Historical Foundation of Education

GROUP 4

Primitive Education
Life among primitive or tribal people was very simple compared with the complex
life that people have today. Their means of livelihood were hunting and gathering wild
fruits and vegetables. They lived in a limited area and had few or no contacts at all with
other people. This made them prone to superstitions. Their organization was tribal and
not political, that is, their head was usually the oldest or the wisest among the clan.
During this time, there was no reading or writing and information was transmitted
through word of mouth, songs, gestures, ceremonial rites and the like.
The purpose of primitive education is thus to guide children to becoming good members
of their tribe or band. There is a marked emphasis upon training for citizenship, because
primitive people are highly concerned with the growth of individuals as tribal members
and the thorough comprehension of their way of life.

AIMS OF PRIMITIVE EDUCATION

1. Security and Survival
➢ The basic aim of primitive education was security, since the
fundamental problem then was to stay alive, to protect oneself and his
family from the destructive forces of nature. Education among primitive
people was directed to ensuring the survival of the group, clan, or tribe
through training of the young in skills necessary to maintain life. Primitive
people aimed to survive by hunting foods and be secure from dangers
that could be inflicted by natural phenomena such as typhoons floods,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and fires.

2. Conformity
➢ This aim was for social approval but the main reason was for the
interest of the whole group. If one deviated from the usual tribal
practices, some evil spirits might be displeased and misfortune would
befall the whole group. Hence, the interest of one was sacrificed for the
interest of the group. For a member to deviate from the customs and
beliefs of his tribe was unpardonable.

3. Preservation and Transmission of Traditions

➢ Primitive people thought that the ways they were doing things
were the best and they wanted to preserve such and be transmitted to
the incoming generation. During the primitive period, education was
simply enculturation, that is, the imposing of group characteristics upon
children.
TYPES OF EDUCATION
The following are the types of education during the primitive period:

1. Vocational and Domestic Training

➢ This includes learning the skills in procuring basic necessities of life
like hunting, constructing a hut, and the like.

2. Religious (Animistic)
➢ Religious education consisted in learning how to participate in
ritualistic practices to please or to appease the unseen spirits roaming
around.

AGENCIES OF EDUCATION
1. Home
➢ There was no formal agency of education during primitive period.
Home is the center of learning. The young learned much at home
because the home was considered as the center of activity. The family
accounted for the education of the young in primitive societies. The
women of the tribe taught the girls the female duties of child-rearing and
household management whereas the men taught the boys hunting,
fishing, fighting, and making tools and equipment.

2. Environment
➢ The environment provided the primitive people a very good place
for learning. This is true for informal education. For instance, if a person
happened to step on a thorn and got hurt, then that person became
careful not to step on thorn again.

EGYPTIAN EDUCATION
➢ Ancient Egypt was the birthplace of one of the world’s first civilizations. Egypt, the gift
of the Nile, is situated in the northern part of the African continent. Ancient Egypt was
a desert country watered only by the Nile River which flooded the country from
August to October. Leaving behind a very rich black earth. The mighty Nile River was the
lifeblood of ancient Egypt. Egyptian culture was dependent on the activity of the Nile.
Egyptian agriculture was advanced. They had irrigation and they used astronomy to
predict rain.
Education in ancient Egypt was shaped by its conservative social system.
While education was valued, it was largely restricted to the children of those with
means. As the same families often staffed civilian and military positions in the
palace administration across generations, education was one of the means by
which institutional memory was transferred down the generations.
The history of ancient Egyptian education system remains unclear and its
origins have not come down to us. However, an education system in one form or
another existed throughout ancient Egypt’s long history. Its roots possibly lie at the
beginning of the Egyptian Kingdom in 3000BC, although in the absence of any
corroborating archaeological or historical evidence this is largely speculation

AIMS OF EGYPTIAN EDUCATION

1. Training of scribes
➢ Scribes were in great demand to record the transactions of
ecclesiastical and commercial business. To train the scribes was the most
coveted profession at that time.

2. Religious
➢ This aim was to inculcate proper respect for the gods and the
pharaoh who was also considered as god.

3. Utilitarian
➢ The father wanted to transfer to his son his skills in the occupation
and the mother to her daughter the skills in keeping the house.

4. Preservation of cultural patterns

➢ Those in charge of Egyptian education, the nobles and the priest,
wanted to preserve their cultural patterns, the Egyptian civilization.

TYPES OF EDUCATION
The following are the types of education during the Egyptian period.

1. Religious education
➢ This was predominant as the priest wanted to inculcate in the
minds of the learners proper respect for the Gods, moral conduct, and a
preparation form life after death.

2. Vocational-Professional education
➢ The education of women was largely vocational, although
daughters of the elite were tutored. In higher social circles, the boys were
trained by scribes who taught them how to read and write.

3. Military education
➢ This type of education was predominant for the sons of the nobles.

4. Priesthood education
➢ This type of education was for those who aspired to become
priests.
AGENCIES OF EDUCATION
1. Home
➢ Education was under the control of religion. This was part of early
Egyptian culture. The home provided for basic education. Home skills
and rudiments of right and wrong were taught at home

2. Temple Schools
➢ The temple schools were for higher education, especially for the
professions such as engineering, architecture, medicine, dentistry,
surveying, etc.

3. Military Schools
➢ These schools were only for the sons of the nobles purposely for
defense and aggression.

4. Court Schools
➢ These schools were only for those who aspire for a public office and
those taking up law.

5. Vocational Schools
➢ These were schools of arts and trades.

SUMERIAN EDUCATION
• Sumerians -sumerians had to attend school for many years to learn the written language
(cuneiform), the number system, and the methods and conventions of a scribe. Education
was first established for the purpose of training the scribes.
• Their king called patesi was their temporal as well as spiritual leader. -Sumerians were
praised if work was done well and accurate. If this did not happen, students were punished
with lashes from a stick.
• The temples were called edubba, meaning tablet house.

Aims of Sumerian Education

1. Training scribes
To train the scribes to do ecclesiastical work in the temples that were mostly writing
2. Training of bookkeepers
Since the priests were also the business leaders, the scribes and the bookkeepers
were mostly the same persons doing the recording.
3. Training teachers Training the learners
to be food and to do good things especially their god and to humanity called
namlulu
 Types of Education (Calderon, 1998
1. Writing Education -Their system of writing was cuneiform – consist of wedge-shaped
characters.
2. Mathematical Education -There was a little arithmetic most likely included counting
andoperations of low digit numbers.
3. Language Education -There was little grammar but the great bulk of the work was
givingnames to many things, thus enriching their vocabulary.
4. Vocational Education -This was mainly apprenticeship for the workers, most likely the slaves.
5.Professional Education -The discovery of surgical instruments indicated that the Sumerian
Studied and practiced medicine and surgery. They also had law,astronomy and architecture
6. Art Education-They had poetry, epics, essays, fables, music, jewelry designing,sculpture,
architecture, etc.

Agencies of Education
• Archeology discovered that the school existed in Sumeria around 2000 B.Cconsisted of six
rooms with 8 to 9 feet high.
• Home – was the first learning place for manual skills and social standards
• Temple school – They had bighalls where the scribes and young priest studied.
• Apprentice school – evidenced by the highly skilled craftsmen in beautifulart works in gold,
solver, and copper, sculpture, architecture and in metalworks Methods of Instruction
• Imitation and copying – the students just imitated copying what the teacher had written.
Followed by minimal explanation
• Preparation of tablets – dealt with their lessons
• Flogging – the penalty of the pupil who failed to prepare his tables
• “School father” or umnia – school teacher. They had stern discipline
• “School son” – pupil. The brighter ones acted as assistant teachers or monitors.

CHINESE EDUCATION
• Ancient Chinese education began with classic works, namely, the Four Books and the Five
Classics (Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and Mencius; Classic of Poetry, Book
of Documents, Book of Rites, I Ching, and Spring and Autumn Annals), regarded as cardinal
texts that one had to learn, in order to understand the authentic thought of Confucianism.
• Beginning from the time of the Xia dynasty (2070-1600 BC), it was traditional for ancient kings
and emperors to select well-educated officials to assist them in administering their kingdoms.
The Establishment of Schools
• Formal schools were established during the Xia dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC). They were called
Xiao during the Xia, Xiang during the Shang dynasty (1600 BC-1046 BC) and Xu during the early
Zhou dynasty (1046 BC-221 BC).
Xu were divided into East Xu and West Xu. East of the capital of the Zhou kingdom stood the
East Xu. These were the precursors of college, where the children of nobility were educated.
West of the capital stood the West Xu. These were the precursors of elementary schools, where
 the children of ordinary citizens studied. The East Xu only recruited children of the nobility, and
were just a dream for children of the ordinary people.
• State schools were established just for children of the nobility. -Village schools, also known as
local schools, were divided into four levels: shu, xiang, xu and xiao.
• civil Service Examination System - Ke Ju The civil service examination system for selecting
government officials was established and came into force during the Sui dynasty (581-618).
• the system comprised an examination convened by local governments, plus the final imperial
examination (palace examination) held by emperors. -

Hindu Education (3000 B.C.)

• Educational Goals
- Intellectual
- Religious
- Cultural
• Curriculum
- Religious, vocational, literature, law, history, medicine, mathematics and military education

• Agents
- Home
- Monasteries
• Gurukula Sytem - residential schooling system

THE CASTE SYSTEM OF INDIA

• Brahman - Leader
• Vaisgya - Military
• Vaisgya - Middle class
• Shudra - Poor but have properties
• Dalit - You are not allowed

GREEK EDUCATION
• Educational goals - to cultivate civic responsibility and identity with city state
• In athens - to develop a well rounded person
• In sparta - to develop soldiers and military

➢ Curriculum
• Athenian education - reading, writing, arithmetic, drama, music, physical education, literature and
poetry
• Spartan education - drill, military songs and tactics

➢ Agents
• In athens - private teacher and schools, sophists / philosophers
 • In sparta - military teachers, drill sergeant

➢ Influences to western civilization

Athens - the concept of well rounded, liberally educated person
Sparta - the concept of military state

ROMAN EDUCATION
• Educational goal - to develop sense of civic responsibility for republic and then empire
- to develop administrative and military skills

➢ Curriculum
- Reading, writing and arithmetic, laws of twelve tables, law and philosophy, roman history

➢ Agents
Family, elementary teacher (ludi) grammar teacher. In the school of rhetorics, teachers were called the
rhetors
- two of the most influential teachers and thinkers in rome were Cicero and Quintillan
- Cicero the orator
- he exposed the wide practical experience on the art of leadership
- Quintillan - institutes of oratory
- he suggested competition and awards as a basis for motivation in place of corporal punishment

➢ Influences on western civilization

- emphasis on the ability to use education for practical administrative skills and relating education to
civic responsibility
- romans were the first to study foreign language to pit women in school
- regulation of the school was under the support of the state

RENAISSANCE 1350 AD – 1500 Renaissance

Educational Goals: Cultivate humanist expert in Greek and Latin classics; prepare people to serve
dynastic leaders
Students: Male children of aristocracy and upper class, ages 7-20
Instructional Methods: Memorization and translation and analysis of Greek and Roman classics.
Classical literature, poetry and art.
Curriculum: Latin and Greek classical literature, poetry and art.
Agents: Classical humanist educators and schools like lycee, gymnasium and Latin school
Influence on education: Emphasis on literary knowledge, excellence and style in classical
literature, two track system of schools

REFORMATION 1500 AD – 1600 AD Reformation

➢ Educational Goals: Cultivate a commitment to a particular religious denomination, and
general literacy Students: Boys and girls ages 7-12 in vernacular schools, young men of
upper class in humanist schools
➢ Instructional Methods: Memorization drill, indoctrination, catechetical instruction in
vernacular schools, translation and analysis of classical literature in humanist schools
➢ Curriculum: Reading, writing, arithmetic, catechism, religious concepts and rituals. Latin
and Greek theology
➢ Agents: Vernacular elementary school for general public, classical schools for upper class
➢ Influence on education: Commitment to universal education to provide literacy for
everyone; origins of school systems, dual track school system based on socioeconomic
class and career goals

MEMBERS:
Bayudan, Pauline Joy M.
Bobis, Leslie
Amante, Dexter
Lumacad, Rizamae
Gaddi, Jyandelf
Ilagan, Joshua
Malto, Dexter