Educational paradigms are coherent frameworks of assumptions, values, concepts, and methods that shape how education is understood, organized, and practiced [1][2][3][4]. They define what counts as valid knowledge, the aims of education, the roles of teachers and learners, and the preferred approaches to curriculum, instruction, and assessment [2][3][4]. Educational paradigms are characterized by internal consistency (shared principles across policy and practice), normative orientation (views of what education should achieve), and methodological implications (how learning should be studied and evaluated) [1][3][4]. In educational theory and policy, the term refers to broad guiding models—such as transmission-oriented, learner-centered, critical, or competency-based orientations—used to interpret and design educational systems, rather than isolated teaching techniques or short-term reforms [1][2][3][4].
- educational paradigms
- philosophy of education
- learning paradigms
- curriculum theory
References
- Kuhn, T. S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 4th ed.; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, 2012. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo13179781.html.
- Robert B. Barr; John Tagg; From TeachingtoLearning —A New Paradigm For Undergraduate Education. Chang. Mag. High. Learn. 1995, 27, 12-26, 10.1080/00091383.1995.10544672.
- Sfard, A.; On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing Just One. Educ. Res. 1998, 27, 4-23, 10.3102/0013189X027002004.
- Gert Biesta; WHY “WHAT WORKS” WON’T WORK: EVIDENCE‐BASED PRACTICE AND THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH. Educ. Theory 2007, 57, 1-22, 10.1111/j.1741-5446.2006.00241.x.