EDF211/9

LECTURE NINE: APRIL 23rd, 2019

CREATIVE AND DIALOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF EDUCATION

SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION

CREATIVE DIMENSION OF EDUCATION

Introduction

The human person comprises of four elements.

               Ability to think- Cognition

         Ability to decide voluntarily -Volition

         Ability to act-Production                                                                                                            

         Ability to relate (with others) – socialization.

The task of education is to humanize the child. In this case is two-fold:

(i)                 The individualization of man: Limitations/ inhibitions to his/her potential are deliberately removed or minimized. This is done by:

         Inculcating rationality in the learner to foster critical thinking ability to comprehend, justify and appropriately apply acquired knowledge.

         Transmission of morality, ethics to enable the child attain moral judgment and moral behavior.

         Inculcating skills and know- how (occupational capacities).

(ii)               The socialization of man: Genuine humanization should enhance the social dimension of man where one is able to mutually interact with others and co-exist with them.

(a) Education and Human Creativity

Creativity is the capacity or ability of an individual to create, discover or produce a new or novel idea or object including the rearrangement or reshaping of what is already known to him which proves to be a unique personal experience. In education, creativity refers to those aspects of education geared towards the development of an individual’s potential.

Operationalizing Creativity in Education

In order to ensure the component of creativity in education, several aspects need attention.  These include:

(i)                 Child centered approach to education.

(ii)               Learning environment should be warm and encouraging – free from intimidation/ coercion etc.

(iii)             Learner uniqueness ought to be appreciated. Individual differences should be addressed in teaching and learning.

(iv)           Teachers should display care and concern towards learners – show understanding

(v)               Dialogue should be the routine in educational communication.

(vi)        Teachers should fully grasp the essence of the process of knowledge production and dissemination/transmission to learners.

(vii)           Usually, knowledge tends to be produced/manufactured outside the classroom. It’s not only contained in textbooks.

(viii)         When it is transmitted in the class, it is viewed as alien isolating the learner; it appears unrelated to the learning environment and realities.

(ix)             Need to exercise these two moments concurrently in the teaching/learning environment. Learners should feel that they too could produce knowledge and know it at the same time.

(x)               Teaching methodology should involve problematization of content towards which both teacher and learner approximate by way of seeking for answers – task oriented learning.

(xi)               Content presentation should not be portrayed as though the content is final. Teachers should endeavor to relearn the content while learners learn the content the first time.

(xii)           The teacher should encounter the learner as equals in this shared humanity. The learner may look delicate, ignorant etc, but the focus should be on what the learner is becoming.

(xiii)         Identify learner’s strengths and weaknesses and be able to advice them appropriately in terms of careers, talents etc.

 (xiv)         The teachers’ role here is to guide, train and elicit the inner capacities that often lie dormant/idle.

The importance of creativity in education is:

(i)       To develop individuality.

(ii)            It is an educational approach that is directed at personal growth and personal liberalization from limiting circumstances of life.

(iii)             Reflection and action, inherent in creativity is bound to produce a human response that is adequate and adaptive to the reality of a situation.

(iv)             Human beings are usually actors, producers, creators and workers. An approach which seeks to equip them appropriately is welcome.

(v)               It tends to promote critical thinking and activity oriented learning process.

(vi)             It enhances the independence of mind, thought and action leading to autonomy.

(vii)           Allows for the exploration of self in connection with inherent potentialities.

(viii)         It helps the learner to realize that he/she is a task/project, - not yet complete – open ended being who can transform himself as he reconstructs the environment.

(ix)             It promotes self esteem, self expression, self determination, self reliance etc.

(b) Education and Human Consciousness

Consciousness involves two aspects:

         The subject person who is knowing.

         The object being known.

Being conscious always implies being aware of something. When one is conscious of something, they direct their intellectual/mental attention to either something outside themselves; to the subject  of their attention or to themselves introspectively i.e. in this process, one makes themselves actively present to it. They come into contact with it.

Levels of Consciousness

There are four levels of consciousness:

(i) Empirical consciousness

This is the lowest level of awareness where man experiences things empirically through senses. This level of consciousness is also shared with animals, even plants that may be said to be conscious of the environment. It is also a level of pre-reflection common to children.

(ii)Intellectual consciousness

This is the second stage of consciousness. It is a stage of concept formation where the mind develops ability to identify things, to name them. It is a stage of construction as opposed to concrete awareness. Concepts like table, chair etc begin to form in the mind.

(iii)Rational consciousness

Here the process of reasoning begins. An individual begins to make judgements based on values/norms of society. Conformity to societal norms sets in.

(iv)Responsible consciousness

The level is also called critical consciousness. It involves the ability to make judgement about the world (phenomena) and react to it in critical turmoil. Critical reflection involves questioning the norms, routine of things. It transcends the known strives to bring novelty, new approaches to doing things. Each stage of consciousness is essential for every individual. In teaching/learning environment, it is important to develop all the four stages/levels of awareness. The ultimate aim of education ought to be attainment of responsible conscious news. Where an individual attains this level, one discovers that they are limited in many ways; that there exists  inhibitions along one’s development.

THE DIALOGICAL DIMENSION OF EDUCATION: EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON

The term dialogue means communication or speaking words between two or more people. Education as a dialogue proposes a middle-ground approach between the traditional approach and the progressive approach to education. It attempts to bridge the gap between transmission and socialization.This means that there should be no polarity between the individual and the society rather, both the society and the individual need to be catered for in education. Education ought to develop knowledge and understanding in ways that are consistent with the society’s values as well as the development of one’s personality; individual.The basis of the teacher learner relationship ought to be realization that the learner is a human being who has a right to exist and to express himself/herself. Dialogue requires the teacher and the learner to encounter each other as equals, each of them playing an essential role as far as education is concerned. Based on this equality, education should be seen as a process of communication. This aspect rules out methods and procedures of monologue which destroy the realization of a fulfilling education. Monologue constitutes an assault on the consciousness of the other, rendering it silent, passive etc. Dialogue makes education to be inter-subjective: a process involving encounter, participation. Education as dialogue rules out authoritarian approaches by the teacher i.e. force and corporal punishment. Such measures make students to be docile and submissive.It also rules out the alleviation of the learner above the teacher as advocated by the progressive movement. This is because doing so reduces the educating environment into a chaotic atmosphere. The teacher should not abdicate his position as an adult, but should exercise his/her role with care and concern, be humane to the learners. This will motivate them to seek after, to explore and inquire into knowledge under the caring guidance of the teacher. Essentially, dialogue is a democratic communication that affirms the freedom of the participants to make and remake their culture in the following ways.        Dialogue puts the object to be known between the two subjects of knowing. They meet around it and through it for mutual inquiry.

         The educator/teacher normally has prior contact with the object to be known. It is he who presents it to the class for learners to discuss. However, the teacher’s prior knowledge of the object does not mean that he/she has exhausted all dimensions of the object.

      It is required that the teacher relearns to avoid transferring knowledge statically as a fixed possession of the teacher; dialogue demands a dynamic approximation towards the object.

         Dialogue does not mean that everyone in class must say something even if they have nothing to say. It only sustains a level of freedom for any learner who may want to say something.

         Dialogue requires that the starting point of learning be ordinary experiences of reality.

         There should be no dichotomy between reality and the content of study. Conceptualize knowledge as much as possible.

         Teaching should be conversational; moderate your voice accordingly.

         Making learning task oriented – problem based.

         Teacher must be able to grasp the learner’s entry behaviour in terms of their critical level of cognition, literacy and vocabulary, political and social ideas they possess.

         The words used ought to be familiar – clarity of words will result into clarity of thought hence effective communication.

PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

(I)                IDEALISM AND EDUCATION

Definition and meaning of Idealism

The main tenant of idealism is that ideas and knowledge are the truest reality. Many things in the world change, but ideas and knowledge are enduring.Proponents include: Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Kant, Hegel and Royce Bishop George Berkeley etc.

Aims of Education

o   The purpose of education is to contribute to the development of the mind and self of the learner.

o   It emphasizes intellectual activities, moral judgments, aesthetic judgments, self-realization, individual freedom, individual responsibility, and self-control in order to achieve this development.

Education outcome: a literate person with good moral character 

in order to better serve                                        society.

         The school has a responsibility to find and to train future leaders

         Education should maintain and transmit of the established values of the past

The Concept of Student

         The Idealistic pupil is characterized by that admirable trait, the will to perfection. Whatever he does, he does as well as he can.

         He is ambitious to deserve honors in scholarship.

         He wants to grow in knowledge and wisdom, to appreciate the aesthetic things in life to deserve approbation, and to be a worthy person.

          He strives for perfection because the ideal person is perfect.

The Concept of Teacher 

         The teacher must be excellent, in order to serve as an example for the student, both intellectually and morally.

         Is the most important element in the school to train learners on perfection.

         Excel in knowledge and in human insight into the needs and capacities of the learner.

         Demonstrates moral excellence in personal conduct and convictions.

         Exercises great creative skill in providing opportunities for the learners' minds to discover, analyze, unify, synthesize and create applications of knowledge to life and behavior.

         Serves as a living ideal model for the student by teaching through example and guidance the lifelong habits of patience, tolerance and perseverance towards a goal. He thus represents, to some degree, what the student can become.

         In teaching, teacher’s role is to be a skillful questioner who encourages students to think and ask more questions in an environment that is suitable for learning.

The curriculum

         The ideal curriculum teaches children to think.

         Teachers should help students to explore texts for ideas about the purposes of life, family the nature of peer pressures, and the problems of growing up.

         Idealists believe that ideas can change lives: classical literature, history and biographies can be used and explored to help solve problems in today’s world.

         Ideal curriculum selects subject matter that deals with ideal man and ideal society: subjects essential for the realization of mental and moral development.

         Idealist’s rely on the world of the mind; their curriculum has little contact with the experiential universe characterized by field trips and empirical or sensory data.

         As the curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion.

Instructional Methodology

         All thinking begins with a thesis (opinion) where all points of view are looked at.

         It’s a dialectic, a process where ideas are put into battle against each other, with the most significant idea winning the battle.

         At the end of the discussion, the ideas or opinions will begin to synthesize as they work closer to truth.

         Knowledge can be attained through skillful questioning.

          Idealist education involves teaching the whole rather than its parts.

         The idealist is not concerned with turning out students with technical skills but to have a broad view and understanding of the world in which they live.

         Idealism emphasizes the role of the teacher, a skillful questioner

         The lecture method in an idealist’s education system, it is considered more of a way to convey information and to help students comprehend ideas.

         Idealists thus prefer project based learning as a form self directed learning activity where learning can occur without a teacher’s presence.

         Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge).

    Imitation should be of some exemplary person or persons who by their behavior give evidence that they are close to the nature of reality.

Common criticisms of this philosophical  school.

 

1.      Sets Unobtainable Goals: if perfection is unreachable there is very little desire on the part of most to become perfect.

2.       Ignores the Physical Self:  The body cannot be ignored. To try to separate mental activity from the physical and to try to place Ideas in a realm unrelated to the existent world becomes nothing more than an exercise in futility.

3.      Deemphasizes Experience: Many ideas cannot have meaning apart from experience: to deny the validity of this experience is to make the universe sterile.

4.       Leads to Totalitarianism: Some of the critiques of idealism is that is discourages the progress of science and our modern discovery.

5.      Emphasizes Humanities: humanities oriented outlook, may lead to a rejection of the whole concept of a technological society which is mechanistic and “scientifically” oriented.

6.       Overlooks possibility of Error: it fails to take into account the possibility that it may be in error. This is especially true of idealism since its truth is immutable and unchanging.

(II)             REALISM AND EDUCATION

According to Realism, the external world of objects is not imaginary. It really exists, "Our experience is not independent but determines reaction to the external objects. Experiences are influenced by the external world which has real existence. According o realists, the external world is a solid Reality, whether known or unknown to man. Reality is already in existence and in the invention of man. It exists independently of being known to perceive by, or related to mind. Man can only comprehend it, through senses. One should dip below the surface to know the reality. Proponents include: Mills, Comenius, Russel, Locke, Rouseau etc. Realism believes that, the individual doesn't make reality, he only discovers it. Its main tenets (beliefs) are:

         Realism believes in the world which we see of perceive to be real.

         Realists believe in the present life.

          They believe that the truth of life and aim of life are in the development from the present unsystematic life.

         Knowledge is real and can be assimilated by the human beings.

         The realists distinguish between ‘appearance' and ‘reality'.

         Realism believes that there is an objective reality apart from that which is presented to the consciousness.

Realism and Aims of Education

         Realists do not believe in general and common aims of education. The aim of education should be to teach truth rather than beauty, to understand the present practical life.

         The purpose of education, is to prepare the practical man of the world.

         Neo-realists aim at developing all round development of the objects with the development of their organs.

Realism and Curriculum 

         Classical literature should be studied: not study its form and style but, its content and ideas contained.

         Essential subject from ancient times: natural sciences and contemporary social life and on humanistic feelings including subjects like physics and psychology, sociology, economics, Ethics, Politics, history, Geography, agriculture varied arts, languages.

Realism and methods of teaching 

·       Education should proceed from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract.

·       Things before rules and words.

·       Students to be taught to analyze rather than to construct.

·       Vernacular to be the medium of instruction.

·       The order of nature to be sought and followed.

During teaching, realists argue that:

1.    Repetition is necessary for retention.

2.    Individual's experience and spirit of inquiry is more important than authority.

3.    No unintelligent cramming. More emphasis on questioning and understanding.

4.    Methods of scientific thinking (Inductive).

5.    Method of travel of journey method – field trips (give real experience of varied aspects of life improve knowledge and mental faculties).

Realism and the Teacher

         A teacher should be such that he himself is educated and well versed with the customs of belief and rights and duties of people, and the trends of all ages and places.

         He must have full mastery of the knowledge of present life.

          He must guide the student towards the hard realities of life. He is neither pessimist, nor optimist.

         He must be able to expose children to the problems of life and the world around.

A teacher should always keep in mind-

1.    Re-capitulation is necessary to make the knowledge permanent.

2.    One subject should be taught at one time.

3.    No pressure or coercion be brought upon the child.

4.    The practice of cramming should be given up.

5.    The uniformity should be the basic principle in all things.

6.    Things should be introduced first and then the words.

7.    The entire knowledge should be gained after experience.

8.    The knowledge should be imparted on the basis of organs.

9.    Straight forward method should be adopted for teaching.

10.                         There should be a co-relation between utility in daily life and education.

11.                         The child should be told the utility of whatever is taught.

12.                         The simple rules should be defined.

13.                        All the subjects should be taught in proper order.

14.                        Various organs of education should be taught in chronological order.

15.                        The topic should not be given up unless the students understand it well.

16.                        To find out the interest of the child and to teach accordingly.

Realism and the child

         Realism in education recognizes the importance of the child. The child is a real unit which has real existence. He has some feelings, some desires and some powers.

         Child can reach near reality through learning by reason.

         Child has to be given as much freedom as possible.

         The child is to be enabled to proceed on the basis of facts.

         The child can learn only when he follows the laws of learning.

          The child is to be understood a creature of the real world there is no sense in making him a God (perfect). He has to be trained to become human.

Realism and school organization  

1.                  School organization would be based on the real needs of society. It should be established d at a place where it is not needed.

2.                  The opening of science classes in every school is must. Only academic and literary subjects are not sufficient to fulfill the needs of the society.

3.                  Realism doesn't oppose co-education. Sex-drive is a real feeling. It is a natural happening so it cannot be rejected.

4.                  School is the mirror of the society. It is a miniature form of society and it presents the real picture of the society

Realism and discipline

         Discipline is adjustment to objectivity. It is necessary in order to enable the child to adjust himself to his environment and concentrate on his work.

         A disciplined student is one who does not withdraw from the cruelties, tyrannies, hardships and shortcomings pervading the world. Realism has vehemently opposed withdrawal from life. One has to adjust oneself to this material world.

Dark side of realism 

         Realism recognizes the real existence of the material world. This recognition remains an objected to unless he says that only material world really exists.

         The realist claims to be objective. Objectivity in knowledge is nothing but the partnership of personal knowledge. Knowledge is always subjective.

         The realist recognizes the origin of knowledge from the datum achieved by senses and asserts that only objects are main and it is through their contact that knowledge is acquired.

         The realist does not accept the existence of transcendental (not based on experience or reason) being.

          Realism admits real feelings and needs of life on the one hand, gives no place to imagination and sentiment, on the other.

         The realist is satisfied simply by the fulfillment of the needs of daily life and be does not care to make life sublime.

(III)          PRAGMATISM AND EDUCATION

Definition of Pragmatism

Pragmatic means dealing with matters according to their practical significance or immediate importance. Means doctrine that  evaluates any assertion solely by its practical consequences and its bearing on human interests. The origin is Greek ‘pragma’ meaning ‘use. Pragmatic theory states that, truth can be known only through its practical consequences and is thus and individual or a social matter rather than an absolute. Its major proponent is John Dewey.

Educational Aims of pragmatism

         Pragmatists believe that the aims are always determined by individual not by any organization or any structure.

         The aim for education is to teach children to be comfortable in their learning environment: the environment is not a preparation for life but life. Educators should thus know the things that motivate and interest children and plan accordingly.

         Helping of the child to develop in such a way as to contribute to his continued growth.

 Three characteristics of good educational aims by John Dewey:

1. An educational aim must be founded upon the intrinsic activates and needs (including original instinct and acquired habits) of the given individual to be educated.

 2. An aim must be capable of translation into a method of cooperation with the activities of those undergoing instruction.

3. Educators have to be on their guard against ends that are alleged to be general and ultimate. Pragmatists sole aim in education is to provide the conditions that make growth possible.

The concept of Student

         The student is an experiencing organism capable of using intelligence to resolve its problems. As a thinking organism his experiences, and his reflections upon those experiences become a part of him determining his likes, dislikes, and the future direction of his learning.

         The student is a whole organism constantly interacting with the environment. The school is both a part of this environment and a special manmade environment designed to provide the best possible educative experience to the learner.

         The whole organism which is the child consists of the biological child, the psychological child, and the social child. The experiencing organism that is the learner brings to school with him all the meanings, values, and experiences that constitute his personality: his self.

The concept of Teacher

         The role of the teacher is important in successfully educating children.

         The teacher must capture the child’s interest and build on the natural motivation that exists.

         Teachers need to vary their teaching methods to accommodate each individual learning style because not all children learn at the same pace or are at the same point.

         Teacher should organize knowledge and relate it to current experiences.

         The teacher, for the pragmatist, is a member of the learning group who serves in the capacity of helper, guide, and arranger of experiences. He is as involved in the educative process as are these students.

         The pragmatic teacher does not abdicate responsibility. Uses child centered approach not lasses faire (free style)

         The teacher is responsible for wiring with the students and helping them develop their own projects that arise out of the felt needs of the students rather than those of the teacher.

Curriculum Framework 

         Any educative experience is the subject matter of the pragmatists curriculum: any experience contributing to growth.

         The curriculum is learner- centered. In changes and shifts  as the needs of the learners vary.

         Pragmatists see subject matter as an arbitrary and wasteful system to which all learners have been forced to conform. They reject this system in order to center the subject matter on the problems and needs of the learner.

Instructional Methodology

         Methods range from almost complete laissez- the relatively structured.

         The project method is the most common.

         Classroom discussion in a free and open atmosphere is encouraged, as well as individual problem solving research. All of this may well involve a tremendous amount of reading, studying, and traditional subject matter mastery.

          The curriculum for the pragmatic philosophy supports a connection between knowledge and experience. It is important for children to connect the two so learning can become meaningful.

                  Pragmatic method is rooted in the psychological needs of the students rather than in the logical order of the subject matter.

                  The teacher will as well as possible help the learners at each stage of the effort: (i) to initiate the activity (to form or choose the purpose); (ii) to plan how to carry the activity forward, (iii) to execute to plan: (iv) to evaluate progress during the activity and the result at the end. While all this is going forward the teacher will also (v) encourage the learners to think up and note suggestions or new leads for other and further work; (vi) help them to formulate these suggestions both for clarification of thinking and for later recall and possible use (perhaps writing them in a book or on the board for future reference); (vii) help pupils criticize their thinking en route or at the close, as may seen wise; and finally (viii) look back over the whole process to pick up and fix important kinds of learning as well as draw lessons for the future from both successes and failures.

Criticism to pragmatism

1.      Weak Ontology:  the whole structure of the pragmatic position is relatively unstable due to its lack of a sound ontological base.

2.      Anti-Intellectualism: the main area of concern for pragmatists is the marketplace of daily life thus not rationalistic.

3.      Theory of Truth: all other major philosophical systems are concerned with the nature of truth, but pragmatism challenges the existence of this core making it a dangerous and radical philosophy.

4.       School as Instrument of Social Change: Traditionally the school has been viewed as society’s instrument for the preservation and continuation of our cultural heritage but pragmatists argue that, the school and the whole process of education should be an instrument of social change and social

VIDEOS

 Idealism

Idealism : Goals of Education

Idealism: Role of Teacher

 

 Idealism: Pedagogical Methods