Roughly speaking , educational philosophy can be defined as “ the application of philosophical ideas to educational problems, which in turn, can lead to a refinement of both philosophical ideas and educational development” (Ozmon, 2012, p 2).
Education does not exist in a vacuum; education is part of a socio-cultural context that philosophy strives to explore (Ozmon, 2012). Educational philosophy sheds light on how education shapes and is shaped by this panoramic context (Ozmon, 2012).
One might tend to believe that the need for educational philosophy is oudated since we are talking now about a legimate science of education; however, educational philosophy “ has an important role to play in incorporating and examining the value of scientific ideas”.(Ozmon, 2012, p 3).
I personally believe that it is difficult to deny the contribution of science to educational theory today, but it is equally difficult to deny that our educational practices and beliefs lack a coherent, holistic vision as to the purpose of education. Postman (1985) succinctly expresses this dilemma as follows:
“ The answer to this question has nothing whatever to do with computers, with testing, with teacher accountability, with class size, and with the other details of managing schools. The right answer depends on two things, and two things alone: the existence of shared narratives and the capacity of such narratives to provide an inspired reason for schooling (as cited in Gunzenhauser, 2003, p.52).”
Professional philosphers are, therefore, mainly concerned with “ providing illumination, understanding, and perspective for educators to think with than on providing programs and policies for educators to act on.” ( Soltis, 1983, p 17).
An authentic teacher draws on educational philosophy as a source of developing his/her personal education platform “ to achieve a satisfying sense of personal meaning, purpose, and commitment to guide his or her activities as an educator” ( Soltis, 1983, p 15).
An authentic teacher is not a fervent supporter of a given educational philosophy, but a relflective practioner who is yearning to improve his/her teaching and brige the gap between practice and theory (Ozmon, 2012).
References
Gunzenhauser, M. G. (2003). High-Stakes Testing and the Default Philosophy of Education. Theory Into Practice, 42(1), 51-58. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4201_7
Ozmon, H. (2012). Philosophical foundations of education (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
SOLTIS, J. (1983). Perspectives on Philosophy of Education. Journal of Thought, 18(2), 14-21. Retrieved August 27, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42589009
Abderrazak Behhar 