Discuss naturalism.

NATURALISM

Naturalism like realism believed in the supremacy of universal laws rather than manmade laws such as stratification of society. The best example of a naturalist educator is Rousseau.

JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778)

He advocated a return to nature in education returning to natural roles in guiding human life. He was opposed to manmade laws e.g. stratification of society. According to him all education (content, method and curriculum) in totality should be based on
natural laws. His education ideas are articulated in exile, a book which he wrote describing a person called exile. Emile to Rousseau was an example of a well educated person. He gives a guide on how to educate people. The book is in five
volumes; volume 1-4 talk about educating exile in his developmental stages. Volume 5 talks about educating women. In educating exile each stage of his life had a specific curriculum and method. The general principles in exile are;

1. Innocence and the perfect goodness of the child. The child is born naturally good

2. Education should be strictly based on nature, meaning that education was to be based on the child’s natural interest and activities. Children should be encouraged to follow their natural interest and natural needs.

3. The teacher should be a facilitator to allow learning through nature and discoveries education is natural and the role of the teacher is to arrange nature for learning to take place.

4. Rousseau was opposed to the 3RS because literacy learning contained artificial symbols and so do not bring natural learning. Rousseau hated books, he said. They merely teach us to talk of what we do not know and they come between the child and nature. His child Emile had only' Robinson Crusoe.'

5. Rousseau was not opposed to moral education but he did not want it imposed unto the child. He advocated that moral training should be done through natural experience e.g. a child who breaks a window should be made to sit against it without clothes so as to learn the importance of windows.

6. Rousseau’s idea for education for women was retrogressive. A perfect woman (Sophie in his book) has no real individuality on her own because her education was to complete the happiness of man. She was to learn music
embroidery, designing, morality with the aim of providing a good home for the man Emile. She did not read. Emile was to make Sophie to the way he wanted her to be. He was to command, she was to obey. Rousseau was the first person to advance the recapitulation theory as a basis for educational organization (reviewing and repeating) building things on others. He
compared the development of the child from birth to maturity to the way human begins have developed from savagery to civilization
Process of development (Emile)An animal/birth > partially civilized > solitary being/Robinson Crusoe > rational
being > social being Rousseau advocated the stage theory where he said that certain faculties arise at
certain stages of the child’s development education at each stage must relate to the characteristics of that stage.

1. Infancy (birth – 5 yrs)
This is the state of nature where the child is like an animal with few needs.

2. Childhood (5-12 yrs)
This is a non moral and non social stage. The child has few needs but is active and dormant

3. Boyhood/girlhood stage (12-15 yrs)
This is the stage of solitude. It is a stage where they are less dominant. They are curious and have power of judgment and so they seek to discover things

3. Boyhood/girlhood stage (12-15 yrs)
This is the stage of solitude. It is a stage where they are less dominant. They are curious and have power of judgment and so they seek to discover things. They want to discover meaning up to this stage; he is still non moral and non
social. 10 years from the end of this stage, he becomes a social being who is able to satisfy his own needs and therefore he gets married.

NB/
Rousseau encouraged special curriculum and methodology at each stage but with the child at the centre. He did not advocate universal methodology but he said that each individual’s needs and interests must be addressed uniquely.
This is child centered education which is the biggest contribution to modern education. Rousseau is referred to as the father of child centered education

---

marto answered the question on May 20, 2019 at 06:45