Its emphasis is on the individual. Each individual determines what he or she needs to know and how to learn it. The first step of education is to understand yourself. An existentialist might sit on top of a chair, paint flowers on it, turn it over and lay on it, use it for a bonfire, etc. Whatever the student wanted to do with the chair would be acceptable in existentialism.
Philosophy helps provide clarification for what is or has been done.
The early leaders in agricultural education were greatly influenced by the pragmatic movement. The problem solving method of teaching and farm projects arose out of pragmatism. By realizing what idealists and realists believe in, it is easier to understand what these people want for education and why. This makes is easier for the pragmatic vocational educator to work with, instead of against, educational reformers. The recent trend in vocational agriculture to move toward agriscience is an example.