Contents

Foreword iii

1. Concept and Meaning of Education 1

2. Goals of Education 42

3. Processes and Modes of Education 71

4. Knowledge: Meaning and Facets 91

5. Process of Knowing 112

6. Organisation of Knowledge in Schools 135

7. Teacher Autonomy and Accountability 160

8. Learner Autonomy 185

9. Values: Concept and Context 202

10. Education and Values 225

11. Values in the Emerging Social Context 246

 Chapter 1

Concept and Meaning

of Education

STRUCTURE
• Introduction
• Objectives
• What is Education?
–– Etymological meaning
–– Narrow and Broader meaning
–– Education as process and product
–– Concept and meaning of education according to
Indian thinkers
–– Western views on education
–– Analytical concept of education
• Whether Education is Natural or Social Process?
• Whether Education is Intentional or Unintentional?
• What Does Education Comprise of?
• Does Education Occur only in Educational
Institutions?
Let Us Sum Up
Review Questions
References
 Basics in Education

Introduction
The term ‘education’ is a very common and a popular word
that is uttered by many of us but understood by a very few
in its right perspective. It is in one way or the other appears
to be as old as the human race, though during the course of
time, its meaning and objectives have inevitably undergone
certain changes. As a student of education course, and, as
a future teacher, it is essential for you to understand the
meaning of education, its conceptual features and different
perspectives that have shaped its meaning from time to time.
Understanding the concept of education and its dynamic
features will help you to develop insights about the purpose
of becoming a teacher and help you while educating your
students.
This chapter analyzes different perspectives and views of
Indian and western thinkers on education. The contemporary
meaning of education is discussed here from analytical view
points. Education as a natural and a social process and
also education as an intentional activity are discussed with
suitable illustrations. The different processes of education
and understanding the role and the need of institutions
in educating the individuals are also examined by drawing
relevance to school context.

Objectives
After going through this chapter, you will be able to:
• Analyse various perspectives and views on the concept of
education.
• Explain the concept of education as an initiation process
in the western and eastern perspectives.
• Explain the concept of education as a worthwhile activity
in the context of school education.
• Differentiate between education as a natural process and
as a social process with suitable illustrations.
• Understand the dimensions of education and their
relevance.
• Understand the role and the need of institutions in
educating the individuals.

2
 Concept and Meaning of Education

What Is Education?
You are, by now, familiar with the term ‘education’, ‘educated
person’ ‘educating’ and so on. You must have also used these
terms on several occasions in conversation with others. What
do we mean by education? Does ‘teaching’ or ‘instructing’
become education? Or is it learning in an institution? Does
developing the child into good human being known as
education? Is it possible to have one meaning of education?
There are many more such questions that come to our mind
when we attempt to understand the concept of education.
The term ‘education’ has been interpreted by different
people in different ways. Some people refer to it as formal
schooling or to lifelong learning. Some others refer to it as
acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some say
that education is nothing, but training of people’s mind in a
particular direction to bring about desired changes. If you ask
a statesman, an artisan, a teacher, a parent, a philosopher
and a student about what education means to them, you
would be surprised to know the multiple interpretations and
views people have about education. This only shows that
education doesn’t have one precise universally accepted
definition. It has various meanings with various functions.
Analysis of these meanings would help us to understand
what education really is. To begin with, let us look into how
the term ‘education’ has evolved and some of the views of
great thinkers that exemplifies the concept and meaning of
education.

Etymological Meaning
Etymologically speaking, the word education is derived from
the Latin word ‘educare’ meaning ‘to raise’ and ‘to bring up’.
According to few others, the word ‘education’ has originated
from another Latin term ‘Educere’ which means ‘to lead forth’
or ‘to come out’. These meanings indicate that education
seeks to nourish the good qualities and draw out the best
in every individual. Education seeks to develop the innate or
the inner potentialities of humans. Some other educationists
believe that the word ‘education’ has been derived from the
Latin term ‘Educatum’, which means the act of teaching or
training. The meanings of these root words lead us to believe

3
 Basics in Education

that education aims to provide a nourishing environment that

would facilitate or bring out and develop the potentialities in
an individual.
If you refer to Dictionary of Education (edited by C.V.
Good, 1973), you will find that education is defined as “the
aggregate of all the processes by which a person develops
abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour of practical
values in the society in which s/he lives; the social process
by which people are subjected to the influence of selected and
controlled environment (especially that of the school), so that
they may obtain social competence and optimum individual
development”. The concept of education has been used in a
variety of contexts with different meanings. To give a precise
definition of education, just as we define certain concepts in
science or other technical subjects, is difficult, as there is
no one meaning of education held in common by people. Let
us try to explore the different meanings and viewpoints on
education. Understanding these conceptions would help you
to analyze the kind of education that is in vogue now and to
what extent it is justified.

Narrow And Broader Meanings Of Education

Narrow Meaning of Education

You must have come across people who consider that
instruction imparted in schools and higher education
institutions is nothing but education. The aims of education
in these contexts are measured in terms of degrees or
certification or promotion. There is a deliberate effort
made with a definite purpose to develop certain amount of
knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits in these institutions.
This is a narrow concept of education, which is confined only
to a few specific, deliberate, and planned efforts that have a
bearing on the development of the individual. The educator,
in the narrow sense, aims at producing the literate or a
professional person such as an engineer, a doctor, a teacher,
a businessman and so on. Here, the individual is deliberately
‘taught to think’ as predetermined by the educators. Thus,
in a narrow sense, education is nothing, but a purposeful
activity, deliberately planned for the optimum development
of an individual’s potentials.