Scope of Education
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| Scope of Education |
Scope of education refers to the breadth, range, extent, comprehensiveness and variety of learning experiences to be provided in the educational process.
Education is a life-long process. In fact, everyday and every minute step-by-step step we learn from every source of formal, non-formal and informal organizations. Hence, the scope of education is very wide and long. It is as wide as the world and as long as the history of mankind on the earth. In this sense, the entire life of an individual comes under the purview of education. That is, the aesthetic, cultural, social, spiritual, mental, physical and vocational development of the individual is involved. The following subject matter maybe included under the scope of education.
(a) Educational philosophy:
The meaning, nature, purpose and content of education of a country is largely determined by the philosophy of that country. Philosophy of education emerged as one of the separate and newest disciplines in the twentieth century. Educational philosophy is the combination of philosophy and education. They are related like flower and its fragrance. Under this title, various philosophical thoughts and their influence on education and life are studied. Philosophy determines all aspects of education-meaning and nature of education, aims, curriculum, method of teaching, nature of textbook, nature of discipline, role of a teacher and school environment. Thus, educational philosophy is the philosophy applied in the field of education for solving various issues related to it.
(b) Educational sociology:
Sociology of education maybe defined briefly as a study of relation between education and society. Education is an activity which goes on in the society. Hence, the aims, curriculum, methods of teaching, nature of discipline etc. depend on the nature of the society in which it functions. We study the society and its impact on education, and the impact of education on culture and society. The sociological basis is merged with education in order to achieve the objective of socialisation of an individual through education. This branch of study deals with the aim of education, methods of teaching, curriculum, administration, school environment and nature of discipline.
(c) Educational psychology:
Psychology has been considered as one of the most influencing factors which affect the process of education in different ways. The child faces a number of problems related to education and development. The solution to his problems requires to be sought out with the help of psychology. Educational psychology studies various stages of physical, social, mental and emotional development of a child. Learning theories of psychology are applied in the teaching-learning environment for making the learning possible. It also deals with the problems related to personality, intelligence, memory adjustment and understanding of a child. The teachers at present should be equipped with those psychological skills which are needed for the successful guidance of learning adjustment and growth of the child.
(d) Educational technology:
This branch of study helps the teacher to achieve the most with the least possible time, energy and resources by applying various teaching techniques. The mind of the child is a growing organism. Hence, the teachers follow different techniques of teaching based on the nature of the subject matter or psychology of the learning process. The way of presenting the lesson is essential to develop the interest and attention of the pupils.
(e) Educational administration:
Administrative functions are concerned primarily with the material facilities and the operation of the schools. The supervisory functions are related with improving the learning situation. Success of the process of education depends entirely on the efficient administration. In this regard, principles of educational administration, supervision and control of schools, appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff, qualifications and duties of teachers and evaluation of school performance are studied, and reforms and changes are made for the effective performance.
(f) Educational measurement and evaluation:
The evaluation work is a supplement to the whole educational process. Under this division, we study why and how evaluation in education is done, how much degree of achievement maybe guaranteed for success and how much degree of error in measurement is acceptable.
(g) Comparative education:
Comparative education helps us to modify, reform, reorient and improve our own educational system in the light of the system followed in foreign countries. It is a study of cross cultural comparison to the structure, operation, methods, aims and achievements of various educational systems and practices of different countries of the world.
(h) Special education:
Special education refers to the methods of imparting education to deviant groups of the society-handicapped or backward and talented or superiors. The relative importance of special and integrated education is also studied under this division.
(i) History and problems of education:
History of education comes under the scope of education in which we study the nature and patterns of education from the ancient period to the twenty-first century and their related problems. As a result, we understand the gradual development of education during different periods. It helps us to find out a suitable system of education according to the changing needs of the society.
(j) Other fields of study:
Education plays a dynamic role in any dynamic society. As a consequence, new subjects of studies are coming under the jurisdiction of education.
Some of them are
(i) Education in the Emerging Indian Society;
(ii) Non-formal Education;
(iii) Professional and Technical Education;
(iv) Library Education;
(v) Education and Vocational Guidance;
(vi) Audio-Visual Education,
(vii) Basic Education,
(viii) Environmental Education;
(ix) Health Education;
(x) Measurements, Evaluation and Statistics;
(xi) Fundamental of Teaching Practice;
(xii) Socially Useful Productive Work.
Since the scope of education is very wide, it is not possible on the part of the individual to become perfect in all fields of education. Therefore, students will have to specialise themselves in different fields of education based on their needs and interests.
