Introduction
Pragmatism education philosophy marks a point of demarcation. This point is from the authorities based on realism and idealism. Also, they are in relation to educational philosophies, which include perennialism, essentialism, and scholasticism. The early child-centered curricula had an approach on the needs, interests, and prior learning of the child.
This great movement in education was made successful by the progressive movement in society. Progressivism is the one that expresses pragmatism in a nice educational manner. The progressive movement in education has a main goal on how to improve the society. Constructivism is a theory that states that through reflecting people’s experiences, there is the construction of the world in which they live.
Both the Progressivism and constructivism are theories that have differences. However, they both accept the idea that the world is changing. Darwinian Theory is the one that had a strong influence on this idea. (Hickman, 2009). Hence, improving the world’s society.
Progressivism
This educational theory consisted of educators and education reformers. They changed the foundation of education by using its procedures. Kilpatrick was devoted to teaching. He held many positions in educational institutions like he was a professor of philosophy of education at the Columbia Teachers College. He advocated a curriculum that did not separate teachers and students.
However, he did not prove that teachers and student were equal in understanding. Instead, he meant that students needed to understand that teachers were their advocates. The idea that schools in democratic societies and school institutions were democratic did not come from him.
He did the encouraging of problem solving activities, flexibility in curriculum design, cooperative learning and learning based on experience. He stressed on the idea of the teachers understanding a child. This helped a child feel appreciated and is able to express what they know to the rest of the children in the school compound. The child then improves.
Constructivism
This educational theory is based on internal structures of learners. This is a method of learning that is very strong. This is because they help learners or students understand the world and put new experiences into practice in their prior learning. In connection to education, almost all constructivists’ procedures in learning originate from Dewey.
On the other hand, for constructivism to be acceptable, the belief on the general skills occur independently and naturally in the minds of human beings ought to be rejected. Constructivism theory states that individuals construct their own understanding through interaction with what they already know together with the new ideas and experiences they encounter.
By the end of the day, learners are able to make decisions instead of depending on their teachers (Wadsworth, 2004).Over the years, Jean Piaget developed the theory on how minds develop by a number of stages. Piaget, who was a philosopher of education, stated there are four stages of development.
They include the sensorimotor-based on physical development of a child, preoperational stage- language learning development, concrete operational stage; this is where a child learns to satisfy objects according to their differences and similarities, and the formal operational stage which is characterized by logical thinking.
Piaget insists on the point that a child does not skip any of the stages. These stages are supported by education in their schools.
References
Hickman, L. A., & Spadafora, G. (2009). John Dewey’s educational philosophy in international perspective: a new democracy for the twenty-first century. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Wadsworth, B. J. (2004). Piaget’s theory of cognitive and affective development (Classic ed., 5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/A and B.