man
6. The basic goals of education are universal
and timeless
7. Man’s defining characteristic is rationality,
and it is education’s task to cultivate
human reason
8. The funded wisdom of the human race can
be found in certain classic works.
 Morrison and
Education

Arthur Bertor and

ESSENTIALISM Intellectual
Discipline

Conclusion
ESSENTIALISM

Essentialism is a convenient term which

applies to positions asserting education
properly involves the learning of those basic
skills, arts, and sciences which have been useful
to man in the past and are likely to be useful in
the future. The essentialist believes that there
are some basic tool skills that have contributed
to man’s well being. Among these necessary
skills are reading, writing, arithmetic, and
desirable social behaviors.
 The tool skills are the appropriate and
necessary elements that should be found in
every sound elementary school curriculum. At
the secondary level, the basic curriculum should
consist of history, mathematics, science,
language and literature. The mastery of these
subject, which deal with man’s natural and social
environtment, that the student is prepared to
function as a member of a civilized society.
 Clifton Fadiman argues that the logic and
experience of the human race demonstrate
that some subject have generative power
while others do not. Among the master of
generative subjects are language, forms,
figures, numbers, the laws of nature, the past,
and the study of the earth.
Although there are certain variations among
the essentialist, there are some common themes
that can be identified with this position. Among
them are:
1. The elementary curriculum should emphasize
basic tool skill which contribute to literacy
2. The secondary curriculum should consist of
basic subject matters that must include history,
mathematics, science, literature, and language
3. Discipline is necessary in school situations for
systematic learning to take place
4. Respect for legitimate authority, in school and
in society, is a valuable attitude to be cultivated
in students
5. The learning of a skill or a subject requires
mastery on the part of the learner.
MORRISON AND EDUCATION

For the essentialist, as represented by

Morrison, education is a means of introducing
the young to the requirements of civilized life.
Civilization is the art of community existence
and associative life that has enabled man to
conquer his environtment. Morrison stressed
that formal educational maturity was
grounded on the basic skills which contribute
to literacy and to mathematical computation.
 In addition to the skills of reading,
number, and arithmetic, primary education
properly involves the child in group situations.
According to Morrison, the needed primary
social adaptations include the following
dispositions:
1. Personal self dependence
2. Acceptance of the teacher’s authority in the
classroom
3. Respect for property
4. Cultivation of the ability to work with
others in group activities
ARTHUR BESTOR AND INTELECTUAL
DISCIPLINE

In The Restoration of Learning, Bestor

establishes a criterion of education based on
intellectual disciplines and indicates that
American education is failing to meet the
criterion of disciplined intelligence. Stongly
implied in Bestor’s educational theory is a
commitment to a conception of American
democracy that is based on the rule of
reasonable and intelligent citizens.
 The five essentials of the secondary school
curriculum are science, mathematics, history,
english, and foreign languages. These intelectual
disciplines are the instruments of a liberal
education and are man’s most reliable tools in
solving his personal and social problems.
Some comparisons can be made between
Bestor’s theory and those of Hutchins and
Morrison. Hutchins builds his curriculum around
the great books, the classics which embody the
collected wisdom of western civilization. Bestor
builds his theory around the five intellectual
disciplines.
CONCLUSION
Essentialism is, then, that educational
philosophy which includes as the prime function of
the school the preservation and transmission of
the basic elements of human culture. Essentialist
emphasize:
1. a return to systematic studies;
2. learning as the mastery of skills and
knowledge;
3. the position of the teacher as mature director
of learning activities;
4. education as a preparation for both work and
citizenship.