The objective of this study was to mainly research the selection and organization of educational experience regarding basic principles of the inherent curriculum and instruction after discussing the alternative meaning of Whitehead''s Philosophy and then considering "the idea of experience" of Whitehead''s Philosophy.
The research questions set up to achieve the objective of the study are like below.
First, what is the alternative meaning of Whitehead''s Philosophy given to education?
Second, what is "the idea of experience" shown in Whitehead''s Philosophy?
Third, what are the basic principles of selection and organization of educational experience based on the idea of experience in A. N. Whitehead''s Philosophy?
To solve the research questions, the preceding researches and relevant literature were considered while the basic principles of curriculum and instruction inherent in Whitehead''s "the idea of experience" were studied focusing on the selection and organization of educational experience.
In ChapterⅡ, the alternative meaning of Whitehead''s Philosophy to education was considered. In the results, two meanings were drawn. First, Whitehead also viewed knowledge and mind as a process, which means the possibility of changes in knowledge and mind. Second, Whitehead''s Philosophy is meaningful as a thought that can seek for methods which can be continuously becoming by education. Like this, Whitehead''s Philosophy is significant as a thought that can suggest new educational alternatives.
In ChapterⅢ, "the idea of experience" shown in Whitehead''s Philosophy was considered. In the results, Whitehead''s experience was divided into a theory of process, a theory of prehension, and a theory of relationship. First, the theory of process is the discussion of existence modes of the actual entity. Second, the theory of prehension is the discussion of methods for the actual entity to have relationships with objectified entities. Third, the theory of relationship is the interpretation of nexus of the actual entities comprised based on relationships. The theories of process, prehension, and relationship as a theory of Whitehead'' experience were the basis to draw basic principles of selection and organization of educational experience in ChapterⅣ & Ⅴ.
In ChapterⅣ, the basic principles of selection of educational experiences inherent in Whitehead''s “the idea of experience” were considered. In the results, three principles including ‘convergence and divergence’, ‘immanence of contextual objective’, and ‘relational creativity’ were drawn. First, the ‘convergence and divergence’ means that educational experience should imply the past knowledges with the importance, and contents that can contribute to the creation of future knowledge should be selected. Second, the ‘immanence of contextual objective’ means that the objective through educational experience should be contextual with the current life of students while the educational experience should be selected suitable for the contextual objective. Third, the ‘relational creativity’ means that experiences which can become the foundation of educational growth should be selected as building up relationships with other educational experiences.
In ChapterⅤ, the basic principles of organization of educational experiences inherent in Whitehead''s “the idea of experience” were considered. In the results, total four principles including ‘immanence of process order’, ‘process fluidity’, ‘organic relationship’, and ‘continuity’ were drawn. First, the ‘immanence of process order’ means that educational experience should be organized in the virtuous circle structure with the order in which educational experience forms schema, and again schema becomes the educational datum. Second, the ‘process fluidity’ means that educational experience should be organized to be diversely changeable depending on educational conditions even when the curriculum and instruction are under the process order. Third, the ‘organic relationship’ means that the relationships between students, educational experiences, and educational experience and students should be considered when organizing educational experiences. Fourth, the ‘continuity’ means that the organization of educational experiences is the continuous becoming process from planning to execution.