Objectives as Value Judgements

It is tempting to think objectives can be worked out scientifically, the way an engineer calculates a load. They cannot. Choosing objectives is at bottom a matter of choice, and that makes it a value judgement, made by the people responsible for the schools.

Why it is a value judgement

Because objectives are a matter of choice, deciding them needs the value judgement of those responsible for the schools. There is no formula that hands you the right purposes; someone has to decide what is worth pursuing.

Making that judgement well takes two things. The first is a comprehensive philosophy of education, a worked-out view of what education is for. The second is some kind of knowledge and information that gives a strong basis for applying the philosophy to real decisions about objectives. Philosophy alone floats; information alone has no direction. You need both.

This is where the role of scientific investigation comes in. Gathering information and knowledge to inform the choice of objectives is very important. Investigation does not make the value judgement for you, but it grounds it, so the judgement is made on evidence rather than guesswork.

Flashcard

What two things does a sound value judgement about objectives require?

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Answer

A comprehensive philosophy of education and supporting knowledge and information

Philosophy alone has no grounding; information alone has no direction. Scientific investigation gathers the information, but it informs the judgement rather than making it.

How different schools of thought choose objectives

Different sources of ideas answer the question of objectives in characteristic ways. Four are worth knowing.

1. Progressives focus on children’s interests, problems, and purposes. They look to the learner to find what is worth pursuing.
2. Essentialists draw on the body of knowledge gathered over many years, the cultural heritage. They look to what a society has already judged valuable.
3. Sociologists start from an analysis of the issues of contemporary society. They view the school as the agency for enabling young people to deal with the problems of life, so they identify problems and then select objectives that provide the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to address them.
4. Educational philosophers recognise the basic values of life and the school’s job of transmitting those values from one generation to the next. They study philosophical knowledge carefully to draw objectives from it.

Flashcard

How do progressives and essentialists differ in choosing objectives?

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Answer

Progressives look to the child; essentialists look to the cultural heritage

Progressives focus on children’s interests, problems, and purposes. Essentialists draw on the body of knowledge gathered over the years. Each looks to a different source for what is worth pursuing.

No single source is enough

The conclusion is important and easy to miss. To decide on the objectives of a school, no single source of information is adequate. Each source has something of value to add, and each should be given thought and consideration when planning a curriculum.

This is why the rest of the module does not pick one source and stop. It works through all of them in turn, because a curriculum that listens only to the child, or only to the cultural heritage, or only to society’s problems, will be lopsided. The strong curriculum draws on all four and then screens the result.

Flashcard

Why does Tyler insist no single source of objectives is enough?

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Answer

Each source is partial, so a curriculum built on one alone will be lopsided

The child, the cultural heritage, society’s problems, and philosophy each add something of value. A strong curriculum draws on all of them and then screens the result.