What Is My Philosophical Orientation To Adult Education - Report Example

What Is My Philosophical Orientation To Adult Education Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: What Is My Philosophical Orientation To Adult Education Introduction In an individual’s, teaching profession, there exists certain personal concepts, beliefs and perceptions as to what efficient teaching is about. The concepts, beliefs and perceptions all work towards pointing out a clear way in which efficiency can be achieved in the teaching and learning process. The concepts, beliefs and perceptions differ according to the nature of students being taught. Therefore, the teaching of a nursery school pupil, primary school people, high school student, university student, adult student among others all need to have a different approach. The concepts, beliefs and perceptions of an individual form a philosophy, against which a teacher basis his/her teaching procedures. The word philosophy is derived from two words philo and sophy. Philo means love and sophy means wisdom hence the word philosophy means the love for wisdom. Philosophy refers to the concepts, ideas, perceptions and beliefs that specific people have on a specific issue about life. Philosophies tend to give answers to pressing questions on life and also explain the occurrence of certain phenomenon. Philosophies of education are a set of concepts, beliefs and attitudes with respect to education. Philosophies of education tend to explain the learning/education process and specifically stress on ways in which the process can be made efficient. The following essay will take a deep insight into education philosophies and what they entail to the kind of education delivered. Personal Philosophy of Education A personal philosophy of education is an individual concept, belief and attitude towards education. It is what an individual deems best in ensuring that effective education takes place. More often than not, many education professionals for instance teachers and curriculum developers have their own perception of what makes the education process effective. The different perceptions are what makes the different personal philosophies which they posses (Conklin 2010 p 14). There lies a very close relationship between educational philosophies and education practice. A teacher will normally uphold a specific philosophy of education which will affect his/her teaching methods (Marrapodi 2003 pp.2). The different philosophers will affect what and how the teacher will deal with different issues in the classroom and also the learning environment that the teacher will create. There also lies a close relationship between the philosophy of education and the education practice. Education practice refers to the specific way in which the teacher approaches the process of teaching and the specific measures that he/she uses in order to ensure the efficiency of the process (Daerden, Hirst & Peters 2009 p 30). Some of the key philosophies of education on which Zinn bases her inventory are: liberalism, progressivism, behaviousrism, humanism and radicalism. Philosophies of education as introduced by Zinn Liberalism The philosophy strives to develop the intellectual abilities of the learner. It stresses on the seeking of knowledge by the learner rather than mere information. The teacher in this philosophy maintains a strict and authoritative approach and is the sole director of the learning process. When the philosophy is used, it is intended to lead to the intellectual, spiritual, moral and aesthetical development of the learner. Progressivism Progressivism is an education philosophy which emphasizes on the natural course of education. Progressivism upholds the step by step stages of education whereby the student learns continuously (progressively) as the student finds new things, ideas and opportunities on the course of education(Christensen 2008 p5). Progressivism encourages the ‘self expression’ of the student. According to the theory, it places the student in a better position to have lifelong education and be able to gain knowledge effectively( Zinn 1990 p.78). The theory advocates for the student to solve problems hence its problem solving approach to learning. The basic principles advocated by the theory are that: the development of the students should be allowed to happen naturally, teaching should be guided by the interest of the student, the role of the teacher should be guiding and not acting as a taskmaster, the development of the student is whole that is physical, moral, mental and social growth. Behaviousrim The theory upholds the importance of the environment in influencing a certain behaviors on the student. The theory emphasizes on the importance of creating the right environment to the learner in order to shape the learning behavior of the specific student. The theory states that there is a direct relationship between the efficiency of the learning process and the learning environment on which it is done (Christensen 2008 p5). A teacher who holds this philosophy dear will ensure that the learning environment is up to the desired specifications which he/she deems the most effective towards ensuring that effective learning takes place (Gordon & White 2009, p.70) Humanism Humanism upholds the fact that each and every human being has an unlimited potential to do anything. The adult student therefore has an unlimited potential to learn all the material that he/she out to learn at a specific stage of education ( Zinn 1990 p.78). Radicalism Radicalism is a philosophy which advocates for equality of the learner and the teacher. The teacher usually suggests on methods to use but does not impose the method on the student as in other cases ( Zinn 1990 p.78). The philosophy advocates for thorough education, fundamental, political, social and economic changes in the society. Zinn puts forward some ideas and theories on his article on philosophy of education. Zinn fisrt stresses on the importance of personal philosophy. Persona philosophy is what guides the cautions of the teacher and what he/she is most likely to do in a learning environment in a bid to ensure that the teaching and learning process is effective. Personal philosophies are different from on professional to the other depending on what the specific individual visualizes as important to the education process ( Zinn 1990 p.41). Personal philosophies are comprised of several personal beliefs, concepts and attitudes which the teacher posses. Personal philosophies may not be openly outlined rather they do exist inherently in an individual. They are only seen by the various actions and decision that the teacher takes. Education adults is a not the same as educating young people hence the need for change of tactic towards approaching it. The efficiency of the process is therefore determine by the personal philosophies that the teacher posses. The philosophies go along ay in enabling the teacher to be able to deal with the various challenges brought by educating adults ( Zinn 1990 p.39). Theory of Action in Adult Education Zinn also focuses on personal values. Personal values are the ones which shape the personal philosophy of education. Personal values are normally comprised of what the teacher feels is the best for his/her students. The development of personal values is affected by several factors, key among them being experience. Zinn stressed while educating adults, care should be taken so as to ensure that the adult student does not feel intimidated by action by the teacher who is also a fellow adult. The actions that adult educators employ in their justification of the cautions which they take include the theory –in-use and the theory espoused theory. The espoused theory is derives its basis from what the specific individual believes in. the theory simply links the actions of an individual to the person’s personal beliefs. Espoused theory is effective in normal issues which may at times be called routine activities. However, the use of espoused theory becomes unusable in circumstances when the situation under scrutiny is big. The theory -in –use becomes effective at such circumstances. The theory in use is unique to each and every situation and is employed by an adult educator unknowingly since he or she acts according to what best fits the situation. The theory in use is affected by the behavior of the adult educator. The mind flexibility of the educator comes in handy in the use of the theory in use. Flexibility allows for the adult educator to deviate from his/her belief and consequently makes a decision which will be unique to a situation. The theory of action to take is important is ensuring that there is no conflict between the student and the educator who are all adults (Christensen 2008, pp16). Inventory From the inventory’s scorecard, my philosophical orientation is progressive adult education. The data from the inventory which has led to the overall score of a progressive adult education are as discussed below #2 people learn best when A progressive adult education orientation advocates for the students natural development. It advocates for self expression of the student. The theory also emphasizes on a problem solving approach which gives the student a firsthand experience on solving a specific type of problem. The first query in #2 specifies that people learn best when they are presented with a problem solving approach. As pointed out earlier, a problem solving approach is emphasized in the progressive orientation. Therefore, I strongly agreed with the statement which led to its overall rank of 7. Secondly, progressive orientation advocates for a step by step approach to lerning therefore when the learning activity provides practice and repetition, it gives the student an opportunity to be able to learn a lot of things on the topic under scrutiny this led to my decision to rank the #2g 7. Progressive orientation also advocates for freedom of the student to explore new ideas and come up with conclusion on it. This led to a rank of 7 on #2i. On #3, the purpose of learning according to the progressive orientation is to equip the learner with problem solving skills which will enable him/her get a lifelong education. For this reason, the primary purpose of adult education should be to ensure that the realization of the problem solving skills and lifelong education are achieved. Therefore, I agreed to a rank of between 5-7 that the purpose of adult education is to facilitate the personal development of the part of the learner, development of conceptual and theoretical understanding, to develop specific skills and the establishment of the learner’s capacity to solve individual and society problems. On #4 most people know what they have undergone through or what they have enabled other people to go through. Experiences normally give an individual an opportunity to experience firsthand how a situation is and what to do in order to tackle it in the future. It is by this means that knowledge is instilled in an individual. Therefore, my responses on question 4 have been determined by this limiting factor( Zinn 1990 p.45). On the other questions #1, #5 to #15, the principles of progressive orientation have been considered in the coming up with most suitable rank of each statement. In his article, Zenn identifies the defining aspects of progressive orientation as: its purpose to transmission of culture and societal structure, promotion of social change, equipping the learner with practical knowledge and problem solving skills (Zinn 1990 p76). Reflection and Analysis of findings Taking a look at my adult education practices, there lays several examples of adult education practices. Key among them is my experimental approach to teaching. Progressive teaching advocates for problem solving. In my teaching schedule, researches and experiments on different topics of study mark a percentage of the total marks for the final marks. The research topics and experiments are simple structured which ensures that they can be understood by the primary school students which I teach. This provides the students with a problems solving platform which enables them to cultivate the virtue in themselves. Another feature of my teaching methods is the organization of field trips, excursions and exchange forums. The exchange forums are structured in a debate form, where students from different classes and schools debate on matters concerning issues they learn at class done also issues surrounding them. The exchange forums enable the students to acknowledge the existence of the larger society in which they belong to. The field trips and excursions are organized at places where the theory learnt in class can be seen at first hand. The different scenarios present in each of the activities also do enable the students to develop on their specific interests and consequently work on then hence bringing about efficiency in learning. The use of group work in my teaching practices is also upheld. This ensures that the students are able to learn from each other as new problems arise which need to be tackled differently. Conclusion In conclusion, the main desire of any professional is to excel in his/her field. An analysis and reflection of adult education practices and professional development is a sure way of effecting success in this specific field as it has been seen this essay. A regular analysis of the professional’s efficiency in meeting the demands on the ground is fundamental. The use of different philosophies of education has been discussed in detail in this essay. The development of a personal philosophy in education and its importance has also been discussed. A development of a personal philosophy is essential in ensuring that an individual is able to practice the best teaching practices at his/her disposal. After an analysis and reflection of adult education, I have been able to identify my strong points. All in all, the ultimate objective of a learning process is to impact knowledge on the learner, regardless of the way that way that is used. Adult educators have a different task as compared to normal teachers. They must have the necessary skills and approach to ensure that they are able to achieve their objectives and employing the use of most suitable educational philosophies, they can be able to ensure that they achieve their objectives. Therefore, philosophies are important in ensuring that a teacher is able to offer good teaching services which ensure that he/she ensures that the education process takes place efficiently. References Christensen, K 2008. Chris Argyris Thought Leader Interview, Rotman Magazine ,vol 4 No.1, pp 10-14 Conklin ,K 2010. The Properties Of Relevance Between Philosophy And Education, Education Theory Xviii 4 (Fall 1968), pp. 356-364 Cooper, D, 2009. Illusions of Equality, International Library Of The Philosophy Of Education, Vol. 7, No 1 pp. 12-21 Daerden F, Hirst, P & Peters, R,2009. Education And The Development Of Reason, International Library Of The Philosophy Of Education, Vol. 8, No 2, pp23-37 Gordon, P & White, J 2009. Philosophers Of Educational Reformers, International Library Of The Philosophy Of Education, Vol. 10, No. 1; pp 67-74 Marrapodi,J 2003. Educational Philosophies And Change, Capella University, pp1-3 Zinn, L 1990, "Identifying Your Philosophical Orientation", in ed. Golbraith, Adult Learning Methods, Kreiger, Florida, pp. 39 - 77. Read More