The Implication of Students’ Misperceptions of Philosophy for the
Educational Philosophy Curriculum Development
Tatang Syaripudin
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Implication, Students’ Misconception of Philosophy, Curriculum Development.
Abstract: Using a descriptive method, this research was aimed to describe: 1) students’ misperceptions about
philosophy that became an inhibiting factor for them to study the philosophy of education and 2) the
implication of students’ misperceptions about philosophy for the development of educational philosophy
curriculum. The research subjects were students enrolled in the Primary School Teacher Education Program
(PGSD) of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). The data were collected through questionnaires and
interviews. The data analysis was carried out through: data reduction, data classification, data interpretation,
implication analysis, and conclusion drawing. The result showed that there were misperceptions of PGSD
students about philosophy. In their perceptions, philosophy was deemed as: 1) not applicable to the
everyday life practice, as irrelevant knowledge, and too mysterious or mystical, 2) difficult to learn, 3) a
dangerous knowledge that could lead to apostasy, 4) unnecessary and not having any actual benefits for
everyday life, 5) useless because it did not provide technical problem-solving guide. The implication for the
educational philosophy curriculum development is that the lecturer should first introduce the nature of
philosophy to the students before teaching them various schools of educational philosophy. This included
teaching them the definition of philosophy, the characteristics of philosophy, the difference between
philosophy and science, religion, and arts, and the benefits of philosophy for everyday life. This way, their
misperceptions about philosophy could be eliminated, and so were the inhibitors in learning philosophy.
1 INTRODUCTION
Prospective educators need to study the philosophy
of education because it is the basis of educational
practice. The objective of this course is to enable
students to understand various educational
philosophy schools, criticize them, and understand
the assumptions of Pancasila-based national
educational philosophy. The last one is crucial
because the basis of national education is Pancasila
(Article 2 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia No.
20/2003 on National Education System).
The philosophy of education is a compulsory
subject for PGSD students. Ideally, every student
could meet the course objective in accordance with
the quality standards set out in the PGSD
curriculum. However, PGSD students’ achievement
in this course indicated that their absorption rate had
yet to be improved. Last year, it was around 68%.
Based on the reflection about the results of teaching
process and students’ achievement, there are two
things that are recommended for improvement. First,
it is necessary to select and apply a more effective
teaching model than the usual discussion method.
Second, efforts should be made to overcome the
learning barriers experienced by students that stem
from their misperceptions of philosophy.
The second recommendation is the focal point of
this research, and hence the research problem is
formulated as follows: What is the implication of
students’ misperceptions about philosophy for the
curriculum development of the philosophy of
education? This problem is then elaborated in the
following research questions:
1) What kind of misperception becomes an
inhibiting factor for the students to study the
philosophy of education?
2) What is the implication of students’
misperceptions about philosophy for the curriculum
development of the philosophy of education?
Generally, this research is aimed at getting
feedbacks in the curriculum development of the
philosophy of education course as an effort to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of PGSD
Syaripudin, T.
The Implication of Students’ Misperceptions of Philosophy for the Educational Philosophy Curriculum Development.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 2, pages 183-188
ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
183

students’ learning process. Specifically, this research
is aimed at:
1) Identifying PGSD students’ misperceptions
about philosophy that become inhibiting factors in
learning the philosophy of education.
2) Describing the implication of PGSD students’
misperceptions of philosophy for the educational
philosophy curriculum development.
The result of the research is particularly useful to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
teaching and learning process of the philosophy of
education. In addition, lecturers also may get
feedbacks in the curriculum development of the
philosophy of education course. The result of this
research also may facilitate students in achieving the
course objectives of the philosophy of education.
2 MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
In philosophical systematics, the philosophy of
education belongs to special philosophy or applied
philosophy. It is special because it has a special
object, namely education. At the same time, the
philosophy of education categorized as an applied
philosophy because it is the application of general
philosophy in order to solve various problems
associated with education. The philosophy of
education applies two things of general philosophy:
1) general philosophical thinking method and 2)
general philosophical thinking outcome.
Since the philosophy of education is an
application of general philosophical method and
general philosophical thinking outcome, we will
figure out that there is a logical consistency or
logical coherence between theories or thoughts of
general philosophy with theories or thoughts about
education when we learn the philosophy of
education. Thus, logically there will be a consistency
or coherence between the thoughts or theories in the
field of metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology
with thoughts or theories in the field of education,
such as those associated with the educational
purposes, curriculum, educational methods, roles of
educators, etc. (Kneller, 1971; Power, 1982;
Callahan and Clark, 1983). In this respect, the
mindset of the philosophy of education presentation
put forward by the philosophers can be visualized in
the following figure:
Figure 1: The Mindset of the Philosophy of Education
Presentation.
The philosophy of education can be thought of as
both a thinking process and outcome (Mudyahardjo,
1995). As a thinking process, it can be defined as a
process of reflective, systematic, and contemplative
critical thinking to produce a system of thought or
system of theory about the nature of education
comprehensively. As a thinking outcome, the
philosophy of education is a group of theories or
system of thoughts about the nature of education as
it already exists and is embedded in the culture of
mankind. The system of thoughts or system of
theories about the nature of education previously
mentioned can be read in many books such as
Plato’s Republic, Stella Van Petten Henderson’s
Introduction to Philosophy of Education, and John
Dewey’s Democracy and Education.
Like general philosophy, philosophy of
education also consists of various schools such as
idealism, realism, pragmatism, scholasticism,
existentialism, constructivism, progressivism,
essentialism, perennialism, and reconstructionism
(Butler, 1957; Frost Jr., 1957; Kneller, 1971; Power,
1982; Callahan and Clark, 1983; Ozmon and Craver,
1981; Ornstein and Levine, 1985; Amien, 2005).
Syaripudin and Kurniasih (2008) put forward the
functions of educational philosophy for the
prospective educators and/or for educators as
follows:
1) Providing comprehensive concept about the
nature of education.
2) Providing assumptions for educational practice
3) Providing guidance to where education should
be directed, formulated in educational
objectives.
4) Building a critical attitude and intellectual
independence amidst the various educational
schools and practices.
Perception can be defined in many ways, some
of which are suggested by Page et al (1978:25) and
Chaplin (1972:51). From various existing
definitions, it can be concluded that perception is an
awareness, response, impression, and meaning that
someone gives to an object as a result of the process
of observation of the object in question. Thus, one's
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184

observation of philosophy will produce a perception
about it.
One's perception is influenced by variables.
According to Krech et al (1962), there are two
variables that influence perceptions
1) Structural variables, which refer to factors
present in physical stimuli and
neurophysiological processes;
2) Functional variables, which refer to factors
attributive to the observer such as needs, mood,
prior experience, and other personal attributes
(Sarwono, 1983:94).
One’s perception about particular object is
subjective. Krech et al (1962: 51-60) suggest that
there are five factors that may cause the first
misimpression (perception):
1) Insufficient information.
2) Wrong instruction.
3) Stereotyping.
4) Logical fallacy.
5) Halo effect and devil effect.
Misperceptions about philosophy may also
happen because of one of these factors.
This research used a descriptive survey method.
The subjects were 94 PGSD students attending the
philosophy of education class. The data were
collected through questionnaires and interviews. The
data analysis was carried out through:
1) Data reduction.
2) Data classification.
3) Data display.
4) Data interpretation.
5) Conclusion drawing.
In addition, an implication analysis was also
carried out to figure out the implication of students’
misperceptions about philosophy for the curriculum
development of the philosophy of education. The
implication is denoted by the symbol: p q (if p then
q). The truth criteria are as described in the diagram
below.
Table 1: The Truth Criteria of the Implication.
p q
Then
p q
i i
i o
i
o
Note: i = true statement.
o = false statement.
Students’ Misperceptions about Philosophy that
Become Inhibiting Factors in Learning the
Philosophy of Education. There were five
misperceptions about philosophy that become
inhibiting factors in learning the philosophy of
education as follows:
1) Some students deemed as not applicable to the
everyday life practice, as irrelevant knowledge,
and even too mysterious or mystical.
2) Generally, they viewed philosophy as difficult
to learn. This misperception happened because
the concept of philosophy of education were
frequently delivered using big words and not
simplified.
3) Some students reckoned that philosophy was
unnecessary and even dangerous. This was due
to the idle gossip that some people became
mentally ill and even became infidels after
learning philosophy.
4) Some thought philosophy was unnecessary and
not having any actual benefits for everyday
life.
5) Some other stated that philosophy was useless
in problem solving. Unlike science and
technology in a sense that they could provide
practical and technical benefits, it did not
provide any technical problem-solving guide.
The Implication of Students’ Misperceptions of
Philosophy for the Educational Philosophy
Curriculum Development. The causes of the
aforementioned misperceptions could be identified
as follows: First, students did not really know what
philosophy was. The still mixed up philosophy with
other types of knowledge, even with mystical things.
Second, they were not aware that all people–
including they themselves–actually had a philosophy
of life. Third, they were misinformed that
philosophy was dangerous and useless. Fourth, they
could not tell the characteristics of philosophy from
those of religion, science, and arts.
Their misperceptions about philosophy made it
difficult for them to learn the philosophy of
education. There are things to be made to cope with
these misperceptions. One of them is that students
should be introduced to the nature of philosophy that
includes:
1) The definition of philosophy (Page et al, 1978).
2) The characteristics of philosophy
(Mudyahardjo, 1995; Rapar, 1996).
3) The difference between philosophy and other
types of knowledge (Henderson, 1959;
Mudyahardjo, 1995).
4) The role and benefits of philosophy for
everyday life.
Facilitating this understanding is deemed to be
able to eliminate students’ misperceptions about
philosophy. The implication is that all barriers in
learning the philosophy of education can be dealt
with.
There are various barriers to learning facing
students in the framework of learning philosophy of
education. Barriers to learning are among others due
to misunderstanding of students about philosophy
The Implication of Students’ Misperceptions of Philosophy for the Educational Philosophy Curriculum Development
185

and its sources. In connection with this matter, in the
framework of lectures of educational philosophy, at
the beginning of the course it is recommended that
the lecturers facilitate the students to obtain clarity
about the nature of philosophy. Understanding the
nature of philosophy includes at least four things,
namely: the definition of philosophy, the
characteristics of philosophy, the comparison of
philosophy with other knowledge systems, as well as
the role and benefits of philosophy in life.
The definition of philosophy includes: 1) the
definition of philosophy etymologically and its
illustrations, 2) lexical or dictionary definitions and
their illustrations, and 3) operational definition. The
definition of philosophy operably includes the
definition of philosophy as a process of thinking and
as a result of thinking with clear examples.
Understanding the definition of philosophy will
clarify the nature of philosophy as a system of
knowledge and as a worldview. With this, students
will be able to realize that philosophy is real in
everyday life.
Understanding the characteristics of philosophy
will be able to reduce students' misconceptions about
philosophy. Therefore, students need to understand
the characteristics of the object of philosophical
study, the study process or philosophical way of
thinking, the characteristics of philosophical
outcomes, the characteristics of philosophical truth,
and the characteristics of the presentation of the
system of philosophical knowledge. To complete an
understanding of the nature of philosophy, the
lecturers are then recommended to educate students
so that they understand the comparison between
philosophy and religion, the comparison of
philosophy with science, and the comparison of
philosophy with art. Furthermore, students need to
be facilitated to understand and believe in the role
and benefits of philosophy in life. For that we need
to present the data or historical examples of the role
and benefits of philosophy in the development of
human life or civilization.
The perception that philosophy is a secret,
mystical, and strange thing is wrong. Quite the
contrary, philosophy reveals the truth about what
lies behind that secret, vague, mystical and strange
thing. Example: in ancient times people lived
confined in a tradition filled with myths, myths, and
superstitions that are completely vague, secretive,
and strange. To uncover what is really from what is
behind it all, philosophers think radically and freed
man from the confusion of mystical and secret
things. Finally, humans look at nature rationally and
think rationally. The false notion of philosophy as
revealed earlier, probably caused by ignorance of the
people about philosophy. They cannot distinguish
between philosophy and the mystique or astrology,
etc. Therefore, the non-philosophical (mysterious,
mystical, and strange) knowledge is perceived as
philosophy. To overcome such misconceptions,
students need to be facilitated to understand the
characteristics of the object of philosophical study,
the study process or philosophical way of thinking,
the characteristics of philosophical outcomes, the
characteristics of philosophical truth, and the
characteristics of the presentation of the
philosophical knowledge system. To complete an
understanding of the nature of philosophy, the
lecturers are then recommended to educate students
so that they understand the comparison between
philosophy and religion, the comparison of
philosophy with science, and the comparison of
philosophy with art.
The perception that philosophy is difficult to
learn needs to be criticized, even if it is true that
philosophy needs to be learned through "serious"
thinking. As a system of thought or theory,
philosophy is the result of rational, coherent,
consistent, radical, and so on. Therefore, as long as
the person who studies philosophy is doing it
seriously, philosophy will not be difficult to learn.
Philosophy is the result of thinking of philosophers,
the philosophers are human, and because we are also
human beings we will certainly be able to
understand the mind system of the philosophers. The
difficulty in studying philosophical books or
listening to descriptions of philosophy may be due to
the presentation of philosophy in the book or in a
less systematic way, the language is incompatible
with the level of ability of the reader or the person
who listens, and the illustrations or examples are
incompatible with the context (condition) of the
reader or listener. To overcome this problem,
lecturers are encouraged to systematically study the
students' philosophy, using language that students
can understand, and using contextual examples.
"Because learning philosophy of people's minds
becomes strange, and some even become kafirs.
Therefore, philosophy does not need to be studied ".
So dangerous is philosophy? We need to question it:
why did it happen and what really happened? In
relation to the above problem, the lecturer needs to
explain that anyone who will study their philosophy
should pay attention to the following:
1) Recognizing the existence of various schools of
philosophy, as for the content of the teachings
of the flow of philosophy that one with the
content of the teachings of other philosophical
schools are different.
2) Recognizing that the content of the teachings
of every philosophical school is logically
consistent or coherent. But if we use other
criteria to judge, we will be able to assess
whether or not the content of the teaching is
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correct. The teaching of a philosophical school
that is coherent and plausible may be true may
also be wrong, may or may not be acceptable
or acceptable.
3) People who study philosophy need to be
critical, do not just take the content of the
teachings of the philosophers. Ask again
whether the content of the teachings of
philosophy he studied is true or not? Which
part of the whole teaching of philosophy he
studied is acceptable and which part must be
rejected or possessed merely as knowledge
alone?
The benefits of philosophy in life are unclear.
Philosophy is useless to solve problems, because
philosophy does not provide technical guidance as to
science and technology. This is another example of a
student's misunderstanding of philosophy. To
overcome these problems in the development of
educational philosophy curriculum, lecturers are
recommended to teach students about the role and
benefits of philosophy in life. Need to present data
or historical examples of the role and benefits of
philosophy in the development of life or human
civilization. About the role of philosophy in the
history of human thought, among others, can refer to
the work Rapar (1996), namely: as a breaker of
tradition and customs, liberators from ignorance, and
mentors to think rationally. The usefulness and
usefulness of philosophy in the development of
science and technology can refer to the work of
Rapar (1996). Rapar concludes that: "The infinity of
philosophy .... is very useful for science. That's
because the infinity of philosophy is not only useful
as a liaison between disciplines of science. However,
with its infinity, the sangugup philosophy examines,
evaluates, corrects, and further refines the principles
and principles underlying science ".
Philosophy does not provide technical guidance
as science does, but philosophy guides us to
practical understanding and action, shows the basis
and purpose, develops critical attitudes and
intellectual independence, and tolerance. It is
recommended to be developed in the educational
philosophy curriculum.
3 CONCLUSIONS
There were five PGSD students’ misperceptions
about philosophy that become inhibiting factors in
learning the philosophy of education. These
misperceptions included viewing philosophy as:
1) Not applicable to the everyday life practice, as
irrelevant knowledge, and too mysterious or
mystical,
2) Difficult to learn,
3) A dangerous knowledge that could lead to
apostasy,
4) unnecessary and not having any actual benefits
for everyday life,
5) Useless because it did not provide technical
problem-solving guide.
The implication for the educational philosophy
curriculum development is that the lecturer should
first introduce the nature of philosophy to PGSD
students before teaching them various schools of
educational philosophy. This included: the definition
of philosophy (etymological, lexical, and
operational), the characteristics of philosophy
(object, process, result, and nature of truth), the
difference between philosophy and other systems of
knowledge (science, art, and religion), and the role
and benefits of philosophy in life. This way, their
misperceptions about philosophy could be
eliminated, and so are the inhibitors in learning
philosophy.
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