Dr. William Allan Kritsonis provides an overview of educational philosophies and their key points. He begins by defining philosophy and distinguishing it from science. He then discusses major educational philosophies like idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. Kritsonis also outlines philosophies that underlie different approaches to education, such as essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, and reconstructionism. The document concludes by noting that philosophy directly impacts curriculum and teaching practices.

1. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor, PhD Program in Educational Leadership,
PVAMU/Member Texas A&M University
WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY?
Many individuals have a philosophy embedded in their subconscious minds. Although
one does not realize altogether that certain beliefs follow a selected philosophic approach,
individual actions parallel certain philosophies more than others. The following medium
offers information concerning personal philosophic beliefs so that a basic understanding
can be obtained and a personal philosophy developed. Please answer the following
statements on the answer sheet at the end of this section utilizing the scale:
Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
|--------1------------------2------------------3-----------------4------------------5-------|
1. The subjects of a school are the most important feature of an education.
2. Schools should promote a teacher-centered environment in order to encourage
effective learning.
3. Education is a prerequisite for a student to understand life’s intentions.
4. What students are taught should be determined solely by student interest and input.
5. The deductive approach is the most effective method of teaching any subject to
students.
6. Universal truth is an individual perception.
7. If it happens, it is real.
8. Disregard the past and you are destined to repeat it.
9. A school’s curriculum should be determined by the specific needs of each
community, where content is designed for the betterment of each student.
10. Education should focus strongly on the development of reasoning skills of students.
11. Curricular content should center primarily on the scientific method for resolving
dilemmas.
12. Students should be free to explore their interests in whatever fashion they desire.
13. The climate in which one lives solely defines one’s behavior.
14. All children can learn the same thing, but not at the same rate.
15. Students should be placed in classrooms according to their individual abilities.
16. All reform movements in education are basically the same.
17. The curriculum for students should contain a specific nucleus of information that is
indigenous for all literate people.
18. Ethical behavior and morality should be incorporated into a student’s learning
process.

2. 19. The curriculum of a school should not be decided by a small circle of school
officials, but by all involved parties within the community.
20. What is real is perceived differently by individuals, therefore no two things can be
the same.
21. Learning by specified programs of material in sequence is paramount to a child’s
education.
22. Teachers need to give more individual assistance in the classroom.
23. Students with a mental disability cannot learn the same subject matter as regular
students and should not be placed in a regular classroom environment.
24. Money is not the total answer to increased student achievement.
25. Learning to read proficiently is the solution to the educational dilemma.
26. Each individual in society must attain a specified body of knowledge to function
properly.
27. Student needs, experiences, and interests should be the determining factor when
designing a school’s curriculum.
28. A school’s curriculum should contain more electives for students to choose.
29. A complete curricular analysis for effective teaching should include scope,
sequence, articulation, pacing, and, most importantly, reward or reinforcement.
30. All teachers have an underlying concern for students and the learning process.
31. Effective education begins at the home.
32. Traditional education of the 1950s should be reinstated in the school curriculum.
33. Teachers should not teach in areas where their proficiency is below average.
34. More emphasis should be placed on “The Great Men” and “The Great Books” of
past civilizations.
35. The curriculum should be entirely a hands-on, practical approach.
36. Student achievement cannot take place in a traditional, lecture-oriented format.
37. The environment is a tangible place where material is a solid representation of what
is.
38. Students learn best in a one-on-one basis.
39. Students, teachers, parents, and administrators should decide solely on the curricular
structure of a school.
40. What works in one environment does not necessarily work in another.
41. There should be a distinct division of subject matter, not the consolidated collection
presently advocated.
42. Art/music appreciation should stress past contributions rather than practical
applications.
43. The teacher’s sole function in the classroom should be to guide students through
problem-solving situations.
44. A school environment should nurture students to find their roles in society.
45. Fool me once, shame on you–fool me twice, shame on me.
46. Children are born with universal knowledge and it is the teacher’s job to bring forth
that knowledge.

3. 47. The universe is made from scientific laws and the scientific process is designed to
explain our existence.
48. If it works, it is true.
49. Enculturation is the primary function of education.
50. A school’s curriculum should concentrate on long-range goals, not on immediate
concerns.
51. A student should feel free to be inventive and communicate inner curiosities without
the threat of reprimand.
52. Individuals are first an introvert and second an extrovert.
53. The scientific approach is the best approach to effectively understand explained and
unexplained phenomenon.
54. Reality is what one believes.
55. Teachers should always adapt and should be flexible in the learning environment.
56. We learn best from experience.
57. A strict, proven curricular format is necessary to ensure proper learning.
58. Even though students learn at different rates, every student should be exposed to the
same learning material.
59. School environments should be void of any autocracy by the teachers and/or
administration.
60. Every child evolves at a different rate, both physically and mentally, and should be
free, without interference, to do so.
61. Students learn best when given an incentive or reward.
62. Students know what they need to know and should follow their beliefs.
63. Teachers are in the best position to determine appropriate learning activities.
64. Our past dictates our future.
65. Students do not do enough outside assignments for effective exposure to the subject
matter.
66. The Socratic method of questioning should be utilized more in the classroom to
cultivate critical thinking skills.
67. Student-to-student interaction is the best learning method.
68. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” because there is no standardized scale for
measuring beauty.
69. Moral and ethical values are not inborn traits, but learned processes.
70. Perceptions are everything in learning.
71. Student success is a product of his/her environment regardless of intellectual
capability.
72. Field trips should be utilized more often to enhance the learning process.
73. All teachers of a given subject should teach the same content in order to establish
continuity of learning.
74. Students learn by themselves under direct supervision of the teacher.
75. Students learn better when grouped together than when separated for individual
investigation.

4. 76. Having a child feel good about himself/herself is more important than what he/she
learns.
77. Standardized tests are the best measures of student achievement.
78. There is no universal standard to describe beauty except in what one perceives.
79. A structured curriculum is best for students to learn.
80. I hear and I forget–I see and I remember–I do and I understand.
Copyright © 2011 William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

5. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD - Copyright © 2011
ANSWER SHEET
Place each numbered response for the corresponding questions in the appropriate space
below.
Scale
Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
|--------1------------------2------------------3-----------------4------------------5-------|
A B C D E F G H
1. __ 2. __ 3. __ 4. __ 5. __ 6. __ 7.___ 8.___
9. __ 10. __ 11. __ 12. __ 13. __ 14. __ 15.___ 16.___
17. __ 18. __ 19. __ 20. __ 21. __ 22. __ 23.___ 24.___
25. __ 26. __ 27. __ 28. __ 29. __ 30. __ 31.___ 32.___
33. __ 34. __ 35. __ 36. __ 37. __ 38. __ 39.___ 40.___
41. __ 42. __ 43. __ 44. __ 45. __ 46. __ 47.___ 48.___
49. __ 50. __ 51. __ 52. __ 53. __ 54. __ 55.___ 56.___
57. __ 58. __ 59. __ 60. __ 61. __ 62. __ 63.___ 64.___
65. __ 66. __ 67. __ 68. __ 69. __ 70. __ 71.___ 72.___
73. __ 74. __ 75. __ 76. __ 77. __ 78. __ 79.___ 80.___

6. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD - Copyright © 2011
SCORING
Step 1
Total points for each column and place in the appropriate blank below.
A____ B____ C____ D____ E____ F____ G____ H____
Step 2
Place the total of each column in the corresponding blanks below.
Major Philosophic Off-Shoots Major Philosophies
Column A = ____ Essentialist Column E = ____ Behaviorist
Column B = ____ Perennialist Column F = ____ Idealist
Column C = ____ Progressivist Column G = ____ Realist
Column D = ____ Existentialist Column H = ____ Pragmatist
Scores indicate your agreement or disagreement with a particular philosophical point of
view. The highest score indicates a more prominent consensus and the lowest score
indicates a more prominent conflict. The highest possible score for any philosophical
category is 50 and the lowest possible score is 10.
Comparing the scores on the left to the scores on the right will offer an interesting
perspective concerning original philosophic views to the philosophic off-shoots. The
participant is directed to corresponding sections within the text for a review of
philosophic convictions.
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD – Copyright © 2011

7. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD – Copyright © 2011
PHILOSOPHIES OF SCHOOLING
KEY POINTS
1. Philosophy is not a science; it is an attempt to understand the world.
2. Educational philosophy is the application of formal philosophy to the field of
education.
3. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with ultimate reality;
epistemology focuses on knowledge, and axiology deals with the study of values.
4. Idealism, the philosophy of Plato, focuses on the search for truth.
5. Realism, the philosophy of Aristotle, supports the notion that knowledge can be
gained through the senses and from deductive reasoning.
6. Pragmatism is an American philosophy that is associated with human experience;
John Dewey was a prominent pragmatist.
7. Existentialism, an individualized philosophy, represents a radical departure from
other schools of philosophy and focuses on the individual.
8. Perennialism is an educational philosophy developed from realism, while the
educational philosophy of essentialism is the basis for the back-to-the-basics
movement in education.
9. Progressivism is associated with problem-solving techniques, while
reconstructionism focuses on social reform.
10. Basic philosophy and educational philosophy are directly related to what occurs in
school classrooms.
11. Philosophy directly impacts on curriculum and teaching practices.
12. Some philosophies encourage a highly structured curriculum with close student
monitoring, while others focus on limited structure and wide freedoms for students.
Dr. Kritsonis provides basic information regarding philosophy and educational
philosophy. It begins by discussing the basic philosophies, such as idealism and
realism, and then moves into a discussion of specific educational philosophies.
B. KEY TERMS–DEFINITIONS
ANALYTICAL - allows the use of language to analyze words; currently the dominating
activity of American and British philosophers; given to studying a problem by breaking it
down into its various parts.

8. ANALYTICAL PHILOSOPHY - philosophy based on analytical activity.
AXIOLOGY - area of philosophy that focuses on values.
BEHAVIORAL ENGINEERING - Philosophy of education that focuses on controlling
the learner’s environment.
BEHAVIORISM - educational philosophy and practice that emphasized reinforcing
appropriate behavior or learning: includes the concepts of stimulus and response.
ECLECTIC - selecting what appears to be the best doctrines, methods, styles, or
philosophies.
EPISTEMOLOGY - deals with knowledge; therefore, directly related to the instructional
methods employed by teachers.
ESSENTIALISM - area of philosophy that believes a common core of knowledge and
ideals should be the focus of the curriculum.
EXISTENTIALISM - philosophy that emphasizes individuals and individual decision-
making.
IDEALISM - a philosophy that emphasizes global ideas related to moral teachings.
METAPHYSICS - the branch of philosophy that deals with ultimate reality.
ONTOLOGY - the study of what is real; the primary focus of metaphysics dealing with
what is real about material objects, the universe, persons, being, mind, existence, and so
forth. Hard core reality.
PERENNIALISM - educational philosophy that believes in the existence of unchanging
universal truths.
PRAGMATISM - philosophy that focuses on practical application of knowledge.
PRESCRIPTIVE - attempts to establish standards for assessing values, judging conduct
and appraising art: ordered with the force of authority.
PROGRESSIVISM - educational philosophy emphasizing experience.
RECONSTRUCTIONISM - educational philosophy calling for schools to get involved
and support social reform.
SPECULATIVE - considerate of possibilities and probabilities; philosophy is a search
for orderliness applied to all knowledge; it applies systematic thinking to everything that
exists.
SYNOPTIC - providing a general summary of data collected at many points to present an
overview.
SYNTHESIS - assembling various parts into a whole; reasoning from self-evident
propositions, laws or principles to arrive by a series of deductions at what one seeks to
establish; enables educators to see the relationship of ideas to practice.