Key Periods in

Educational History
Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Primitive To teach group Practical Parents, tribal Emphasis on
societies survival skills; skills of elders and the role of
7000 B.C.- to cultivate hunting, priests informal
5000 B.C. group fishing, food education in
cohesiveness gathering; transmission
stories, of skills and
myths, songs, values
poems,
dances
Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Greek To cultivate Athenian: Athens: Athens: The
1600 B.C.- civic reading, private concept of the
300 B.C. responsibility writing, teachers and well-rounded,
and identity arithmetic, school; liberally
with city-state; drama, Sophists: educated
Athenian: to music, philosophers person;
develop well- physical Sparta: Sparta: the
rounded education, military concept of the
person literature, teachers, drill military state
Spartan: to poetry sergeants
develop Spartan: drill,
soldiers and military
military songs and
leaders tactics
Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Roman To develop Reading, Private Emphasis on
750 B.C. – sense of civic writing, schools and ability to use
A.D. 450 responsibility arithmetic, teachers; education for
for republic Laws of schools of practical
and then Twelve rhetoric administrative
empire; to Tables, law, skills; relating
develop philosophy education to
administrative civic
and military responsibility
skills
Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Arabic To cultivate Reading, Mosques; Arabic
A.D. 700- religious writing, court schools numerals and
A.D. 1350 commitment to religious computation;
Islamic beliefs; literature; re-entry of
to develop scientific classical
expertise in studies materials on
mathematics, science and
medicine and medicine
science
Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Medieval To develop Reading, Parish, Establishing
A.D. 500- religious writing, chantry and the structure,
A.D. 1400 commitment, arithmetic, cathedral content and
knowledge liberal arts; schools; organization of
and ritual; to philosophy, universities; the university
reestablish theology; apprenticeship as a major
social order; to crafts; ; knighthood institution of
prepare military higher
persons for tactics and education; the
appropriate chivalry institutionaliza
roles tion and
preservation of
knowledge
 Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Renaissance To cultivate a Latin, Greek, Classical An emphasis
A.D. 1350- humanist who classical humanist on literary
A.D. 1500 was expert in literature, educators and knowledge,
the classics- poetry, art schools such excellence and
Greek and as lycèe, style as
Latin; to gymnasium, expressed in
prepare Latin classical
courtiers for grammar literature; a
service to school two-track
dynastic system of
leaders schools
 Historical Educational Curriculum Agents Influences on
Group or Goals Western
Period Education
Reformation To cultivate a Reading, Vernacular A commitment
A.D. 1500- sense of writing, elementary to universal
A.D. 1600 commitment to arithmetic, schools for the education to
a particular catechism, masses; provide
religious religious classical literacy to the
denomination; concepts and schools for the masses; the
to cultivate ritual; Latin upper classes origins of
general literacy and Greek; school systems
theology with
supervision to
ensure
doctrinal
conformity