The Eight Theories: Perennialism, Essentialism,

Behaviorism, Positivism, Progressivism,

Reconstructionism, Humanism and Constructivism
Perennialists believe that one should teach the things that one deems to be of
everlasting importance to all people everywhere. They believe that the most
important topics develop a person. Since details of fact change constantly, these
cannot be the most important. Therefore, one should teach principles, not facts.
Since people are human, one should teach first about humans, not machines or
techniques. Since people are people first, and workers second if at all, one
should teach liberal topics first, not vocational topics. Reconstructionists believe
that education has two roles. The first is to transmit culture. The second is to
modify culture. Essentialists believe that an educated person in a given culture
must have a common core of information and skills. It is the job of the schools to
transmit the core of essential material as effectively as possible. Behaviorists
believe that by carefully controlling the stimuli in the classroom, the teacher can
control student behavior. They believe that the environment should be highly
organized and the curriculum based on developed behaviorial objectives.
Positivists believe that truth and knowledge is observable and measurable. All
knowledge is clear and precise and all students are required to learn the same
knowledge. Progressivists believe that ideas should be tested by
experimentation and that learning is rooted in questions developed by the
learner. It emphasizes the the process of education in the classroom. Humanists
believe that humans are innately good. Humans are born free but become
enslaved by institutions. Humanists believe in the students as a completely
autonomous person and therefore education should be without coercion or
prescription. Constructivists emphasize hands-on, activity-based teaching and
learning during which students develop their own frames of thought. The idea is
to give students real life, contemporary problems to tackle.
I think that as a teacher I completely don't believe in Perennialism, Essentialism,
Behaviorism, Positivism, and Humanism. I fall more in the Constructivist and
Progressivist camp. I like the idea of having students asking questions and going
to find the answers. It means that they have a hand in deciding what to learn. I
also means that students can focus on what is important to them and what
interests. I also like the Constructivist theory because it involves real life
problems. I think that schools often try to keep the real world on the other side
of the entrance way but they forget that learning, culture and student's past
experience walk in with students every day. Those things help to shape what it
is that students are interested in. And it is hard to teach someone anything they
are not at least a little bit curious about. As adults we pick and choose what
things to do based on our preferences all the time. Why shouldn't students get
to at least part of the time? Progessivism and Constructivism focus the most on
free choice and student value. Both things I think are important to learning.

Modernity <------------------------------------------------------------------------> Post Modernity

Traditional and Conservative <---------------------------------> Contemporary and Liberal
Authoritarian (convergent) <--------------------------------> (divergent) Non-Authoritarian
General or
Idealism:
Realism:
Pragmatism:
Existentialism:
World
Ideas are the only
Reality exists
Universe is dynamic,
Reality is subjective, within
Philosophies true reality, the only independent of
evolving. Purpose of
the individual. Individual
thing worth
human mind. World thought is action. Truth rather than external standards.
knowing.
of physical objects is relative.
Focus: Freedom
Focus: Mind
ultimate reality.
Focus: Experience
Focus: Body
Aristotle
Pierce, Dewey
Sartre, Kierkegaard
Originator( Plato, Socrates

s)
Curricular
Emphasis

Teaching
Method

Subject matter of
mind: literature,
history, philosophy,
religion
Teach for handling
ideas: lecture,
discussion

Character
Development
Related
Educational
Philosophies

Imitating examples,
heroes
Perennialism:
Focus: Teach ideas
that are everlasting.
Seek enduring truths
which are constant,
not changing,
through great
literature, art,
philosophy, religion.

Key
Proponents

Robert Hutchins,
Jacque Maritain,
Mortimer Adler,
Allan Bloom

Related
Theories of
Learning
(Psychological
Orientations)

Information
Processing
The mind makes
meaning through
symbol-processing
structures of a fixed
body of knowledge.
Describes how
information is
received, processed,
stored, and retrieved
from the mind.

Subject matter of
physical world:
science, math

Subject matter of social Subject matter of personal

experience. Creation of choice
new social order

Teach for mastery of

facts and basic
skills:
demonstration,
recitation
Training in rules of
conduct
Essentialism:
Focus: Teach the
common core, "the
basics" of
information and
skills (cultural
heritage) needed for
citizenship.
(Curriculum can
change slowly)
William Bagley;
Arthur Bestor,
E. D. Hirsch,
Chester Finn,
Diane Ravitch,
Theodore Sizer
Behaviorism
Behavior shaped by
design and
determined by
forces in
environment.
Learning occurs as
result of reinforcing
responses to stimuli.
Social Learning
Learning by
observing and
imitating others.

Problem solving: Project Individual as entity within

method
social context

Making group decisions

in light of consequences
Progressivism:
Focus: Ideas should be
tested by active
experimentation.
Learning rooted in
questions of learners in
interaction with others.
Experience and student
centered.

Individual responsibility for

decisions and preferences
Reconstructionism/
Critical Theory
Focus: Critical pedagogy:
Analysis of world events,
controversial issues and
diversity to provide vision for
better world and social
change.

John Dewey,
William Kilpatrick

George Counts,
J. Habermas,
Ivan Illich,
Henry Giroux,
Paulo Freire

Cognitivism/
Constructivism
Learner actively
constructs own
understandings of reality
through interaction with
environment and
reflection on actions.
Student-centered
learning around conflicts
to present knowing
structures.

Humanism
Personal freedom, choice,
responsibility. Achievement
motivation towards highest
levels. Control of own destiny.
Child centered. Interaction
with others.

Key
proponents

R. M. Gagne,
E. Gagne,
Robert Sternberg,
J.R. Anderson

Ivan Pavlov,
John Watson,
B.F. Skinner,
E.L. Thorndike,
Albert Bandura

Jean Piaget,
U. Bronfenbrenner,
Jerome Bruner,
Lev Vygotsky

J.J. Rousseau,
A. Maslow,
C. Rogers,
A. Combs,
R. May