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Essentialism is a teacher-centered philosophy of education. The Essentialist teacher would have a major in the liberal arts, sciences, or humanities rather than educational pedagogy so that they can provide more competent instruction to the students (Webb et. al., 2010).
In education, essentialism is an educational philosophy or approach which assumes and proposes that all children should learn the traditional disciplines and basic essential subjects thoroughly and equally.
This philosophy stresses core knowledge in reading, writing, math, science, history, foreign language, and technology. The tools include lecturing, memorization, repetition, practice, and assessment. William C. Bagley (1874–1946) was one of the most influential advocates of essentialism.
Educational essentialism is an educational philosophy whose adherents believe that children should learn the traditional basic subjects thoroughly. In this philosophical school of thought, the aim is to instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge, enacting a back-to-basics approach.
Essentialism in education asserts that common and essential ideas and skills belonging to a certain culture should be taught to all citizens at the same level at especially primary school level.
Educational essentialism is a theory that states that children should learn the traditional basic subjects and that these should be learned thoroughly and rigorously. An essentialist program normally teaches children progressively, from less complex skills to more complex.
There are four philosophical perspectives currently used in educational settings: essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, and social reconstructionism/critical pedagogy.
Though similar to perennialism, essentialism stresses the essential knowledge and skills that productive citizens should have, rather than a set of external truths. What kind of education do we want for our children?
The author calls upon contemporary leaders in American education to reconsider essentialism as a powerful philosophy that has great potential for the future of the teaching profession.
…leading spokesman of the “Essentialists”—a group of professional educators who advocated European-style emphasis on a rigorous curriculum of traditional subjects, in opposition to the approach of many progressive-education circles.
