Dr. Christopher D. Chandler, Dean of School of Education at Genesis University | 100% Online Tuition-Free University, presents the Similarities and Differences between Essentialism and Perennialism as the best model for school curriculum; what should be taught versus what should not be taught, classroom environment and how the student responds and relates to the learning environment.

Abstract
Educators have been involved with the analysis in the differences of methodologies that effect the development of school curriculum for as long as there have been schools, teachers, students, and parents. The purpose of this literature review is to definitively establish the similarities and differences that exist between two philosophies of education, Essentialism and Perennialism. The primary correlation between these two philosophies is that they are at once very similar but yet very different from one another in their approach to educational practice. First of all they are not mutually exclusive, that is to say, they both share common tenets and common experiences concerning the practice of education and the formulation of curriculum theory. By examining the positive ingredients of each of these two disciplines, then taking the best characteristics from each method, then combining them into a new working model or blueprint to follow in designing a working curriculum, educators may actually discover a surprisingly new more efficient model of curriculum standards that enables teachers to perform better when teaching and learners to learn and assimilate information more accurately. In this sense, the argument then is to make a case for discovering a working curriculum that best fits the needs of students, teachers, administrators and parents by cloning various aspects from several existing educational theories to arrive at a curriculum that works the best in today’s current educational world.
The research discussed within this literature review explores the impact of Essentialism and Perennialism on educational theory and how each educational theory affects the learning environments and academic achievements in the primary and secondary school level. Moreover, research results indicate that by integrating elements from each educational discipline, a new and better model of educational content and standards emerges which has a greater positive effect upon the academic achievement of students, within general education courses, and in the overall educational environment. Specific research studies provide evidence that supports the hypothesis of this argument which is the need for additional research into the subjects of educational achievement, content, performance, and curriculum development.

Conclusions of this study result in the manifestation of what is the best model for school curriculum, that is, what should be taught versus what should not be taught, the classroom environment and how the student responds and relates to the learning environment, Curriculum development is in a constant state of change based upon the constantly changing landscape of educational needs, student performance and achievement, and the development of new emerging technologies.

Keywords
Education, Academic Achievement, Attendance Rate, Student Conduct, Secondary Education. Teaching, Curriculum, Classroom, Technology, Future Classrooms, Assessment, Emerging Trends

Introduction
Essentialism as a Teacher-Centered Philosophy. “Essentialism is a relatively conservative stance to education that strives to teach students the knowledge of our society and civilization through a core curriculum. This core curriculum involves such areas that include the study of the surrounding environment, basic natural laws, and the disciplines that promote a happier, more educated living. Other non-traditional areas are also integrated as well in moderation to balance the education. Essentialists’ goals are to instill students with the “essentials” of academic knowledge, patriotism, and character development through traditional (or back-to-basic) approaches. This is to promote reasoning, train the mind, and ensure a common culture for all Americans. Essentialism is the most typically enacted philosophy in American classrooms today. Traces of this can be found in the organized learning centered around teacher and textbooks, in addition to the regular assignments and evaluations typical in essentialist education” (
“Perennialists believe that the focus of education should be the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They believe the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. They recommend that students learn from reading and analyzing the works of history’s great writers, thinkers, and philosophers. By studying and absorbing the thoughts, analyses and perceptions of these important theorists, students will learn to appreciate learning.

Similar to Perennialism, Essentialism aims to develop students’ intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are also centered on teachers in order to accomplish these goals. The teachers are not concerned about the students’ interests or experiences. They use tried and true teaching methods and techniques that are believed to be the most beneficial to disciplining students’ minds. The Perennialist curriculum is universal and is based on their view that all human beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that individuals think deeply, analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively. They emphasize that students should not be taught information that may soon be outdated or found to be incorrect. Perennialists disapprove of teachers requiring students to absorb massive amounts of disconnected information. They recommend that schools spend more time teaching about concepts and explaining they are meaningful to students. The only example I can think of would be a class about religion or history. The instructor would use religious books and historical documents”(Internet article, Retrieved 04-2011). The concept of Perrenialism relates well to the Curriculum model of Mastery of Learning. According to the author, “The curriculum goals to be obtained significantly influence the instructional methods (or “models” of teaching) a teacher uses. There are five widely used models of teaching: mastery learning, cooperative learning, theory into practice, behavior modification, and non-directive teaching” (Parkay, 2010, p314). The goal and rationale of the Mastery Learning model of curriculum implementation rests on the assumption that every student can learn material if given the time and the proper teaching instruction. Students best learn when they are given a specific, well-designed structural program that enables them to make incremental progress in learning. Some methods of this approach include setting clearly defined objectives and providing enough time for students to make substantial progress absorbing material teaching, them how to learn” (Joyce, Weil and Calhoun, 2004, p7).

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to discover, delineate, describe, and distinguish the differences and similarities that exist between the Essentialist and the Perennialist philosophical point of view in the field of education. A secondary purpose of this research is to investigate their influence upon curriculum leadership and development. Perennialist’s view of education is in the belief b that the focus of education should be the ideas that have been successful throughout history and those that lasted over centuries. They believe that these ideas and theories are as relevant and meaningful today as they were when they were first written. Their recommendation to curriculum developers is that students will learn from reading and analyzing the classical literature, written by history’s finest thinkers and writers. Essentialists believe that when students study these works and ideas, they will develop a keen interest and firm appreciation in learning. Similar to Perennialism, essentialism synthesizes the major points of Perennialism while adding the following ingredient of the development of students’ intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are teacher-centered as opposed to student-centered classrooms with the brunt of the learning process resting on the shoulders of teachers in order to accomplish teaching and learning goals. In this setting, teachers are not primarily concerned with the students’ interests or experiences, but they are primarily concerned with the use of tried and true teaching methods and techniques in order to engage student achievement and to discipline students’ minds. The Perennialist curriculum is classically traditional and universal with the emphasis on the classical model of teaching and learning The basis of this method of thinking and teaching is the view that all human beings possess a similar nature, and that is that individuals think deeply, analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively about the subjects that they study and deem important. The major emphasis in this sphere of influence is that students should not be taught information that may soon become obsolete, ineffective, and outdated. Neither should students be required to absorb large amounts of disconnected subject matter. To the contrary, they recommend that schools spend more time teaching students about concepts and explaining that the understanding and absorption of these concepts should be more meaningful and useful to students. The only contrary example to this way of thinking is a class whose subject is religion or history. The role of the teacher as the center of the classroom, rigid and maintaining classroom discipline, is very important aspect of Educational essentialism. Establishing order in the classroom is crucial for student learning; effective teaching cannot take place in a loud and disorganized environment. It is the teacher’s responsibility to keep order in the classroom. The teacher must interpret essentials of the learning process, take the leadership position and set the tone of the classroom. These needs require an educator that is academically well-qualified with an appreciation for learning and development. The teacher must control the students with distributions of rewards and penalties.

Methods of Research
“For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization. Their major belief and tenet is that these ideas have the potential for solving problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. Teaching these unchanging principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students’ growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest accomplishments of humankind are emphasized– the great works of literature and art, the laws or principles of science. Advocates of this educational philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who developed a Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler, who further developed this curriculum based on 100 great books of western civilization” (Oregon State University, 2004).

“Essentialists believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative perspective is on intellectual and moral standards that schools should teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic rigor. Although this educational
philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism, Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Schooling should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society. It should focus on facts-the objective reality out there–and “the basics,” training students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence policies. Students should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline. Teachers are to help students keep their non-productive instincts in check, such as aggression or mindlessness. This approach was in reaction to progressivist approaches prevalent in the 1920s and
30s. William Bagley, took progressivist approaches to task in the journal he formed in 1934. Other proponents of Essentialism are: James D. Koerner (1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul Copperman (1978), and Theodore Sizer (1985)(Oregon State University, 2004).

Research Design and Procedures
In making the case for essentialism in today’s educational environment , the following questions for reflection must be ask:
• What is the current “status” of the essentialist orientation to the curriculum? How widespread is this approach to curriculum planning at the elementary, middle, secondary, and higher education levels?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of an essentialist curriculum?
3. How might Bagley respond to critics who charge that a tradition-bound essentialist curriculum indoctrinates students and makes it more difficult to bring about desired changes in society?
4. Bagley states that “There can be little question as to the essentials. It is no accident that the arts of recording, computing, and measuring have been among the first concerns of organized” ((Bagley1934, P201-202).

Conclusion
The connection between Essentialism and Perrenialism extends as least as far back as the Pythagorean experiments in 6th century BC. To summarize briefly the case for essentialism, the principal tenets of the present-day Essentialists are included as follows:
“1. Gripping and enduring interests frequently, and in respect of the higher interests almost always, grow out of initial learning efforts that are not intrinsically appealing or attractive. Man is the only animal that can sustain effort in the face of immediate desire. To deny to the young the benefits that may be theirs by the exercise of this unique human prerogative would be a gross injustice.
2. The control, direction, and guidance of the immature by the mature is inherent in the prolonged period of infancy or necessary dependence peculiar to the human species.
3. While the capacity for self-discipline should be the goal, imposed discipline is a necessary means to this end. Among individuals, as among nations, true freedom is always a conquest, never a gift.
4. The freedom of the immature learner to choose what he shall learn is not at all to be corn pared with his later freedom from want, fraud, fear, superstition, error, and oppression—and the price of this latter freedom is the effortful and systematic mastery of what has been winnowed and refined through the long struggle of man kind upward from the savage—and a mastery that, for most learners, must be under guidance of competent and sympathetic but firm and exacting teachers.
5. Essentialism provides a strong theory of education; its competing school offers a weak theory. If there has been a question in the past as to the kind of educational theory that the few remaining democracies of the world need, there can no question that it should be Essentialism” (Bagley1934, P201-202).

Commentary
Considering the body of research on the subjects of Essentialism and Perennialism one would think that a clear view of the value and necessity of one or the other would be definitive and exclusive and then make the case for its inclusion in curriculum development of current school systems. But in reality each of these concepts has a firm rooted tradition that contains positive influence on the design of modern curriculums. In addition, each of these concepts is non exclusive in the sense that the very nature of the combination of their existing elements results in the formulation of a new and better school curriculum which is currently being used as todays school curriculums. “Teaching for meaning means preparing students for the world beyond school, fostering deep understandings of content areas, offering curriculum with both depth and breadth, and leading students to develop the disposition to want to achieve. Although educators would agree with these lofty goals, they often balk at the idea of teaching for meaning, citing lack of time and pressure to teach to the test. But test preparation is no synonym for teaching. Only solid instructional practices, such as constructivism, concept mapping, and problem-based learning, can help create classrooms that focus on making meaning” (Mctighe, 2001, p62).

References
Bagley, W. (1934) The Case for Essentialism in Education, Today’s Education: Journal of the National Education Association,V 30, N 7 p201-202. Publisher, Allyn and Bacon Inc.: Boston. ISBN

Bloom, A. (1988) The Closing of the American Mind, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 10-0671657151.

Chall, J. S (2000) the Academic Achievement Chanllenge: What Really Works in the Classroom. Guilford Press: New York, ISBN 1572305002.

Parkay, F.; Anctil, E.; Hass, G. (2010) Curriculum Leadership: Readings for Developing Quality Educational Programs. 9th edition, Boston: Pearson Education Inc.; P49-60. http://education.wsu.edu/directory/faculty/parkayf.

Dewey, J.(1938) Experience in Education, Kappa Delta Pi, Simon and Schuster Inc. ISBN 13- 978-83828-1.

Tyler, P. (1969) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-82031-9,

Joyce, B.; Weil, M.; Calhoun, E. (2004) Models of Teaching, 7th edition, Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-2053-8927-9.

McCain, T.; Jukes, I. (2001) Windows on the Future: Education in the Age of Technology, Corwin Press Inc. A Sage Publications Company, Thousand Oaks, CA. ISBN 0-7619-7712-0.

http://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/perennialism.html. Retrieved from the internet May 13, 2011.

McTighe, J.; Seif, E.; Wiggins, G (2001) “You Can Teach for Meaning”

Oregon State University Philosophical Perspectives in Education , Part 3
http://www.oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html. Retrieved from internet, 05-10-2011.

Ravitch, D. (1995) National Standards in American Education: A citizens guide. Brooking institute Press. ISBN 10-081577351X. http://www.dianeravitch.com. Retrieved from the internet 05-04-2011.

Robinson, E. H. Mike (2005) Promoting Altruism in the Classroom, Association for the Childhood Education international, V82, I2, p68. http://www.amazon.com/Promoting-altruism-classroom-Childhood-Education/dp/B000EBE2QS.

Visser, F. (2003) Perennialism
Postmodernism
Inregralism, SUNY Press,.

Source: by Dr. Christopher D. Chandler | Dean: School of Education of Genesis University