LIBON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Libon, Albay

Instructors: Dr. Bernard S. Pantonilla – BTVTED II

Dr. John Michael R. Amor – BEED III

Mrs. Ana Belle L. Pulvinar – BSED II

Subject: Professional Education 9

(The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership)

MODULES 1 and 2

SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF EDUCATION

SOCIETY AND EDUCATION

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of Unit 1, pre-service teachers should be able to:

a. Describe the manifestations of various educational philosophies and

applications of sociological theories in practical classroom situations in
response to community contexts; and
b. Explain the importance of different philosophies and sociological theories to
education and how they change the education landscape in response to the
needs of the society and the community.
 Pre-test

1. Which is NOT TRUE of social reconstructionists?

a. Use of problem-solving
b. Study of the Great Books
c. School as an agent of change
d. Introduce a new society

2. Which teaching practice goes with the “banking system” of education which was
contrary to Paulo Freire’s educational thought?
a. Rote memorization
b. Project-based learning
c. Problem-based learning
d. Community of inquiry

3. For which teaching will social reconstructionists be?

a. Stress on isolationism
b. Inequality and inequity as normal for an international society
c. Building of an interdependent world that is international in scope
d. Narrow concept of nationalism

4. Why is Spencer’s educational thought described as a utilitarian?

a. He emphasized vocational and professional education based on scientific and
practical.
b. He stressed on general educational goals associated with humanistic and classical
education.
c. He stressed a balance of specialized and general education in the curriculum.
d. He eliminated the vocational and professional education component of the
curriculum.
5. For which educational practice was John Dewey?
a. Problem-solving
b. Banking method
c. Emphasis on the Humanities
d. Teaching of the Classics
 Activity – Let’s Read These

A. Read this conversation then answer the question in the ANALYSIS phase of this Lesson.

In a Grade 3 Science class:

Teacher: What is the function of the

mouth? Student: To break the food into
smaller pieces. Teacher: Very good! What
about the stomach? Student: To digest
food.
Teacher: Very good! Perfect! And the small
intestines? Student: To absorb the nutrients.

Analysis – Let’s Analyze

What classroom scenario is/are being depicted by the comic strip and the
teacher – student question and answer?
 Abstraction – Let’s Conceptualize

Isolated Facts and the Banking Method

Depicted in the question and answer proceeding in class are a common classroom
scenario. Most lessons are devoted to teacher asking low-level questions and students
answering with what they memorized the night before. Teacher deposited these facts a day
before and withdraws them the next day. A perfect example of the banking system of
education that Paulo Freire is very much against as it does not make the learner reflect and
connect what he/she was taught to in real life.
We have nothing against facts. But isolated facts make no sense but become
meaningful when seen n relation to other facts. These facts when combined with other facts
(with further questioning from the teacher) help the learner see meaning and connection to
his/her life. Example: The pupil learned that food is broken down into small pieces, which is
digested by the stomach and is absorbed by the intestine. To connect the facts, teacher
should ask more questions like: “What if the food is not chewed in the mouth, what happens
to the food in the stomach and to the stomach itself? What if the stomach fails to digest food
form the mouth, what happens to the food in the small intestines? Will the small intestines
be able to absorb food?

Below are summaries of thoughts of education philosophers on what should be taught

and how learners should be taught.

A. John Locke (1632-1704): The Empiricist Educator

• Acquire knowledge about the world through the senses – learning by doing
and by interacting with the environment
• Simple ideas become more complex through comparison, reflection and
generalization – the inductive method
• Questioned the long traditional view that knowledge came exclusively from
literary sources, particularly the Greek and Latin classics
• Opposed the “divine right of kings” theory which held that the monarch had the
right to be an
unquestioned and absolute ruler over his subjects
• Political order should be based upon a contract between the people and
government
• Aristocrats are not destined by birth to be rulers. People were to establish
their own government and select their own political leaders from among
themselves; civic education is necessary
• People should be educated to govern themselves intelligently and responsibly
(Ornstein, 1984)

B. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Utilitarian Education

• Spencer’s concept of “survival of the fittest” means that human development
had gone through an evolutionary series of stages from the simple to the
complex and from the uniform to the more specialized kind of activity.
• Social development had taken place according to an evolutionary process
by which simple homogenous societies had evolved to more complex
societal systems characterized with humanistic and classical education.
• Curriculum should emphasize the practical, utilitarian and scientific subjects
that helped human kind master the environment.
• Curriculum must be arranged according to their contribution to human survival
and progress.
C. John Dewey (1895-1952): Learning through Experience
• Education is a social process and so school is intimately related to the society
that it serves.
• Children are socially active human beings who want to explore their
environment and gain control over it.
• Education is a social process by which the immature members of the
group, especially the children, are brought to participate in the society.
• The school is social, scientific and democratic.
• The fund of knowledge of the human race-past ideas, discoveries and
inventions was to be used as the material for dealing with problems.

D. George Counts (1889-1974): Building a New Social Order

• Education is not based on eternal truths but is relative to a particular
society living at a given time and place.
• Instruction should incorporate a content of a socially useful nature and a
problem-solving methodology.
• Schools become instrument for social improvement rather than an agency for
preserving status quo.
• Teachers should lead society rather than follow it. Teachers are agents of
change.

E. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) – Social Reconstructionism

• As the name implies, social reconstructionism is a philosophy that
emphasizes the reformation of society. The social reconstructionists contend
that:
… humankind has moved from an agricultural and rural society to an urban
and technological society… there is a serious lag in cultural adaptation to the
realities of a technological society. Humankind has yet to reconstruct its
values in order to catch up with the changes in the technological order, and
organized education has a major role to play in reducing the gap between
the values of the culture and technology. (Ornstein, 1984)
• So, the social reconstructionist asserts that schools should: critically examine
present culture and resolve inconsistencies, controversies and conflicts to
build a new society not just change society… do more than perform the
social and educational status quo. It should seek to create a new society…
Humankind is in a state of profound cultural crisis. If schools reflect the
dominant social values… then organized education will merely transmit the
social ills that are symptoms of the pervasive problems and afflictions that
beset humankind… The only legitimate goal of a truly human education is to
create a world order in which people are in control of their own destiny. In an
era of nuclear weapons, the social reconstructionists see an urgent need for
society to reconstruct itself before it destroys itself. (Ornstein, 1984)

F. Paulo Freire (1921-1997) – Critical Pedagogy

Critical Pedagogy and Dialogue vs. the Banking Model of Education
• Paulo Freire, a critical theorist, like social reconstructionists, believed that
systems must be changed to overcome oppression and improve human
conditions.
• Education and literacy are the vehicle for social change.
• Rather than “teaching as banking”, in which the educator deposits
information into students’ heads, Freire saw teaching and learning as a
process of inquiry in which the child must invent and reinvent the world.
• Teachers must not see themselves as the sole possessors of knowledge and
their students as
empty receptacles. He calls this pedagogical approach the “banking method” of
education.
• Freire’s critical pedagogy is problem-posing education.
 Application – Let’s Apply
1. The modern explosion of knowledge has led to an age of specialization with
this concomitant quip:
A specialist knows more and more about
less and less. An expert knows more and
more about less and less until he or she
knows everything about nothing.
A related joke cleverly twists this saying:

A generalist knows less and less about more

and more until he or she knows nothing
about everything.
Should schools produce generalists or specialists? Defend your answer.
2. “If you cannot bring the learners to the world, bring the world to the classroom.”
Will this go
with John Dewey’s philosophy of education? Explain your answer.

3. Considering DepEd mission statement “to protect and promote the right of
every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based and complete basic
education” can we say that Philippine educational system is in a sense
equitable? What actions and what recent legislations are proofs that the
Philippines gives equal access to quality education to its citizens?

4. Is free tertiary education really pro-poor in the sense that it is the poor
who are indeed benefited? Justify your answer.

Let’s Check for Understanding

1. Explain in a sentence why each education philosopher was associated with these
given words:
a. John Locke – the empiricist
b. Spencer – the utilitarianist
c. John Dewey – experience
d. George Counts – building a new social order
e. Theodore Brameld – the Social Reconstructionist
f. Paulo Freire – Critical pedagogy vs. Banking method

2. Make a table summary of the philosophies of education.

Philosopher Philosophy on Aim/s Classroom/Sch

and Method/s of ool
Education Application
 Let’s Reflect
Double Entry Journal
Two things I learned from this My thought/s or reaction/s
Chapter

The ideas of each philosopher left an impact to the field of education. Their ideas
contributed to how our educational system has evolved nowadays and changed the way we
learn.
Based from the ideas of the philosophers you learned in this lesson, write a reflection
paper on how these ideas help you or will help you as a student and as a future
professional.

(Title of your Paper)

REFLECTION PAPER NO. 1

 LET Clinchers (Post-Test)
1. Which is NOT TRUE of social reconstructionists?
a. Use of problem-solving
b. Study of the Great Books
c. School as an agent of change
d. Introduce a new society

2. Which teaching practice goes with the “banking system” of education which was
contrary to Paulo Freire’s educational thought?
a. Rote memorization
b. Project-based learning
c. Problem-based learning
d. Community of inquiry

3. For which teaching will social reconstructionists be?

a. Stress on isolationism
b. Inequality and inequity as normal for an international society
c. Building of an interdependent world that is international in scope
d. Narrow concept of nationalism

4. Why is Spencer’s educational thought described as a utilitarian?

a. He emphasized vocational and professional education based on scientific and
practical.
b. He stressed on general educational goals associated with humanistic and classical
education.
c. He stressed a balance of specialized and general education in the curriculum.
d. He eliminated the vocational and professional education component of the
curriculum.

5. For which educational practice was John Dewey?

a. Problem-solving
b. Banking method
c. Emphasis on the Humanities
d. Teaching of the Classics

REFERENCES

Primary Reference

N. Prieto, C. Arcangel, B. Corpuz, 2019. The Teacher and the Community,

School Culture and Organizational Leadership. LORIMAR Publishing Inc., Quezon
City, Metro Manila.