PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 1
Curriculum Change Plan: Part 2 - Philosophies and Issues for Change
Lauren Smith
School of Education, Liberty University
Word Count (body only): 1976
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 2
Curriculum Change Plan: Part 2 - Philosophies and Issues for Change
Curriculum Philosophy
As I start diving into my curriculum change plan, it is important to start selecting the
educational philosophies that resonate most with my teaching beliefs and expectations for my
new curriculum. Progressivism, Humanism, and Constructivism are the three philosophies that
are most applicable to the change plan that I’m designing.
Progressivism
Progressivism is a student-centered philosophy of education. The educational focus of
progressivism is on engaging students in real-world problem- solving activities in a democratic
and cooperative learning environment. In order to address and solve these problems, students
apply the scientific method. This ensures that students are engaged in a practical approach to
solving real world problems (Perez, 2023).
Progressivism was established in the mid-1920s and continued to be one of the most
influential philosophies of education through the mid-1950s. The Progressivist curriculum is
focused on providing students with real-world experiences that are meaningful and relevant to
them rather than rigid subject-matter content (Perez, 2023).
John Dewey (1938), who is often referred to as the “father of progressive education,”
cautioned that not all experiences are equal:
The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that
all experiences are genuinely or equally educative. Experience and education cannot be
directly equated to each other. For some experiences are mis-educative. Any experience
is mis-education that has the effect of arresting or distorting the growth or further
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 3
experience
(p. 25)
There are several key features that distinguish a progressive curriculum. Some of the key
features of a progressive curriculum include:
oA focus on the student
oA focus on peers
oAn emphasis on growth
oAction centered
oProcess and change centered
oEquality centered
oCommunity centered
To successfully apply these features, a progressive curriculum would feature an open classroom
environment. In this type of environment, students would “spend considerable time in direct
contact with the community or cultural surroundings beyond the confines of the classroom or
school” (Webb et. al., 2010, p. 74).
For example, if students residing in Pennsylvania are studying 9/11 and the War in Iraq in
their history or current issues class, they might be able to visit the 9/11 Memorial in Somerset,
Pennsylvania. By visiting the memorial, students are no longer just studying the event. They are
able to put themselves right in the heart of the issue and internalize it in a way that they weren’t
able to by just reading about it in a text book. By visiting the memorial, they are able to make
the event more meaningful and relevant to them, which is essential in Progressive curriculum.
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 4
Humanism
Humanism recognizes the basic dignity and worth of each individual and believes people
should be able to exercise some control over their environment. Theorists associated with this
approach include John Dewey, Carl Rogers, Maria Montessori, Paolo Freire, and Abraham
Maslow. Humanist learning theory is a whole-person approach to education that centers on the
individual learners and their needs, and that considers affective as well as cognitive aspects of
learning. At its essence, “humanism in education traditionally has referred to a broad, diffuse
outlook emphasizing human freedom, dignity, autonomy, and individualism” (Saunders &
Wong, 2020). Within this broader context, humanism is also characterized by the following
tenets (Saunders & Wong, 2020) :
1. Students are whole people, and learning must attend to their emotional as well as their
cognitive state.
2. Teachers should be empathetic.
3. Learners are self-directed and internally motivated.
4. The outcome of learning is self-actualization.
Humanism recognizes learners as whole beings that not only address learners’ cognitive
development but also the emotional states of learning. Recognizing the role of students’
emotions means understanding how those emotions impact learning (Saunders & Wong, 2020).
Student anxiety can interfere with the cognitive processes necessary to be successful. Empathetic
teachers recognize and try to understand students’ emotional states, taking steps to alleviate
negative emotions that might detract from learning by creating a supportive learning
environment (Saunders & Wong, 2020).
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 5
A humanist approach to education seeks to limit the negative impact of negative emotions.
For example, students learn that they are not alone in their feelings of anxiety. Teachers can
also explain that the skills students learn are relevant to their lives in and outside of the
classroom. Humanistic theorists see people as autonomous beings. Because of this, they believe
that learning should be self-directed. Students should have some say in what and how they learn.
Humanistic education and student-centered pedagogical approaches (differentiated curriculum,
self-paced learning, discovery learning, etc.) are often interconnected (Saunders & Wong, 2020).
Humanists also believe that learning is part of a process of self-actualization. They believe
learning should be internally motivated and driven by students’ interests and goals, rather than
externally motivated and focused on a material end goal such as achievement on tests, or
employment. When students are allowed to follow their interests and be creative, and when
learning takes place within a supportive environment, students will engage in learning for its
own sake and not just in order to meet the end goal of the teacher. This emphasis on self-
actualization is largely based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow identified five levels of
needs: basic physiological needs such as food, water, and shelter; safety and security needs;
belongingness and love needs, including friends and intimate relationships; esteem needs,
including feelings of accomplishment; and self-actualization, when people achieve their full
potential. Importantly, these needs are hierarchical, meaning a person cannot achieve the higher
needs until more basic needs such as food and safety are met. The role of the teacher in the
humanistic model is to facilitate the student’s self-actualization by helping to ensure needs such
as safety and esteem are met through empathetic teaching and a supportive classroom (Saunders
& Wong, 2020).
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 6
Researchers are finding that in this day and age of standardized tests, implementing a
student-centered approach can be tricky. Teachers are often made to follow strict scripted
curriculums that administrators are familiar with. Nevertheless, teachers can always find ways to
integrate some self-direction and student-centered experiences. For example, in an ELA class,
rather than being given examples to demonstrate research, teachers may have students choose or
suggest topics.
Constructivism
In 1966, Jermone Bruner proposed the idea of constructivism. His notion suggests that
people learn about the world through their experiences and reflecting upon said experiences
(Saleem et. al., 2021). Kussmaul & Pirmann (2021) states that when an individual receives
knowledge, we either compartmentalize it with our prior beliefs or dismiss it as unimportant. In
order to create our knowledge we must ask questions, investigate, and evaluate. People actively
create new information through interactions with their environment (Saleem et. a., 2021).
Constructivism is a learning theory which holds that knowledge is best gained through a
process of reflection and active construction in the mind (Brau, 2020). The learner must use past
experiences, personal views, and cultural background to create an interpretation of information
being taught. There are two main types of constructivism: radical and social. Radical
constructivism proposed that the process of constructing knowledge is dependent on the
individual's subjective interpretation of their active experience (Brau, 2020).
The second form of constructivism is social constructivism. Social constructivism
affirms that human development is socially situated and that knowledge is constructed through
interactions with others. (Brau, 2020). Lev Vygotsky is a constructivist theorist who believes
that all environmental instances can be assimilated or stored in a schema. Schemata have been
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 7
viewed in a way where there is a relationship between the development of a schema and the way
the environment influences it (Iba et. al., 2019).
Vygotsky is among three foundational psychologists of constructivism. Jean Piaget is
identified as a radical constructivist and John Dewey (who also is mentioned in humanism). The
commonality between these three theorists is that all three believe that the learning theories
(behaviorism and humanism) did not adequately represent the whole learning process
Values and Character Education
The teaching of character development refers to educating a student on core ethical values such
as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility to self and others (Pike et. al.,
2021). There are a lot of ways to address these values in the classroom. Jubliee Center for
Character and virtues have separated these concepts into four different categories:
1. Intellectual Virtues- promote critical thinking and a quest for understanding. These are
character traits like autonomy, curiosity, resourcefulness, and reflection.
2. Moral Virtues- These characteristics revolve around ethics. These are traits such as
honesty, integrity, compassion, and respect.
3. Civic Virtues- These are qualities that make someone engaged and contributing members
of society. These are traits that are rooted in community awareness, civility, and
neighborliness.
4. Performance Values- These virtues help us carry out those in the other three categories.
These may show up in the form of motivation, confidence, teamwork, or perseverance
(Pike et. al., 2021).
Project based learning will be a huge component of my curriculum. Through the PBL model,
students will work to solve real world problems. These issues may be at a global or community
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 8
level and could even be problems that are taking place in school. They will work collaboratively
with other students in the class to brainstorm and develop ways to solve the problems at hand. I
believe this pairs well with character education because they are being asked to help others in
some way. Romans 12:2 states, “Do not be conformed to this world,[a]Kbut be transformed byKthe
renewal of your mind, that by testing you mayKdiscern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect (ESV, 2016). It is my hope through some of the features of my curriculum
change plan, that my students are able to develop some of the aforementioned virtues to build
character and values as they navigate childhood.
Social or Political Influences
Education has had a political function in that it develops and promotes ideologies which
influence structure and organization within a society. It is also important to note that politicians
are responsible for allocation of resources that are necessary to support school districts and
curriculum (Button, 2021). Because of this it is important to take the personal views of
politicians into consideration in planning of curriculum. In addition, a person developing a
curriculum is likely to have a political view or ideological stand of their own which may
influence decision-making in curriculum matters (Button, 2021).
Over the years, the United States have developed academic standards out of different
initiatives. In President George W. Bush’s era it was “No Child Left Behind” and in Barack
Obama’s time as president it was “Race to the Top.” These two initiatives brought standards to
the forefront of curriculum development and politics in schools. Out of these two initiatives, the
Common Core Standards were birthed (Button, 2021). Common Core Standards and
Pennsylvania STEELS Standards will play a huge role in the development of my curriculum. It
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 9
is necessary that what I include in my curriculum is hitting a majority of the standards that are
being assessed on the state standardized tests. I plan to create my curriculum in a way that
supports the core subject areas. For example, students will complete STEM notebooks for each
of the projects we do. I also plan to open each project with a story where one of the characters
has a problem that needs solved. For example, one of the activities I do now is to build a bench
out of paper. There is a bus stop with multiple different people with various reasons why a
bench would be helpful. One person is pregnant, one person has crutches, etc. and the students
have to build a bench that meets their needs. These activities will reinforce ELA skills while
also engaging students in engineering and design activities.
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 10
References
Brau, B. (2020). Constructivism. In R. Kimmons & S. Caskurlu (Eds.), The Students' Guide to
Learning Design and Research. EdTech Books.
https://edtechbooks.org/studentguide/constructivism
Button, L. (2021). Sociological and Political Issues That Affect Curriculum.KCurriculum
Essentials: A Journey.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience in Education. New York: McMillan Company.
Iba, T., & Burgoyne, A. (2019, July). Pattern language and the future of education in light of
constructivist learning theories, part 2: the social constructivism of Lev Vygotsky.
InKProceedings of the 24th European Conference on Pattern Languages of ProgramsK(pp.
1-11).
Holy Bible, English Standard Version (2016). Romans 12K:2. Crossway Bibles.
Kussmaul, C., & Pirmann, T. (2021). Guided Inquiry Learning with Technology:
Investigations to Support Social Constructivism. In CSEDU (1) (pp. 483-490).
Main, P (2023). John Dewey's Theory. Retrieved from
https://www.structural-learning.com/post/john-deweys-theory
Perez, D. (2023). The Social Foundations of Education.KEDCI 110: Foundations of Education.
Pike, M. A., Hart, P., Paul, S. A. S., Lickona, T., & Clarke, P. (2021). Character development
through the curriculum: teaching and assessing the understanding and practice of
virtue.KJournal of Curriculum Studies,K53(4), 449-466.
Saleem, A., Kausar, H., & Deeba, F. (2021). Social constructivism: A new paradigm in teaching
and learning environment.KPerennial journal of history,K2(2), 403-421.
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Saunders, L., & Wong, M. A. (2020). Learning theories: Understanding how people
learn.KInstruction in Libraries and Information Centers.
