Definitions of education
Definitions of education aim to describe the
An important discussion in the academic literature is about whether evaluative aspects are already part of the definition of education and, if so, what roles they play. Thin definitions are value-neutral while thick definitions include evaluative and normative components, for example, by holding that education implies that the person educated has changed for the better. Descriptive conceptions try to capture how the term "education" is actually used by competent speakers. Prescriptive conceptions, on the other hand, stipulate what education should be like or what constitutes good education.
Thick and prescriptive conceptions often characterize education in relation to the
Traditional accounts of education characterize it mainly from the teacher's perspective, usually by describing it as a process in which they transmit knowledge and skills to their students. Student-centered definitions, on the other hand, emphasize the student's experience, for example, based on how education transforms and enriches their subsequent experience. Some conceptions take both the teacher's and the student's point of view into account by focusing on their shared experience of a common world.
General characteristics, disagreements, and importance
Definitions of education try to determine the essential features of education. Many general characteristics have been ascribed to education. However, there are several disagreements concerning its exact definition and a great variety of definitions have been proposed by theorists belonging to diverse fields.[1][2][3] There is wide agreement that education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims.[4] In this sense, education involves the transmission of knowledge. But it is often pointed out that this factor alone is not sufficient and needs to be accompanied by other factors, such as the acquisition of practical skills or instilling moral character traits.[4][1]
Many definitions see education as a task or a process. In this regard, the conception of education is based on what happens during events like schooling, training, instructing, teaching, and learning.
Education is usually understood as a very general term that has a wide family of diverse instances.
Some theorists have responded to this by defining education in terms of
Clarity about the nature of education is important for various concerns. In a general sense, it is needed to identify and coherently talk about education.[15] In this regard, all the subsequent academic discourse on topics like the aims of education, the psychology of education, or the role of education in society, depends on this issue. For example, when trying to determine what good education is like, one has to already assume some idea of what education is to decide what constitutes a good instance. It is also central for questions about how to achieve and measure the results of educational processes.[16][17] The importance of providing an explicit definition is further increased by the fact that education initially seems to be a straightforward and common-sense concept that people usually use outside the academic discourse without much controversy. This impression hides various conceptual confusions and disagreements that only come to light in the attempt to make explicit the common pre-understanding associated with the term.[3][18]
Many concrete definitions of education have been proposed. According to
Role of values
There are various disagreements about whether
Role of aims
Many conceptions of education, in particular thick and prescriptive accounts, base their characterizations on the
Various conceptions emphasize the aim of
Teacher- or student-centered
Most conceptions of education either explicitly or implicitly hold that education involves the relation between teacher and student. Some theorists give their characterization mainly from the teacher's perspective, usually emphasizing the act of transmitting knowledge or other skills, while others focus more on the learning experience of the student.
Other theories aim to provide a more encompassing perspective that takes both the teacher's and the student's point of view into account.[7] Peters, in response to the criticism of his initially proposed definition, has changed his conception of education by giving a wider and less precise definition, seeing it as a type of initiation in which worthwhile forms of thought and awareness are conveyed from teachers to their students.[32][33][34] This is based on the idea that both teachers and students participate in the shared experience of a common world.[30][7] The teachers are more familiar with this world and try to guide the students by passing on their knowledge and understanding. Ideally, this process is motivated by curiosity and excitement on the part of the students to discover what there is and what it is like so that they may one day themselves become authorities on the subject. This conception can be used for answering questions about the contents of the curriculum or what should be taught: whatever the students need most for discovering and participating in the common world.[7]
The shared perspective of both teachers and students is also emphasized by Paulo Freire.[7][30][35] In his influential Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he rejects teacher-centered definitions, many of which characterize education using what he refers to as the banking model of education. According to the banking model, students are seen as empty vessels in analogy to piggy banks. It is the role of the teacher to deposit knowledge into the passive students, thereby shaping their character and outlook on the world.[7][35] Instead, Freire favors a libertarian conception of education. On this view, teachers and students work together in a common activity of posing and solving problems. The goal of this process is to discover a shared and interactive reality, not by consuming ideas created by others but by producing and acting upon one's own ideas. Students and teachers are co-investigators of reality and the role of the teacher is to guide this process by representing the universe instead of merely lecturing about it.[7][30][35]
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- ^ Peters, Richard S.; Woods, John; Dray, William H. (1973). "Aims of Education: A Conceptual Inquiry". The Philosophy of Education.
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