I have chosen to compare and contrast John Dewey and Nel Noddings views on their educational goals, a social justice curriculum, liberation education, issues of standardized testing and the effects on students and teachers. Dewey’s main educational goal is that education should have two sides: social and psychological. His evaluations are based on how the child interacts with society and how he/she contributes to the good of society. Dewey was the first one to say we need to look at the students to decide how to teach, a modern-day form of ‘differentiation’. He believed that all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning.
Democracy and social reform are a cornerstone of Dewey’s educational philosophies. Throughout his writings on education Dewey emphasizes that education and learning are both a social and interactive process. He makes a strong case for the importance of schools not only as a place to gain content knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live. In his eyes, the purpose of the education system should not revolve around the acquisition of a set curriculum, but rather the development of the whole student and the ability to use those skills for the greater good. He notes that “to prepare him for the future life means to give him command of himself; it means so to train him that he will have the full and ready use of his capabilities” (Dewey, 1897, p6).
Parsons used the metaphor of education as a ‘bridge’ to work based on meritocratic principles. The education system takes children away from intimate relationships with family and puts them into a social institution where they are expected to follow instructions from an authority figure socializing them into obeying authority. School children also have a strict timetable which they must adhere to, this emphasis on punctuality and organization will prepare them for working life. Davis and Moore said that the education system was there for ‘sifting and sorting’ so that the best jobs go to the hardest working, more intelligent people. They argued that the education is meritocratic and is there to soft sort and select individuals on the basis of ability, motivation, talent and allocates them appropriate roles when they reach adulthood.
This is what King seeks to explain to the reader in his essay. King believes that both education and knowledge are important; however the procedure is integrated it into their lives makes a difference. Education must teach students the means of right and wrong as well as be able to distinguish between propaganda and reality. King warns us an individual with critical thinking and knowledge is not enough. Without morals and personality, the individual won’t have a purpose in life.
When examining the relationship between Philosophy and curriculum an educator will understand that Philosophy is one of the foundations of education. An educational philosophy is the approach to education. It incorporates the values and ideals that we want to accomplish. The curriculum is the diagram that encompasses the philosophy into the objectives of the lessons. In today’s world educators worry about lacking basic skills in Reading and Mathematics that our students are having and focus more on modern technology and having our students think out of the box.
Education acts as a bridge between primary socialisation and secondary socialisation, therefore teaching us to adopt the same norms and values and socialising young people into the basic values of society. If education teaches a consensus then it teaches all the values and mannerisms that haven’t been learnt at home, for the wider world. This helps the transmission from one to the other. A criticism of this theory is that this theory could appear to be an ‘over-socialised view’ on society and the education system. It also implies that all students will agree and comply with the norms and values when that is not the case, the transmission of norms and values may not always be successful some pupils will openly reject them.
Hargreaves (2004 p.1) suggests that the term itself should be the foundation of what it means, which states simply that ‘learning lasts for life’. This therefore should diminish the thought that lifelong learning is only true when compulsory education is over. Holford, Jarvis & Griffin (1998 p.45) have uncovered the complexity of the term ‘lifelong learning’. They suggest that lifelong learning not only ‘refers to the actual experience of the individual learner or that of groups of learners’, but incorporates many other aspects of society in general, such as education, policy and societal structure. As suggested previously, people may have a tendency to believe
Effective teaching should acknowledge the impact of factors such as attitudes, perception, expectations, abilities, gender, socio-cultural background and maturity on every learning experience. (“Principal of effective learning and teaching”, n.d.). The purpose of instigating variety of teaching strategies is to avoid monotonous diet of same teaching style which will cause even the keenest student to lost interest. For instance, using technology to achieve maximum success is very vital, educators need to be aware of the different types of learners and how they can address their needs through the use of technology. (Ktoridue, Zarpetea, Yinguo, 2002) Teachers share a significant responsibility in preparing young people to lead successful and productive lives.
According to the LSI self-development guide, Humanistic-Encouraging individuals tends to think, grow and take responsibilities for themselves. They are also willing to help others to self-improve by coaching them and providing an environment that encourages self-improvement. Even though I’m not yet a manager, I see this personality train in myself in school settings. When I have to do group projects, I’m usually elected to be the leader of the group because of how I approach the group. I understand the need to divide the work among the group members depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
The education system creates this effectively by teaching subjects such as history, which enables children to see the link between themselves and wider society. He argued that you must learn to cooperate with everyone, whether they are friends, family or just acquaintances, which can only be learnt at school and not at home. Durkheim also believed punishments should reflect the damage done and made clear that the transgressor will be punished by strictly enforcing school rules to help pupils learn what is wrong in society as a whole. He finally argued that education teaches individuals specific skills necessary for future occupations, with industrial society being united by value consensus and a specialised division of labour whereby specialists combine and produce goods and services. Criticisms of the functionalist view on education include; * Functionalists assume that pupils have an equal chance of success; however working class pupils and some ethnic minorities underachieve at school.