Five-philosophy framework of teacher beliefs (Realism, Idealism, Pragmatism, Existentialism, Phenomenology)¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article organizes teachers' philosophical beliefs into five basic philosophies, exemplified by the Ames Philosophical Belief Inventory. Each philosophy is defined by answers to what is real, what is true, and what is good: for example, "The Realist,6 for our purposes,sees the world as materialistic, a world of things, andsees truth as observable fact to be sought out," while the Phenomenologist "sees the worldas the interaction of man with his environment." The framework structures the study's group comparisons and its interpretation of belief differences.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A measurement instrument that scores respondents against the five philosophies

Constraints¶

• The article assumes answers to three basic questions ally an individual with one of the five philosophies; validity evidence beyond the study's scope is stated as not yet demonstrated

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate and graduate teacher education students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• understanding how philosophical beliefs (ontology, epistemology, axiology) relate to teaching attitudes and method choice

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Taxonomy of educational philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism, Pragmatism, Reconstructionism, and Existentialism
• Taxonomy of four general philosophies organized by the three basic philosophical questions
• Traditional versus modern philosophies distinguished by who determines ends and means

Examples¶

• Ames Philosophical Belief Inventory

Key Sources¶

• Starkey, John D.; Barr, Rita L. (1972). The Philosophical Nature of Teachers--Graduate and Undergraduate. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED072018