History and Philosophy of Education

History and Philosophy of Education

Introduction

The philosophy of education is might be either educational philosophy process or the education discipline philosophy. It may be concerned with school aims, methods, forms or the results process for being educated people. For some a school's curriculum might be a set of words, phrases and paragraphs but in essence and in reality it says a lot about the philosophy, culture and statement of purpose of an educational institution (Ornstein, 2013). The linkages to this can be discovered in the school's mission statement, faculty development programs, character education programs, textbook choices, school assessment practices, newsletters from the principal, etc. For the very same purpose Harvard Business School has been chosen to establish the hypothesis.

Part 1 Summary

The mission statement of Harvard Business School is still very much the same as it was drafted several centuries ago. It seeks advancement, progression and development of sciences, arts, literature, education etc. Advancement of youth and their development is the sole statement of purpose. With educational opportunities, Harvard Business School aims to open the minds of its students and spread the provision of knowledge. Research is at the heart of education philosophy and curriculum. Full human potential and intellectual curiosity is desired. Lifelong learning is attributed by the firm foundations provided by the school (Harvard.edu 1997).

According to (Eble et al, 1995) Students are the one that most benefit from this curriculum policy as this encourages delegation, discretion and a culture of freedom and authority. However, HBS, curriculum policies are designed by the board of governance and the faculty that is an integral part of it. Since the faculty is a crucial part of curriculum policy development, they must be trained to ensure that policies developed are of the highest quality.

Faculty development at Harvard is conducted in a unique and distinct way. Faculty is given the discretion to develop, design and plan their own development programs. In this way the development program will be best suited and customized as per the requirements and deficiencies of the specific faculty. This discretion, liberty and freedom are best highlighted in this philosophy and the same is reflected in their curriculum policies.

Brooks et al, (1993) indicated that, character education programs are in place to ensure that the student develops a moral, civic, ethical and a socially responsible side. Such programs are very common in the curricular polices at Harvard Business School which themselves reflect the philosophy of the institution.

The philosophy of the institution is to develop open minded, intellectual students that have high moral and ethical standards. Curricular policies are devised keeping this in mind. Educational programs and semester courses ensure that they are developed in line with the ethical values of the society.

However, Harvard MBA program has a distinct semester on ethics and moral values. This is in line with the curriculum policies and philosophies of the School.

A choice of textbooks is one area which speaks the loudest about the School's philosophy. Different textbooks are written by different ...