Hellenic Journal of Research in Education Laboratory of Research in Pedagogy and Educational Practices Department of Education Sciences in Early Childhood Democritus University of Thrace eISSN 2241-7303 2017, Volume 6, Issue 1, p.p. 73-94 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/hjre.10886 A Preliminary Exploration of the Influence of Greek Philosophy on Early Childhood Education: An Application in Hong Kong Grace LAU Kwok Keung HO Education University of Hong Kong Education For Christ Foundation Abstract The twentieth century saw great hopes but also great failures. Philosophy, however, by its timeless truth, might confront the ever changing fashion by giving people a pointer through its philosophical application in the realm of education. In this paper, the authors argue that many philosophical teachings from the famous Greek philosophers are indeed influential when their teachings are applied to the early childhood classrooms in Hong Kong. Their sphere of influence has extended from the British colonial period to the present era in Hong Kong as far as early childhood education is concerned. For Plato, his theory of Forms and his emphasis on the search of Truth will be compared with Aristotle empiricist views in his study of nature. While analyzing the theory of Forms and the idea of the Good, the authors found that Plato’s approach could be traced back to Xenophanes who proposed a monotheistic theory of God and is religiously related to Christianity. Their applications in the top-down teacher-directed play-based curriculum were valid in the early childhood educational mode during the early colonial period to the 1980s in Hong Kong. Since Aristotle was found to have a different approach to Forms as compared to those of Plato, Aristotle’s argument for Forms was mentioned and its relevancy to the prevalent hybrid mode of the play-work-based curriculum in early childhood education is explored. Following the most recent reform in early childhood education in Hong Kong, free play is recommended in the reform document. Heraclitus’s doctrine of ‘flux’ could apply most suitably in the free play condition as ‘flux’ signifies an ever changing condition just as the nature of free play does. A final touch of this paper is on exploring the divergent views of Plato and Aristotle and their impacts on education today so as to provoke further thoughts of the readers in the areas explored. © 2017, Grace LAU & Kwok Keung HO Licence CC-BY-SA 4.0 Key words: Early childhood education, curriculum, Greek philosophy, Plato, Aristotle 1. Introduction Following the Renaissance artist Raphael (1511) who placed Plato and Aristotle at the centre of the painting “The School of Athens” --a classic mural which illustrated the history of philosophy. The authors of this article will try to present how the philosophical stance of Plato and Aristotle, in particular, has played in the realm of early childhood education in Hong Kong. ___________________________________ Corresponding author’s address: R.I.C.E., 5 Tong Yam St., 6/F, Tai Hang Tung, Kowloon, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] URL: http://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/hjre/index 74 Figure 1 The School of Athens by Raphael (1509-1510) (source-Wikipedia) 2. Religion, Philosophy, Myth and Education The twentieth century saw great hopes but also great failures. Alongside technological triumphs and unprecedented scientific advances, there were ecological disasters and a fear of science. In those parts of the world characterized by increasing prosperity and liberal democracy, there was at the same time an erosion of traditional beliefs and values, such as the decline of religious faith (O’ Hear, 2001). Education has always been a religious function of society and is closely linked to its religion (Rushdoony, 1981). O’ Hear (2001) wrote that, It is certainly true that religion is not the same as philosophy, and it never has been. Philosophy does not pretend to bring us revelations about the ultimate purpose of the universe or the intentions of its creator, if there is one. Its wisdom, such as it is, is what can be gleaned by reflection on the world and human experience without the benefit of the teachings from sacred scriptures or the revelations of gods or would-be prophets. In the upheavals and dilemmas presented by the twentieth century, and following the disenchantment of Judeo-Christian religion, how much more could philosophy have to offer? Cultural historians would see philosophy as reflections of the times which produce it. But philosophy, surely, claims to be getting at timeless truths, truths which might confront and embarrass ever changing fashion, and which might, in their difficulties, give people pointers by which to steer through its philosophical application in the realm of education. Greek ancient philosophers, like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle as well as philosophers like St. Thomas Aquinas were certainly interested in conceiving philosophy as a discipline leading to truth, about the best way to live, and about one’s place in the universe. These renowned philosophers were influenced by the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Xenophanes into believing that (through logical thinking that) in the universe, there is only one God instead of many gods as the rest of the ancient citizens in Greece did. Xenophanes aimed his critique at the polytheistic religious views of earlier Greek poets and of his own contemporaries like "Homer" did. Xenophanes argued that many vices of man like, theft, adultery and mutual deception "are attributed to the gods all sorts of things that are matters of reproach and censure among men (Zalta, 2017). In our understanding, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have no doubt provide such a good pointer, as Shields (2012) lamented that “anyone wishing to reflect upon the best sort of life available to human beings will benefit from an encounter with Socrates or someone schooled by him”. On the other hand, 75 Homer, his gods, as well as Xenophanes, Pythagoras, Parmenides to Heraclitus, had each contributed uniquely their parts in the educational paradigms even to the present era. It is found that Plato left his footprints in the construction of early childhood curriculum and pedagogy in Hong Kong during the British colonial period while Aristotle’s model of curriculum and pedagogic practices, effected its influence in the prevalent educational mode in Hong Kong. Coupled with the two gurus ancient Greek philosophers, the authors would like to argue that Heraclitus had exerted his influence in the latest curriculum model in Hong Kong in 2017 (Education Bureau, 2017) and onwards by his doctrine of flux through free play. The authors would present the arguments in the subsequent paragraphs that follow. 3. An overview of the Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong before the 1980s In a documentary film “Preaching and Education” under the series of “The History of Education” in Hong Kong produced by the Radio and Television Hong Kong, it was documented that there was no specific plan for education in Hong Kong in the beginning of the colonial era (RTHK, 2010). The population was small and there were not many students. So education was a reaction to the social situation. Seeing that the churches were zealous in providing education, the government was pleased with their initiatives and results. Many preschools and kindergartens in Hong Kong were run by religious organizations or non- government organizations (NGOs) in that period and many have survived even to the present day. The figure in HKedCity (2008) has shown that kindergartens and preschools has still amounted to 54 % out of the total 100 % number of kindergartens and preschools which are regarded as schools with religious belief (of all religions) in Hong Kong. As the historical record reflects, these Protestant and Catholic kindergartens have a long history of establishments. The origin of these religious schools was closely tied up with the development of education in Hong Kong since its early days as a port and British colony. The kindergarten curriculum during that period was mainly identified as the subject-based one and the pedagogy used was direct- instructional and was teacher-centred. The rationale behind the paradigm was mainly based on the philosophical belief that everything, including the curriculum and pedagogy applied should be God- centre (Wong, 2009). With a God-centre ideological/philosophical design in mind and practise, the paradigm of education mode should be of the traditional type. According to Dewey, the antagonists of traditional education, is one which is based on the teaching of religious belief/doctrine by believing that it is the search for certitude, determined “basic metaphysics” and led to the presupposition that “only the completely fixed and unchanging can be real” (Dewey, 1929, 1963). Morris and Adamson (2010) have further echoed that “schools were being used to induct the young into the beliefs of a given religion (e.g. Catholicism or Islam) or of a political ideology (e.g. Nazism or Communism) and thus the justification of having the traditional education was established”. Morris and Adamson (2010) quoted what Eisner (1992) had explained, “orthodoxies are not essentially about doubts, but about certainties. Indeed, to become orthodox is to become a true believer”. Accordingly, the missionaries and educators from the West, such as from England, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and France came with a missionary heart, established schools and communities services even prior to the establishment of the Anglican Churches in Hong Kong (Chan, 2017). On the side of the Roman Catholic, for example, historical record from the Catholic Church directory (2017) shown that the Canossian Missionary came as early as year 1860 to Hong Kong and in the same year, the Sacred Heart Canossian kindergarten, the Sacred Heart Canossian School and the Sacred Heart Canossian College were established.