Published: 05-Jul-2021
To understand the concept like education, one is required toexplicate its meaning or nature from the point of view of the functions such concepts perform or the contexts in which such concepts are appropriately used. But there is another sense also in whlch people (probably wrongly) see education as an instrument by application of wli~ch certaln individual or social changes are brought about. Interpreted in the latter senhe, the economist would see education as a commodity in which it is profitable for the community to invest. Sociologists would tell people that education is a socializing force atid teachers are the socializing agency in the community. Similarly, apsychiatrist would \ay that the role of education, and hence of teachers, would be to maintain the rne~ital health of childreii. But you will agree that education is different from being a - 7 Concept and Nature commodity, real estate, type of social work or psychiatry. Education is w.hat it is and of Education not the way it is differently interpreted. Education is there in all of the above and each one is linked to the process of education, yet it lies above all these. We talk of educating children, teaching or instructing them; socializing or developing or converting them into good citizens or good human beings.
In all these expressions definitely something that we call education is involved. But what exactly is that, a process or a product, is not very clear. If it is a process, how does it occur or what are its conditions? And if it is a product, what does it look like? How can one define that product There are such and many more questions, which occur to us when we talk of understanding education. In this unit, an attempt has been made to seek answers to such questions in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of education, By going through this unit, you should be able to: derive the concept of education etymologically; analyse the various definitions of education form different perspectives; differentiate between descriptive and practical theories of education explain the two approaches of theory of education-the mechanistic andthe organismic approaches; discuss how education represents a deliberate attempt to develop a desirabb, state of mind; explain the reason why the process involved in education should be worthwhile; differentiate between the aims and purposes of education discuss the relevance of matter and manner of education; elucidate the concept of an educated man; discuss with examples the cognitive perspective in education; explain the difference between educating the emotions and training of emotions; discuss the concept of "knowing how" and "knowing that"; discuss education as initiation; describe the significance gf inter-subjectivity in ITS ETYMOLOGICAL DEWATION Etymologically, the word "Education" is derived from the Latin words "educare" and "educere". Educare refers to "to bring up' or "to nourish", whereas the word 'educere" means to "to bring forth" or "to draG out". Some others believe that the word his been derived from another Latin word "educantum" which has two components. "E implies a movement from inward to outward and "duco" refers to developing or progressing. An analysis of these words reveal that education aims at providing a learner or a child a nourishing environment to bring out and develop the latent potentiality hidden inside him. In India, the concept of education is traced back to the "Gurukula Parampara" which developed in ancient times. Basically, a Guru-Shishya or Teacher-Pupil tradition emphasized the education of the latter in ancient times. Two prominent words in Sanskrit namely, "Shiksha" and "Vidya" also stand out as equivalents of the term 8 "Education" The educational theorists making reasoned recommendations for practice inevitably make use of concepts like education, teaching, knowledge, cumculum, authority, equal opportunity, punishment, etc.