Historical Foundations of Education

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Education denotes the methods by which a society hands down from one generation to the next its knowledge, culture, and values. The individual being educated develops physically, mentally, emotionally, morally, and socially. The work of education may be accomplished by an individual teacher, the family, a church, or any other group in society. Formal education is usually carried out by a school, an agency that employs men and women who are professionally trained for this task..

PRIMITIVE EDUCATION. During this period, education was acquired by enculturation. It is the process of learning the culture and acquiring the values and knowledge of a society. Primitive education aims to help the primitive person learn his culture, develop his behavior in the ways of adulthood, and guide him toward his eventual role in society. In this education, the environment and all the surrounding activities are viewed as school or classroom and all the adults act as teachers..

abstract. The purpose of this education is to shape children to become good members of a tribe. Training for citizenship is essential because they are primarily concerned with the growth of individuals as tribal members. AIMS: To teach survival skills (practice fishing, and hunting ), and impart tribal cultures and tribal practices ( poems, songs, and dances)..

Chinese education. Shang Dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty that ruled between the 17th to 11th centuries BCE. The oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty represents the oldest form of Chinese writing and is considered the direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters used throughout East Asia. Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, he imposed many reforms throughout China such as forced standardization of the Chinese language, measurements, lengths of cart axles, and currency. It was made compulsory..

Confucius ( 550-478 BC) He is the most respected man among the Chinese. He was concerned with language and literature aside from Buddhism. He began to teach in a private school at the age of 22 and rejected pupils with no ability or ambition. His interests were more in moral philosophy, ethics, and social philosophy. His famous writing is “ Analects of Confucius.” AIMS: To select, train, and prepare people for public service. To govern the empire in accordance with Confucius’s principles..

HINDU EDUCATION. During the period of 2000-500 BCE, the Vedas, the oldest known scriptures of Hinduism, were composed, and many historians have analyzed these to postulate a Vedic Culture. The caste system arose during this period. By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex system of taxation and administration. Under this empire, Hinduism began to assert devotion rather than management of ritual. The renewal was reflected in flourishing sculpture, architecture, and Classical Sanskrit literature. Science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances at this time..

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AIMS: to be able to live according to the demands of their specific social class in the caste system To learn behavior and rituals based on Vedas.

JEWISH EDUCATION. Education became the sole means of retrieving their national greatness. In 64 AD, the rabbis, and the teacher, required every community to support a school, and that attendance should be compulsory. Every teacher could have no more than 25 pupils, otherwise an assistant was employed. Teachers were respected even more than parents because they prepared their pupils for the future. The child entered school at age 6, tasks are provided according to the child’s strength. The subjects taught are reading, writing, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. The Scriptures were taught to all children, and all were versed in religious rites..

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EGYPTIAN EDUCATION. The principles of life were taught from treatises known as Books of Instruction which emphasized the importance of wisdom, justice, obedience, piety, fairness, truthfulness, and above all, humanity. They devised a system of picture writing known as hieroglyphics around 3100 B.C. Hieroglyphics- a system of writing using pictures to represent a sound or group of sounds..

Education Depended on Social Class Lower Class Children of low-status families or fellahin learn their skills from their parents Boys -help in fields with simple farm tasks and apprentice in certain crafts/professions of their father Girls -confide in doing domestic tasks e.g. weaving, brewing, and bread-making Royalty and Elite/Rich Literacy remained their privilege, Girls were tutored, and Young boys were trained by scribes to read and write Scribe – a prestigious profession, usually hereditary having the duty of teaching royal and elite children AIMS: cultural and Totalitarian.

GREEK EDUCATION. Greece is considered the birthplace of Western civilization beginning with the Cycladic civilization on the Islands of the Aegean Sea ( 3200 BC). The end of the Greek Dark Age was also the year of the first Olympic Games. During this age, various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula emerged. These states and their colonies achieved cultural prosperity clearly expressed in their architecture, philosophy, science, mathematics, and drama..

Olympic games have a direct influence on the education of the people. The first Olympia began in 776 BC. These games united various states of Greece and it was created to stimulate national patriotism in friendly and joyous activities. ( foot race, wrestling, jumping, and throwing spear.) They added chariots, horse races, and competitions in painting, sculpture, and literature. AIMS: to unite the people of Greece and stimulate national patriotism..

SPARTAN EDUCATION. At 6 or 7 years old, the boy was taken from his home, and the State had entire jurisdiction over his education. They were placed in a group in charge of young men who were responsible for their education. The State trained these children to endure hunger and pain. The purpose was to prepare them to be a soldier. The only intellectual education provided to them was music from playing a lyre. Reading and writing were fitted for slaves..

AIMS: Their education aimed to develop a nation of unequaled military skill with citizens absolutely devoted and complete obedience to the state. The aim of education was in accordance with the aim of their constitution, which was to train a powerful body of soldiers that should be capable of conformity, endurance, strength, cunning, and patriotic efficiency..

ATHENIAN EDUCATION. The State provided gymnasia that served as schools. The two subjects of the elementary were gymnastics and music, and the next term reading and writing were included. Little attention was paid to the study of arithmetic as it was only needed for practical use..

The idea of education in Athens was the development of Beauty. So the pupils were required to memorize many selections from the works of poets. Children of the poor were kept in school until their 14th and 15th years when they learned to trade. Rich classes remained in school until the 20th year to study music, rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy. After 20 the youth’s education was considered completed and became a citizen. AIMS: Education aimed at “ beautiful”, and the idea was aesthetic in mind and body Good citizenship and individual excellence.

A sophist was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught arete, "virtue" or "excellence", predominantly to young statesmen and nobility..

ROMAN EDUCATION. From 753 B.C. (traditional founding of the city) to 275 B.C. Children were taught principally at home by their parents and servants (usually educated captured slaves). Entry to public life was by participation in civic, religious, and military affairs. Schools were only at the elementary level. From 275 B.C. until 132 B.C. the Romans developed a literary culture and a system of higher education patterned after the Greeks..

From 132 B.C. to 100 A.D. Latin literature and grammar were perfected. Medicine and law were taught on a systematic basis. Roman treatises on architecture and oratory were produced. Schools were private but a beginning was made of public subsidies to education. The government became an empire. Jesus Christ was born, lived, and was crucified, and the Christian Church was established. From 100 A.D. to 275 A.D., law became a university subject. Medicine took form and it kept this for 1 400 years. The government increased its subsidy for learning..

AIMS: Education was for practical purpose, to produce men who would be active and efficient in daily life. To produce good citizens who knew how to exercise their rights, fulfill their duties and obligations, and acquire virtues such as piety, obedience, manliness, courage, bravery, industry, honesty, prudence, etc. To train to be good soldiers and conquerors in war. To train men to be participative, wise in politics and have reverence for the gods..