Historical Foundation of Education

Historical Foundation of Education

• Education, or school, is an institution created by society.
• Society maintains functions and institutions, including education, to ensure its survival, stability, and convenience.
• Schools introduce and train children into society, fostering a sense of community and service, along with the skills for self-direction, as stated by John Dewey.
• Socialization is the process of learning roles, statuses, and values necessary for participation in school institutions, according to Brinkerhoff (1989).
• Anticipatory socialization involves learning roles to prepare for future roles.
• In primitive societies, humans developed survival skills—like tool-making, adherence to moral codes, and communication through language—to overcome challenges and shape their environment.
  • This created crucial cultural foundations.

Relationship Between School and Society

• Schools shape children's perceptions, values, and beliefs about the world, internalizing societal norms and expectations.
• Schools contribute to nation-building. A good society emerges from a strong school system.
• Schools reflect the needs and desires of society. They are instruments for the fulfilment of societal objectives.
• Schools cannot independently define their objectives. They operate within the context of existing social structures and values.
• Parent's school choice is influenced by their social affiliations.
• An effective method of reinforcing educational support involves community involvement in school activities. By engaging in activities, the administration fosters stronger community support, which enhances effectiveness and sustainability of the institution itself.

Key Periods in Educational History (1000 BC–AD 1600)

• Primitive Societies (7000 BC – 5000 BC): Survival skills, group cohesion, and the basics of practical skills were taught.
• Greek (1600 BC–300 BC): Civic responsibility, city-state identity, and early forms of higher learning (literature, philosophy, and physical education) developed.
• Arabic (AD 700–1350): Islamic principles, advancements in mathematics, medicine, and scientific studies, and preservation of knowledge.
• Medieval (AD 500–1400): Religious commitment, knowledge, ritual, and societal order. The university system emerged, alongside craft-based apprenticeships and the foundations of knowledge preservation.
• Renaissance (AD 1350–1500): Emphasis on humanist learning, classical literature, and the arts.
• Reformation (AD 1500–1600): Religious commitment, universal literacy, and origins of modern schools targeting the masses.

This quiz explores the essential relationship between education and society, focusing on the socialization processes within schools. It examines the role of schools in fostering community, self-direction, and future role preparation, as highlighted by influential educational theorists like John Dewey. Understand how primitive societies' survival skills influenced cultural foundations of education.