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Existentialism (Educational Philosophy)

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Description

Existentialism grew out of continental philosophies forming in 19th- and early-20th-century Europe, most notably hermeneutic phenomenology — the examination of lived experience — and it countered the mind/body and mind/world dualisms inherent in both Idealism and Realism: the world has no meaning outside human existence within it. Jean-Paul Sartre held that "existence precedes essence" — an individual's existence comes before the nature or fact of what they are, meaning individual human beings are free to determine their own meaning for life rather than possessing any inherent identity beyond what they choose or create.

Existentialists position the individual as responsible for their own being. "Who am I? What should I do?" become central questions for a person's project of being — if one identifies as a teacher (or any other identity), one must evaluate what someone who holds that identity actually does, and after careful reflection choose to authentically enact it. Acting in accordance with one's own chosen beliefs and values despite social pressure constitutes authentic existence; acting on false values adopted because of social pressure is acting in "bad faith," an inauthentic existence, in Sartre's terms.

In educational settings, Existentialists focus on giving students personal choices where they must confront others' views to clarify and develop authentic actions as part of their own developing identity. Existentialists have real difficulty positioning students as objects to be measured, tracked, or standardized. Teachers working from this ontology create activities that guide students toward self-direction and self-actualization.

Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Genuine opportunities for students to make personal choices about their own learning, not just choices among options the teacher has already fully determined

Constraints

  • Sits in tension with standardized measurement and tracking, which the philosophy treats as objectifying students rather than respecting their self-determined identity [~M]

Target Learners

  • Learners for whom identity development and self-direction are as central a goal as content mastery

Target Learning Objectives

  • Authentic self-direction and self-actualization, achieved through personal choice and confrontation with differing views rather than through externally imposed standards

Examples

  • A classroom structure that lets students choose their own topics, evaluation criteria, or project direction as a matter of principle, not just as a motivational device

Key Sources

  • Arduini-Van Hoose, N. (2020). Teaching philosophy. In Educational psychology. Retrieved from https://edpsych.pressbooks.sunycreate.cloud. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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type theory
title Existentialism (Educational Philosophy)
description Existentialism holds that individuals are free to determine their own meaning and identity rather than possessing one given in advance; educationally it emphasizes personal choice, authentic self-direction, and discomfort with treating students as objects to be measured or standardized.
status review
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generated by claude/unspecified on 2026-08-29
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