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St. Thomas Aquinas on the Nature and Purpose of Education: the Importance of Aristotelian-Thomistic Principles for Educational Leaders ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ON THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF ARISTOTELIAN-THOMISTIC PRINCIPLES FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERS BY JOSEF CHARLES FROULA A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Education Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, Connecticut December 2015 ProQuest Number: 10003544 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10003544 Published by ProQuest LLC (2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 © Copyright by Josef C. Froula 2015 Abstract Author: Josef Charles Froula Title: ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ON THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF ARISTOTELIAN- THOMISTIC PRINCIPLES FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERS Dissertation Chair: Sousan Arafeh, Ph.D. Institution: Southern Connecticut State University Year: 2015 The purpose of this textual analysis is to ascertain the most fundamental principles that govern education conceived of as the perfection of the faculty of reason. Considered as such, education is ordered to happiness. This purpose determines the arts and sciences that constitute education and dictates the role of teacher. Because all education presupposes self-evident principles, the role of the teacher is to aid students in their progress from these principles to conclusions that they can support and defend on their own. This consideration of the nature and purpose of education is necessary for educational leaders who design curricula and formulate policy for instructional practice. iii To my wife, Hélène, without whose undying love and faithful support this dissertation could never have been written iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am profoundly grateful to my dissertation sponsor, Dr. Sousan Arafeh, and to my committee members, Dr. Angelyn Arden and Dr. Chelsea Harry. Dr. Arafeh has been an invaluable guide, an exemplary mentor, and a model for me as a teacher. I owe special thanks also to Dr. Arden and Dr. Harry for their inestimable advice and for being so flexible and generous with their time. All of their feedback has been immensely helpful. Thank you to my children, Lucia, Josef, Mary-Catherine, Thomas, Emily, Sarah, Dominic, Gregory, Sean, and Bridget for your heroic encouragement and understanding. Throughout the entire process of my doctoral work, my dearest Hélène has been the most selfless and supportive wife that any man could hope for. Thank you, Hélène. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 1 Background/Problem .................................................................................................. 2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 4 Overview of Framework and Methodology ................................................................ 5 The Significance of This Study ................................................................................... 5 Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................... 6 Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 10 Limitations ................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 12 The Relevance of the Philosophy of Education to Educational Leadership ............. 12 What the Philosophy of Education is and Why it is Necessary ................................ 16 Why Aristotle and Aquinas? ..................................................................................... 18 Why Aristotle is Necessary to Understand Aquinas on Education ........................... 22 Philosophy and Education in Aristotle and Aquinas ............................................... 24 vi The Relevance of Aristotle and Aquinas for Educational Leadership ...................... 25 Educational Leadership and the Role of the Teacher ............................................... 27 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS .......................................................................... 29 The Method of This Dissertation .............................................................................. 29 The Relevance of a Philosophical Methodology to Educational Theory ................. 29 Why This Research Methodology Must be Pre-scientific ........................................ 30 The Aristotelian-Thomistic Method of Philosophical Inquiry .................................. 34 CHAPTER 4: THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION ACCORDING TO AQUINAS ........................................................................................................................ 40 Philosophical Principles and Educational Leadership .............................................. 41 The Arts and Sciences in Aristotle and Aquinas ...................................................... 43 What is a Liberal Art According to Aquinas? .......................................................... 46 Why the Arts are Important for Educational Leaders Who Design Curricula .......... 49 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: the Liberal Arts .............................. 56 Subject Matter ................................................................................................... 56 Pedagogy ........................................................................................................... 57 The Examination of Aristotle's Works as a Whole ................................................... 60 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: Astronomy ...................................... 62 Subject Matter ................................................................................................... 62 vii Pedagogy ........................................................................................................... 63 What is a Science According to Aquinas? ................................................................ 68 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: Teaching Mathematics ................... 83 Subject matter ................................................................................................... 83 Pedagogy ........................................................................................................... 85 Physics or Natural Science According to Aquinas ................................................... 85 Curriculum Design: Aristotle's Physics and Modern Physics .................................. 91 Aristotle's Notion of Sensation ................................................................................. 94 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: Biology ........................................... 95 Subject Matter ................................................................................................... 95 Pedagogy ........................................................................................................... 97 The Objective Character of Sense Knowledge ......................................................... 98 The Importance of Aristotle's Ethics for Educational Leaders ............................... 101 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: Aristotle's Ethics .......................... 105 Subject Matter ................................................................................................. 105 Pedagogy ......................................................................................................... 106 Curriculum Design and Instructional Practice: Aristotle's Metaphysics ................ 107 Wonder and the Subject Matter of Metaphysics ..................................................... 109 Principles of Education Derived from the Metaphysics ......................................... 111 viii CHAPTER 5: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER ACCORDING TO AQUINAS .......... 115 Aquinas's Method ................................................................................................... 116 Averroes .................................................................................................................. 118 Plato ........................................................................................................................ 119 Aquinas on How One Person Can Teach Another .................................................. 121 How the Teacher Aids the Student ......................................................................... 125 The First Way a Teacher Leads a Student From the Known to the Unknown ....... 125 Less Universal Statements ...................................................................................... 126 Sensible Examples .................................................................................................
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