LESSON TWO A

Development of philosophy of education

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, the student should be able:

i. To define philosophy of education.
ii. To locate the discipline of philosophy of education within the study
of education
iii. To examine the nature of problems addressed by philosophy of education
iv. To outline the relevance of philosophy of education to teacher training
programmes.

Philosophy of education as an Educational Discipline

✓ So, fur the following etymological Definitions have been given to the two
terms: Philosophy- love for wisdom
✓ Education -means to lead, to nurture or to bring up
Therefore: Certain aspects of education + certain aspects of philosophy = philosophy
of education. It now possible to state that, Philosophy of Education may simply be
defined as the outcome of philosophical thinking about education.

A discipline refers to an area of knowledge which has a distinct content or set of

concerns, distinct methods or approaches with which it studies and explains their
concerns and has a particular language or set of concepts though which realties
related to its nature or concerns can be easily rendered meaningful.

As a discipline (of education), philosophy of education has its own distinctive

approach to the study of issues within the field of education.

Development of Philosophy of Education

John Dewey (1859-1952) was one of the first thinkers to develop a systematic
framework now called philosophy of education. He is also thought to be one of
the first thinkers to use the phrase 'Philosophy of Education' to refer to an educational
discipline in its own right. He is therefore considered as the father of modern
philosophy of education in America and in the world today. He was against
authoritarian approach in education, which regarded the teacher as the sole authority.
He made an observation that knowledge is found within ordinary experiences as an
individual interacts with the environment. He asserted that, Education is life in itself
and not merely a preparation for life. Therefore, it should be based on the needs,
interests and abilities of the learners and teaching should be child-centered. This
means children should take an active part in the actual learning process Relationship
of philosophy to education

In the various education studies, we read of philosophers who lived long before
Dewey and their ideas, which are nevertheless, philosophical and which are at the
same time educational. Such philosophers include Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine,
Jean Jacques Rousseau, Erasmus, John Locke and many others.

It may appear that philosophy of education, contrary to what we are saying here,
existed long before John Dewey.

The study of education as a distinct discipline or ‘educational discipline’ did not

exist the way we know it today until 1900 when it became recognized as a distinct
field of study with its own disciples.

NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

That is, the place of Philosophy of Education within the Study of Education

Looking at the way educational studies are conducted, there are two aspects of
categorization in which education is studied. These are the practical courses and the
foundational courses.

(a)Practical Courses

The word courses, here, has been used as synonymous to educational discipline.
Practical courses in educational studies are concerned with the development of skills
necessary for practicing education.

These are courses, or educational disciplines, that equip the teacher trainees with the
practical skill they require to be effective in their teaching responsibilities. These
include methodological courses such as lesson planning, the use of media and
technology in teaching, tests and measurements, teaching practice and even courses
on motivation in education. The practical skills these educational disciplines impart
into the teacher trainees are helpful in effective teaching and also in learning
procedures and even evaluation techniques.

(b)Foundational Courses
Unlike the practical courses, foundational courses are theoretical in nature. they
enable us to justify educational practice. they constitute the framework within which
what happens in the process of education can be explained and justified.

The educational disciplines that fall under this category include History of
Education; Sociology of Education etc. philosophy of education is located within the
foundational courses.

It is therefore one of the educational disciplines that provide explanations or the

underlying meanings of the things that we see happening as part of the process of
education.

The Role of Philosophy of Education

Several reasons could be advanced that underscore the role of philosophy of
education:
1. It helps the teacher and student-teachers to critically evaluate their roles.
Philosophy involves personal critical thinking rather than taking statements
and recommendations from others for granted. In this way, it helps the teacher
become more aware of the implications of the various issues involved in
education.
2. Philosophy gives more weight to validity or soundness of an argument rather
than to the authority of the person arguing the case, it encourages the teacher
to look at educational problems more critically, clearing them of the
confusions that personal interests, prejudices and emotions usually introduce
to educational discussions.
3. It increases the ability of the teacher to influence educational policies under
which he operates, since by engaging in theoretical discussions of educational
issues, he himself can offer alternatives for action.
4. Philosophy of Education offers personal intellectual education to the teacher.
A teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning. a teacher needs to
continue to develop himself intellectually if he will assist in the intellectual
development of his students.
5. The study of philosophy of education enables teachers to appraise their
progress and shortcomings, against the background of the aims and objectives
of an educational programme. This shows that any activity, which has no
philosophy, cannot be appraised as a success or a failure.
6. It also helps educators to know their work and therefore do it better.
 7. Finally, philosophy of education helps in the development of a critical mind
in the teacher and promotes same in their students. As pointed out in the
characteristics of philosophy, it relies heavily in the use of logical reasoning.

Relationship of Philosophy to education

- Philosophy furnishes the goals of life and education gives the means to
achieve those goals.
- Philosophy provides the aim of life and thereby the aim of education, and
education provides the vehicle for carrying out that philosophic aim in
practical life
- philosophy is a theory of education in its most general aspects while
“education is the laboratory in which philosophic truth become concrete and
are tested.”
- Philosophy formulates the aims of life and education offers suggestion how
these aims are to be achieved. Education is a sustaining, progressive and
purposive effort, whose strength comes only form the moral values of the
community, the only source of which is philosophy.
Thus, philosophy gives education its point, its target, its goal. Philosophy exercises
tremendous influence on education in all its aspects—aims, curriculum, methods,
teachers, textbooks, administration, discipline, evaluation etc. There is no aspect of
education, which is not influenced and determined by philosophy. There is no escape
from a philosophy of life and of education. It determines the aims and content of
education; it influences discipline in the school; it exercises an effective influence
on the methods of teaching and it defines the role of the teacher in the educational
set-up.
In summary, Education transmits to the learners that wisdom which philosophy has
expounded for the good of mankind. That is, philosophy coordinates the diverse
influence of the learner, family, community and school among other institutions.
Indeed, philosophy helps in the reconstruction and re-adaptation of education to
suit the needs of contemporary society

Importance of philosophy of education to a teacher.

• to have a clear view of what he is out to accomplish in the field of education
• enables the teacher to relate the people’s philosophy of life to the aims of education.
It guides action in educational institutions so as to realize the national educational
objectives.
• It enables the teacher to understand how his subject fits in the general scheme of
work or lesson plan.
• The teacher/student is able to understand the limitations of his subject and its
relationship to other subjects.
• to have a clear view of the role of the school in relation to other social institutions
like the church, the family, the government among others, so that he avoids pre-
emptying responsibilities of these institutions. Importance of philosophy of
education to a teacher.
• prepares the teacher for his role as an instructor, guidance and counselling and in
classroom management.
• prepares the teacher for critical thinking, to see education in broader perspectives
and think clearly on how to get solutions to educational problems.
• It enables the teacher in the clarification of ideas and arguments in order to avoid
vagueness.
• It enhances the teacher’s critical thinking, which assists in choosing the best idea
or remedy from the prevailing alternatives. In this case, a teacher is seen as a
philosopher and is therefore expected to be wise by choosing the best from the
prevailing alternatives.
Study questions
• What is the meaning of Philosophy of Education to you?
• List down the elements of Philosophy of Education.
• Describe how you think Philosophy of Education was developed by John Dewey.
• Distinguish between philosophy and philosophy of education.
• Define philosophy of education and state its importance to a student teacher.
• Critically examine the relationship of philosophy of education.
• Discuss the meaning of the statement that ‘education is life in itself and not merely
a preparation for life’ as stated by John Dewey.
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the project method as used in our schools,
colleges and universities.
• State the contributions of John Dewey to the development of philosophy of
education

LESSON TWO B
Definitions and Forms of Education

The aim of this topic is to critically examine the varied meanings of education and
describe the various forms of education.
Learning outcomes
After working through this topic, you should be able to;
 • State various meanings of education.
• Describe the various forms of education.
Definitions of Education
In this study unit we are going to examine the various meanings of education.
Learning outcomes
• State the various meanings of education.
• Critically examine the definitions of education by;
a) R.S. Peters, and
b) Njoroge and Bennars

Definitions of Education
What is so peculiar with the concept “Education” when it comes to defining it?
There are three features that appear to make the definition of the concept education
peculiar. That is, the concept education is complex, general and relative.
o The concept education is a complex one in the sense that you cannot restrict
it to one particular meaning or a single idea. Instead, the moment you hear
about this concept, it points to a family of meanings such as growing up,
instruction, schooling, training etc.
o The concept education is a general one in that you cannot give it a precise, or
a distinct meaning the way we give precise meanings in certain mathematical
concepts like a square, circle, an oval etc.
o It’s a relative term and therefore cannot understand it without relating to the
actual situation in which it is used.
From the above descriptions it is apparent that the meaning of the term education
changes from time to time, from one place to another and that different people
understand this term differently.

Etymology of the concept ‘Education’

In Latin, the word educere/educare or educera (Greek) or educatio (Roman)

means to grow up, to lead, to nurture, rearing, to bring up. These meanings have
social implications. They are looking at education as social process, which is
acquired through socialization. Socialization is the process through which an
individual acquires knowledge, skills, attitudes and other dispositions to become an
integrated or a useful member of the society.

Meaning of Education in Various Societies

o Historically, African indigenous education was perceived as beginning at

birth and ending with death. That is, Africans perceived education as life-long
process. Kenyatta in his book ‘Facing Mount Kenya’ concurs with the above
observation that education begins at the time of birth and ends with death.
o The Egyptians and Greeks held the same notion. For instance, Egyptians
believed that education is an activity that begins from the womb and ends in
the tomb.
o R.S. Peters perceive education as an initiation. Initiation in the sense that
education is conceived as a life-long process and it changes an individual from
one stage of life to another. That is, form childhood to adulthood education
imparts relevant knowledge and experiences at every stage of life until one
dies.
As a process of initiation education:

o Incorporates an individual into the society through socialization.

o It trains an individual to accept the norms, values and other dispositions so as
to be acceptable member of the society. Remember that curriculum is
determined by the culture of the people. Culture is the sum total of a people’s
way of life. Therefore, when an individual is growing up cannot escape the
culture of the people and the society.
o Some initiation practices are harsh; that is, they are painful such as
circumcision and other forms of punishment that a child receives while at
school. Surprisingly individuals who have gone through such harsh initiation
practices end up being brave, like it and even boast about it.
Definitions of the concept of Education by various scholars
The scholars to be examined are:

• R.S. Peters
• Njoroge and Bennars
R.S. Peters

According to R.S. Peters’ conceptual analysis of education, he identified the

criteria for an activity to be called education. These criteria are the normative, the
cognitive and the procedural.

a) The normative aspect holds that education involves the transmission of

what is worthwhile to those who are obliged.
• This criterion implies that something worthwhile is passed on those
aspiring to it.
• In regard to this, it would be logical contradiction to claim that an
individual is educated but has not improved in a desirable manner.
• In such circumstances nothing worthwhile would have been passed on to
the learner.
• Therefore, the activity does not justify to be called education.
• It is a matter of choice for an activity or a value to be considered
worthwhile by various individuals, societies or nations.
• For example, during customary initiation Luos used to value removal of
six lower teeth for both men and women. Kikuyus and Luhyas among
others valued circumcision. However lately, there is controversy over
female circumcision, human rights bodies refer to the practice as ‘Female
Genital Mutilation’ (FGM), which is associated with several disadvantages
such as difficult delivery, reduced libido, etc.
b) The cognitive aspect focuses on the point, that education must involve
knowledge and understanding.
• The argument is that we cannot claim that an individual who is simply
informed in certain skills without proper contextualization of issues or
conceptual framework is educated.
 • The core issue is that an individual must be able to cognize both the theoretical
and the practical facts.
• If these two attributes are in harmony, then the cognitive aspect is fulfilled.
• For example, if an individual has the theory of how a wheelbarrow works and
is able to fabricate one, then the cognitive aspect of education is fulfilled.

c) The criterion of educational process (procedural) argues that education at

least rules out some procedures of transmission, on the grounds that they
lack willingness and voluntariness on the part of the learner.
• The implication is that not every method of bringing up or nurturing an
individual falls within the range of offering education.
• The individual should have the ability and interest in the activity.
• In spite of this, in certain circumstances where the individual is not interested
or fears the activity, some forceful methods have been and are still being
practiced (for instance, forced circumcision).
• Surprisingly some of those individuals who have gone through such harsh
initiation practice have ended up becoming brave, they like the practice and
even boast about it.

Njoroge and Bennars Definition of Education

They formulated four dimensions that should be fulfilled before we can refer to
any activity as education:

➢ Normative dimension
➢ Cognitive dimension
➢ Creative dimension
➢ Dialogical dimension
Normative dimension
 ✓ Under this dimension, Njoroge and Bennars perceive education as a
process of socialization.
✓ Socialization is the process through which an individual acquires certain
knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions that makes one a useful
member of the society.
✓ The implications that education is an activity, which has specific aims to
achieve.
✓ For this reason, education is a purposeful activity, which is pre-
determined by the society or the nation.
o However, it is difficult or there is a disagreement about what is actually
meant to be valuable in the society.
o For example, you will realize that a modern man in a modern society is
clamouring for certain rights. Rights to learn certain values, etc.
o Therefore, the normative dimension of education becomes elusive as the
issue of defining what is worthwhile varies from one individual to another or
from one society to another.
o The traditional African education aimed at initiating the young members into
well-established norms and values of the society without much questioning.
o Today the young individuals are sort of dictating their imaginative norms
and values to the society
NB: There is a conflict of what is valuable by an individual. The conflict touches
on issues like, moral values, career choices, social equality, human rights, etc. For
instance, a modern man would want to be a doctor and not an herbalist.

Cognitive dimension

✓ Njoroge and Bennars perceive education as schooling which is characterized

by formal arrangements such as fixed timetables, well-planned syllabi, class
set up, specified assessment approaches, and etc.
✓ Schools, colleges and universities are seen as knowledge industries that
convert learners (learners are taken as raw materials) from being non-useful
to useful members of the society.
✓ These educational institutions equip learners with specialised knowledge,
which is on demand in the labour market.
 ✓ Currently it occurs that the most marketable products or graduates are the
ones who are easily absorbed into the labour market.
Creative dimension

✓ Under this dimension education is perceived as growth. Growth in terms of

creating new ideas. Here, the man is supposed to be creating and producing
new culture in terms of law, language, science and technology among others.
✓ Education is seen as a liberating process that increases man’s freedom to be
creative. To achieve this, education is supposed to be work and action
oriented.
✓ A creative learner or human being is the one who is able to respond to new
situations and able to survive.
Dialogical dimension

✓ This dimensions assumes that education is a human affair involving inter-

personal relationships or dialogue.
✓ That is, education should allow for exchange of ideas between the learners
and the teacher so that they arrive at a consensus or an agreement.
✓ Under this principle, learning is not supposed to be imposed on learners,
instead learners are supposed to choose what to learn or not to learn, and are
expected to take part in arguments that pose challenges to the teacher.
✓ The atmosphere of dialogue allows the learners to develop all his/her mental
faculties without clashing with the interest of others.
✓ It is a common knowledge that learners thrive best under the atmosphere of
freedom that allow them to make contributions during teaching-learning
process.
✓ Any systems which seeks to impose a rigid uniformity of ideas suppress the
potential of learners, therefore, dialogical approach breaks this barrier.
✓ This approach seems to encourage child-centered learning whereby the role
of the teacher is simply to guide the learners.
Forms of Education

We are going examine forms of education namely:

 ➢ Liberal education
➢ Formal education
➢ Non-formal education
➢ Informal education
Liberal education

▪ This type of education is supposed to be offered for its own sake, to free the
individual’s mind to think broadly.
▪ That is, education is meant to liberate man from narrow mindedness.
▪ According to Greek’s, liberal education is supposed to free the mind of the
learner so as to function according to its true nature.
▪ To enable an individual to identify good reasoning from erroneous one and
to redirect conduct from wrong to right.
▪ The outcome of a liberal education is to enable the consumer to be a useful
member of the society.
Formal education

Formal education has the following characteristics:

▪ It is carefully structured in terms of syllabuses, content, methods and

subjects put on time table.
▪ The teaching is supervised and the teachers are well trained and paid to
teach.
▪ The outcome of the teaching learning process is assessed by use of tests and
examinations and the achievement is recognized by a word of certificates.

Non-formal education

It has the following characteristics:

▪ It is less structured and flexible in terms of contents, methods of teaching
and timetabling.
▪ It has open membership and meeting places.
 ▪ It is normally organized outside the normal formal time in the school. This
includes cases of adult education, family planning programmes, seminars,
club activities in schools among others.
▪ It is aimed at specific learning needs of a particular group of people in the
programme.
▪ Learning may be evaluated, tested or not at all.

Informal education

This type of education has the following characteristics:

• Takes place anywhere and at any time.
• It may take place almost unconsciously, for instance when learners interact
with teachers, guests, peers etc.
• It is haphazard and there is no award of certificates.
• It leads to the acquisition of good habits and behaviour during interactions.