History of Education

 National University
 TED – 615

 Professor John Henry Denhalter

 Group Project

 James Holan, Micaela Ramirez, and

Johnny Mills
 February 2010
 History of Education
 Intro to History of Education
 In this presentation we will take a look at the history of education.
Many of the views presented in the chapter are expressed from
different types of historians perspectives. History is not an exact
science and is open to interpretation.
 Many argue that it is hard to have an accurate history of education
since it has been recorded through so many different perspectives
while the world and cultures around it were evolving.
 Three basic ideas about the history of education are
• Since the beginning of time adults have informally educated
there youths. A necessary practice to prepare them for the rest
of their lives.
• When people developed written language, there may have been
a demand for schools to teach these written skills too continue
to document and pass on knowledge to later generations
 History of Education
• That early societies around the world developed independent and
unique educational practices and programs to teach skills that fit
the peoples needs
 The Brown decision declared that education is, “the very foundation
of good citizenship.”
 Throughout history teachers have always been and needed to be
creative, savvy, caring, knowledgeable, and even sometimes
patriotic. It has always been important that teachers teach lessons
from there countries civics and history.
 The Beginnings of Education (476ce)
 All people regardless of place or time in history have cared for there
young and have informally educated them. A basic instinct and
necessary practice to prepare them for the rest of their lives.
 Once written language was invented the need for a more formal
mode of education was necessary because the body of knowledge
increased and got more complex.
 History of Education
 Non Western Education
 It is not possible to tell exactly when the first school came into
existence. The discovery of cuneiform mathematics textbooks in
Sumeria (Iran) that dated back to 2000bce suggest that some form of
schools existed around that time. Hindu Education
• Ancient Hindu societies deeply rooted in caste system, meaning that
a child's family status determined the social position they would
have.
• The Hindu religion had an emphasis on non-earthly values, this led to
very little interest in education. Only boys from the highest caste
usually received formal education, the priests were the educators.
Writings of Buddha suggested that education had a heavy emphasis
on morals, writing in the sand and regular punishments with a rod.
 History of Education
 Hindu Education
• Men from the priestly caste had further education included
disciplines like logic, rhetoric, astronomy and math
 Hebrew Education
• The Hebrew society seemingly historically values education more
than any other society.
• Hebrew education is derived from Jewish scripture which taught
religious faithfulness.
• Harsh discipline was enforced at home and school
• Early Hebrew schools taught girls to prepare food, sing, dance,
spin, and weave. Boys were taught to read and write.
• Teachers were greatly respected, the Talmud dictated “If your
teacher and your father have need of your assistance, help your
teacher before helping your father, for the latter has given you
only the life of this world, while the former has secured for you the
life of the world to come.”
 History of Education
 Chinese Education
• Chinese education has always been characterized by
tradition, formality, and conformity. This was done to help
students function in a regular, mechanical, and predictable
routine.
• Two philosophers, Lao-tszu and Confucius, exerted an
enormous influence on the Chinese education system.
• All Chinese students are taught Confucius's five cardinal
virtues. They included universal charity, impartial justice,
conformity, rectitude of heart and mind, and pure sincerity.
• Early Chinese education placed little importance on
individuals and didn't include subjects like math, language,
science, history, or geography.
 History of Education
 Egyptian Education
• Egyptian society had civil and intellectual advancements very early in
history.
• As with most societies education was only offered to the privileged
males.
• Many Greek philosophers like Pythagoras, Solon, and Plato completed
there education in Egypt.
• Egyptian society was a caste system, priests holding the highest
position. They received education in philosophy, astronomy,
geometry, medicine, history, and law. The priest then provided the
education to other privileged individualsWestern Education
 The Age of Pericles (455be) was when western societies had a need for
formal forms of education. Greece consisted of many city states. Sparta,
a militaristic state, had formal education that centered developing such
ideals as courage , patriotism, obedience, cunning and physical strength.
 History of Education
 The contrast to Sparta was Athens. Athens, another Greek city state,
had developed an educational model that emphasized in grammar,
writing skills, counting, gymnastics music, history, drama, poetry,
speaking, and science.
 The western worlds most famous philosophers came from Athens. The
three standout philosophers Greek produced are Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle.
 Socrates
• Socrates is responsibly for the Socratic Method of teaching. Which
is a method of asking a series of questions that will lead the student
to a certain conclusion.
• Socrates was eventually put on trial for inciting the people against
the Government by his ceaseless questioning. When found guilty he
chose death instead of ending his teachings. He became a martyr
for education.
 History of Education
 Plato
• Plato was a student of Socrates. In his book The Republic,
Plato gives his recommendations for a perfect society. He
suggests three classes, Artisans to do the manual work,
Soldier to defend the society and Philosophers to advance
the knowledge of the society.
• Plato believed that an individuals talents should be
nurtured and used to serve the society.
 Aristotle
• believed that a persons most important purpose in life was
to improve and serve humankind.
• Aristotle's educational method was scientific, practical, and
objective.
• He felt that the quality of a society was determined by the
quality of education found in that society
 History of Education
 Roman Schools
• In 146bce when the Romans conquered Greece they
absorbed there Greek teachers and there educational
system.
• Young children attended schools called ludi's, where the
rudiments of reading and writing were taught
• Later they would attend Grammaticus, or grammar school
was an early type of school that emphasized the study of
Latin, literature, history, mathematics, music, and
dialectics.
• .
 History of Education
 Education of the Middle Ages:
 Period covering (476 – 1300).
 Roman Catholic Church became the greatest power in
government and education in the West.
 Rise of the Church is cited as the reason for the Western
world’s plunge into the Dark Ages.
 Dark Ages (400 – 1000).
 Dark Ages is when human learning and knowledge didn’t
stand still it regressed.
 It was caused by political and religious oppression of the
common people.
 Some believe that this was actually a period of considerable
progress.
 Charlemagne (742-814) realized the value of education, but
education was a low activity.
 History of Education
 The church mainly inducted people into faith and train religious leaders.
 Most schools were Catechumenal schools teaching church doctrine,
catechetical schools taught catechism, and cathedral schools trained clergy.
 Alcuin (735-804) was selected by Charlemagne to help improve education
he was a former teacher in England
 He was appointed the Chief Educator, and was the most famous of his day.
It was said that Charlemagne himself often sat in the Palace School with the
children to further his education.
 The phrase seven liberal arts came into use describing curriculum taught
in schools.
 The liberal arts consisted of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic).
 Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy)
 History of Education
 The Revival of Learning
 Little progress was made, but however between 1000-1300 referred
to “age of revival of learning”
 Learning was revitalized with writings of ancient philosophers mainly
Aristotle.
 Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) helped change the church’s view
on learning more than anyone.
 Aquinas formalized scholasticism referring to the study of beliefs of
the church.
 His most important writing was the Summa Theologica.
 Medieval Universities included such schools as University of
Bologna 1158, University of Paris 1180
 Medieval Universities cont..
 Oxford University 1214, University of Salerno 1224.
 When Christopher Columbus sailed to America in 1492 there was
already about 80 universities in Europe.
 History of Education
 Education in Transition (1300-1700)
 This was the period when the Renaissance and the
Reformation took place.
 During the Renaissance represented a rebellion on part of the
common people being suppressed by the wealthy and the
church.
 Vittorino Da Feltre (1378-1446) very influential educator
advanced education and established schools.
 Erasmus (1466-1536) one of the most famous educators of
the Renaissance.
 He wrote two books: The Right Method of Instruction and
The Liberal Education of Boys.
 History of Education
 The Reformation this was during the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. The Roman catholic Church and The Pope had
enormous power and even more that the kings and queens at
this time.
 Martin Luther (1483-1546) published his 95 theses, which
stated his disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church.
 One of them had great implications on formal education
because education now became a way of obtaining salvation.
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) organized the Society of
Jesus (Jesuits) 1540. They established schools to further the
cause of the Roman Catholic Church.
 Rules which they conducted their schools was stated in the
Ratio Studiorum that is still used today.
 Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670) remembered most for
his textbooks including Orbis Pictus because they was the first
with illustrations.
 History of Education
 John Locke (1632-1704) influential English educator important works such as Some
Thoughts n Education a Essay Concerning Human Understanding.
 Viewed young child mind a blank slate, and teachers needed to create nonthreatening
environments.
 History of Education
 Educational Awakening
1700
 Why many of our current educational ideas can be traced to the
early 1700s…
 The Age of Reason
 Superstition and ignorance was the main factor that influenced
education during the 1700s

 Was started by revolts for intellectuals freedom.

 Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) also known as Voltaire, was

one of the leaders from the Rationalist movement.

 Rationalist Moto:

• “If one places greater emphasis on human ability to reason,

then education takes on new importance as the way that
humans develop this power”.
 History of Education
 The Age of Reason
 Descartes and Voltaire

 Rene Descartes (1596-1650) laid the foundation of

Rationalism and involved three axioms.

 First What is an Axiom:

 1. a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
 2. a universally accepted principle or rule.
 3. Logic, Mathematics. a proposition that is assumed without
proof for the sake of studying the consequences that follow
from it.
 History of Education
 Descartes Three Axioms:
 1.That the reason was supreme
 2. That the Laws of nature were invariable
 3. Truth could be verified by exact methods of testing.

 These ideas helped debate traditional teaching of the

church, resisting bonds that royalty had traditionally placed
on common people.

 These methods of thinking or “ideas” influenced Voltaire

where he was given credit for the French Revolution and
American revolution in his lifetime.
 History of Education
 Fredrick the Great (1712-1786)

 Was a great supporter of Voltaire and believed that

education was of value.
 He was a liberal leader and gave common people liberties

that many rulers considered dangerous such as: freedom of

speech and of religion.
He gave education an opportunity to develop and flourish by
passing laws that required teachers to obtain licenses and
special training in order to teach.
 History of Education
 The Emergence of Common Man
 This was the Second trend that affected
education.

Emergence of Common Man argued that common

people deserved better lives.

Politically
Economically
Socially
Educationally
 History of Education
 The Emergence of Common Man
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

 He was a philosopher not an educator

Naturalism
Method: “Natural State”
 Education must be a natural process not an artificial one.

He believed that children were inherently good which

challenged the churches believe of born with sin.

Social Contract (1762)- was an influence book in the

French Revolution
 Emile (1762)- was an educational piece which concerned
the ideal education for the youth.
 History of Education
 The Emergence of Common Man
 Johann Heirnrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

 Swiss Educator

 Method: Patience for children. Compassion for the poor and

the use of objects and sense perceptions the basis for

acquiring knowledge.
 Created two schools for boys, Burgdorf (1800-1804), Yverdun

(1805-1825).
 Wrote an influence book called, Leonard and Gertrude, which

teaches educators that children need to be treated with love

and kindness.
 History of Education
 The Emergence of Common Man
 Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841)
 Mentor was Pestalozzi
 Herbartian teaching Method
 Method: Formal psychology and education and learning by association.
 Preparation: Preparing students to receive new idea.
 Presentation: presenting the student with the new idea.
 Generalization: Generalizing the new idea derived from combinations of
old and new ideas.
 Application: Applying the new knowledge.

 Friedrich Frobel (1782-1852)

 Influenced by Rousseau and Pestalozzi
 Created first Kindergarten
 Social Development, Cultivation of creativity, concept by doing.
 Women are best suited to teach children
 History of Education
 Evolving Perspectives of Education in Our Developing Nation
 American-European Settlers
Provided a least rudimentary education for their children.
 Colonial Education
 Southern Colonies:
 Made up of tobacco plantations where slaved were imported
 from Africa and used as cheap labor. Slaves were taught to read the
Bible
 Plantation children were given tutors and sent to College in Europe.
 Middle Colonies:
 Were mainly Dutch, Swedish and religious backgrounds were
Puritan, Mennonite, Catholic. Were called the melting pot of the
nation. Had common public school system and received
education through apprenticeship were they learned a trade from
a Master teacher.
Northern Colonies:
Mainly Puritans. In 1630 approx. 1,000 Puritans settled in Boston.
Unlike Southern Colonies people in New England live close to
each other. Towns were Political and Social life centers and due
to the industrial economy more semiskilled workers were
education which created a larger middle class.
 History of Education
 Early School Laws
 1642- General Court of Massachusetts enacted laws that

encouraged citizens to look after the education of their children.

 1647- required towns to provide education for their youth also

known as the, Old Deluder Satan Act, due to its relies motive.
 Types of Colonial Schools
 Dame School- Conducted by housewives.
 Writing School- To teach children to write.
 Church, Charity and Pauper Schools- taught by missionaries.

 1635- First permanent school was made in Boston (Latin

Grammar School).
 The Grammar school was a preparatory school for college.

 1755- College of Philadelphia

 1764- Brown
 Traditional education and emphases theology and the classics.

Religious motive dominated colleges.

 History of Education
 Early American Colleges
 1636- Harvard was the first Colonial College preparing
ministers.
 1693-William and Mary

 1701- Yale

 1746- Princeton

 1755- College of Philadelphia

 1764- Brown

 Traditional education and emphases theology and the

classics. Religious motive dominated colleges.