Standards of Learning

Students will be able to...

1. Define the educational philosophy of perennialism and its core principles.

2. Compare and contrast secular and theistic perennialism.

3. List classroom strategies aligned with the philosophy of perennialism.

• There are two main forms of perennialism: secular and theistic (Bansal, 2015). Many aspects of history and cultural values are heavily influenced by religion, so it can be valuable to explore the different values and opinions of these two forms of perennialism. 

• Secular perennialism focuses on the construction of knowledge through historical thought and works, while theistic perennialism focuses on the reconciliation of spiritual faith and reason (Bansal, 2015; Link, 2021). Pratiwi (2023) cites Astutuk & Khojir (2023), who state that students can gain a holistic perspective of the world and themselves through a return to their spiritual origin. 

• Both secular and theistic perennialism emphasize a return to the ideal traditional cultural values from the disordered, chaotic modern world (Pratiwi, 2023; Suciyati, 2023). 

Conclusion

Based on the information I have gathered, perennialism is an educational philosophy that is beneficial because of its never changing, stable concepts of universal truths and enduring ideas (Bansal, 2015; Link, 2021; Mosier, 1951). This educational philosophy might not be the most popular with the current generation of teachers because it may seem like a reversion or rejection of modernization and contemporary ideas, but perennialism is a discussion-centered teaching strategy that guides students to forming critical thinking skills through the pursuit of knowledge from truth (Pratiwi, 2023). I started my research on this topic because I was unsure about the viability of this educational philosophy in my classroom, but I believe that perennialism is a crucial philosophy after reading through sources and seeing how the core principles of perennialism focus on the formation of thoughts and opinions through inquiry (Link, 2021).

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. The core principle of perennialism is/are... (Knowledge)

A. Core academic subjects

B. Social change and justice

C. Student-centered problem-solving

D. Universal and timeless truth

2. Mr. Johnson wants to incorporate the educational philosophy of perennialism into his teaching methods. What is a classroom strategy he could use that aligns with perennialism? (Reasoning)

A. Assigning an essay where students use case studies to apply knowledge

B.  Assigning hands-on group projects where students get to choose their topic

C. Leading a discussion and allowing students to come to their own conclusion

D. Stating objective facts on the topic and asking students to memorize them

How I Used AI

1. AI tools

• Essay:

  • I asked Google Gemini Flash 2.5 Pro, “What are some learning targets for a lesson on perennialism in education?” I used this to brainstorm the learning targets for this assignment. 

• Draft:

  • Generated three images using DeepAI image generator with the prompts: "teacher holding a classical book in a discussion-based classroom," "educational philosophy of classical perennialism," and "educational philosophy of theistic perennialism."

  • Asked ChatGPT for "provocative questions for a lesson on the educational philosophy of perennialism," "examples of discussion-based classroom activities," and "examples of questions for reflective inquiry."

1. AI generated images and some good brainstorming ideas that I incorporated into my lesson. It made the searching and thinking of materials part of the assignment process a lot easier. I think it enhanced my lesson overall because it brought another perspective that I didn't have before I used it. I am still new to teaching and lack insight, but AI used resources to create ideas and examples that I could incorporate into my lesson.

2. I don't like using AI because I feel like it takes away from my thinking and creativity, but after using it for this assignment, I do think that AI has its merits. It helped me generate lesson content that I could adapt to my own. I think I did a good job in combining ideas from AI and meshing it with my own. In the future, I want to use AI as a supplemental resource to support my lesson creation like I did here.

References

Bansal, S. (2015, December). Perennialism - A concept of educational philosophy. International Journal of Education and Science Research, 2(6), 87-93. 

Link, S. (2021). Essentialism and perennialism. Ebscoe. Retrieved September 23, 2025, from https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/essentialism-and-perennialism

Mosier, R. D. (1951). Perennialism in education. History of Education Journal, 80-85.

Pratiwi, D. H. (2023, September 17). The philosophy of perennialism. Journal of Innovation in Teaching and Instructional Media, 4(1), 28-38. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382558691_The_Philosophy_of_Perennialism

Suciyati, L. (2023, August 8). The concept of perennialism education and the flow of essentialism. Amandemen: Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Studies, 1(2), 62-71.