HISTORICAL

FOUNDATION OF
EDUCATION
ABSTRACTION
Education or school is an
institution created
by society. Education is a function
of society an as such arises from
the nature and character of
society itself. Society seeks to
preserve itself and to do this it
maintains its function and
institutions one of which is
education, to assure its survival,
stability and convenience.
 JOHN DEWEY'S VIEW
John Dewey claimed, it is the school that introduces and trains
each child of society into membership within such a little
community, saturating him with the Spirit of service, and
providing him with the instruments of effective self- direction.
When schools succeed to do this, in the words of Dewey " we
shall have the best guaranty of a larger society which is
worthy, harmonious and lovely.

This is called the socialization process. Socialization is the

process of learning the roles, statuses and values necessary
for participation in social institutions .
 SOCIALIZATION PROCESS
Socialization is a lifelong process. It occurs primarily during
early childhood but as we progress from infancy to old age
we shed old roles and adopt new ones . Role learning that
prepares us for future roles is termed anticipatory
socialization. Because of anticipatory socialization most of
us are more or less prepared for our future roles like spouse
, parent, professional teacher.
 AGENT'S OF SOCIALIZATION
Family
The family is the most important agent of
socialization. Psychology tells us that the self-
concept formed during childhood has lasting
consequences. Besides, "the parents' religion,
social class and ethnicity influence the
expectations that others have for the child, and
they determine the groups with which the child
will interact outside the family
School
The school is also an important agent of socialization.
It is an institution charged by society to impart
specific knowledge and skills necessary for
functioning in a society. They are also charged with
the task of transmitting society's cultural values. The
next part of this chapter is developed to how schools
(informal or formal) of their task as agents of
socialization in different periods of history
 PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES
In primitive societies, preliterate persons faced the problem of
survival in an environment that pitted them against natural forces
and wild animals. To survive human beings needed food, shelter,
warmth amd clothing. To transform a hostile environment into one
that is life-sustaining, humankind developed life skills that
eventually became cultural patterns.

This life skills included (1) tool or instrument making (2) adherence
to the moral behaviour code of group life and (3) language.
-Brinkerhoof (1989)-
THANK
YOU