IDEALISM PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 

Idealism Philosophy of education is a philosophy that emphasizes the development of the whole child and the cultivation of intelligence, morality, and beauty.

There are many variations of idealism in education, but they generally share a commitment to the idea that education should be a transformative experience that helps students become their best selves.

According to Plato, the physical world is a mere reflection or imperfect manifestation of a higher realm of abstract forms, which exist in the realm of the mind

Idealism Philosophy, founded by Plato and also known as metaphysical idealism, refers to a broad range of theories that share the belief that the mind, or consciousness, is the most fundamental reality. This means that either reality itself is entirely mental or that the “true” nature of reality cannot be known independently of the mind.

Idealism is one of the oldest philosophical schools that has its roots in human nature itself and has persisted from the prehistoric era to the present, although with certain modifications from earlier periods. 

It bears overtones of spirituality from an idealistic perspective since it holds that spirituality is the ultimate existing factor. They are souls, and the universe as a whole is an extension of them. 

It is better understood from an epistemological perspective as idealism, which implies that ideas or thoughts are more legitimate than real objects. 

From that moment forward, or motivations and points, it is appropriately characterized by the term idealism, signifying that the theory prioritizes ideals above actions in the real world.

The word idealism carries several meanings when placed in various contexts. Whatever the context, the word represents a particular theory in philosophy (Ornstein & Levine, 2008). 

Main Principles of Idealism Philosophy of Education

Mind or consciousness is fundamental: Reality is either entirely mental or fundamentally dependent on the mind.

The primacy of ideas: ideas or concepts are seen as more real or true than the physical world we experience through our senses.

Rejection of materialism: Physical reality is not considered the ultimate reality, as opposed to materialism, which sees it as fundamental.

Main Characteristics of Idealism

Idealism has long been seen as a philosophical doctrine that completely contradicts the paradigm of realism. 

The following traits characterize idealism:

1.  The spirit, or mind, is where all the realities exist. This philosophical view, which goes by the name of idealism, holds that everything in the universe is essentially of the nature of spirit or mind.

2.  The universe cannot be adequately explained by mechanical means. Idealists reject the idea that the world or the universe can be described mechanically or that a mechanistic explanation can account for the workings of nature. The idealists reject all deterministic thought because of this.

3. The idealists reject mechanical explanations of the universe and embrace a theoretical view that maintains that both natural processes and human existence have a shared goal that they are both working toward simultaneously.

Although They do not disagree with or reject science, but they believe that science’s explanation of the universe is the only valid one. Their axiological attitude best represents their point of view.

4.  The fusion of nature and humanity. It becomes unavoidable that human activity and natural processes are harmonious. Man and nature are both occupied with determining their fate.

5.  Humanity is the universe’s center. From this angle, idealists are also humanists. They contend that, as man is the pinnacle of spiritual beings, he is essential to the universe. There is an omniscient and universal significance or worth to human existence. Additionally, the supreme objective of the universe is man’s well-being. Man’s mentality is the fundamental and purest form of the spiritual component that underlies the entire universe, the natural world.

6.  Idealism Pay too much attention to the social and normative sciences. Spiritualists and idealists, in opposition to realists and materialists, reject the scientific explanation of the world, which is predicated on scientific rules. They would rather have the social sciences and normative sciences support them in their world.

The three normative sciences are ethics, aesthetics, and logic; the two most important social sciences are sociology and psychology.

More so than chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the other natural sciences, the romantic explanation of the world draws on psychology, ethics, logic, aesthetics, and other social sciences.

It makes perfect sense that this explanation would be opposed to naturalistic or materialistic explanations of the world. 

Because social sciences focus on understanding the subjective experience of the world, while natural sciences focus on understanding the physical aspects of the world, they can therefore provide different insights into the world.

7.  In another way, what distinguishes idealists from other ideologies is their evaluative account of the universe and human existence.

Remember that the word “idealists” does not refer to naive dreamers or inventive visionaries.

The idealist does not deny that the natural sciences are useful in understanding the universe, but he also does not believe that these truths represent the whole of human existence.

Idea grasps the realization of goodness, truth, and beauty in human existence.

8. Thinkers who conceptualize. The idealist is more accurately referred to as a conceptualist in the discipline of epistemology since he holds that an object’s existence is derived only from its notion. By expressing this viewpoint, the idealist presents a theory that is entirely at odds with the realist understanding of the issue.

According to them, the notion of the thing and its attributes is what gives it existence.

Their actions are influenced by knowledge. Knowledge about an item is acquired indirectly, through thought, rather than immediately.

Since objects alter depending on the perspective from which they are seen, they are not public. A thing exists only in the mind that thinks it exists. Existence is derived from a relationship with awareness.

9.  Knowledge is the Universe. The idealists maintain that since the mind and the natural world have a common spiritual component, knowledge of the universe may be gained by reason or the mind.

Hegel goes so far as to propose that mental categories correspond with phases in the universe’s history, thus establishing an identity between thought and nature. Notwithstanding these slight variations, all idealists agree that knowledge of the universe is possible.

10.  A focus on the universe’s mental or spiritual dimensions. Emphasizing the mental or spiritual parts of the universe without entirely rejecting or negating materialistic explanations of them is another significant feature of idealist philosophy.

The lower, material aspect receives some significance from this higher aspect. Additionally, the higher may always be used to explain the lower. This is reversed by naturalists and materialists, who explain the higher in terms of the lower. This process is opposed by idealism (Shrivastava, 2003).

Types of Idealism

Generally speaking, there are many varieties of idealism in vogue, but the more prominent ones can be conveniently listed as follows:

1.  Subjective: Berkeley – Only individual minds and their perceptions are real.

2.  Objective: Hegel – A single universal mind creates and sustains the universe.

3.  Transcendental: Kant – Our minds structure experience, but an unknowable “thing-in-itself” might exist.

1. Subjective Idealism

“Only individual minds and their perceptions are real.”

This particular species of idealism is to be found in the thought of Berkley, the British philosopher in the tradition of empiricism.

It is termed subjective since it holds that all objects of knowledge are subjective in as much as they depend upon the mind.

It is equivalent to a conceptual implication since it also holds that the universe is composed of either mind alone or minds and their ideas, nothing else besides. 

According to Berkeley, existence lies in perception, meaning that a thing exists only when it is the subject of perception. 

Anything that cannot be the subject of mind cannot exist. He does not imply, thereby, that the object must be a subject of not only a mind but of any mind that exists in the universe.

It is also difficult to have an infinite number of thoughts in one finite mind; they can exist only in an infinite mind, and this mind is God.

Subjective idealism also holds that the qualities of an object exist as elements in perception, not otherwise. Images depend upon the human mind, while objects have their existence since they are perceived by God.

Objects correspond to the knowledge of them, while knowledge corresponds to the objects.

Knowledge is direct awareness of the object. Objects are not public.

2. Phenomenalism. 

Our mind’s structure experiences, but an unknowable “thing-in-itself” might exist

This particular form of idealism was propounded by Kant, the German philosopher.

Kant’s first discovery concerned the limits of man’s knowledge, and it led him to the conclusion that the only knowledge that is hypothesized by man is knowledge of the phenomenon. 

From this hypothesis, he proceeded to argue that objects are phenomenal and that their existence as well as the existence of their qualities depends upon their being known.

An object is just as it appears to be in its phenomenal appearance. 

There is direct knowledge of the phenomenal object, and this knowledge depends upon the construction of the mind. We can never know the thing-in-itself, or what is otherwise called the Noumenal reality. 

Therefore, this kind of reasoning leads subjective idealism to a kind of skepticism. 

This type of idealism finds its greatest difficulties in the duality it has posited between phenomenal and noumenal reality, objects and sensations and their classes, and between the mind and its categories of thought. 

Objective Idealism 

“A single universal mind creates and sustains the universe”

According to Hegel, the ultimate reality is the absolute eternal substance, outside which nothing can and does exist. If he believed this, then obviously his thought resembled the subjective idealism of Berkeley. But his idealism is given a different designation for he combines it with a touch of realism.

He believed that although objects are not independent of the mind, they are real and not dependent upon the finite mind. He accepts the independent existence of objects that are independent of the finite mind. 

Hence the name objective idealism. Deviating from the dualism between phenomenal and noumenal reality created by Kant, Hegel believes that objects are just what they appear to be although the perception of them changes along with the change in our knowledge of them.

The existence of objects does depend upon knowledge and so does the existence of their qualities. 

The nature or form of objects is determined by knowledge, which is direct. 

This knowledge of objects is private and personal rather than public because they are the subjects of individual and private minds, not limited by another mind. 

The Absolute is the ultimate subject, within which all the limited objects are mutually related. 

From the standpoint of the Absolute all knowledge is subjective but from man’s standpoint, it is objective. Hegel, therefore, represents the line of objective idealists.

Idealism in Education

Ever since knowledge dawned in the human mind man has been thinking about problems ontological, epistemological, eschatological, and axiological.

The questions of philosophy at the beginning of human knowledge were everywhere mixed with psychological problems.

Thus, psychology in the beginning was concerned with the nature of the mind and the processes of consciousness.

As men lived in small groups and society was generally confined to a particular village, city, or group of villages, the solutions offered were simple. 

There was hardly any distinction between social and political problems as the political institutions were developed as a means to social welfare.

Therefore, most of the ancient thinkers did not distinguish between social philosophy and political philosophy. As life was simple and social stratification and differentiation were not complex the thinkers offered solutions working in more than one field of knowledge. 

Most of the thinkers were teachers and men of education who used to pass their lives completely free from worldly affairs. The state and the society generally extended support to these scholars and they were generally respected and followed. 

The job of instruction and education of the younger generation was generally entrusted to these men of letters. The state-supported finance but did not interfere in the process of education. 

These great teachers formed their institutions, where their disciples collected to hear their learned discourses and learn through their lives. In this way, society was generally governed by the teachings of these great scholars, though the administrative machinery was almost everywhere in the hands of the state.

Idealism and Aims of Education

Idealism has influenced every sphere of education 

In the first place, we will dive deep into the impact of idealism on the aims of education. 

Since idealism believes human personality to be the most important, it wants education to aim at the development of human personality culminating in self-realization. 

In the words of Home, 

“The end of ends, the goal of goals, according to Idealism, is the increasing realization of the absolute idea for the individual, society and the race”. 

Further explaining this aim of education, Rusk has commented,

We may accept that the aim of education is the enhancement or enrichment of personality, the differentiating feature of which is the embodiment of universal values.

These universal values are expressed as;

• Beauty
• Goodness
• Truth

Education aims to concretize these values in the child’s life. Thus, the idealists cherish the following aims and ideals of education:

Development of personality

As has been already pointed out, the most important aim of education, according to the idealist thinkers, both ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, is the development of personality. This has been called man-making by Vivekananda.

Explaining this ideal of education, Herman Harell Home says, 

The idealists believe that man is God’s finest and ultimate creation. That is why the development of the human personality has been accepted as the aim of education, and stress has been laid on the teaching of humanitarian subjects such as literature, art, religion, ethics, etc.

Through education, the cultural and social heritage of the community must be maintained and transmitted to the following generations. 

Some other idealists believe that education aims to guide the individual to self-realization, for this also includes the development of the personality. Such development is the development of those divine qualities which are inherent in human beings but which are dormant at their birth. The educator’s task is to manifest these qualities. And for this reason, every human being has an equal right to education.

3. Self-Realization. As has been already pointed out, according to idealists the aim of education is self-realization. This is the individualist aim of education emphasized by the idealist.

4. Development of willpower. Self-realization requires the development of willpower. 

H.H. Home has given eight points for the realization of this ideal:

1. The training of the will should be indirect by activity rather than idea.
2. The object lesson method according to time and context should be used.
3.  The power will be increased by self-suggestion, knowledge, and practice.
4.  Practice is the only way to acquire willpower.
5. Proper discipline leads to willpower.
6. The learners should be acquainted with facts concerning nature and society.
7. Development of moral character by ethical instruction.
8. Freedom to choose most of the matters concerning the individual.

5. Synthesis of Man and Nature. Another aspect of the idealistic conception of education is the synthesis between nature and human beings. 

Adams has suggested that education must aim at achieving an understanding of nature in human beings and educating them to achieve harmony with it. This can be done by acquainting the educated with the permanent laws that guide and control natural phenomena. 

These laws of nature are the causes of all-natural activity. Only through such knowledge can the educator arrive at a harmony with all that lies around him.

6. Cultural Development. The greatest significance is attached to the cultural environment created by religion, morality, art, literature, mathematics, science, etc. That is why the idealist tendency is to stress the teaching of humanities so that the cultural and social heritage is maintained intact and allowed to grow. 

Education is also concerned with enabling the individual to make his contribution to the cultural development of the community. 

The ideals of beauty, goodness, and truth are the spiritual ideals of the human race, and the child has to be trained to achieve them in reality. 

Education must transform the child into a true human being by educating him to manifest the divine qualities which are invested in him. 

The idealists argue that there is a system in every part of the universe, and hence the individual must also be taught to create some system in his life through intellectual and spiritual guidance. 

For this, it is essential to develop every aspect of his life—the physical, moral, ethical, intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic. 

Failure to develop any one of these would create an imbalance in the individual’s personality. 

In the words of Froebel, “The object of education is the realization of a faithful, pure, inviolable and hence holy life. 

Education should lead and guide man to clearness concerning himself, and in himself, to face nature, and to unity with God.

7. Exploration of Universal Values. Idealism places more emphasis on more universal objects of education.

Ross puts it thus, “The function of education is to help us in our exploration of the ultimate universal values so that the truth of the universe may become our truth and give power to our life. Education must aim at adapting not only to the physical environment but to every kind of environment.”

Rusk points out, “The purpose of education is to enable the child to reconcile himself to reality in all its manifestations, not merely to adapt himself to a natural environment”. 

From among all these various kinds of environment, the cultural environment is considered to be the most important because man’s cultural characteristics are his most distinctive qualities.

Idealism and Curriculum

Explaining the idealist bases of curriculum as the imparting of spiritual and cultural heritage to the child along with his self and personality development, Herman H.

Horne writes,

“It is better to center education on ideals for children and the race rather than in children themselves. After all, children are immature, dependent, and plastic members of the race. They are often irrational in their individuality.” 

As Socrates said in effect to the sophists, 

Not man but reason is the measure of all things, not individuality but universality, not percepts, but concepts. deals are the norms for all human experience, including that of children. After all, it is still true that obedience to just law is a virtue, that following physical laws leads to health, that truth is something to be discovered, rather than made, that conformity is a large element even in creativity, and that repression is a necessary phase of expression. Under the influence of phallocentric (what a hybrid), self-expression may easily become self-explosion.”

Idealists insist on emphasis being placed on the study of humanities such as literature, art, religion, morality, etc., along with the teaching of science.

All the elements necessary for attaining God are included in the curriculum suggested by idealistic followers of Plato, who laid down that education must aim to realize the ideals of truth, beauty, and goodness.

Hence, he has suggested the inclusion of all those subjects or disciplines that help in the realization of these ideals. Most significant among man’s activities are the intellectual, the aesthetic, and the moral.

The teaching of language, literature, history, geography, mathematics, and science will encourage intellectual activity while the aesthetic impulse can be reinforced through art and poetry.

Moral activities can be taught and instilled in the educand through the teaching of religion, ethics, etc. This curriculum is determined based on the goals to be realized through education and by the criterion that it must reflect the experience, culture, and glory of the human race.

Man’s experiences relate not only to his physical or natural environment but also to his social experiences, knowledge of which can be obtained through a study of the natural and the social sciences.

James Ross, the educationist, has classified human activity into two groups—physical actions and spiritual activity. Physical activity includes the entire range of actions relating to bodily welfare and motor skills.

The teaching of these must also be a part of education and they can be taught through physiology, exercise, medicine, hygiene, etc.

Spiritual activity comprehends all intellectual, ethical, aesthetic, and religious activities, all of which can be taught through history, geography, science, mathematics, language, ethics, art, and religion.

Herbart, the idealist philosopher of education, grants these subjects the main place in the curriculum because these subjects can contribute more than any other to the spiritual progress of man. However, this is the shortcoming of the idealistic 

philosophy because it does not attach any significance to the teaching of science. 

Herbart points out that the part that literature and history can play in the spiritual development of man, cannot be played by science.

For that reason, scientific subjects such as the natural sciences, mathematics, and even history and geography are granted a secondary role.

T.P. Nunn, another educationist, has glanced at the idealistic conception of the educational curriculum, and has remarked,

“The school is to consolidate the nation’s spiritual strength, to maintain its historic continuity, to secure its achievements, and to guarantee its future”.

To achieve all these goals, education in the school should consider two kinds of activities. In the first group fall, such activities create conditions by which the individual and social life are ensured and maintained, and this can be done through physical health, customs, social organizations, ethical conduct, etiquette, religion, etc.

Education must provide opportunities, therefore, for physical training, ethics, religion, etc. The second group of activities is the one which is more important outside the sphere of the school. In this group lie those activities which maintain the cultural life of the community because they are creative. 

To evolve skills for such activities, educationists advocate teaching literature, art, music, various kinds of handicrafts and manual skills, sciences, mathematics, history, etc. Hence the curriculum must be so designed that it can help to acquaint the individual with his social and cultural heritage and also to enable him to make some positive contribution to this heritage. 

Nunn writes,

“In the school curriculum, all these activities should be represented. For these are the grand expression of the human spirit, and theirs are the forms in which the creative energies of every generation must be disciplined if the movement of civilization is to be worthily maintained.”

Idealism and the Educator (Teacher)

The Idealistic pattern of education grants the highest place to the educator and conceives the educator and educand as two parts of an organic plan. The educator creates a specific environment for the educand’s development and guides so that the latter may progress towards perfection and a rounded personality. The most precise explanation of the educator’s role is manifested in Froebel’s kindergarten pattern of education, in which the school is treated as a garden, the educand as a delicate plant that requires nurturing, and the educator as the cautious gardener.

Although even in the absence of the gardener the plant will continue to grow and will inevitably follow the laws governing its nature, the gardener has a certain significance in that he has the skill to develop plants. He may be unable to change a rose into a cabbage, but he certainly can contribute his mite to the plant’s development. His efforts help in achieving perfection in this development, a level of perfection which would otherwise have been impossible.

The educator plays a parallel role in the school. He can guide the educand appropriately because he knows the rules which govern the latter’s development. Through his guidance, he can make this natural development into a process leading to perfection and beauty.

Ross explains, “The naturalist may be content with briars, but the idealist wants fine developing according to the laws of nature, to attain levels that would otherwise be denied to him”.

The idealists attach much more value to the educator than do the naturalists.

Adams opined that both the educator and the educand are two parts of the intellectual universe both of which should be considered equally important.

The educator inspires the educand to realize the ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty and guides him along the path to its realization.

Idealism and Teaching Methods

Turning to methodology in education, idealists suggest that the method must be oriented to achieving the complete development of all the innate abilities of the child and to train him for self-realization. 

In Rivers’ words,

The process of education in childhood consists, or should consist, in the direction of innate or instinctive tendencies towards an end in harmony with the highest good of the society of which the child is an active member.”

Idealists believe in a harmony between individual and social objectives The child must be provided with a liberal environment for his development and his education should be related to present experience.

One finds, therefore, that many elements of the idealist methodology are common with those of the naturalist, realist, and pragmatist methodology.

The idealist methodology in education lays special stress on the three following processes:

Instruction. The term instruction as used here implies educational instruction which is believed by Herbart to be essential to education. But instruction does not mean 

that the child’s mind should be stuffed with various scraps of information. It implies a modification and a refinement of the child’s mind. 

For this, the educator must provide sympathetic guidance. The idealists believe that training of all kinds must be provided in the school.

Activity. Like the naturalist methodology, the educational methods recommended by the idealists also are based on activity. The child must learn through doing. 

Although the child can learn much by asking questions after lectures in the school, creative activity is much more important.

This creative activity should be natural, continuous, and progressive. This helps in moving towards self-realization because it encourages the child to manifest his innate tendencies.

Through mental activity, the child learns cheerfully and happily and this also helps in the development of his personality. Besides, by these means the child learns rapidly. Hence, idealists also stress that instruction should be active.

Experience. Idealist methodology also places considerable stress on experience. Every educand must base all his education on his own experience. The educator’s task is not to stuff his own experience in the educand’s mind but to provide the latter some insight into his own experience. The guidance given by the educator helps to manifest many frustrated and repressed tendencies and drives of the educand. Independence is an essential prerequisite for experience.

For this reason, idealists believe freedom to be an essential part of education but it must be remembered that this freedom is not absolute, but controlled and guided.

It is evident from the foregoing account that idealists believe the experiences of both the educator and the educand to be of great importance. Both of them should be active and they should indulge in the mutual exchange of experience so that they can progress. The teaching method should be such that the child should recognize it as a mode of self-instruction.

Idealism and Discipline

Discipline is a part of the question concerning educational methods and some people feel that idealists are in complete opposition to the naturalists for the latter believe in complete freedom while the former insist on discipline. The only grain of truth in this assumption is that idealists stress the value of discipline as part of the educative process, without, in any way, detracting from the importance of freedom and liberty. 

Idealists interpret discipline as being based on independence and they try to harmonize the two.

Rigorous discipline is never accepted by the idealists. Discipline must always take the shape of self-discipline, because only then can it guide the educand along the path of self-realization. 

Education aims at training the child in true independence. It is argued that the child is not independent at birth. This independence is granted to him or acquired by him in the process of education because, in the absence of education, there is no self-realization, and without self-realization, there is no independence.

Rousseau believed that the individual was born free but that later on he is bound in chains.

On the contrary, Froebel expressed the conviction that man is born in chains, and that he has to steadily win this freedom for himself, for, no one can grant it to him. 

Independence is not a divine gift, because even God cannot give independence.

True independence can be won only by oneself, by one’s acts. Through the medium of 

education, the individual can break the chains which bind him at birth. The educator must develop in his education the capability of reasoning and deciding by the use of which the educator can achieve his development, naturally and by his inspiration.

Independence lies not in a revolt against the environment but in achieving harmony with it. Hence, the child must be trained for independence in the school. He should be taught to discipline himself and to contribute to the disciplined behavior of others, besides himself. Through a steady development of this kind, the individual becomes a member of a group of self-disciplined individuals.

It can thus be concluded that the idealists do not favor the notion of allowing the child to roam free of any restraint but prefer to guide his freedom.

For this reason, the child’s activities are controlled in the school. Physical punishment and external restraints are not the methods of achieving this. It is better realized through developing such qualities as self-resignation, obedience, humanity, politeness, etc.

Once these qualities are evolved in the individual, he achieves a stage of self-discipline. Froebel denies any importance to any system of punishment. Instead, he believes that it is better to encourage self-control and 

self-guidance in the child through sympathy.

He believes that the child should not be subjected to any external pressure. It is only through discipline that the child can realize the ideals of education, and once it has understood this, it can discipline itself. Idealists, therefore, believe in the efficacy of discipline through influence and impression, not through fear and coercion.

But discipline can be created among the educands only when the educators themselves create and present good models of discipline.

Their conduct and behavior should be conditioned by a knowledge of the child’s interests and inclinations. In their behavior, they must present the highest ideal of self-discipline, for only then can any discipline be expected from the educand. 

Idealists have criticized the establishment of discipline through threats, repression, and punishment. They believe 

that the entire natural, social, and spiritual environment in which the child lives should be fashioned in such a way that it should encourage the desire for self-discipline in the child. Plato believed that the child in the school is restrained with the intention that he may be granted greater liberty gradually as he develops higher.

As the individual develops to a level of higher responsibility, he should be granted successively more liberty.

Idealism in Contemporary Education

Though idealism may have been very much left aside in the contemporary field of education, it is undoubtedly the most ancient school that has influenced education 

throughout its history. Even now the following points may be noted concerning the influence of idealism in the contemporary field of education.

Wider and Higher Aims

As the nationalist aims of education are giving place to humanist aims, idealism has become more relevant to the modern educationist. The idealists present the highest and the widest aims and ideals of education summed up in such terms as self-realization, man-making, development of personality, 

The harmony of man and nature, the realization of truth, goodness, and beauty, and the realization of heaven upon earth. All these aims have been emphasized by contemporary philosophers of education in the East and West.

The Ideal Teacher

In this age of science, the model of the ideal teacher is still presented by idealism. Whatever may be said about the need for practical education and the utilization of scientific means, no teacher can influence the educands without some sort of idealism.

Teaching involves communication which very much depends upon rapport between the teacher and the student. This is possible only when the teacher considers the taught as a part of his self and thus becomes selfless in his profession. 

The ideal of character building cannot be achieved unless the teacher himself presents the model of ideal character.

Integrated and Multisided Curriculum

While other systems of philosophy of education emphasize science and technology, the idealists point out the eternal value of humanities, social sciences, art, and literature. They emphasized an integrated curriculum which may include every branch of knowledge. Thus, the idealist curriculum is the most liberal, the most dynamic, the most multisided, and therefore, most conducive to the cultural development of the individual and society.

Moral Education

Thinkers everywhere today lament the general loss of moral character. Everywhere development of moral character is being considered an urgent need, to save the world from future catastrophes. The idealists explain the aims and means of moral education.

Self-Discipline

The idealist concept of freedom as self-discipline has come to stay. It prescribes a central place to the child in the system of education and emphasizes natural development. Natural development requires freedom but freedom cannot be enjoyed without self-discipline. Contemporary educationists unanimously accept the need for freedom and discipline and agree that self-discipline is the only way to proper development.

Psychological Methods

Even the pragmatists agree that some sort of idealism is necessary for teaching, particularly that of humanities, art, and literature. The idealists include instruction, activity, and experience in their methods of teaching. The idealist method of teaching is most effective in religious and moral teaching. It is a solid ground for character building and realization of intimate relations between the teacher and the teacher. Despite the abovementioned contribution of idealism to education, today it is more and more being left in the background while pragmatism and realism are coming to the front.

Disadvantages of the Idealist Philosophy

This is due to the following disadvantages of the idealist philosophy of education:

Utopian aims.

Plato, the first idealist philosopher of education, presented a scheme that was Utopian despite its deep insight into human life here and there. In fact, in his idealistic flight, the thinker often leaves solid ground and presents aims and ideals that can be neither realized nor cherished.

Theoretical Methods

The idealist method of teaching makes too much of memory, personal contact, and brain faculties. They lay less emphasis on the development of various types of interests and abilities which help the educand in playing important role in society.

Lack of Specialization

The idealist curriculum is too wide and lacks specialization which is a growing demand of modern education.

Neglect of Science and Technology

The idealist thinkers have emphasized culture in education and neglected science and technology. Therefore, today most educational institutions have rejected idealistic curricula.

Teacher-Centered

While modern education is child-centered or educand-centered, the idealist system is teacher-centered. By expecting too much from the teacher it does not allow him to live as a human being with a multisided personality.

Too much expectation from the teacher ultimately results in his criticism by the students and society.

The role of a teacher today is very much different from his role in ancient times. Education today is a life-long but limited part of life. It goes on even without the teacher.

Various audiovisual means are replacing the all-important role of the teacher. Therefore, neither the modern teacher nor the taught accept the ancient idealist concept and status of the teacher. 

From the perusal of the above-mentioned advantages and disadvantages of the idealist philosophy of education, it is clear that though some sort of idealism must stay in every field of education, the aims and ideals, the methods, the curriculum, and the school management, etc., the ideal of education cannot be realized without the help of naturalism, pragmatism, and realism (Sharma,2002).

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