Educational Philosophies, Theories and Their Pedagogic Applicability in Schools and Colleges in Sierra Leone
Author(s)
Adikali Kaba Sesay , Mohamed Suffian Kamara , Issa John Gbla , Abu Bakarr Koroma , Alpha Bassie Mansaray ,
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Abstract
This study looked into educational philosophies, theories and their pedagogic applicability in schools and colleges in Sierra Leone. Education is a consciously directed process that endows young people's souls with cultural values. It is a process by which the personality of the young is molded by restraining their primordial biological nature and causing them to accept and obey the human values developed in the course of history. The main part of this study focused on the philosophies and theories employed by teachers and lecturers in Sierra Leone and their applicability in the classroom and lecture room. Three hundred participants were drawn from schools and colleges with qualifications ranging from Teachers Certificate to Doctor of Philosophy. The study contends that the philosophy and theories employed by educators can most times lead to learning outcomes not being realized. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyze the data and results interpreted quantitatively and qualitatively. From the data analyzed, teachers and lecturers confidently reported using the progressivist philosophy with 19% and pragmatism with 18% in the teaching and learning process. It was recommended though that there isn’t a single clear cut philosophy that is employed by teachers and lecturers as the situation demands, the one of relative suitability in the Sierra Leonean pedagogic context is the progressivist philosophy which stands tall
Keywords
Educational philosophy, theory,traditionalism, pedagogical, applicability
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