Philosophical Foundations of Education Flashcards

Which educational philosophy, associated with Jean-Jacques Rousseau, emphasizes that children are naturally good and should be educated in harmony with nature?

Answer: Naturalism

Rousseau's naturalism held that children are inherently good and that education should follow the child's natural development rather than imposing artificial social constraints.

The pragmatist view of knowledge in education holds that knowledge is best understood as:

Answer: Relative and constructed through experience and problem-solving

Pragmatism, developed by Peirce, James, and Dewey, holds that knowledge is not fixed but is constructed through active inquiry and experience.

Which philosophical concept describes education as the process of 'drawing out' what is already within the learner?

Answer: Paideia

Paideia is the ancient Greek concept of holistic education aimed at cultivating the ideal citizen by drawing out and developing all human capacities.

In Socratic method, learning occurs primarily through:

Answer: Guided questioning and dialogue

The Socratic method uses probing questions to encourage learners to think critically and arrive at understanding through dialogue rather than passive reception.

Which educational philosopher argued that schools are 'great equalizers' that can overcome inequalities in society?

Answer: Horace Mann

Horace Mann, 19th-century education reformer, championed public common schools as 'great equalizers' that would give all children equal opportunity regardless of social class.

Behaviorism in education, associated with B.F. Skinner, holds that learning is best achieved through:

Answer: Reinforcement and conditioning

Skinnerian behaviorism asserts that learning is a change in observable behavior brought about by stimulus-response conditioning and systematic reinforcement.