Philosophy is the collection of attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and worldview that people have. These perceptions of reality are summarized and defined as a personal philosophy.  A person’s philosophy influences their thinking and actions. Within curriculum,  a teacher’s philosophy impacts how they design and implement curriculum.

For example, a teacher who believes that general knowledge is most important will emphasize this in their curriculum. Their philosophy or belief is that general knowledge will prepare students to handle many different problems in life. Where these beliefs come from is the teacher’s own experiences and the values that were passed down to them from their parents and teachers.

There are several different philosophies that we are going to look at over the next few post. Each of these philosophies continues to impact curriculum not only in the US but worldwide.