AN INVESTIGATION OF PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN THE CONTEXT OF PREJUDICE AND STEREOTYPES

Abstract

A prejudice refers to an incomplete or oversimplified judgement resulting from a process without any detailed examination of a subject. The purpose of this study is to question the participants’ current perspectives of educational philosophies by considering the matter of prejudice (as well as stereotype) and to further identify the sources of their knowledge of educational philosophies. Participants of this descriptive study were 119 last year candidates enrolled in the Psychological Counseling and Guidance program. The data of the study were collected through a structured questionnaire form consisting of open-ended questions in three main sections. Findings point a prejudicial and stereotypical representation of the Progressivist, Reconstructionist, Existentialist and constructivist philosophies by merely focusing on positive aspects, as opposed to Essentialist and Perennialist philosophy of education portrayed negatively. Similarly, the findings regarding the philosophies that the participants put forward in their philosophical preferences confirm the existence of a stereotypic view