Transcript Education - TPJC.net

Education
A short history of education
Education Process
S1 ----------- S2
Medium
/Method
Content
Purpose
Informal Beginnings
The earliest educational
processes were informal
sharings of information
at home.
gathering food
providing shelter
making weapons and other tools
learning language
acquiring the values, behavior,
and religious rites or practices of
a given culture.
Formal Education Begins Here
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The priests, witch
doctors or shamans
were perhaps the
earliest formal
teachers, sharing
their secrets with
chosen ones. Almost
all the teaching was
oral.
Formal
content fixed, sequenced, etc
Specific time, place
Evaluation
Knowledge is Power
Teach a few to retain power and status
 Witchdoctors, sharmans, priests, Brahmins
traditionally held power and influence over
kings and leaders
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With the development of writing and mathematical
symbols, the priests in ancient Egypt (3000 BC),
priests taught not only religion but also the principles
of writing, the sciences, mathematics, and
Architecture.
But to a select few.
In India, young men
and women were
tutored for roles in
the temple.
 Dance and music, if
taught, were all for
ritualistic purposes.
 Hindu vedic
scirptures, language,
writing were part of
the training.

Formal education in China
dates to about 2000 BC,
though it thrived
particularly during the
Eastern Zhou Dynasty,
from 770 to 300 BC.
The curriculum stressed
philosophy, poetry, and
Ethics of Confucius, Laozi
(Lao-tzu), and
other philosophers.
Partnership in Education
Jewish religious leaders, known as rabbis, advised
parents to teach their children religious beliefs, law,
ethical practices, and vocational skills. Both boys and
girls were introduced to religion by studying the
Torah, the most sacred document of Judaism. Rabbis
taught in schools within synagogues, places of
worship and religious study.
The State takes an Interest
Athens (500BC)
In Greece, the state began
to take in interest in the
development of the young
through education. The
Athenians believed a free
man should have a liberal
education in order to perform
his civic duties and for his
own personal development.
The Greeks focused on both
the training of the mind and
the body.
But the emphasis depended
on the particular city state.
Dance Drama Music
Literature Sports Philosophy
Rhetoric
Lofty Ideals
Socrates
(philosopher and
Teacher) forced his
students to think
deeply about the
meaning of life,
truth, and justice
from a nonreligious
perspective.
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Plato: established a
school in Athens called
the Academy regarded
as the first school.
The objective of
education was to seek
the truth.
Essential for good
leadership.
From Religious to Secular Values
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Greek Drama, Music and Dance were tied to
religion.
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Rhetoric, Logic and Argument was taught in order
to mold good citizens and good leaders.
Superstition, Logic or Science?
Hippocrates is generally
credited with turning away
from divine notions of
medicine and using
observation of the body as
a basis for medical
knowledge.
 changes in diet, beneficial
drugs, and keeping the
body "in balance" were
the key.
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Was it Universal?
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Boys: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic - these were
meant to help students communicate effectively,
and included a study of literature and language arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy. And
Sports
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Girls: weaving and other household chores,
dancing, music, and physical education sometime
in schools but often at home by males.

Girls intended to be *hetaerae (companions)
were educated in schools where they also learned
grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic.

Slaves were not educated.
*he ti ri
A Less Lofty Ideal?
Education for Military Defence
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In Sparta education was
for the State and its
survival.
Children selected for
different roles.
Those physically stronger
were trained soldiers.
Removed from family and
family bonds.
Very harsh training.
Under One Roof
The Library at Alexandria (Egypt)
Undertaking by Alexander the Great (350 BC)
 Collected all works by Egyptian, Jewish, Greek
thinkers and teachers (more than 2000 years of
knowledge).
 Oldest University administered by the Greeks
and Egyptians
 Greek, Egyptian, Jewish and later
Christian scholars studied here.
Greek Education the Model
The Romans instituted State education
Non-religious based on Greek Model
Rules of argument
 grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics
 ethics, military science, natural science,
geography, history, and law.
 Purpose: Good citizens and good leaders
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A Shift in Focus
Quintilian, an influential Roman educator
who lived in the 1st century AD, wrote
that education should be based on the
stages of individual development from
childhood to adulthood.
 specific lessons for each stage.
 suited to the student’s readiness and
ability to learn new material.
 make learning interesting and attractive
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Re-Merging of the Secular and
Religious
Early Christian Era.
Very interested in all
kinds of knowledge.
Vast collections of
materials held in
Monasteries .
 Also at Alexandria
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If it isn’t in the Bible…
Middle Ages, 5th to the 15th century, Western
society and education were heavily shaped
by Christianity,
The Church schools - elementary level.
Monasteries and cathedrals - secondary
education.
Much of the teaching in these and universities
directed at learning religious content in
Latin.
Limited opportunities for women.
Schools were attended primarily by persons
planning to enter religious life such as priests,
monks, or nuns as well as children of
important people.
….it is not the truth
This was not a time of broad-based
scientific or a varied curriculum.
 Scientific ideas inconsistent with biblical
teaching was discouraged.
 But literacy -- in Latin and local
languages spread as a result of the study
of the scriptures.
 Many unofficial translations of the Bible.
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The Arabs
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Knowledge from the ancient
Egyptians and Greeks infiltrated
into European Universities via Arab
scholars who had translated and
preserved many of the Greek
manuscripts on mathematics,
natural science, medicine, and
philosophy.
The Arabic number system was
especially important, and became
the foundation of Western
arithmetic.
(xvii + vi + ix = xxxii )
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AL-BIRUNI
973 - 1048
Arab Scholar
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In the 11th century western medieval
scholars unable to ignore knowledge in
the sciences and mathematics developed
Scholasticism, a philosophical and
educational movement that used human
reason (and experience) and
revelations from the Bible.
Re-birth of Knowledge
Partly due to the declining influence of
religion.
 Great interest in Art, Architecture, Poetry,
Literature of the Romans and Greeks.
 Education restricted to male children of
Aristocrats – future leaders
 Patronage system for the gifted poor.
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Education for All?
The Age of Enlightenment in the
18th century produced important
changes in education and
educational theory. During the
Enlightenment, educators
believed all people could improve
their lives and society by using
their reason, their powers of
critical thinking.
New Ideas, Theories and Practices
(Education becomes a discipline)
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
 developed an educational method based
on the natural world and the senses.
(1) concrete (sight, sound, touch) before
abstract
(2) immediate t before remote;
(3) easy exercises before complex ones;
(4) always proceed gradually, cumulatively,
and slowly.
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German educator Friedrich Froebel (17821852) created the earliest kindergarten, a
form of preschool education that literally
means “child’s garden” in German
Herbert Spencer strongly influenced education in
the mid-19th century with social theories based
on the theory of evolution developed by British
naturalist Charles Darwin.
 Promoted competition to counter mediocrity.
 Spencer believed that people in industrialized
society needed scientific rather than classical
education.
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5 Areas of the Curriculum
Emphasizing education in practical skills, he advocated a
curriculum featuring lessons in five areas:
(1) Health education
(2) Life and vocational skills (3 R’s + Science)
(3) Parenting skills
(4) Civics and politics; and
(5) Leisure and recreation.
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Spencer’s ideas on education
were eagerly accepted in
the United States.
Jean Piaget
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(1896-1980 )
recognized for his studies of the mental
development of children. The most
influential educationist in modern times.
Father of Cognitive
Psychology
Formal
Teachers?
Specified Period
Structured
curriculum
Exams
Informal
Incidental
Flexible in time and
Content
What do we
train or
educate?
Certificate
For What / Whom?
Body
How?
Dispense
Self
Subjects?
Mind
Job
Arts
Soul
Family / Culture
Science
State
Vocational
Humanity
Nurture
Facilitate
Encourage
Ignite a
passion for
Parents
Schools
Tutors
Religion / Church
State
Media
Peers
How?
One to One
Lectures
Computers
Books
Group work
References
Internet encyclopedia of philosophy
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/
 MSN Encarta – A History of Education
http://encarta.msn.com/medias_76156141
5/History_of_Education.html
 A Short History of Education
http://www.socsci.kun.nl/ped/whp/histedu
c/clough/gben003.html#ttcap
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The Library of Alexandria in northern Egypt became, from the 3rd
century BC, the outstanding center of Greek culture. It also soon
attracted a large Jewish population, making it the largest center for
Jewish scholarship in the ancient world.
In addition, it later became a major focal point for the development
of Christian thought.
The Museum, or Shrine to the Muses, which included the library and
school, was founded by Ptolemy I. The institution was from the
beginning intended as a great international school and library.
The library, eventually containing more than a half million volumes,
was mostly in Greek.
It served as a repository for every Greek work of the classical period
that could be found. Had the library lasted, it would have presented
to modern scholars nearly every ancient book for study.
Rousseau
 Piaget
 Dewey
 Knowledge / Truth / Beauty
 Information / How to / Apprentices and
Guilds
 Processing – thinking
 Education for citizenship
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