NATURALISM IN EDUCATION
Introduction . : . It . is . one . of . the . oldest . branches . of . western . philosophy. . Thales . (Greece . B.C. . 7th . Century) . found . reality . in . nature. . Leucippus . (B.C. . 3rd . century) . and . Democrats . (B.C. . 5th . century) . were . later . joined . by . Epicurus . and . Lucretius . to . propound . naturalism.
· In . India . reality . was . perceived . as . the . embodiment . of . ‘Panchabhutas’ . (5 . elements). . The . Sankhaya . philosophy . of . Prakriti . and . Kanada’s . kana . (atom) . the . contemporary . counterparts . of . naturalists. .
· In . modern . period . Thomas . Hobbes . and . J.J. . Rousseau, . Herbert . Spencer . are . prominent . naturalists. . Rousseau . is . the . father . figure . of . naturalistic . educational . philosophy.
· Froebel . and . Montessori . practice . naturalism . in . their . own . way.
· Rabindranath . Tagore . and . Gijubhai . are . vocal . naturalists . of . India.
Definition . of . Naturalism:
I. In . the . word . of . Hocking, . “Naturalism . is . metaphysics, . which . considers . nature . as . the . whole . of . reality. . It . excludes, . what . is . supernatural . or . the . other . world.”
II. According . to . Rusk, . “Naturalism . is . philosophical . position . adopted . by . those, . who . approach . philosophy . from . purely . scientific . point . of . view.”
III. Adam . says, . “Naturalism . is . a . term . loosely . applied . in . educational . theory . to . systems . of . training . that . are . not . dependent . on . school . and . books, . but . on . the . actual . life . of . the . education.
Forms . of . Naturalism . :
1. Atomistic . Naturalism: . This . is . the . oldest . form . of . naturalism. . Democritus . and . Epicurus . are . chief . exponents. . When . we . go . on . dividing . a . thing, . a . situation . comes . when . future . division . is . not . possible. . Similarly . when . we . go . on . discussing . a . thing . a . situation . comes . when . further . discussion . is . not . possible. . This . ultimate . indivisible . unit . of . situation . is . called . atom. . Universe . is . composed . of . such . atoms. .
2. Scientific . Naturalism . : . This . kind . of . naturalism . is . the . product . of . early . modern . period. . When . scientific . experiments . were . going . on . at . a . fast . speed. . There . are . two . sub . forms . of . scientific . naturalism.
i. Physical . Naturalism: . Here . nature . and . matter . are . same . thing. . Nature . is . what . that . can . be . experienced . directly . by . our . senses. . Accordingly . to . this . there . is . no . difference . between . nature . and . consciousness. .
ii. Biological . Naturalism: . This . philosophy . is . based . on . Darwin’s . theory . of . evolution. . Man . is . a . product . of . evolution . from . lower . creatures . by . a . gradual . process. . In . order . to . adjust . to . the . environment . each . unit . of . species . struggle . and . only . the . fittest . survive. .
. 3. . Mechanical . Naturalism . : . Herbert . Spencer . the . chief . contributor . of . this . theory . believes . that . world . is . like . a . machine. . Man . is . a . small . part . of . it. . He . says . world . is . composed . of . a . kind . of . ethereal . dust . called . nebula. . The . machine . is . moving . and . there . is . no . role . of . any . mental . or . spiritual . power.
. 4. . Historical . Naturalism . : . According . to . this . philosophy . human . history . is . the . history . of . man’s . struggle . on . earth. . Wealth . or . matter . for . which . this . struggle . goes . on . is . real. .
. So . we . see . there . is . on . e . common . thing . in . all . these . philosophies . i.e. . only . matter . is . real . and . it . is . governed . by . natural . laws. . It . can . only . be . known . through . senses. . So . no . room . for . soul, . spirit . or . God. .
Educational . implication . of . Naturalism . : . Naturalism . when . applied . to . education . means . putting . the . child . at . the . centre . of . all . educational . process. . The . credit . of . introducing . naturalism . into . education . goes . to . Comenius . and . Francis . Bacon. . But . Rousseau . and . Spencer . brought . this . movement . to . new . heights. .
Aims . of . education: . Rousseau . says . the . aim . of . education . should . be . to . establish . harmony . between . man, . nature . & . substance. . So . we . can . conclude . that . in . naturalism . aims . of . education . are . –
i. Preparation . of . the . child . for . struggle . of . life . [as . the . biological . naturalism . says]
ii. Attainment . of . comforts . and . pleasure . [as . the . physical . naturalism . says]
iii. Sublimation . of . instincts . : . Mc . Dougall . is . of . the . view . that . uncontrolled . instincts . should . be . sublimated . through . education . otherwise . the . man . may . distort . the . natural . environment. .
iv. Conditioning . of . reflex . action . [mechanical . naturalism] . when . senses . re . trained . through . education . child’s . responses . get . controlled . and . conditioned
v. Adjustment . to . the . environment
vi. Development . of . physical . & . natural . powers
vii. Progressive . and . unrestricted . development .
viii. Self-learning
Curriculum: . According . to . naturalism . curriculum . should . be . planned . to . match . the . developmental . stages . and . characteristics . of . the . child. . In . other . word, . it . advocates . a . child . centric . curriculum. .
. Naturalistic . curriculum . includes-
i. Sense . training
ii. Language
iii. Natural . science . consisting . of . biological, . physical . and . chemical . sciences, . social . sciences . and . vocational . training. .
iv. Teaching . of . literary . subjects . and . moral . or . religious . education . is . not . important . as . these . do . not . prepare . him . for . material . life
v. Physical . education . in . infancy
vi. Training . of . senses . in . childhood . and . subject . education . in . adolescence
vii. No . book . in . the . early . period . of . education
Naturalism . and . Pupil: . At . the . time . of . birth . the . child . is . fully . free . from . evils. . It . is . the . society . and . the . environment . that . corrupt . him. . If . the . child . is . again . back . to . nature . and . is . given . full . opportunity . to . develop . according . to . his . natural . tendencies, . he . will . again . be . free . from . evils. . This . attitude . of . holding . the . child . as . the . focus . of . educational . activity . is . called . “Paedio . centric . attitude”
Rousseau’s . Negative . Education . : . According . to . naturalists, . child . should . be . given . a . negative . education . instead . of . a . positive . education. . Positive . education . attempts . to . mould . be . child . disregarding . his .
Natural . inclinations. . Negative . education . is . not . idleness. . As . Rousseau . describes, . “It . does . not . give . him . virtue, . it . protects . from . vice, . it . does . not . inculcate . truth, . it . protects . from . error”. . It . helps . the . child . to . discover . things . by . himself. .
Status . of . Teacher . : . The . teacher . role . is . like . that . of . a . gardener, . who . prepares . the . earth . for . proper . development . of . plants. . He . creates . conducive . learning . environment . in . the . class . and . sees . the . children . grow. . He . is . impartial . and . capable . of . judging . the . abilities . of . his . students. . He . is . affectionate, . sympathetic . and . participates . in . games . etc. . with . students. . The . actual . teacher . of . a . child . is . nature. .
Methods . of . Teaching:- . Naturalists . emphasizes . on . methods . of . learning . rather . than . teaching. . Senses . being . the . prime . sources . of . knowledge, . it . advocates . induction . as . proper . method . of . education. .
i. At . the . early . stage . of . development . child . should . learn . by . direct . observation . and . experience. .
ii. Rousseau . in . this . content . said, . “ . Burn . books . and . break . the . wall, . throw . the . child . in . bounty . of . nature”.
iii. Naturalists . favour . child . centric . methods . like . play-way . activity, . observation, . experimentation . and . learning . by . doing
Discipline: . here . the . child . is . not . punished . for . any . of . his . mistakes. . He . is . punished . by . nature . if . he . ignores . laws . of . nature. . Self-discipline . is . the . best . discipline . in . naturalism. . It . is . based . on . theory . of . natural . consequence . of . an . act. . If . the . child . neglect . some . work . he . will . face . the . consequences . and . would . not . repeat . it. . For . example, . of . the . child . breaks . the . windowpane . of . his . room . doesn’t . punish . him . instead . let . him . suffer . the . cold . for . a . night . so . that . he . learns . not . to . repeat . it. .
Criticism . of . naturalism . :-
. Limitation . of . Naturalism . are . as . follows
i. Naturalism . does . not . offer . definite . aims . of . education. .
ii. It . neglects . books, . which . are . treasure . of . knowledge . contained . in . the . printed . materials. .
iii. Absolute . freedom . advocate . by . naturalism . does . not . exist. . It . never . existed . and . will . never . exist . in . a . civilized . society. . Child . cannot . be . given . a . long . rope . to . hang . himself.
iv. Naturalism . minimizes . the . role . of . the . teacher . in . the . educative . process. . Even . in . the . electronic . age, . a . teacher . occupies . an . important . place . in . the . teaching . learning . process.
v. Naturalism . does . not . give . due . importance . to . the . moral . and . spiritual . development . of . the . child. .
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