Corporate Training Programs | Philosophy of Education

My Personal Philosophy of Education

A personal philosophy of education acts as a guide for educators in their careers. This page reflects my own personal philosophy of education. I will begin with a reflection on my own life experiences and how they led me to the education field. Then, I will present my current philosophy of education. Next, I will look toward the future and the implications globalization has on education. Finally, I will conclude this page with a creative expression of my personal philosophy of education.

Reflection on Lived Experiences
This section provides an overview of my core values and beliefs about education based on experiences I have had throughout my life. I will confine this response to three core values. Those specific values were shaped by particular people and events in my life, and they evolved into my own personal philosophy. Strangely, my personal philosophy has not changed much over the years other than to mature with me. Before moving on to the next section, I will present how these lived experiences led me to the field of education.

In education, personal values and beliefs play an important role both in and out of the classroom. While I believe that I have many values, there are three core values that I will address here. First, personal integrity is very important to me. I see this from two perspectives. From the point of view of the educator, I find it essential to remain true to myself. I cannot be someone other than who I am, and I believe that comes across in my classroom. I am always myself. I have many great traits, yet my flaws are also there for the students to see. Second, I find that it is also very important to maintain the personal integrity of the students. In no way do I attempt to belittle or demean them or their classroom performance. By respecting them, I ensure that I help them maintain their own personal integrity.

My second core value is continuous improvement. I value ongoing education. Because of this, I continually strive to learn more. I attempt to do so both in my field and in other fields to help me become a well rounded individual. I also feel as though this shows to participants in my training programs that they are not in it alone. I am also learning. Moreover, it shows them that I do not always have the right answer—neither will they. Instead, education is an ongoing process that requires a lifelong commitment.

The third core value I want to discuss is humor. Life is far too short to be taken too seriously. In the classroom, I hope to show the participants that learning can be fun—and funny! While I never claim to be a comedian, I can find humor in everyday occurrences. Additionally, I have seen (repeatedly) that a positive sense of humor can help people overcome even the most challenging situations. In no way does this mean that the value of education should be taken lightly. On the contrary, it means that education can be effective while still being enjoyable.

These core values represent only a small part of who I am as an educator, yet they have been formed because of several particular influences in my life. Perhaps one of the most important people to shape my beliefs is my junior high school French teacher, Mme. Brenda Chalmers. No other teacher shaped my core values as much as she did. During my third year of French, she was nominated as teacher of the year in the state of Pennsylvania. I was fortunate enough to travel with her to the state capital to see the award ceremony and to be photographed with her (and with the governor). Although she did not win, I do not think I could have had a more positive influence in my choice to become an educator.

Another importance influence on my choice to become an educator was my paternal grandmother. Even though she died when I was rather young, I have several strong memories of her. She took every opportunity to teach me something new. In many ways, I believe it was because of her that I learned some of the most important things in life—saying, “Thank you” and “You’re welcome.” She was not a professional educator, yet she knew how to teach. She also encouraged my curiosity. I was able to be myself at all times. During those early years of my life, my personal integrity took shape.

These experiences and people certainly helped shape my philosophy of education today. Being true to myself and being rewarded for a job well done were reinforced throughout my childhood and teen years. Those core beliefs have not changed much. Certainly, I have matured, and my beliefs have matured with me. Even so, at my core, I am still that six year old who is always true to himself. I am still that ninth grader learning the value of education from one of the best teachers in the county.

I would like to say that all of these experiences led me to the field of education; however, that is not completely accurate. I have wanted to be an educator as long as I can remember. I recall being in elementary school and coming home to tell my parents that I wanted to grow up to be a teacher. Then, in junior high school, I knew that was what I wanted my career to be. In high school, I began considering the best ways in which to pursue that career. As an undergraduate, I learned several valuable lessons. First, there was no way that I was going to be able to teach in a public school. Second, it was fine to not teach in a public school—there were ample opportunities for adult educator. And so, my education and career continued.

Present Philosophy of Education
Experience plays a role in shaping a philosophy of education. In this section, I will provide my present philosophy of education. To begin, I will present the purpose of education. From there, I will describe how both the teacher and the learner fit into that purpose and what roles they play. Based on this information, I will then provide an overview of the theories that inform my beliefs. This section continues with some examples of how those theories are used in my current practice. Finally, I will discuss the importance of constant assessment and improvement in my practice.

Education is movement—not in the literal sense, of course, but in the figurative sense. Education moves people from their current life situation to a different life situation. Sometimes, this is a lateral movement: Education occurs to maintain a current job or position in life. Sometimes, this is forward movement: New opportunities cause positive changes in life and in work. Sometimes, this is even backward movement: Education must be done to recover from adversity and hardship.

This constant movement is a dance that is done among educators and students. Educators provide learning opportunities to students in the hope that it will create movement in their lives. There is an emphasis on improvement and growth. Students take what they learn from the educator and go away from the learning event to make a difference—no matter how small—in their own lives. And the cycle continues.

This movement and dance metaphor represents my current philosophy of education. It may seem simplistic, yet it has been formed over several years and informed by several important educational theories and theorists. First, I am an adult educator. I almost exclusively teach adults. Because of this, I am strongly influenced by the theory of Andragogy by Malcolm Knowles (1968). Second, I am a behaviorist. The large majority of the classes I teach are geared toward industry-standard certifications. As such, the ability to teach students new skills and knowledge relies heavily on a behaviorist approach. I see this influence in B. F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning (1945). Finally, even though I am a behaviorist, I believe that different types of learning exist. Robert M. Gagné’s Conditions of Learning enables me to address those differences (1985).

It is easy to see how these educational theories and theorists play a role in my classroom. Take Knowles’ theory of Andragogy, for example. One of the tenants of Andragogy is that adults are most interested in learning that which has immediate relevance to their work or personal lives (Knowles, 1968). I make every effort to create a connection between what I am teaching and how it can help the adult learners in their own lives. Because the majority of my courses are for industry-standard certifications (that are required for either the current job or for a promotion), the relevance is usually quite clear. This particular tenant also connects back to my personal, core value of ongoing education. In order for me to be the best educator in these ever-changing fields, I must also continue to learn.

Behaviorism can also be seen in my classroom. Operant conditioning is something that I often use to reinforce positive educational outcomes (Skinner, 1945). Specifically, I tend to employ positive reinforcement as a means of respecting the participants’ personal integrity. For example, I use drills that reinforce material and support learning objectives. By repeating these drills (sometimes in the same way, sometimes differently), the participants are shown that, with practice, they can always be successful.

I am also aware that there are many different ways to learn, and I employ Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction as a framework to ensure that those different ways are addressed. Gagné believed that nine events should occur in each instructional event (1985). By following those nine events, all of the needs of the learners can be met. I am particularly drawn to the ninth event: Enhance retention and transfer. Each module of learning that I teach has some component that helps the participants either to retain what they have learned (e.g., for certification) or to transfer what they have learned back to the job. I firmly believe that this contributes to the success of my training programs.

Of course, I am also always growing as an educator. Because of this, the assessment process is important to me as an educator and to the educational process. To me, the assessment process lets me know where I need to improve to help the students. To the educational process, the assessment process enables the field to improve. That ongoing improvement process is vital to the future of education.

Future Implications for Professional Practice
The world is changing at a remarkably fast pace. That pace has several implications for the future of an educator. In this section, I will discuss how global trends, issues, and new knowledge will affect my philosophy of education in the future. I will also consider ways in which reflective activities will prompt me to modify my future practices. Finally, I will look at some ways in which my beliefs and values could lead to social change.

Globalization will have an effect on education. This is already visible in many ways. Distance education seems to be gaining in popularity, and it extends the reach of education to people who may not have otherwise had the opportunity. In my career, I see an increase in the requests for distance learning. The ability to provide a learning opportunity to people in distant locations is appealing in the corporate environment. Because of this, my personal value of lifelong learning is very important. I need to stay informed of the trends in this field. I also need to ensure that I learn as many new platforms and delivery methodologies that will make my training programs as effective as they can be.

One of the ways in which this is possible is through constant reflection on what works best and what might no longer be effective. Reflective activities, like learning journals, enable educators to consider what their current practice is like and how it can be modified to stay effective in the global community.

This leads me back to my core values and beliefs. Throughout all of the challenges of globalization, I must maintain my personal integrity and respect the personal integrity of my global audience. This is a driver for social change. Cultural differences must be embraced in the future for education to be effective. This is also closely connected to my core belief of ongoing learning. In order for me to make a connection with a global audience, I need to learn more about the audience. Learning about other cultures and other educational philosophies is a key to social changes. Finally, even my core value of humor is effective. Sometimes, mistakes will be made, yet it is important to stay positive—and to have a sense of humor—about those mistakes. This will enable educators to strive toward better courses and more creative solutions to educational needs.

Creative Expression of Philosophy
John F. Kennedy once said, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” I believe my greatest ability is being an educator. As an educator, I have the opportunity to affect my students in a positive way, which benefits them and helps them grow. By extension, my students then go out into the world and provide even greater benefits and greater strengths. It is by being an educator that I feel I can most excel.

When I began my career as an educator, I wanted to have all the answers—I thought that was the job. Since that time, I have learned that the job of the educator is not about having all of the answers; it is about helping students find the answers. Nevertheless, that early belief led me to an important philosophy that guides my work to this day. I remember a class during which I asked the participants if they had any questions. One student had a question, but it was mainly rhetorical. He asked, “What is the meaning of life?” Of course, I did not have an answer, but the question made me think. I wanted to have an answer for this question (because I thought educators should have all the answers), so I thought about it for a long time. I found an answer that reflects who I am today.

When someone asks me that question today, I have an answer. I no longer feel that an educator needs to know all of the answers; however, I can now answer the meaning-of-life question. For me, the meaning of life is to help myself and others to be better today than the day before. In other words, I want to continually try to improve myself. Additionally, I want to find ways in which to help others to improve. Some days, I am successful. Other days, I am not. It is a goal that can never quite be achieved. Even so, it is a wonderful goal to work toward.

The meaning of life for me has evident ties to education. As an educator, I am constantly learning. That is, I am trying to help myself be better today than I was yesterday. As an educator, I am constantly teaching others. That is, I am trying to help others be better today than they were yesterday. I think that this is what Kennedy meant when he talked about “benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” The trend toward globalization extends this beyond our nation, yet I feel that “greater strength for our nation” is a good place to start.

References
Gagné, R. M. (1985). The conditions of learning (4th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Knowles, M. S. (1968). Andragogy, not pedagogy. Adult Leadership, 16(10), 350–352.
Skinner, B. F. (1945). The operational analysis of psychological terms. Psychological Review. 52, 270-294.