The Concept of Learning and Education

The two great classical philosophical theories of knowledge - rationalism and empiricism - bring with them not only different conceptions of knowledge, but also different understandings of the acquisition of knowledge. They also involve different conceptions of mind, at any rate to the extent that for empiricism the mind is, as Locke put it, like a mirror which passively receives reflections from without; while for rationalism the mind is more active, being involved in its own operations: With the development of psychology as an empirically orientated science, accounts of learning inspired by the empiricist ways of thinking have become the accepted thing. Charles Taylor (The Explanation of Behaviour, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964: p. 143) has noted that stimulus - response (S - R) theory can be construed as "a mechanistic transposition of the traditional empiricists views of epistemology". In relation to the practice of education, behaviourists theories of learning have been the most widely used as can be seen by reference to the well-known writers on the psychology of school learning, for example Gagne", De Cecc.a, . Lunzer and Lovell» (The appendix will explain why all these writers must be considered as falling within the behaviourist school)» Further within education, the best known approach to curriculum planning - the behavioural objectives model - has made great use of behaviouristic models in attaining objectives.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

1979

Author dc:creator

• Woods, Cornelius

• Education

Language dc:language

en