FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION Chapter 1 Introduction to Education

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION Chapter 1: Introduction to Education 1

Unit 1: Meaning n Two ideas implicit in Education: ¨ Leading out into new knowledge and experience ¨ Feeding and thereby growing and developing 2

Unit 1: Forms n 3 forms of Education ¨ Formal ¨ Non-formal ¨ Informal 3

n Formal education ¨ Highly structured program with prescriptive content to the curriculum Government primary schools n Government secondary schools n Universities n 4

n Non-formal education ¨ Any organized learning activity outside the structure of the formal education system that is consciously aimed at meeting specific learning needs of particular groups of children, youth or adults in the community. Literacy program n Extensive services n Rural development program n 5

n Informal education ¨ Completely unstructured learning which individuals are free to follow according to their own interests Home n Peer groups n Mass media n 6

n Defining non-formal education ¨ As a panacea for all the ills of education ¨ Non-formal education expanded to cover agricultural and health extension, women’s programs, income-generation training, environmental enhancement activities, etc. 7

Unit 1: Aims in Education n Three terms to consider ¨ Goals ¨ Aims ¨ Objectives 8

n Goals ¨ Educational goals are the ends that society sets for the education system it operates. n Are expressed in broad political, cultural and economic terms ¨ n Citizenship, democracy or national unity Sometimes more specific aspects of education ¨ Life-long learning or equal opportunity 9

n Aims ¨ More like targets used in shooting practice ¨ Aims express goals in narrower and more specific terms 10

n Objectives ¨ The intended outcome of the process of education ¨ What Ss will be able to do as a result of teaching 11

n Some educational aims ¨ Personal development including intellectual and spiritual growth ¨ Vocational preparation in terms of necessary skills and character qualities ¨ Social training in which young people are initiated into society at local and national levels 12

n Education is as old as humanity. 13

n Education is more important today than ever before: ¨ Skills needed for everyday activities ¨ Specialized training for job ¨ Increasing knowledge and understanding of the world ¨ Helping people adjust to change 14

n Objectives (goals) of education: ¨ The cognitive area ¨ The affective area ¨ The psychomotor, or locomotor, area 15

n The cognitive area ¨ Knowledge, intellectual skills; to think/ reason effectively n The affective area ¨ Feeling, values, appreciations ¨ Developing moral and spiritual values and healthy attitudes and emotions. ¨ Sometimes referred to as character education or citizenship training n The psychomotor area ¨ Developing skills a person’s muscular or mechanical 16

Unit 1: Kinds of Education n Four kinds of Education ¨ General education ¨ Vocational education ¨ Special education ¨ Adult education 17

Unit 2: History of Education n Education in preliterate society ¨ Preliterate people used an oral tradition, or story telling, to pass on their culture and history from one generation to the next, since they lived before the invention of writing 18

n Education in ancient Africa and Asia ¨ The Confucian tradition, which encompasses education, wisdom, and ethics, persists in China. 19

n Education in ancient Greece ¨ Historians have looked to ancient Greece as one of the origins of Western formal education. ¨ Ancient Greece divided into small and often competing city-states Athens: emphasized a humane and democratic society and education; A free man should have a liberal education n Sparta: was a dictatorship that used education for military training and drill. n 20

n Greek philosopher Socrates ¨ Sought to discover and teach universal principles of truth, beauty, and goodness. ¨ Claimed that true knowledge existed within everyone and needed to be brought to consciousness. ¨ Socratic method consisted of asking probing questions that forced his students to think deeply about the meaning of life, truth, and justice. 21

n Plato (student of Socrates) ¨ Believed in an unchanging world of perfect ideas or universal concepts. ¨ Plato’s Republic gives a model society ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings, warriors the second class, and workers. 22

n Aristotle (the student of Plato) ¨ Human beings are essentially rational. ¨ Educated people who used reason to make decisions would lead to a life of moderation in which they avoided dangerous extremes. 23

n Education in ancient Rome ¨ The Greeks’ education focused on the study of philosophy ¨ The Romans, on the other hand, were preoccupied with war, conquest, politics, and civil administration. 24

n Education during the Renaissance ¨ Renaissance means the rebirth of learning ¨ Scholars became more interested in the humanist features or the secular or worldly rather than the religious aspects ¨ Erasmus, the Dutch humanist, believed that understanding and conversing about the meaning of literature was more important that memorizing it. 25

n Education during the Protestant reformation ¨ Martin Luther believed the state, family, and school, along with the church, were leaders of the Reformation. ¨ Luther believed that government should assist schools in educating literate, productive, and religious citizens. 26

n Educational theory in the 17 th century ¨ Czech education reformer Comenius created a new educational philosophy designed to bring about worldwide understanding and peace. n advised teachers to use children’s senses rather than memorization in instruction n 27

n John Locke, the English philosopher ¨ asserted that at birth the human mind is a blank slate ¨ We acquire knowledge from the information about the objects in the world that our senses bring to us ¨ believed that individuals acquire knowledge most easily when they first consider simple ideas and then gradually combine them into more complex ones. 28

n Education during the Enlightenment ¨ Enlightenment means the Age of Reason ¨ Educators believed that people could improve their lives and society by using their reason, their powers of critical thinking ¨ Benjamin Franklin, American philosopher and scientist, emphasized the value of utilitarian and scientific education ¨ Thomas Jefferson, the 3 th president of the US, stressed the importance of civic education to the citizens of a democratic nation. ¨ The Enlightenment principles considered education as an instrument of social reform and improvement. 29

n Education in the 19 th century ¨ Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss educator affirmed that schools should resemble secure and loving home n Like Locke &Rousseau, he believed that thought began with sensation and that teaching should use the senses n employed these principles in teaching: n Begin with the concrete object before introducing abstract concepts; ¨ Begin with the immediate environment before dealing with what is distant and remote; ¨ Begin with easy exercises before introducing complex ones; and ¨ Always proceed gradually, cumulatively, and slowly. ¨ 30

n Johann Herbart, German philosopher ¨ emphasized moral education, which is the primary goal; ¨ Good character rested on knowledge while misconduct resulted from an inadequate education; ¨ His followers designed a five-step teaching method n n n Prepare the pupils to be ready for the new lesson; Present the new lesson; Associate the new lesson with ideas studied earlier; Use examples to illustrate the lesson’s major points; and Test pupils to ensure they had learned the new lesson. 31

n Social Darwinism ¨ Herbert Spencer, a British sociologist Based on theory of evolution of Charles Darwin, meaning the survival of the “fittest” n Urging unlimitted competition, opposing public schools since they create a monopoly for mediocrity by catering to students of low ability n Was very popular in the last half of the 19 th century when industrialization was changing American and Western European societies; n Believed people in industrialized society needed scientific rather than classical education; emphasized education in practical skills. n 32

n National Systems of Education ¨ In the 19 th century, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and other European countries organized national systems of public education; ¨ The US, Canada, and other countries in North and South America followed European models 33

n Education in the 20 th century ¨ Ellen Key, Swedish feminist and educator Very influential n Progressive education emphasized the needs and potentials of the child, rather than the needs of society or the principles of religion n 34

n Maria Montessori of Italy, a progressive educator ¨ Influenced by the writing of Ellen Key ¨ Believed that children have a power to learn independently if provided a properly stimulating environment ¨ Emphasized three major classes of activity: practical, sensory, and formal skills and studies. ¨ Lectured in the US in 1913, but in the 1930 s her popularity declined since American educators stressed greater authority and control in the classroom, but became re-popular in the 1950 s 35

n John Dewey, American philosopher and educator ¨ Advocated education that would fulfill and enrich the current lives of students as well as prepare them for the future; ¨ Stressed the educational development of the child in terms of individual needs and interests 36

n Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist ¨ Wrote extensively on the development of thought and language patterns in children; ¨ Believed that children, by exploring their environment, create their own cognitive, or intellectual, conceptions of reality. 37

n Political influences ¨ Political leadership has affected the education systems of many countries; n In the 1920 s, Communist leader Joseph Stalin established a rigid curriculum for Soviet education that stressed science, math, and Communist ideology. 38

n The End of Chapter 1, Semester 1, Foundations of Education ¨ Let’s make a difference for the Cambodian younger generations! 39