1.0 What is Education?
Education is a concept with wide connotations. It is defined in different ways by various philosophers and educationists. These diverse meanings and definitions correspond to the many functions of education. A study of these definitions is useful for a systematic understanding of the meaning of education.
Western View of Education
❖ Plato (429-384 BC)
Education consists of giving to the body and the soul all the perfection of which they are susceptible.
❖ Aristotle (384-322BC)
The true aim of Education is the attainment of happiness through perfect virtue.
❖ Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
Education is development of the whole man.
❖ John Milton (1608-1674)
I call, therefore, a complete and generous education is that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnimously all the offices, both private and public, of peace and war.
❖ Jean Jaquez Rousseau (1712- 1778)
Education is a development of the whole man.
❖ Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
Education means a natural, progressive and systematic development of all the powers.
❖ Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge.
❖ Francis W. Parker (1837-1902)
The realization of all the possibilities of human growth and development is education.
❖ John Dewey (1859-1952)
Education is the development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfil his responsibilities.
❖ Jean Piaget (1896-1919)
The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, lot simply of repeating what other generations have done - men who are creative, inventive and discoverers. The second goal of education is to form minds which can be critical, can verify and not accept everything they are offered.
Eastern Ideas about Education.
➢ Rigveda (3500 BC)
Noble thoughts coming from every side.
➢ Yajurvedy (1500 - 450 BC)
Perform noble deeds, develop intellect and purify your mind.
➢ Confucius(551 - 479 BC)
Human- heartedness is the highest value an individual can attain and this is the ultimate value of education.
➢ Brihadranayak Upanishad (450 BC)
Leading from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality
➢ Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man, body, mind and spirit.
➢ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888 - 1975)
Training the intellect, refinement of the heart and discipline of the spirit.
➢ J. Krishnamurti (1895 - 1986)
Helping the individual to flower greatly in love and goodness.
The physical, intellectual, emotional and ethical integration of the individual into a complete man is a broad definition of the fundamental aim for education. (Learning to be - Edgar Faure, UNESCO Report, 1972)
The UNESCO report entitled 'Learning the Treasure within, also called the Delors Report (Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century - 1996) has renewed the idea of education throughout life. It is based on four pillars of education. They are:
1. Learning to know:
With the avalanche of changes brought about by scientific progress and the new forms of economic and social activity, the emphasis has to be on combining a sufficiently broad general education with the possibility of in-depth work on a selected number of subjects.
Such a general background provides the passport in lifelong education-it also gives learning throughout life. Learning to know does not mean acquiring itemized codified information but of mastering the instruments of knowledge which presupposes.
2. Learning to do.
In addition to learning to do a job of work, it should, more generally entail the acquisition of a competence that enables people to deal with a variety of situations, often unforeseeable.
3. Learning to be
Every men need to greater independence and judgment combined with a stronger sense of personal responsibility – none of the talents which are hidden liked buried treasure in every person must be lift untapped. These are to name a few - memory, reasoning power imagination, physical ability and aesthetic sense.
4. Learning to live together:
Developing an understanding of other people and an appreciation of interdependence - carrying out joint projects and learning to manage conflicts in a spirit of' respect for the values of pluralism, mutual understanding and peace.
Education Philosophy
There is a continuous relationship between education and philosophy. Education and philosophy are like two sides of the same coin. Philosophy is a process, which explains about the society, people and life deeply and logically. The art of education will never attain complete understanding without philosophy.
Educational philosophy is a collection of concepts, problems and questions related to the process of education, subject content, methodology and the other areas of education.
The relationship between Education and Philosophy in Relation to the definitions:
1. Education and philosophy are like two sides of the coin. W.D.Ross
2. Every education system is based on a vision of life. J.S.Bruner
3. Education is the dynamic side of philosophy or the philosophy in action.
4. Every educationist should be a philosopher. Robert Rusk
Ideas of philosophers explaining education are different. They are influenced by their social environment and the necessities of the societies in which they lived in.
A study of philosophical thinking of various philosophers regarding education will be helpful to identify the differences of educational systems in different countries and to identify a suitable educational system for Sri Lanka.
1.1 Aspects of Education
Education takes place from birth to death continuously. Therefore this process takes place through three main modes.
1. Informal Education
2. Formal Education
3. Non-formal Education
Although it is separated into three main areas there are relationships among them.
1.1.1. Informal Education
All the learning takes place without any formal method from a person's birth to death is informal education. This is the lifelong process of incidental learning. By, this form of education, every individual acquires attitudes, values, skills, and knowledge from daily experiences. An individual learns from his family and neighbours from work and play, from market place, factory, work and play, library and the mass media. For the most part of it appears this process is unorganized and unsystematic. However, it accounts for a very high proportion of all that any person is.
1.1.2 Formal Education.
Formal education is a full time education system which is structured in a hierarchy that consists of systematic grades from primary school to the university with various and special plans and which consists of technical and professional features. School is a main institution which gives formal education and although pre-school education-is also a part of the formal education, it is not conducted in all the countries in the same way. Formal education changes from country to country and even in the same country from time to time
Eg; Curriculum, Age for school admission,
Presently Formal education is being criticized for its rigidity
Eg; Competition, examination oriented nature, academic nature and being too theoretical.
1.1.3 Non-formal Education
This mode of education emerged as a complement to the formal education. Any Organized educational activity outside the established formal system may be identified as Non-formal education. It provides a second chance for learning to those who missed formal schooling. It provides useful knowledge, attitudes and skills and affords a wide array of learning activities.
Characteristics of Non-Formal Education
- Provides a wide variety learning services which lie beyond the scope of formal education
- A method of involving people in their own development.
- Oriented to meet basic needs.
- It helps human resource development.
- It is for all dropouts of the school system.
- Based on the necessities of the learner.
- Most courses are short term.
- Flexible.
- Skill-oriented
- Conducted by various organizations. Eg: Government Departments, Government Affiliated Institutions, Non-governmental Organizations.
