Some Philosophies of Education

After doing some informal research, I've decided to make a Philosophy of Education mini-map to get myself started. These are vastly simplified (found on Wikipedia) and I will do more focused research on individual topics.

Essentially, the philosophies can be boiled down to purpose, subject matter, and method. In other words, the big questions these philosophies answer are 1) What's the point of education? 2) What's worth teaching? and 3) How do we teach it?

Purpose (What's the main goal of public education?):

1) Teach students skills for the economy.
2) Social Progress, broadly defined (e.g. Progressivism of Dewey, Critical Pedagogy of Freire).
3) Education is an end in and of itself.

Subject Matter (What's worth teaching?):


1) Perennialism -- Students should learn "what's lasting to people everywhere", principles not facts, and as humans first, and workers second.

2) Essentialism -- Students should learn academic subjects thoroughly, with an emphasis on skill development.

Though these two are not mutually exclusive, there is a large difference: While Essentialism has a vocational bent, Perennialism has more of a liberal arts focus.

Method (How should students learn the subject matter?):

1) Teacher-centered education -- This traditional approach is heavy on instruction, lecture, and test-taking. Championed throughout history by Aristotle, Mortimum Adler (Perennialism), and William Bagley (Essentialism), among others.

2) Student-centered education -- Curriculum grows out of students interests and learning styles. Subject matter must relate to students self-interest or else he will not care. Teacher serves a guide and facilitator.

1. Harkness method: Circle-style discussions of great books
2. Flip Education model: Students watch/read lectures at home (think Kahn Academy) and do homework during school time, with students as educators
3. Discovery method: Students pursue their own curiosities, typically in the form of projects. 
4. Problem-based learning: Material is presented as a problem to be solved, instead of mere facts. You learn about history by asking "Is War Justified?" and seeing the wars as case studies. You learn about economics by asking "Did the US make the right response to the conflict?" and then looking at Friedman and Keynes to give more context.
5. Unschooling: No grades. Create your own structure

Note: Progressivism seems to be a mix of Perennialism and Essentialism, but with a student-centered focus instead of a teacher-centered one. Much more research is left to be done, but Dewey's philosophy seems to be an early favorite.