MES-012: EDUCATION: NATURE AND PURPOSES

a) Define ‘Education’. Explain how it is distinguished from learning, teaching, training,

instruction, schooling and indoctrination with suitable examples. (500 words)

Ans ​Education of a human being is, perhaps, the most cherished goal of any human
civilization that ever existed or is yet to come in this world. Therefore, philosophers,
educationists and great thinkers have tried their best to define education. But in most of
these definitions, one would find the mark of their conceptions of the reality, values and
belief systems. Although such definitions might reflect the contemporary societal systems.
no single definition has been found so far that satisfies everyone. The search for a universal
definition of education still continues. However, the definitions of education given by the
great philosophers and educationists can broadly be categorized into three major trends.

The stress on education as a spiritual pursuit is basically an Indian concept. Right from the
Vedic period, Indian spiritual thinkers have been propagating education as a means of
achieving spiritual goals. According to the Upanishads, "Education is that whose end product
is salvation" and Adi Shankaracharya said "Education is the realization of the self'. The
Rigveda says, "Education is something which makes a man self-reliant and selfless".
Viveknand says, "Education is the manifestation of divine perfection already existing in
man". All these definitions underline the presupposition that human beings are the creation
of God. It is education whose role is to bring out the divinity already existing in man and
help him to realize himself as well as lead him to achieve salvation.

According to some educators, the human being is the embodiment of rich inherent
potentialities and it is the task of education to help him develop, enhance and realize these
potentialities. These innate potentialities are to be tapped right from the birth of a child and
nurtured through his growth and development of adulthood. Rousseau said, "Education is
the child's development from within". Plato propagated that, "Education develops in the
body and soul of the pupil all the beauty and all the perfection he is capable of ', whereas
Froebel said, "Education is unfoldment of what is already enfolded in the gerle. It is the
process through which the child makes the internal external". According to Mahatma
Gandhi, "By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man -
body, mind and spirit". T.P. Nunn says, "Education is the complete development of the
individuality of the child so that he can make an original contribution to human life
according to the best of his capacity".

Reflecting on the issues questions raised above in the introduction of this unit can help us
pain some understanding about education qua education. The basic question to address
before we can seek to explicate the concept of education is whether there are or can be
some essential features of education like the ones reflected in the economist's. socioIogist's
or the psychiatrist's, points of view referred to in the beginning of this unit. Peters ( 1982)
holds it objectionable to suppose that certain characteristics could he regarded as essential,
irrespective of context and of the questions under discussion. In this regard, number of
general and limited theories of education have come up . which seek to conceive education
in one or the other perspective. Then there are a number of philosophers of education who
have tried to analyse these theories with a view to arriving at a clear conception of
education. A philosophic scrutiny of the different viewpoints may reveal characteristics of
education which are intrinsic to education. We may start this scrutiny from the point of view
of what economists, sociologist or psychiatrists say about education. There is no doubt that
teachers qua teachers are engaged In activities which relate to one or more of the roles that
can be assigned to teachers by economists, sociologists, etc. but such roles seriously
misrepresent what is distinctive of them as teachers. In the context of planning of resources
it may be unobjectionable to think of education as something in which commun~ty can
invest. Similarly, in the context of social cohesion, education may well be described as a
socializing process, but from the point of view of the teacher's task in the classroom these
descriptions are too general and dangerous, for they encourage a conform~st or
instrumental way of looking at education. In the real sense of the term, education cannot
and should not be considered as instrumental to some external end. To Iool, at education as
an instrument of development of human resources, for example, may amount to treating
education as subservient to an external end. Considering educated men and women simply
as resources is antagonistic to the concept of education per se. There can be other reasons
why such economic or sociological descriptions of education can be misleading, if taken out
of context. They are made from the point of view of a spectator pointing to the functions or
effects of education in a social or economic system. They are not descriptions of it from the
point of view of someone engaged in the enterprise. What is essential to education must
involve an aspect under which things are done and one which is both intentional and
reasonably specific.

b) What is meant by knowledge? What are various components of the body of

knowledge? Discuss ‘Theory’ as an important component of knowledge with suitable
examples. (500 Words)
Ans

Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as

facts​, ​information​, ​descriptions​, or ​skills​, which is acquired through ​experience or ​education by
perceiving​, ​discovering​, or ​learning​.
Knowledge can refer to a ​theoretical or ​practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as
with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it
can be more or less formal or systematic. In ​philosophy​, the study of knowledge is called
epistemology​; the philosopher ​Plato famously defined knowledge as "​justified true belief​", though
this definition is now thought by some analytic philosophers to be problematic because of the
Gettier problems​, while others defend the platonic definition. However, several definitions of
knowledge and theories to explain it exist.
Knowledge acquisition involves complex ​cognitive processes: ​perception​, ​communication​, and
reasoning​;while knowledge is also said to be related to the capacity of ​acknowledgement in
human beings

Body of knowledge

A ​body of knowledge (​BOK or ​BoK​) is the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that
make up a ​professional domain​, as defined by the relevant ​learned society or ​professional
association​. It is a type of ​knowledge representation by any ​knowledge organization​. Several
definitions of BOK have been developed, for example:

● "Structured knowledge that is used by members of a discipline to guide their

practice or work.” “The prescribed aggregation of knowledge in a particular
area an individual is expected to have mastered to be considered or certified
as a practitioner.” (BOK-def). Waite’s pragmatic view is also worth noting:
“BOK is a stepping stone to unifying community” (Waite 2004).
● The systematic collection of activities and outcomes in terms of their values,
constructs, models, principles and instantiations, which arises from continuous
discovery and validation work by members of the profession and enables
self-reflective growth and reproduction of the profession (Romme 2016).
● A set of accepted and agreed upon standards and nomenclatures pertaining to
a field or profession (​INFORMS​2009).
● A set of knowledge within a profession or subject area which is generally
agreed as both essential and generally known (Oliver 2012).
A body of knowledge is the accepted ​ontology for a specific domain​. A BOOK is more than
simply a collection of terms; a professional reading list; a library; a website or a collection of
websites; a description of professional functions; or even a collection of information.

c) Describe the tasks involved in the process of developing a curriculum with an example
from the subject of your choice.
Ans
We have learnt about the various levels of curriculum planning and about the theories of
curriculum planning. We shall now explore how groups and individuals actually put plans
together. Beane, et. al. (1986) have described a format for curriculum plans in the resource
unit. It may include the following components:
1. A unit title (i.e. the organizing centre)
2. A brief rationale statement clarifying the title and describing its importance
3. A brief statement describing the general characteristics of the learners for the whom the
plan is intended (age, grade, developmental stage, etc.)
4. A general description of where the particular units fits in the scope and sequence of the
total school programme
5. A suggested time frame for the unit 6. A list of objectives

7. Statements of important content on which the teacher and learners will need to
8. A listing of activities in which learners may engage to approach the objectives
9. A listing of measuring devices that may indicate learner progress with regard to the
objectives
10. Suggestions for evaluation of the unit plan or resource unit