gender differential paper IJCRB

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JUNE 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 3, NO 2
most appropriate teaching method. In the Socratic method the teacher stimulate the student’s
consciousness by asking leading questions, which bring forth the ideas hidden in the learner’s
mind. For realists knowledge begins with our sensations of objects. Through abstracting these
sensory materials, we form concepts that correspond to the objects in the reality. A teacher who
used the realist formula of sensation and abstraction would develop classroom activities that
utilize sensory stimuli. Pragmatists contend that we create knowledge by interacting with our
environment; hence problem solving is the appropriate method of teaching and learning (Allan.
C et al, 1980). According to William F, (1981) Epistemology is concerned with the nature of
human knowledge and its limits. This category of philosophy is concerned with theories of
knowledge and seeks to answer such questions as: What role do our senses play in giving us
knowledge? Are there higher forms of knowledge than what we experience? What are the
methods of validating ideas? Ho do we learn? Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that
inquires into the nature of knowledge and truth. The problems raised in this area are “ What are
the sources of knowledge ?; and “How reliable are these sources ?” , “ What can one known ?” ;
and “ What is the nature of truth?” The sources of knowledge are (1) authority; (2) common
sense; (3) intuition; (4) reason); (5) controlled experience. There are four major theories
concerning the nature of truth; (1) coherence; (2) correspondence; (3) pragmatism; (4) skepticism
(Callahan et al, 1986). Axiology seeks to specify what is of value. Axiology is divided into ethics
and aesthetics. Ethics examines moral values and the rules of right conducts; aesthetics deals
with values in beauty and art. Teachers, concerned with forming values in students, encourage
certain proffered behavior. Parents, teachers, and society reward or punish behavior as it
conforms to or deviates from their conceptions of what is right, good, and beautiful. Idealists and
realists subscribe to the objective theory of value, which asserts that the good, true, and beautiful
are universally valid in all places and at all times. Pragmatists hold that values are culturally or
ethically relative and depend on group or personal preferences that vary with the situation, time,
time, and place (Allan C et al, 1984).
Axiology is the study of values, both in regulating both in human conduct (ethics) and in
determining beauty (aesthetics). Ethics seeks to answer questions about what is right and wrong,
or good and bad, both personally and socially. For example, what is the nature of morality? Is it
absolute, or does the situation define what is correct behavior? Is it ever right to take another’s
life, as those in the “right to Die” movement believe? or the moral principles universal and
timeless, regardless of the situation? Aesthetics addresses questions about the nature of beauty in
art, drama, literature, and music. Is beauty a matter of personal taste, or are there principles that
determine what is beautiful? Does beauty change from generation to generation, or is it timeless?
Is classical music really “classics”? Is today’s music really beautiful, or is it merely noise ( as
many older people seem to think)? Or are such questions a matter of individual judgment?
(William.F,1981). There is a philosophy behind every school system, based on the views and
values of the educators, as well as the society that is sponsoring the education. The philosophy
starts with the view of reality and definitions of truth and goodness. From this, the mission of the
schools and the emphasis of the instruction are established. There are four basic philosophies of
education, namely, Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism.
Idealism is the school of philosophy that holds that ideas or concepts are the essence of all that is
worth knowing. The physical world we know through our senses is only a manifestation of the
spiritual world. Idealists believe in the power of reasoning and they de-emphasize the identific
method and sense perception, which they hold suspect. They search for universal or absolute
truths that will remain constant throughout the centuries (Allya et al,1996). The philosophic
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