Philosophy of Education could be defined by a reference to every philosopher from very ancient time to the very moment of now. From scholasticism, rationalism, to social realisim. Each of the series of concepts and ideas brought by, I suggest, could be refined to the fabric of urbanized societies which provide students with a dichotomy of learning to competition and knowledge. Each of these concepts giants have a lot in relation with man, and his relation to truth , to power and so on. However, most importantly, the role and consequently the rules and regulation of philosophy require a careful adaptation to urbanized schooling. these roles can be described in different ways, sometimes as a methodology of teaching toward knowledge, sometimes a manifesto for teachers, and so forth.
In the recent decades, philosophy of Education has had a tendency to draw a nomenclature of aims and practical advises. Structural planning has been of two broad concepts: individual development and epistemological knowledge transfer. However, We would have to think about the philosophy of education based two forgotten fields, first, the philosophy of science which necessarily brings about the curriculum and development in a logical, neutral and scientific manner. Second, it is philosophy of life itself. Although this philosophy seems at first naive and simplistic for comprehension, it is a field which should have its origin on those philosophers who have studied the nature of man, his or her movements in the life. Or we can say of philosophers who have works on the nature of man. Selecting these philosophers and analysing their works in order to make a contribution to educational system requires an interdisciplinary approach. On the other hand, we should work on educational science with its empirical knowledge.
A Metaphoric Outlook at Schools
In general, metaphor is used by writers, poets, philosophers as a kind of descriptive tool. This tool is applied in literature for describing the location, spirit of the time so as to depict the reality and to unmask any event. Exaggeration and emotion coming from the metaphor can be used to define the nature of schools and events. According to Morgan (2006), the source of metaphors might be based on chaos science, complexity science, jazz, theater, law, accountancy, and ecology. Thus different metaphors can produce a variety of management and organization theories. Although every metaphor has a one-sided point of view, but by offering a more comprehensive view, it will be able to provide support to managers in their management style and can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of their organizations. One of the eight varieties offered by Morgan in the form of metaphor is to address organizations as culture. In this paper, definition of culture is to be discussed in a sociological framework, then examined in the school context. You can download the whole articel on the icon below.
Education systems and Epistemology
Draft Version
This article has its own focus on consideration of epistemic nature of students’ behavior and epistemic dimension of teaching nature. Here, I put forward, more specifically, the epistemic form and nature of information/beliefs produced by students, especially children, and also categorizing texts under a seemingly simple dichotomy of episteme and non-episteme. Those who are keen on epistemology in the field of education in its broad form might consider every educational structure and schooling managerial systems. The above-mentioned dichotomy itself needs to be regarded by epistemological lens and tools. If this dichotomy is a naïve implication produced by the mind, and if it a trap, then the whole theorem is false. This falsity can be explained better by Heideggerian “being and time” and also can be rejected by wittgensteinian theorem of language-based philosophy which requires the semantic/syntactic reconsideration of language forms.
However if it is true, then we can say that all epistemological claims, including the above one, are only true when they can be defined in their own span, eliminating non-epistemic appearances and be tested , evidenced, and manipulated by a pragmatic exploitation of episteme. Then, accordingly, the education system, contextual maneuvers should have a filtering mechanism sitting above the stomach of epistemic and non-epistemic amalgam.
The critique, here, is in relation to two extremities, the first is the order in nature; the second is of schooling or educational transference. Simply to say, the order in educational systems has no parallel approximates to the nature itself.
Resorting to a pre-Socratic definition of nature, there were transformative laws regarding human development, explaining the nature and its order. Applying the same perspective to the educational systems would not be so false, since education transforms the beings at least in a relative epistemic way. However this epistemic transformation is not a replica of natural transformation rather it is an artificial one mainly in parallel to market place needs and economy which are neither epistemic nor non-epistemic but a road to hover over the instinctual power of survival; and is not the survival instinct the biggest and continuous dimension of wild and nature? So the dichotomy of education will then be divided, at least in higher education, into two broad horizons of survival, which is economy, and episteme. It would not be that false if I say that educational systems have turned into a doxa of becoming economically successful , a doxa of getting degrees and on .
Pedagogy and Episteme
The order of knowledge transfer through primary to higher education and the designed curriculum has an inscribed episteme, but it has a blurry relation with the inevitable five-sensory sources of knowledge. Needless to mention that sensory knowledge needs to be testified in order to be valid and reliable. Educational system has generally blotted out these sources of knowledge. It seems that there is no systematic category for considering the beliefs, and justifications of students in relation to knowledge and the whole contents of curriculum. The lack of this relation with knowledge may have caused an exposure and subjugation to forms of knowledge causing alienation among students at different ages. There has been no, let alone clear, data base for analysis of students’ beliefs and justifications toward any kind of knowledge, and assessment. These forms of justified knowledge have an external value for students and an internal value for teachers. The first group is subjugated to these forms, the latter finds, pragmatically, ways to subjugate them. Sensory sources of knowledge are left to already-prepared materials through the use of allotted and assigned time configuration in curriculum designing. If students are not allowed to justify their beliefs coming from their perception, any form of knowledge will be of an artificial temporary value to the elasticity of memory. Any form of knowledge which is to be taught needs to be justified by both teachers and students. After justification step, a belief begins to emerge, which could be certain or not. That is to say, any belief occurs after the justification process in the mind of any student.
Ends or Means amalgamation in educational systems
Man is purposeful and not purpose-built. The purpose, here, is both futile and not. It is futile at two stages, first, personal educational aims, second national policy purposes may bring about a restricted form of selection, it also restricts the number of coincidences of discovery and existential exploration. The future of educational experience can easily be predicted by the man. The predicted future is to show the type of experience which has already been experienced . It is sporadically Platonic during the nearly stable knowledge through which the man will categorise his neurons and have a repertoire of classified knowledge of a specific choice. The controversy here lies in the policy and requirements for being admitted in both his higher education and career. The controversy of choice. The choice has to socially, academically, be imposed on the man. Man has to choose it, not because he has an epistemic control on the field but he has to choose and finally channelise his existence. The restricted, categorised forms of knowledge to reach the candidates are nearly stable and choicless. They are economically juxtaposed in few broad forms of techniques and theories.
The aims of education are not any longer related to the topic of education itself, let alone its idealistic definitions, or its relation with a virtuous city with literate citizens. Adorno was right. I can infer from him that Mass production is in parallel with mass education. Massiveness, the gigantic increase of number of certificate holders, has nothing to do with the enlightenment aims of education. The increasing number of “educands” and “educators” is one of the aims.
The aim of life has been scientifically categorised. The determination and recognition of man’s aims are in the hands of education policy makers who are in accordance with the same criteria of systems of education. The point here is that man’s complex psychological and social status is dynamically folding and unfolding on a daily basis, however educational systems are stable and restricted. The educational aims, if strictly classified with their imposing requirements, will create classified holders of knowledge, consequently, life and its all choices to be made by man will be swept away for nihilistic materialistic ends.
Implicitly, educational systems claim that man’s future could be guaranteed, at least partially in its employment foreseeing, for his future. Simply speaking, man has been earning his living by doing a variety of skills ranging from craftmaking to gardening without having restored to academia. Learning a skill for earning a life does not necessarily require a certificate. Education, without the word” aim”, is the matter of this analysis. Without aim, regardless of man’s social, cognitive life, education may not have something to do to analyse itself. If it has something to do with the social life of a man, then it has to, politically and economially, be outlined in the more or less same pursuit of Republic of Plato and Weberian society.
“Aim” is the fundamental problem of man and also educational systems. Politicians and educational policy makers see education as both means and ends. End cannot replace aim. Aims cannot replace ends. Man sees education and its ends as means defined by policy makers and but aim is much richer in itself than ends. Both ends and means in educational systems are means for policy. The point is that policy could have never been able to define a wholistic aim because of the unmeasurable depth of man’s living decisions for aims. Without aim, life will be as endless as eternity of choices and coincidences, it will be uncontrolled and citiless. World citizenship will be the ends of man’s means. After this ends, a form of new experience will emerge. A citiless man with no ends but aims. These aims will not be in hands of educators or policy-makers. These aims will be of expectations. Aimlessness can cause a minute to minute change, it is, changeable and flexible,giving chances of choices to man so as to experience the ends and the required means of nihilistic dimensions of materialistic world. But before this wandering can take place, man, now 18, needs a form of cognitive capacity and reasoning with a virtuous heart to explore the nature here and there.
Right here, the definitive role of education, whether formal or informal ( parent-based, guru- based, novel-based) will rise up to strengthen our man to experience and explore the other and himself. Aims will be in the hands of man not the systems of ends and means. Apart from folkloric aspect of this writing, we need more legendary teachers who could let our man know himself and find his aim. We need a kind of educational systems which can underpin man’ s complex psychic system with more choices to make. Ends should be replaced with symbols of aims to continue.
Here, I would have to say that “Grammaticality” of knowledge ( Bernstein) and subjectivity of artistic desire may contribute to a form of wider rang of choices. is Citiless man’ education possible? We have to think.
Didaskalia
Education can be mathematics of culture, pioneer of language forms and giver of roles to human beings. That is why this writing is titled as didaskalia. Education system provides platforms of communicative activities which cannot be and should not be seen separable from society and families.
The first historiography of didactic form begins with whispers and lullabies of mothers. the second historiography is related to school platforms and that which can be noticed in them ranging from teacher-student communication to peer-peer relationships. therefor this didactic historiography moves around two forms of communication: family-based and school-based. Role of educationalist or counselor or even educational sociologist is related , at least to some extent, to this historiography. Practically, every student should have two forms of registers , one familial , another schooling. These two forms plus the student’s own identity and complexity of thoughts are important to any educationalist in order to understand and figure out pupils’ behavior. it is nevertheless important not to forget the seemingly simple rule that at least one of the ultimate purposes of education is to pave the way for any individual to be happy and literate, eradicate the misery, and any sort of human-related pain. By knowing history of individuals and analyzing it, educationalist and counselors might find a way to show the individuals a proper way to have a better life.
Societies will suffer less if and if the logic of education is set up concerning philosophy of life and epistemology . The rules coming from regularities of psychology, learning mechanisms have a form of power to regulate teaching and learning. It seems that if learning situations change, then the results of achievement will change as well. But this claim is the first practical desire of any educationalist or pedagogue. The empirical method which has been used here for the recent decades is related to two control and experienced groups’ data taken after operating new form of conditioning learning situations. It could be firmly stated that pedagogics, at least in its practical forms such as language learning, Montessori method, is on its way to a form of scientific and empirical knowledge. The other aims of education-“folkloric forms”- such as motivation, curiosity-boost, emotional involvement are on the rout of tools packs as a necessity for any teacher.
Fear and Creativity
It would not be so falsified if, by relying on power relations in educational systems manifested by Foucault, one can claim that the explicit and implicit power relations among teachers and students, the former as having a specialised form of knowledge acting as a epistemic yardstick, the latter with an complex system of mind but without any justified yardstick of episteme, may cause an unconscious fear and submission to the whole system. Any form of knowledge at its first phase of introduction to children or perhaps adults may cause alienation in the psyche of them. This claim can psychologically be justified by Jungian psychology. Misoneism is what that is proposed by Carl Gustav Jung in his , now classic, work ” Man and his symbols “. Fear and distrust, innate, are two of the factors which have to be identified and eliminated by education consultant or even teacher himself. As fear or distrust are identified by instructor, children will develop, without obstacles of fear and mistrust, their capacity. The mentioned fear, sociologically, if let be grown without diagnosis and healing, may develop into, later in the life of children, a variety of personal, and social problems. It is assumed that the fear may transform a child into a scared or the opposite a totalitarian character. Suppression in its bare form, seen in many underdeveloped countries in both family life and school, or even in democratic countries as in different forms such as bullying or physical Violence among family members, may have devastating results for the suppressed or bullied. The empirical lovers may ask for data verified and justified epistemologically. I have no data-based answer for them. But pathologically speaking, fear is an obvious wall in front of creativity.
An Irony of an exam
A chit-chat with a philosophy undergraduate student that I turned into a paragraph:
“It is finally finished”, said the pupil, now the graduate, now at the end of an exam.
But nothing has been grown into the being of now a bachelor, there is no doubt. The graduate feels nothing except a relief from a burden, a burden of normatives. Now the time to make another decision to carry another societal choice. Now the time to have a cup of coffee and then to seek for a place in the market place. How will he find a job while he has seemingly no skills except a love of wisdom.
No place except the market of production, a job in the platform of consumption and services. Being is surrounded by ” a chalet” inhabited by a philosopher. Power relations have already been accessed and accepted. Theories of making literate people have done their possibly realisable actions. Now the time of exams is finished.
Evaluation shows nothing, since development was nothing more than a word. But the reality was much bigger than a tank of total quality management..
Misery said, somewhere, ” misery needs ethics, ethics as a word of remedy.
“Go off!”, ordered the man of numbers and quality.
But I am here, a part of indispensable imagination of someone else, I mean my parents and the “other”.
“We have to inform you that your request to this position has been rejected. As he had requested for an Erasmus program in France.
We hope you the best though”, said the consultant.
It is almost finished. I have to do military service, said, the certificate holder.
On curriculum 