Meaning and Nature of Education
Introduction
Education is the most important and powerful instrument invented by mankind to shape and mould himself in a desirable manner. Any modification brought about in the behaviour of an individual, as a result of his interaction with the environment, constitutes learning. The history of the world proves that education has been the root cause for any change which takes place in the social, cultural, spiritual, political and economic aspects of human life. It is education, which not only transforms the human animal into a rational human being, but also prepares and develops him to survive and adjust with surroundings so as to lead his personal as well as social life successfully.
Therefore, we may say that education is anything which the individual acquires through formal or non-formal organizations in the form of certificates or training by which his personality is prepared and developed to undertake any sort of task and adjust himself with the varying environments in order to fulfil his basic necessities and objectives of life. It is discerned from this statement that education has become one of the basic necessities of human life, like food, clothing and shelter.
Today, life is education and education is life. Hence, no distinction can be made between life and education under any circumstances.
In fact, education is part and parcel of human life. Generally, human life consists of biological, sociological, spiritual and cultural aspects. The biological aspects of human life can be sustained by food, shelter and reproduction. This aspect of life is found common in almost all biotic organisms. But the sociological, spiritual and cultural aspects of life are found in human life alone. It is the only aspect which differentiates mankind from all other living organisms on the earth. Therefore, the sociological aspects of human life should be given due consideration. They can be achieved and developed only through the medium of education.
Lock has aptly remarked, "Plants are developed by cultivation and men by education". Hence, we may conclude that as shelter is essential for biological life, so is education for sociological life. In short, man's goals become impossible to achieve in the absence of education.
Meaning of Education
Education is a dynamic as well as comprehensive concept, which has a very wide connotation. Since education is related with human life, it is very difficult to ascribe a single meaning to it. The concept of education is like a diamond, which appears to be of different colours when seen from different angles.
It is like the concept of the proverbial elephant and the blind man. Various people-a philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, biologist, priest, professor, teacher, shopkeeper, merchant, politician, an artisan, educator, economist and others seem to have their own concept and meaning of education according to their own outlook in life and past experiences. However, the meaning of the word "education" can be understood from its roots in four Latin words, that is, Educare, Educere, Educatum and Educo.
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Educare:
The term `education' has been derived from the Latin word Educare which means "to nourish", "to bring up", "to raise". So, the meaning of the word "education" is to bring up children physically and mentally.
Educere: This is another Latin word from which the word `education' is derived. The word educere implies "to draw out", "to lead out", "to bring forth". Hence, `education' means bringing forth or leading out the inner power of the child, that is, drawing out what is inside the child.
Educatum: Latin word educatum denotes "to train", "to teach". Thus, education implies the act of training or teaching the child.
Educo: The origin of the word `education' is considered to be the combination from E and Duco. Duco means "I lead" and E stands for "out of". So, education means to draw out or lead out the internal power of man. This is similar to the meaning of the word educere.
Thus, education is the drawing out of the inner capacities of the individual to develop his personality to the full extent by training or teaching.
Narrow and Wider Meanings of Education
In order to understand the concept of education, educational thinkers have interpreted and classified the meaning of education into two main categories, namely, narrow and wider concept of education.
Narrow Meaning of Education
The narrow meaning of education usually implies imparting information, giving instruction, schooling, training, making people literate, teaching, preparing for a trade or vocation. In the narrow sense, education is confined to school, college and university instruction.
The scope of education is very narrow here. Education starts when the child gets admission in the school and ends when he leaves school, college or university. The following definitions of some renowned educationists make the narrow meaning of education more clear.
S.S.Mackenzi: "In the narrow sense, education may be taken to mean any consciously directed effort to develop and cultivate powers".
James Drever: "Education is a process in which and by which the knowledge, character and behaviour of the young are shaped and moulded".
G.H.Thompson: "The influence of the environment on the individual with a view to producing a permanent change in his habits of behaviour, of thoughts and attitude".
John Stuart Mill: "The culture which each generation purposefully gives to those who are to be its successors, in order to qualify them for at least keeping up and if possible for raising the level of improvement which has been attained".
However, in the narrow sense, we may state that education is anything acquired from formal institutions in the form of certificates or training which enables the individual to carry out a particular task.
The following points bring out the meaning more clearly.
(i)Education is provided through planned institutions like schools, colleges and universities.
(ii)Education is a deliberate, conscious and systematic influence exerted by the matured person (teacher) on the immatured (student).
(iii)Education is limited to the teaching of readymade materials.
(iv)Education is intentional rather than incidental.
(v)Knowledge is the accumulated experience of the human race.
(vi)Education is regarded as synonymous with instruction.
Wider Meaning of Education
In this view, education is a life-long process which starts from the womb and ends in the tomb. It becomes the sum total of experience that the child receives inside and outside the school, through the study of different subjects, through various activities, through the library, the museum, the playground, the workshop or through other agencies.
Thus, in a wider sense, education is more than teaching or instruction. Education is regarded as synonymous with the act of living. Accordingly, education is not confined to schools, colleges or universities alone. From the wider meaning of education, we get a new life from education and the life gives us new education. It includes all the knowledge and experiences acquired during infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, through any agency of education namely, school, home, society, church, industry, market, hotel, hospital etc.
The wider concept of education has been interpreted by some eminent educationists in the following ways:
S.S.Mackenzi: "In the wider sense, education is a process that goes on throughout life, and is promoted by almost every experience in life".
M.K.Gandhi: "By education, I mean, the all-round drawing out of the best in child, man-body, mind and soul".
W.H.Kilpatrick: "From the broad point of view, all life thoughtfully lived is education".
Dumvile: "Education, in its widest sense, includes all the influences which act upon an individual during his passage from cradle to the grave".
Edward Thring: "Education is the transmission of life by the living to the living".
John Dewey: "Education is the development of all those capacities in the individual which enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities".
T.Raymont: "Education is a process of development from infancy to maturity, the process by which, he adapts himself gradually to various aspects of physical, social and spiritual environment".
In the widest sense, we may define education as something which is a life-long process of acquiring knowledge through formal or non-formal organizations in the form of certificates or training by which the personality of the individual is prepared and developed to undertake any task and adjust himself with the varying environments in order to achieve the goals in life.
A pupil gets one fourth of education from his educator, another fourth by his own intellectual efforts, next fourth from his fellow students and the rest, in the course of time, through life and experience. The wider concept of education is not just the teaching and learning of the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic)
The wider meaning of education includes the following features:
(i)Education is a life-long process, from infancy to old age or from womb to tomb.
(ii)This type of education is acquired through formal, informal and non-formal formal agencies of education.
(iii)It consists of the development of four H, i.e., head, heart, hand and health.
(iv)Life and education cannot be separated from each other.
(v)All experiences are said to be educative.
(vi)Education is synonymous with the act of living.
(vii)Education includes all aspects of human life-cultural, domestic, economic, geographical, political, religious and social.
