My Educational Philosophy, largely, embraces a blend of idealist and pragmatist metaphysics; where the university teacher has a central role as a role model for students to adopt their model in order to become good citizens (idealism), coupled with teaching students the things that are practical for life and encouraging them to grow into better people (pragmatism). Idealists therefore identify and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order to serve society better. The idealism curricular emphasis is the subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Pragmatists believe in the idea of practical learning i.e. education should apply to the real world. Moreover, it makes learning purposeful and infuses a sense of reality into education.

In terms of epistemology, the idealist philosophy underscores the ways in which the mind interprets material reality via the senses. The act of knowing takes place in the mind, here. For example, the mind combines impressions received and moulds them into concepts and ideas. This notion is best summed up by the following quote:

“I think therefore I am” / “Je pense donc je suis” - René Descartes (French idealist philosopher)

The pragmatist epistemology, on the other hand, purports that knowledge is at all times and on all occasions based on experience. One's perceptions of the world is thus influenced by their social experience(s). Each person's knowledge is hence unique—as it is created by their own, subjective experiences. This perspective is embodied in free‐choice learning, which benefits from theoretical adjustment of Vygotsky’s learning theory by installing Dewey’s pragmatic epistemological theories. Overall, this view is concretised by the following quote:

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” - John Dewey (American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer)

These may seem like opposing views, and in many ways, they are. I, however, overcome the many discrepancies in the following way: Students need to be productive, effective citizens upon completion of their degree(s). The best way for them to learn to do this is to sharpen their interpretations of the world (idealism) by way of introspection and reflection on subjective experience(s) (pragmatism). Parsing the dissonance in this way means that students come to know and interpret the world more effectively if they are exposed to deep, meaningful moments where they are afforded opportunities to observe, analyse and evaluate.