Emergent Philosophy of Education

Running head: Emergent Philosophy of Education
Emergent Philosophy
of Education

Emergent Philosophy of Education
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Contents
“School as a cabinet of inquisitiveness”.................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 2
Articulation of an emergent philosophy that is informed by the ideas of a set of key thinkers and theories3
Identification and application of key literature/materials generated by these thinkers..........................5
Alignment between the philosophy, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and the Griffith
Dimensions of Learning and Teaching...................................................................................7
The metaphor to provide a creative element, clarity or shape to the statement...................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................... 10
References................................................................................................................... 11

Emergent Philosophy of Education
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“School as a cabinet of inquisitiveness”
Introduction
Emergent curriculum pertains to the philosophy of teaching and focuses on the methods of
planning the curriculum which responses to the interests of children. It helps them to create
meaningful learning experiences. It highlights active participation, adopting flexible methods,
relationship building and play-based learning activities amongst the students.This philosophy is
initiated by the interests of children. It is collaborative and responses to the necessities of the
children. It is believed that the learning of children is the key to success in this teaching program
(Gaines, 2016). The teachers need to be patient, flexible and are required to observe, document
and creatively brainstorm in order to plan the emergent curriculum as per the Griffith Learning &
Teaching Capabilities Framework.
The philosophy of emergent curriculum is initiated by taking an insight into the interests of
children.The teaching content is influenced by values which are held for the child's learning
through community, school, culture and family. So, in this model, the classroom comprises of
learning centers which help in facilitating and expanding the learning of children. In this context,
the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers explain the expertise and knowledge which is
expected from efficient and proficient teachers. The Professional Standards assure that the
efficiency of teachers creates an impact on children. They emphasize on the fact that the quality
of teaching is the dominant factor which influences the achievement of students(Australian
Professional Standards For Teachers, 2018).
So, this philosophical statement intends to synthesize the views about the emergent philosophy
of education.These views shall be linked with the ideas of thinkers and theories of this field.
Furthermore, key literature and material generated by these thinkers shall also be identified and
discussed in this statement.The ideologies presented in this philosophical statement shall also be
aligned with the Australian Professional Standards and the Griffith Dimensions of Learning and
Teaching. Lastly, a metaphor would also be included to provide creativity and clarity to the
statement.

Emergent Philosophy of Education
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Articulation of an emergent philosophy that is informed by the ideas of a set of key
thinkers and theories
An emergent curriculum is an approach of early education in which unique projects are designed
by teachers for a group of children. The early childhood theorists such as Piaget, Dewey and
Vygotsky have defined the philosophy of early childhood education. According to them,
emergent curriculum is the procedure through which the teachers plan the activities and projects
on the basis of a particular group of children they work with (Stables, 2014). They also take into
account their skills and interests. In a program of emergent curriculum, the activities inside by
side classrooms vary due to the difference in skills, needs and interests of the children studying
in those classrooms( Luke and Gore, 2014).
A teacher considers all her knowledge about the children and teaches accordingly in an emergent
program of early education. This program is also inspired by the Social Development Theory
proposed by Lev Vygotsky. He was a psychologist and founder of a Marxist theory pertaining to
human biosocial and cultural development. The approach of the theoretical framework
established by Vygotsky is that social interaction plays a crucial role in the evolution of intellect.
He states that each function in the cultural development of a child occurs twice. Once at the
social level and secondly at the individual level. It happens amongst the people and then inside
the child. The former is known as interpsychological and intrapsychological (Stetsenko, 2016).
It is applicable equally to logical memory, voluntary attention and formulation of concepts. All
the higher functions result from actual relationships amongst humans. The second aspect of
Vygotsky’s theory is that the potential for intellectual development is dependent upon the ‘zone
of proximal development’(ZPD). Thus the level of development is accomplished when the child
interacts in social behavior. As the focus of Vygotsky is on the intellectual development of a
child, his views can be compared to those of Jean Piaget.