Specific Guidelines

Gutek, G. L. (2011). Historical and philosophical foundations of education: A biographical introduction (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Your articles will be collected in two sets of three each. The first set of three articles, you will select articles related to an educational thinker from the Gutek textbook that aligns closely with your personal beliefs about education. To clarify, all three articles in this first set should be on the topic of the same educational thinker.

The second set of three articles, you will select articles related to an educational thinker from the Gutek textbook that represents ideas to which you are opposed. This educational thinker should be in a different philosophical camp than the first one you selected for your first set of articles. All three articles in the second set will be on the topic of this same second educational thinker. (See the chart at the bottom of these directions for guidance if you are confused by this.)

Though you may agree with and support some of the ideas or actions of this second educational thinker, there is a key element that you reject—something that is antithetical to your own core values or philosophy of education.

LENGTH: The total assignment is to be at least 2,000 words in length. This does not count the title page or the references themselves. Each of the six annotations is to be at least 300 words in length, and the final synthesis is to be at least 200 words.

STRUCTURE: Download the attached Annotated Bibliography Assignment template; you may enter your information into the template. The format requires the components listed below:

· Title Page

· Annotated Bibliography: six articles listed in APA reference format; each article, a paragraph of at least 300 words will be inserted for the annotation.

· Synthesis: paragraph of at least 200 words.

· Preliminary Thesis Statement: one or two sentences proposing a thesis for the upcoming Philosophical Model Analysis assignment.

· References: a page listing sources other than the articles themselves, which are already listed in APA reference format in the annotated bibliography section above. This reference list will include Gutek (2011) and any other sources you choose to include in your annotations.

PRELIMINARY THESIS STATEMENT: At the bottom of the assignment, under the synthesis statement, enter the heading “Preliminary Thesis Statement.” Write one or two sentences that you anticipate may serve as the thesis statement to your upcoming Philosophical Model Analysis assignment.

Focus on philosophy and not educational practice. Do not address specific instructional practice or the learning environment in this thesis statement. Here are some suggestions for your preliminary thesis statement:

· Address the purpose and outcome of education rather than its process or practice.

· Consider the long-range impact education should make on individuals and on society.

· What knowledge is most worth learning and why?

· What values are most worth teaching and why?

· Based on observations of society , what outcome should education have on society?

The above suggestions are not offered as a formula for you to follow. Most importantly they are presented to help you avoid the most common error in the upcoming Philosophical Model Analysis, which is to focus on instructional practice rather than on philosophical ideas. Because instructional practice should flow out of philosophical beliefs, you are to start with a preliminary thesis statement that addresses philosophy. Avoid first-person pronouns as much as possible. To do this, think in terms of ought and should and write in third-person plural as much as possible.

Examples of Philosophic Categories

It is often difficult to apply philosophical labels to individuals. Labels, however, assist in understanding, comparing, and analyzing the ideas people hold. Keep in mind that the labels below are only approximations to assist in understanding which educational thinkers may be similar and which ones may hold opposing philosophical positions. The list below is only a partial list of thinkers addressed in this course. These examples were selected because of the relative ease in applying a label.