Introduction:
“Naturalism is a doctrine which separates nature from God, Subordinates
spirit to matter and sets up unchangeable laws as supreme”
Meaning of
Naturalism:
Naturalism is also termed as materialism. According to this philosophy the basis of the
world is matter. Mind is also a form of
matter or an element of matter or synthesis of both. Naturalistic philosophy defined life in terms
of material and chemical laws and emphasizes the relationship between power,
speed and matter as of the nature of causal relationship. According to naturalism only nature is
everything nothing is before and beyond it.
Definition
of Naturalism:
According to J.S Ross “Naturalism is a
term loosely applied in educational theory to systems of training that are not
dependent on schools and books but on the manipulation of the actual life of
the educated”.
Growth of
Naturalism:
Naturalism is a very old philosophy, yet the credit of introducing it
into the realm of education goes to the revolutionary changes in the eighteenth
century. These revolutionary ideas took their roots from the 13th
and 14th century as movements of reformation and Renaissance which
often took the shape of pietism, Realism, Puritanism and other reformatory
movements. The main aim of all these
movements was to end absolutism in the field of religion and formalism in the
social field.
Naturalism
and Aims of Education:
1.
Self-Expression:
It is the main aim of education. It means giving the child full opportunity to
express or reveal his hidden capabilities and qualities.
2.
Perfection of human
Machine:
Mechanical naturalism suggests that
education should aim at the efficiency and perfection of human machine.
3.
Preparation for
struggle of life:
Biological Naturalists believe that life
is a struggle, in which only stronger living beings are successful. Hence the aim of education should be to
prepare the individual for the struggle of life.
4.
Development of
Individuality:
According to T.P. Nunn every
individual possesses his individuality and
Special traits. The aim of education should be the
development of his
Individuality
Forms and
principles of Naturalism:
Physical Naturalism:
It explains human activities and experiences in terms of material
objects and Natural laws. In other words
physical Naturalism lays more stress on the external material phenomena than
the conscious human being.
Mechanical Naturalism:
According to this Naturalism is a lifeless huge machine which gets its
form through matter and motion. In the
movements of this machine no mind or mental activity is required, nor any
spiritual power is needed.
Biological Mechanism:
Biological Naturalism is based upon the darwinian theory of evolution
Man has evolved from lower animals by a gradual process of development. Man is supreme product of this process of
evolution. The advocates of the school
uphold that heredity has a powerful influence on the nature and temperaments of
an individual human being.
Principles
of Naturalism:
·
The universe is a huge machine. Man is also a part of this machine and a
complete machine in himself also.
·
Life comes out of dead matter and is a sum total of physical
and chemical reactions.
·
Man, because of his own nature is the supreme creation of
nature.
·
The present life is the real life.
·
Reality is of the external natural only.
·
Unchanging laws of nature explain all the events and
occurrences of the world.
Naturalism
in education:
In the field of education, Naturalism means the development of child
according to his inherent nature.
Physical nature is external and nature of the child is internal which
means the basic instincts, impulses, tendencies, capacities and other in born
potentialities of the child. According
to Naturalism, the external laws of nature should correspond and co-operate
with the internal nature of the child for his full natural development.
Characteristics
of Naturalistic education:
1.
Back to nature:
Out of three essential factors of education namely nature, man, and
objects Naturalism gives prime importance to nature. Hence, its call is ‘Back of Nature’. According to naturalists, the best teacher of
the child is nature. Hence to develop
the child according to his nature, education should provide natural
environmental.
2.
Education a natural necessity:
The naturalist regards education as a
natural necessity. For them, educational institutions are unwanted creation of
mans superimposed upon Nature.
3.
Education-development of the natural life:
According to Naturalistic thought,
education is a process of development of the natural life. As Monroe perceives it, “Education is the
process of developed into an enjoyable, rational harmoniously balanced, useful
and hence natural life”
4.
Freedom of the child:
It gives prominent place to the concept of
freedom in the education of the child.
5.
Child centered educational
process:
Child occupies the central and pivotal
role in the Naturalism set-up. The child’s nature is in the fore front
which all other things such as education, the books, the curriculum, the
school, are in background.
Naturalism
and methods of teaching:
Discarding the old system as stagnant Naturalism prescribed
·
Leaning by doing
·
Learning by experience
·
Learning by play as the basis of teaching
To the naturalists book
reading is unpsychological. The child
engages himself in those activities and experiences. Which appear to him
interesting and joyful. He does all
learning by his own interest and effort as ‘emile’ of Rousseau used to do.
The principle advocated by Naturalists have brought into being the modern methods of teaching
which are;
1.
Observation method.
2.
Experimental method.
3.
Play way method
4.
Heuristic method
5.
Dalton method
6.
Montessori method
All these methods are self-learning methods and as
such they are very effective and purposeful.
Naturalism
and Teacher:
Naturalists do not like that children should be taught in classes by
teachers who are spoiled by the artificial atmosphere teacher, in whose close
contact the child developes normally and naturally. In the process of education, the place of the
child is more important and central than the teacher. The teacher should not
impose upon the child any things under his own authority or supremacy.
Naturalism
and discipline:
Nature will punish the child if he contravenes the law of nature and
thus he will learn by the consequences of his own action. Thus nobody should interfere in this process
of nature. The child should be allowed
full freedom to indulge in the activities of his choice. The teacher should provide such experiences
for free activity.
Natrualism
and curriculum:
1.
No rigid curriculum:
Naturalism does not advocate any rigid or
fixed type of curriculum. Child learns
best in a natural setting and nature is a grand book. Naturalistic curriculum is based upon the
psychology of child and gives maximum importance to the age and stage of his
development.
2.
Sciences:
Idealists lay emphasis on the study of
humanities but naturalists believe in science subjects viz. Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany. They also give due importance to Mathematics
and languages.
3.
Focal point:
The focal point in the curriculum construction is that the “text books and teaching should be
oriented towards science and scientific point of view science and scientific
point of view with simplicity ad objectivity as the watch wards and with
knowledge of relevant facts as the controlling aim”.
Naturalism
and school:
The organization of school is rigid,
controlled and artificial and as such the growth and development of children is
stunted and spoiled. Thus they assert
that school environment should be completely free, flexible and without any
rigidity.
Nature will do all the planning and
processing for the natural development of children.
Children are given full freedom to plan
their own thinking and activities according to their own interests and natural
tendencies. These creative and
self-creative activities go to develop the character and the personality of the
individual through self discipline and freedom to experiment.
Evaluation
of naturalism:
One sided and unsatisfying aims of
education;
The child will become unsocial with no
feeling of social service or social good.
He will develop into a pure animal tendencies are to be socialized
through education, and then social environment is greatly essential.
Emphasis on present needs;
Naturalism lays stress on the solution of present needs and problems of
an individual. It advocates no concern
for spiritual values and the remote future.
Ignores Books:
Naturalism emphasizes that education
of the child should be based on his activities and life experiences. But only
activities and experiences cannot ensure the total development of the child’s
personality.
More important to scientific subjects
in curriculum:
Naturalism emphasizes scientific education. Herbart Spencer, a staunch Naturalist has
given prime importance to scientific subjects and secondary place to humanities
in the curriculum.
No
importance of teacher;
Naturalism assigns to the teacher the role of a mere guide and
observer. He is to be a sympathetic
guide and helper in structuring experiences for the child and observe the
activities undergone. He is not to
interfere or plan any teaching directly.
Merits of
Naturalism in the field of education:
· Development of child
psychology.
· Scientific study of
society and sociolo9gy.
· Emphasis on
experiences-centred curriculum.
· Importance contribution in
the field of methods of teaching.
· Opposition to Repression
in the field of discipline.
Demerits of Naturalism in the field
of education:
·
Children’s are given
over freedom and giving most importance to exercises.
·
No importance of teachers.
·
More emphasis on present needs of the children’s.
Conclusion:
According to Naturalism, it does not give any importance to the
experiences gained by the previous generations.
It ignores the development of the society altogether. It makes the child only a machine. The common feature of Naturalism is that only
matter is real. Mind is also a form of
matter. The existence of any super
nature is only a myth.
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