Nick Paul History of Education

3/22/2018
NIKIBET.WEEBLY.COM HISTORY OF EDUCATION
HISTORY OF EDUCATION
KIMONDO.K.NICHOLOUS
HISTORY OF EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION.
The course on history of education covers the evolution of educational
ideas, theory and practice from ancient times up to the present time.
1. Components of the Course Unit.

The course unit is divided into three sections: the first section examines education
through history. The ancient aspects do not only deal with ideas on education in
Europe but also in Egypt, India, China, Greece and the ancient land of the
Hebrews. Ideas on education which have been touched on include those in the
periods of: Medieval times, 13th to 15th centuries; those in the 17th century;
enlightenment in the 18th century; science and nationalism in the 19th century and
progressivism and radicalism in the 20th century. Application of ideas on education
is focused on the contexts of Africa and Kenya. The second section looks at the
history of education within the context of Africa. Here, the lectures expose you to
a variety of aspects relevant to the development of education in Africa, and
specific features in historical development of education in the periods: up to 1920;
1920-1945, 1945-1960, and 1960-2000. The third section looks at history of
education within the context of Kenya. Here the lectures expose you to various
aspects relevant to the development of education during the periods: up to 1920;
1920-1945 and 1945-1963.
2. General Objectives of the course Unit.

The course is aimed at helping you to understand how education has evolved over
the centuries. Therefore, by the end of the course, you should be able to:
 Describe the role and importance of studying history of education
 Explain the factors and movements which have influenced the development
of western education.
 State how the evolution of ideas on education have helped to shape modern
systems of education in Africa.
 Explain the existence and importance of indigenous education in Africa,
and its relevance to the theory and practice of modern education.
 Examine the contribution of some educational thinkers to modern systems
of education in Africa.
 Explain how education has developed in Kenya.
3. Relationship of the Course Unit with other Disciplines.
The history of education course is related to many other courses offered with
educational foundations units in the Institute for Open Learning. In this respect,
this unit is offered in Part I of your course, along with the philosophy of education,
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sociology of education and Comparative education. The knowledge acquired from
these units compliment one another. These courses are related to the history of
education to a considerable extent.
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Table of Contents.
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SECTION A
EDUCATION THROUGH HISTORY
LESSON ONE
THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY OF EDUCATION
1. Introduction
.
In this lesson, we shall discuss the importance of studying history of
education to a teacher or teacher-to-be. To do that we need to clearly
understand the meaning of the terms "history", "education", which will
help us in understanding the term "history of education. We shall then
discuss the aims and benefits of studying history of education and the
scope of this unit.
2. Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Define history, education, and history of education.
 Name at least five benefits a teacher gets from studying history of
education
 Describe the scope of the unit from the ancient times to the present.
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3. Content
3.1 DEFINITION OF HISTORY, EDUCATION AND HISTORY OF EDUCATION.

Historians as have defined history:
The record of all past human experience, showing how groups of people
are and how they came to be. It is concerned with political, social,
economic, scientific and technological factors and events, which have
shaped the growth and development of mankind.
Education has been defined by some educationists as:
The total process by which human abilities and behaviour is developed; or

the organized and continuous instruction aimed at imparting knowledge,
skills, attitudes and understanding necessary for full participation in life.
Education is also seen as a social process through which a member of a
society achieves individual growth and development and social
competence, carried out in selected and well-defined institutional settings.
History of Education could be defined as:
The study of the past development of educational systems, theories,
practices and institutions within the general historical framework of
political, social, economic, scientific, technological and cultural changes
that different societies have gone through over time.
Note: There are many definitions of the above terms. There is no
single definition of any one of them that is universally
accepted by all. You can also come up with definitions in
your own words!!
Question: What do you understand by the term history of education?
Activity: Having read how others have defined history, education and
history of education, try to come up with a definition of each
using your own words.
3. 2 REASONS FOR STUDYING HISTORY OF EDUCATION

Having defined what we mean by History of Education, let us now
find out the importance of this subject to teachers or teachers-to-be.
History of Education is studied for the following reasons:
(a) Improving the quality of education

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The study of the past educational experience has many lessons that
can be used to improve present educational theory and practice. The
problems and challenges we face in our education today are not unique;
others have faced the same problems and attempted solutions with
varying degrees of success or failure. We can adopt their successes and
avoid their mistakes in attempting to improve our education. History of
education is rich in both failures and breakthroughs for us to run away
from or copy, respectively.
(b) Strengthening the professional competence of the teacher

A proper study of the history of education affects the way in which
teachers or student teachers conduct their personal and professional
activities. The subject contributes to strengthening both by encouraging
the teacher to examine, evaluate, accept or modify the cultural heritage;
and to become an educational critic and agent for intelligent cultural
transmission and change, rather than blindly accept the educational status
quo, ideas, practices and unchallenged claims. In other words, an
examination of educational theories and practices in their historical context
encourages teachers to adopt a critical attitude towards present theories
and practices.
(c) Understanding our own educational systems better.

The past illuminates the present. History not only teaches what
education is, but also where it came from, why it came to be, and what it is
bound to become in the future. History of education is a narrative of the
origins, growth and development of educational institutions, methods,
concepts, aims, curricular, theory and practice without which they would
appear new, unexplored, and untried to us in the present world. History
of education thus helps us to appreciate the road travelled by education to
reach where it is today.
(d) Making comparisons within a historical perspective

History of education helps one to draw comparisons of the origins
and development of several different ideas, practices and theories of
education in different societies. In that way it can help one to formulate
better ideas, patterns and principles and provide a larger perspective. It
may also enable one to draw from and act imaginatively using a broader
range of humanity than that represented by a single cultural experience.
Apart from drawing a comparison in the evolution of educational ideas,
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one is also able to show the development of a particular theory and
practice in historical context, and demonstrate the particular conditions
out of which such a theory or practice arose and the specific purpose it was
intended to serve.
Making comparisons within a historical perspective enables one to
use the power of contextual study to introduce innovation by formulating
new and better questions, generating fruitful hypotheses and initiating
unexplored lines of inquiry.
(e) Satisfying intellectual curiosity

History of education is like other areas of knowledge, with its own
body of knowledge and conventional methods of acquiring this
knowledge. Human beings, and no less teachers and teachers-to-be are
possessed with the inherent desire or curiosity to explore and know what
education is, where it came from, and where it is going. Studying history
of education satisfies this inmate desire. One need not go beyond this
reason to justify the study of history of education.
(f) Developing powers of thinking.

The fruitful study of history of education compels us to train and
exercise all our aspects of intellectual activity, excites curiosity and the
spirit of inquiry, disciplines the faculty of reason, and cultivates the arts of
self-expression and communication. Historical study is also basic to
cultivating the attitudes of the mind that characterize the educated person,
the habits of scepticism and criticism; of thinking with broad perspective
and objectivity; of distinguishing between the good and the bad in human
experience. The historical study of education gives one the discerning eye
to give shape, form, organization, sequence and interrelationship and
relative importance of ideas.
(g) Exposing one to knowledge in other disciplines.

Historians of education must always go beyond the confines of their
discipline to fully understand the nature of the phenomena they study.
They particularly need to be acquainted with the social sciences such as
sociology, psychology, philosophy and comparative education, which can
be used in a mutually enriching way to analyse important educational
ideas. Though scholars in each discipline may operate from their own
particular perspective, they must of necessity all draw from the well of
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history, which contains the raw record of human experience, and sets the
context of events in a time continuum within which other disciplines must
operate. The study of history of education thus exposes one to
knowledge in other social sciences and humanities, which are engaged in
the study of human affairs.
Note: The importance or non-importance of history of
education to teacher training is debatable depending on
one's experience and viewpoint. Here we take the
broad view of the subject, which has definite and
important role to play in teacher education. Sometimes
people with a narrow view of history have seen the
subject as irrelevant to teacher preparation.
Question: Why should a teacher or teacher-to-be study history of
education?
Activity: Using your own words, name at least five reasons for
the teacher to study history of education.
3. 3 THE SCOPE OF HISTORY OF EDUCATION

The scope of the History of Education embraces the description,
elaboration and analysis of the formal, informal and non-formal aspects of
education.
The formal aspect of education refers to the institutionalised form of
learning found in educational institutions or schools of varying levels and
organization which societies establish to be agents for the specific
purposes of transmitting skills, knowledge and values.
The informal aspect refers to the total cultural and educative context
into which individuals are born, grow up in, and reach maturity.
Through the process of enculturation, individuals acquire the cultural tools
they need to be useful and acceptable members of their society such as
language, artistic skills, attitudes, values, morals, and so on. Informal
education agencies include the family, the church, the mosque, the shrine,
both mass and electronic media, the state, and peer groups. All these
socialize individuals and sustain them in the roles that are accepted in
society.
Learning within the informal sector may occur spontaneously or in a
planned manner. Included in the informal sector are the philosophical,
intellectual, theological, political, aesthetic, economic, technological and
artistic patterns that make up the entire cultural experience of a group of
people.
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The group defines the levels of competence to be acquired for
effective participation by the individuals.
The non-formal aspect or third channel of education refers to
planned educational activities and programs that exist outside the highly
formalized institutional school structure. This sector is usually needs
oriented, targets a particular out-of-school group of people, is flexible in
terms of time-tabling, age and is, not competitive. It is of essence highly
utilitarian and diversified to meet the needs of the beneficiaries. It is not
structured in levels.
Examples of the formal, informal and non-formal education would
be the 8-4-4, African Indigenous Education, and Adult Literacy Education,
respectively.
In the context of both formal, informal and non-formal education

processes, history of education in this unit will deal with the foundations
of modern education since the ancient times in selected regions in the
World, Hebraic-Christian Education, Islamic Education, the Renaissance,
Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Modern Movements in Education
from the 17th Century to the Present, African Indigenous Education, and
the development of Western Education in Africa with special reference to
Kenya, from the colonial to the post-colonial periods.
Note: The scope of History of Education is very wide. The topics
included for study in this unit are carefully selected to
represent the collective human educational experience from
the earliest times to the present. They are by no means
exhaustive. You, the reader, can gain much more knowledge
on this subject by reading on your own or, just as a beginning,
looking at the materials for further reading given at the end of
each lesson.
Question: What is the scope of History Education?
Activity: By looking at the main topics in this unit, identify the main
stages in the development of both Western and African education.
4. Summary
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In this lesson, the following important points have been discussed:
5. Activities.
(i) Discuss the definition of history of education

(ii) Discuss the importance of history of education programmes in your
country.
Further Readings
For more information on this topic, you can read the following:
1. Sifuna, D.N. and Otiende, J.E., An Introductory History of
Education.
2. Mayer, F.A.,A History of Educational Thought. Columbus, Ohio, Merrill 1969.
LESSON TWO
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EDUCATION THROUGH HISTORY: AN OVERVIEW.
1. INTRODUCTION
In our first lecture, we defined history of education. We went further to

discuss why you need to learn history of education. We finally looked at
the scope of this subject. In this lecture, we are going to have an overview
of the development of education through phases in history in the context
of the course prescribed for this unit.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to;

 Describe the evolution of education through the historical phases- i.e
from the pre-historic period to the 20th century;
 Examine the purpose that education has served in history;
 Describe trends in education through history.
3. Content.
3.1 MAN AND EDUCATION IN PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD.

Man has existed in some form on this planet for between 0.5 million and 1
million years. Between 500,000 and 75,000 years ago, the tools man made
became refined. 75,000 to 20,00 years ago, there were rapid strides in
human culture. Art and expression took place. From 10,000 to 8,000 years
ago, there were even more rapid developments than before: complicated
buildings were constructed; man produced his own food rather than
simply gathering wild fruits. Indeed, man developed gestures, signs and
symbols to convey ideas and communicate. Between 6,000 and 5,000 years
ago man invented writing. Education thus became an institution.
Significantly, when pre-historic man began to control his environment
rather than submit to it, human culture took familiar forms, somewhat
recognizable to-day. Between 4,000 and 3,000 years ago, man improved
skills in commerce. Ironically war consolidated the cities into large
empires.
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3.2. ANCIENT TIMES AND EDUCATION.
In the ancient or classical times, there was no common education in the
Persian Empire. Only a few people were chosen for schooling to be scribes
and priests. Education in the Persian Empire was a tool to make the masses
conform.
In Sparta, a city-state of Greece, in about 8,000 BC the sole purpose of

education was to produce warriors, for Spartans dwelt in the middle of a
hostile conquered people. Spartans therefore developed a system of
education for instilling obedience and loyalty to their state.
Athenian training, about 8,000 BC was not unlike Spartan training.

Athenians felt that the state was supreme. However, there was also a
growing conviction among the Athenians that individual fulfilment was
good for well-being of their state. Thus the great ‘mediators’: Socrates (469-
399 BC), Plato (429-347) BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) tried to make
people realize that the social process cannot be arrested, and demanded
reconstruction on a higher plane than before. They advocated the pursuit
of truth and knowledge.
The Romans, on their part, consistently sought the application of

knowledge rather than the pursuit of truth for its own sake. They were
therefore unlike the Greek ‘mediators’. Their educational approach was
thus suggestive of power and organization. The fusion of the Graeco-
Roman heritage is the basis of western civilization.
Educationally, the Greek and Roman influence saw the development of

three levels of educational institutions; the lowest schools, with extended
literary content, taught by imitation and memorization, the learning being
accompanied by severe discipline; grammar schools, where the teaching
was done in both Greek and Latin, the curriculum including oratory, and
interpretation of poets; and technical schools where both Greek and Latin
were used for training students in legal and literary subjects. On
compilation, the Greek students went to universities in Athens.
As to the Roman influence in education, this is evident in ideas of a

universal empire; the concept of law; and the ‘pax Romana’ (Roman peace)
which to this day underlies the guides civilization. The coming of
Christianity is also a result of roman genius for organization. In AD 313
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Christianity was recognized as an imperial religion with the Roman
Empire. This witnessed the rise of catechumenal schools which gave some
sort of formal instruction, lasting for three years, to members of Roman
Catholic Church. Catechumenal schools offered little or no intellectual
message in the formal instruction offered.
3.3. THE MIDDLE AGES AND EDUCATION.

Following the arrival of barbaric hordes from Northern Europe, for three
centuries after AD 300 Europe presented a spectacle of ignorance,
lawlessness and violence. It was the Moslems who were to awaken
mediaeval Europe, developing universities in Spain (A1050) which in the
end saw mediaeval universities developing out of cathedral and monastic
schools. Universities grew out of growing need for higher education.
3.4. THE RENAISSANCE AND EDUCATION.

By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Europe witnessed a rebirth of
knowledge, the renaissance. This revived the ancient Graeco-Roman
heritage and added to it a new appreciation of humanities, arrears of
knowledge that refine human spirit, such as literature, and philosophy.
The Renaissance was an offshoot of progressive social, political, economic
and philosophical changes. The crusades, the enrichment of cities, the
expansion of commerce, industry, and banking, the rise of guilds, and the
growing spirit of nationalism were key causes of change which led to the
development of national languages and literatures.
3.5. REFORMATION, COUNTER-REFORMATION AND EDUCATION

In the sixteenth century Protestants revolted and the Roman Catholic
Church reformed. The reformation was a series of revolts from the
Catholic Church, which had resisted all attempts at internal reform of its
ecclesiastical doctrines and abuses of the 16th century. The reformation
brought more changes in education.
The Counter Reformation arose out of the Council of Trent (1543-1563) and
used inquisitions and education a reaction against the Reformation
Movement, which was leading to separation. Thus, whilst the Protestants
allied themselves to the state, the roman Church developed theological
seminaries, encouraged teaching congregations and reorganize parish
schools to counter the protestant onslaught.
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3.6. 17TH CENTURY REALISM AND EDUCATION.
The 17th century was to be gripped by the cult of realism, which
resulted in an attempt to make education more meaningful. It witnessed
humanistic realism, an attempt to understand the content of what was
taught, and social realism an attempt to adjust education to the life
situation. The crux of the matter was that the enormous heritage of the
past collided with over-whelming body of new ideas.
3.7. 18TH CENTURY ENLIGHTENMENT AND EDUCATION.

In the 18th century there was a general revolt against absolutism and
ecclesiasticism. By 18th century, authoritarianism was giving way to the
spirit of truth and freedom based on reason and inquiry. Despotism and
ecclesiasticism were becoming thoroughly intolerable, and the individual
saw his own development as an individual as within his reach. The picture
of education, however, was bleak, though the presence of perspective
individuals, like Rousseau (1712-1778) was a redeeming feature.
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3.8. 19TH CENTURY SCIENCE NATIONALISM AND EDUCATION.
The 19th century was an age of conflicting ideologies. The various socio-
political dogmas of the 19th century replaced the much worn out inherited
commitments to the religious dynastic status Quo. Industrialism,
liberalism, democracy and capitalism were the context of the 19th century
socio-political ideologies. Educationally the interaction of these trends has
a graphic influence, leading to great diversity of educational development
in various parts of Europe, which corresponded to the diversity of national
conditions resulting from Napoleonic wars.
3.9. 20TH CENTURY PROGRESSIVISM, RADICALISM AND EDUCATION.

20th century education trends should really be the concern of the
philosopher and sociologist rather than the historian. Nevertheless, a
number of historic trends are noteworthy: he thrust of modernization,
problems of generation gap, and the changing criteria of educational
authority. These have witnessed he emergence of two broad educational
movements: progressive and radical.
4. Summary
In this lecture we learnt that man invented writing, education was

institutionalised. The ancient period education was made to serve the needs
of the different societies, producing priests, scribes, soldiers, elites and
practical people. In the middle ages, Moslems presence in Europe
reawakened Europe intellectually. With the renaissance, national European
languages and literatures began to be developed and used in educational
establishments. Both the Reformation and the Counter Reformation
witnessed changes in education, with the Protestants advocating universal
state provision and control of education, while the Catholics encouraged
teaching congregations to counter the reformation. In the seventeenth
century, attempts were made to make education meaningful. In the
eighteenth century, perspective individuals saved education from
redundancy. In the 19th century, diverse national systems of education were
developed in Europe. In the twentieth century, alternative systems of
education are being sought.
5. Activities.
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1. Outline the main features of development in education from the pre-
historic times to present.
2. Make notes which show how education has in every period of history
reflected the value of society.
6. Further Reading
 Mayer, F. A History of Educational Thought.

Columbus Ohio: Charles E. Merrill
Publishing Company, 1973
 Wilds, E.H., and Lottich, K.V. The Foundation of Modern Education

New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Wiston, Inc. 1970 Chap. 1 pp. 1-23.
 Sifuna, D.N. and Otiende, J.E., An Introductory History of

Education. Nairobi: Nairobi
University Press, 1994, (Revised Edn)
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LESSON THREE
EDUCATION IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.

1 INTRODUCTION
In our second lecture, we had overview of the development of education

through phases in history from the pre-historic period to the present time.
We went further to show how education in every period of history has
tended to respond to the needs of its society. In this lecture, we are going
to look at the education during ancient civilisation.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

 Describe main characteristics of education in ancient civilisations.
 Show how our study of education in ancient civilisation is relevant
to education today.
3. Content
3.1. Early societies and Education.
The way in which early societies educated their young and thus how
future generations were educated is a milestone in cultural history. Thus,
the education and cultural antecedents are significant, for present values
are rooted in those of the past. Inevitably, there is all the reason for being
made aware of the main avenues of action in ancient times. This demands
knowing and understanding the ideals that shaped ancient education,
together with the men that laid them down, including the policies and
practices that were set to realize them.
Our emphasis on the study of education in ancient times lies in those
societies whose influence has become more or less a permanent feature of
their approach to education. This is because the present Kenyan education
system emerged out of these formal systems of education. Indeed our
education has since independence largely developed along western lines.
The Egyptian education of about 4,000 BC aimed to foster a proper
understanding of religion and vocational skills that were needed for trade
and agriculture, and mathematical and geometrical skills for surveying
and measuring out plots which were flooded annually by the Nile.
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The Chinese education of 2,000 years ago sought to preserve the
past, their education concerning itself with human relationships, order,
duty and morality. The greatest Chinese philosopher was Confucius (557
BC-479 BC). The Hindus, on their part, endeavoured through their
education to prepare themselves for the life to come and maintain the caste
system. The Jewish education was immensely coloured by religious faith,
an attitude towards their national history, a sense of godly appointed
mission.
The Greeks were the first to realize that society can be best enriched
by development of the talents and personalities of the individuals which
make up the society. They were also the first to recognize that the
preservation of the status quo alone was inadequate, but rather that
education of the individual society was to progress and grow. Socrates
(469-399 BC), Plato (428-348 BC) and Aristotle (386-322 BC) tried to find the
solution to the problem of developing a stable society which also fostered
the creative talents and freedom of the individual within it. Consequently,
from Greece the model for the educated citizen was transplanted
throughout the Hellenist World.
The Roman’s part was to absorb the spread of Hellenistic culture
rather than to remodel it entirely into some higher cultural synthesis. Their
acquisition of Greek learning was to be highly selective; they left out many
structural elements and modified others. Thus while sharing Hellenistic
attitudes, they still honoured their tested traditions and tried to build a
formal educational system that sought to achieve two objectives; culture
and utility. The Romans were determined to produce decently educated
men, both cultured and practical. Their most influential educational
thinker was Quintilian (AD 35-95). Quintilian took up questions of
educational methodology, discussing problems of techniques and their
application.
3.2. Characteristic feature of Education during the Ancient Civilization.
It is worth reminding us that the evolution of man’s culture in
education extends in time to obscure origins before the dawn of recorded
history. This is so even of western man, and in fact the religion, the
economy, the values of society and the lifestyles arising from near Eastern
societies produce a succession of formal education systems, while western
Europe was still a vast wilderness populated by primitive savages
dwelling in caves. An examination of educational phenomena of early
historic societies suggests certain general conclusions as to the nature of
education of these earliest civilizations.
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Education seen as cultural transmission imparted informally,
without schools, dominated up to the time complex demands of society
became too great for it. Once the informal educational practices had been
thus outstripped and found wanting, there was no stopping the emergence
of educational institutions to meet the compelling needs of the man’s
earliest civilizations: the principle of division of labour apparent in the
ancient civilizations soon led to similar specializations in education.
The explosion of knowledge meant that the family and society were
unable to cope with the emergent specialisms, therefore paving the way
for formal training in reading, writing and arithmetic. Home and society
needed something to supplement them; what schools taught was
supposed to be relevant to the needs of home and society.
The supportive principle of division of labour that followed the
agricultural, technological and urban revolutions of historic societies saw a
class of teachers arising. Initially teachers imparted historical and religious
knowledge to a selected few. Teachers thus supplemented the family and
society in teaching what was considered relevant for the commercial,
administrative and literary needs of the evolving communities that became
early historic societies.
The discovery of writing was an important stimulus towards the
establishment of schools. The skills of reading, writing and arithmetic were
useful for commercial, administrative and record-keeping purposes. Hence
the limited oral tradition based on memory was surely being phased out
by the enduring authoritative recorded tradition of the written word.
Schools became a necessity, to teach people how to read and write.
Paradoxically, the authoritative recorded tradition produced a
conservative, status quo, orientation that was against change.
Except for the Jews, the art of reading and writing was limited o a
very small number of people in the early historic communities. Those in
the higher sectors of society, with a birthright, were at an advantage in
receiving formal education. Being literate resulted to a rise in an important
position in society. An individual who could read and write possessed a
skill that was scarce and of great value to the community. Indeed, the
acquisition of the art of reading and writing was further glorified by being
accompanied by religious mysticism. Religious mysticism replaced the
informality of pre-literate education. However, the education of the masses
still took the form of apprenticeships and oral education. Again, except for
the Jews, girls and women were considered inferior to boys and men. The
education of women was therefore neglected.
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The approach of teaching and learning was in its infancy.
Memorization and repeating word for word what the teacher had taught
was rampant. There was no encouragement for the learner to relate what
had been taught to everyday life. No allowance was made for the students
to apply what was learnt to problem solving. Teachers neither explained
their lessons, nor saw lack of learning as the teachers’ fault. Lack of
understanding was due to the laziness of the students. Severe school and
class discipline was the order of the day. Education was a means of
producing submissive, conforming and yet productive citizens of a
cohesive society.
4 Summary
So far we have outlined how Egyptians, the Chinese, the Indians, the
Jews, the Greeks and the Roman have permanently influenced western
educational practice. Further, we have pointed to the main features of
education in classical societies. These characteristics included the fact that
education was a means of cultural transmission, among many others.
5. Activities.
1. discuss the evidence we have that Egyptian civilisation existed
and influenced the course of human civilisation.
2. identify and discuss six ways in which education in ancient
Egypt has influenced modern education.
6. Further Reading.
1. Sifuna, D.N. and Otiende, J.E., An Introductory
History of Education.
2. Mayer, F.A.,A History of Educational Thought.
Columbus, Ohio, Merrill 1969.
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LECTURE 4.
EDUCATION IN ANCIENT EGYPT
1 Introduction.
In the last lesson, we defined history of education, discussed the
rationale for studying the subject and the scope of the unit from the ancient
times to the present. In this lesson we shall look at the foundations of
modern education in ancient Egypt.
2. Objectives:
 Identify the origins and development of ancient Egyptian education.
 Identify the aims and structure of ancient Egyptian education.
 Discuss the contribution of Egyptian education to modern education.
3. Content
3.1 Ancient Egyptian Civilization
Egyptian civilization is the oldest in the long history of man. It pre-
dates the Chinese, Indian and Graeco-Roman civilizations. Egyptian
civilization reached its peak between 4,000 B.C. and 1,000 B.C. It is also
the earliest civilization with a recorded history. This civilization was a
product of the agricultural activities cantered on the River Nile, political
unity between the upper and lower Kingdoms under Pharaoh Menes in
3100 B.C. and the resulting centralized autocratic theocracy, which
managed to maximize the existing agricultural economy.
Note: All civilization in the history of mankind revolved around a
central feature, economic activity at perceived challenge. This
is true of societies even in modern times.
Question: What was Egyptian civilization a product of?
Activity: Using your own knowledge of history or referring to this
book, identify the major factors behind the Chinese, Indian,
and Greek and Roman civilization.
3.2 Religion and Social Classes
In Ancient Egypt, all things were inseparable from religion. This
made Herodotus (484 B.C. - 425 B.C.), the Greek father of History, to
describe the Egyptians as extremely religious. The total number of deities
was in excess of two thousand, with the Pharaoh being considered and
treated as a deity on earth, or the god king. The Pharaoh ensured that the
gods were worshipped and sacrifices made to them. All land belonged to
the Pharaoh and there was intimate link between the religious, the
economic, the social, the political, the artistic, the scientific and the
technological; practices.
19
The Egyptian believed in physical life after death, which was
considered as a kind of transient sleep. Because of this, the Egyptians
developed mummification or conservation in death into a highly
sophisticated science.
Egyptian society was stratified into three classes. The upper class
included the royal family, the nobles and the priests. The middle classes
were the professionals and scribes. The lowest class included the fellahin
or serfs and the slaves. Egyptian priests had a very powerful position
politically, socially, economically and educationally. They both directly
and indirectly controlled the entire educational system.
Note: Herodotus description of Egyptians as extremely religious
echoes Mbithi’s view that Africans are notoriously religious.
Both views underline the importance of religion in African
society.
Question: What are the three classes into which Egyptian society was
divided?
Activity: Using the example of ancient Egypt, discuss the role played
by religion in your own community.
20
3.3: The Aims and Structure of Ancient Egyptian Education.
3.3.1 AIMS
Egyptian education aimed at perpetuating social stability and the
status quo. Education perpetuated a socially stratified society by slotting
the various classes into their social, political and economic riches in
society.
The education aimed at producing professionals and labour oriented
personnel to support the social structures. For this reason, Egyptian
education was practical, technical, professional, and utilitarian.
The River Nile being at the heart of Egyptian civilization, education
was designed to foster the development of a complex agricultural science,
creating irrigation and flood control networks, which made Egypt the
granary of the ancient world.
Egyptian education also preferred a religious view of the world by
seeking to enhance the people's religious and moral development and
piety to the gods. Education was considered both a preparation for life
and a vehicle for life after death. Education thus contained religious and
philosophical studies to achieve the society's polytheist ideals.
21
3.3.2 Structure.
(a) Elementary Education.
Elementary schools were first established between 3,000 B.C. and
2,000 B.C: in response to the basic needs of Egyptian society. They were
established to offer training in various vocations rather than literacy. The
latter was initially restricted to the clergy, with only their sons being
exposed to reading and writing under priests in temple schools.
Schooling for the few lucky boys began at four years of age and
lasted up to the time they were 14 yeas, when they were considered ready
for the world of work.
The curriculum included mastering the symbols and signs of writing
unique to the respective social classes, professions or vocations;
elementary science, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and dancing.
The last two were taught for recreational, moral and religious training.
The dominant methods of teaching were dictation, memorization,
copying of texts, imitation, repetition, participation and observation, the
last particularly in physical education. These methods did not encourage
higher-level thinking, problem solving, or the spirit of inquiry, with
teachers hardly explaining their lessons. School discipline was severe and
ruthless. Laziness was highly discouraged and severely punishable.
Good manners, physical fitness through swimming and archery,
cleanliness and moral uprightness were highly valued. To Egyptians
bodily hygiene was of religious significance, and may well have originated
the adage that cleanliness is next to godliness.
Those boys who did not go to elementary school were trained
informally by their fathers in skills other than the 3Rs - reading, writing
and arithmetic. Through apprenticeships and oral traditions the masses
were taught to fit into their prescribed positions in society. Girls only
received training in domestic roles under their mothers at home. Slaves
were not offered any formal education.
(b) Secondary Education
Secondary education was conducted in the same premises as
elementary education. It was mainly a continuation of improvement and
consolidation of the elementary school learning, with particular attention
being given to refining the style and composition of the art of writing and
craftsmanship. Boys of the upper class informally participated in learning
activities that enhanced their etiquette and code of behaviour.
22
(c) Higher and Professional Education
This education took place in temples, colleges or universities. On
the East bank of the Nile, at Tell-el--Armana, there was a kind of
university, the House of Life. Higher education was mainly for the
instruction of priests and professionals.
This education was guardedly, secretly and informally passed on to
immediate relatives, colleagues and social equals. It was thus restricted to
those recognized as heirs by virtue of birth. This was particularly in
regard to priesthood and medicine. Other professionals included teachers
and scribes who used their homes, offices, business premises and temples
to impart the relevant knowledge and skills to selected boys.
Note: It is important to note that education in ancient Egypt was
closely modelled on the stratification of the society into
classes, and that there was rampant gender inequity in
addition to the class inequality.
Question: What were the aims of ancient Egyptian education?
Activity: Discuss how the aims of ancient Egyptian education were
achieved through the established structure and content of
education.
3.4: Contribution of Egyptian Education to Human Civilization
The Egyptian educational achievements and contributions to human
civilization are many. In art, modern painting and sculpture borrowed
much from Egyptian models. In architecture, Egyptians were the first to
successfully use mass with stone in copying the massive desert cliffs and
mountains to build the pyramids, are of the enduring wonders of the
world. In literature, the Egyptians used proverbs, similes, aphorisms, etc,
to teach moral conduct, methods that are in extensive use in today's
teaching. In mathematics, the Egyptian method of multiplication was
until recently used in Eastern Europe and Asia. In medicine, the
Egyptians had knowledge of physiology, surgery and blood circulation,
and are the originators of the Hippocratic oath.
In writing, the Egyptians developed hieroglyphics and invented the
earliest known writing materials. "Paper: is an abbreviation of "papyrus",
which was a plant cultivated in Egypt and used for writing.
However, there are critics of Egyptian civilization who argue that these
achievements were not built upon due to the stagnation and decline that
followed the end of the old Kingdom. That as it may be, but the
23
foundations of modern western world developments in science and
technology in ancient Egypt civilization are not in dispute.
4 Summary
In this lesson, we have learnt that the ancient Egyptian educational
system sprang out of the agricultural activities around the River Nile; that
Egyptian education was highly religious; utilitarian, class and gender
based; and has had a rich legacy for modern education.
Note: The contributions of Egyptian education to modern education
are relatively easy to identify because of their civilization was
recorded in written or graphic form. This was not always the
case with other civilizations with no records.
Question: What evidence do we have that Egyptian civilization existed
and influenced the course of human civilization?
Activity: Identify six ways in which Egyptian education has influenced
modern education.
6. Further Reading:
For more on this topic, the following book is recommended:
Wilds, E.H. and
Lottich, K.V., (1961). The Foundations of Modern Education
New York: Rinehart and Wiston Inc., 1961.
Mayers, F. A History of Education Thought,

Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1969.
Power, J Main Currents in the History of Education,

New York: McGrow-Hill, 1970.
Sifuna D. N and J. E Otiende, An Introductory History of Education,

Nairobi: Nairobi University Press, 1994
(revised Edn)
24
LECTURE 5
EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA
1 Introduction
In the last lecture we saw how education developed in ancient Egypt
and how that education laid the foundations for the development of
modern education. In this lecture, we shall examine how the three major
religions, Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism influenced the development
of education in ancient India.
2. Objective:
(a) Describe how the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
contributed to the development of education in ancient India.
(b) Identify by listing the major contents of these three religions.
3. Content.
3.1: Indian Civilization, Religion and Education
The Indian civilization arose between 2,500 and 1,500 B.C. along the
Indus River. It was centred on the proper utilization and management of
the resources of the Indus River Valley, mainly agriculture.
The civilization thrived between 1,3000 B.C. and A.D 450, during
which time. Hinduism and Buddhism arose and developed into major
world religions. A third religion, Jainism, arose, although it had fewer
adherents than the first two.
The three religions affected education in India in basic ways. To
understand the education of Ancient India therefore requires us to also
understand the religious foundation of this education. Education was
inseparable from religion. Indeed, the principles of this education were
contained in the three religions' holy texts.
At the elementary level education was devoted to the vocations and
was therefore, practical and utilitarian. It included religious instruction.
Higher education was highly esteemed as the path to salvation.
Among the Hindus or Brahmans, higher education was offered in training
colleges called parishads and forest colleges, which catered for the higher
education of distinguished scholars and emphasized contemplation
religious education was conducted in temple colleges, whereas secular
matters were taught in the court schools. The dominant teaching methods
were oral and rote, emphasizing memorization and imitation.
25
Note: Just as we observed in the last lesson, religion was central to
education in Ancient India. Whereas this role has been
reduced over time, religion still plays an important part in
modern Indian education.
Question: What was the basis of Indian civilization?
Activity: Name the four categories of higher education institutions for
Brahmans (Hindus).
3.2: Hinduism and Education
Hinduism is one of the leading religions of the world, in terms of the
number of its followers scattered all over the world. The religion has
three main gods:
 Brahma, the creator, or lord of the universe
 Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, and
 Siva, the destroyer.
Teachings about, these gods are contained in the Upanishads.
Hinduism is a complex and eclectic religion, combining several ideas, and
being polytheistic in worship and action, but monotheistic in theory.
According to Hinduism, salvation means ascending from the sinful
materialistic world into god, Brahma. Accordingly, the main aim of
education is to enable one to be free from earthly desire.
The language of Hindu learning and scriptures is called Sanskrit. The
Vedas contain Ancient Hindu religious teachings, which include hymns,
chants and rituals. The Vedas are the holy texts. They clearly show that
Indian society was stratified into a rigid caste system, which prescribes the
duties of each caste. The castes included:
 The Brahmans - the intellectuals, rulers, teachers and priests.
 The Kshatriyas - warlords, warriors and administrators
 The Vaisyas - farmers, herders, money-handlers and merchants.
 The Sudras - menial servants and serfs of the first three classes.
Members of each caste had their own duties, responsibilities and
privileges. The caste system was thus a social and religious stratification
and was central to the operation of Hinduism. The caste system allowed
no mobility between the classes and no equality of opportunity, even in
education. The Sudras and women hardly received any education.
Those cast out of their classes for non-adherence to the rigid
stipulations were referred to as Pariahs. These were casteless and had no
rights or privileges.
Note: Once again we have come across the unequal nature of
another ancient civilization in regard to educational
26
opportunities. The denial of education or limited access to it
to women and those of low-socio- economic status would
appear to be deeply rooted in history.
Question: What were the major aims of Hindu education?
Activity: Using this text, compare the relative equity of educational
opportunity given to the various gender and social classes in
ancient societies.
3.3: Buddhism and Education
Buddhism developed as a major religion from about 500 B.C. due to
the following factors:
(a) The emergence of an alternative civilization centred on the Ganges
River Valley.
(b) The new civilization rendered Hinduism inadequate for the rich,
independent minded and urbanized population.
By 200 B.C., Buddhism had spread from the Indian Peninsula to other
parts of Asia.
The founder of Buddhism was Gautama Siddharta (563 B.C - 489
B.C), popularly known as the "Buddha" or the "Enlightened One" by his
followers. Born in Nepal to the north east of India, the Buddha became
disillusioned with his aristocratic lifestyle and left his family to lead an
ascetic life of meditation through Yoga. Six years later, at 35 years of age,
he received a revelation on the right path in life. This major motivation for
adopting an ascetic life was to understand why suffering existed in the
world. In the revelation, the Buddha is said to have seen the past, the
present and the future, and found the cause of suffering to be desire. The
right or noble path revealed to him consisted of eight steps, namely:
The right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. The
Buddha emphasized that one's success in following the right path during
his present life is determined by his/her behaviour in preceding lives, or
the law of Karma which determined ones order of reincarnations.
The ultimate aim in following the right path was to reach a state of
nirvana in which suffering has been overcome, a desireless state that stops
any further reincarnations, with the soul becoming nothing.
In Buddhism, knowledge was accepted from all sources and was
respected. The main aim of education was to produce an individual who
could free himself/herself from self-centeredness, one who could become
compassionate, pitiful and enduring. In Buddhism, education was for all,
irrespective of caste.
27
Note: Unlike in Hinduism, equal educational opportunity was a
principle followed in Buddhism.
Question: What was the major aim of Buddhism education?
Activity: Discuss each of the eight steps in the Buddhist right path,
showing how you think each would contribute towards living
a more desirable life in modern society.
3.4: Jainism and Education
Jainism is closely associated with Buddhism and is one of the oldest
religions in India, though a minority one. The religion was founded
around 500 B.C. by Vardhamana, who was born in northwest India. Jain
means "Conqueror of evil". There are believed to be several such
conquerors, the supreme ones being Pishabha and Mihavira. Jains believe
that the earth is external and is revived in different cycles by different
Jains.
Salvation in Jainism is achieved when the soul is isolated from the
body and attains the ultimate states, Nirvana. Like Buddhism, Jainism
emphasizes asceticism and monastic life, and in the course of time has
become more and more identified with Buddhism in India.
Educationally, the major aim was to produce an individual who
would be critical and self-reliant, one who constantly viewed existing
religions with skeptism and sought to achieve spiritual well being through
Yoga.
4. Summary
In this lesson, we have discussed the influence of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism on education in ancient India.
Note: The striking similarities between Buddhism and Jainism, and
their consequent compatibility in religious, social and
educational terms.
Question: What was the major aim of Jainist education?
Activity: List at least four similarities between the religions of Jainism
and Buddhism.
5. Activities.
1. Discuss the aims and content of education in ancient India.
2. Show how aspects of the aims and content of education in
ancient India may be relevant and incorporated into
education in your country today.
28
6. Further Reading.
Wilds, E.H. and

Power, E. J Main Currents in the History of Education,


(revised Edn)
29
LECTURE 6
EDUCATION IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME.
1. Introduction
In our last lecture we looked at the contribution of three major
religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) to education in ancient India.
In this lecture, we shall discuss education in ancient Greece and how
Greek educational thought affected that of the rest of Western Europe and
consequently shaped educational systems in Africa after being fused with
Roman civilization after the Roman conquest.
2. Objectives:
(a) Compare Athenian education with that of Sparta.
(b) Identify the major contributions of ancient Greek education to
modern education.
1. Content.
3.1: Greek Civilization, The Old and New Education
The Greeks or Hellenes settled in the Greek Peninsula sometimes after
2,000 B.C. They formed themselves into twenty city-states or polis.
Though there was no unified government, the Greeks were united by
language, religion and a common civilization.
Greek society was regimented into three classes: the citizens, the
non-citizens, and state-owned slaves. Provision or non-provision of
education was determined by one's social class. In terms of education, the
city-states of Sparta and Athens were the most important. However, their
education was not as religious as that of the other ancient civilizations.
Greek education can be divided into two methods, the old and the
new. The first is referred to as the Age of Homer, which began about 900
B.C. and ended about 776 B.C., the date of the first Olympiad. This
education was dominated by the Homeric epics, was theologically and
discipline-based, and was represented by Spartan education.
The new education lasted from about 431 B.C and extended to the
point Greek civilization was fully integrated into Roman life after the 4th
century B.C. This education marked the peak of Greek civilization
characterized by a cultural revolution in which old traditions in education,
religion and morality were discarded. By the close of this period
philosophical schools had been established, being later organized into the
university of Athens. The new education was philosophically oriented
towards peace and war and is represented by Athenian education.
30
Note: The new and old education periods were punctuated by the
age of Pericles (459 - 431 B.C.), which was a transitional era
that was not significant in terms of educational development.
Question: What were the main characteristics of the new and old Greek
education?
Activity: Name the three classes into which Greek society was
stratified.
3.2: Education in Sparta
Spartan education represented the old Greek education and was
regulated by the Constitution of Lycurgus (850-800 B.C). The constitution
established a military socialist state with state-controlled education to
serve the needs of the various social military institutions in Sparta.
The city-state of Sparta was situated in the middle of a hostile
conquered people who greatly outnumbered the Spartans, both in and
outside the polis. As an indication of this disproportion, by about ninth
century B.C. there were about nine thousand Spartan citizens against two
hundred and fifty thousand non-citizens (a ratio of 1:28). Due to this, the
main objective of Spartan education was to produce warriors for the
survival of society. It was designed to instil and develop obedience and
loyalty in Spartan youth and was highly paternalistic.
The paedonomus or superintendent was charged with the duty of
educating Spartan youth. At birth, infants were exposed to ice and snow
in the mountains to weed out the weaklings. At the age of seven years,
boys began to live in barracks where they were given small ratios, bathed
in cold water and received beatings from elders.
Life in the barracks emphasized harsh existence. Educational
activities included drills and gymnastics with a little informal training in
intellectual education in the form of basic language. Discipline was
harsh.
Between the age of 18 and 20, the boys became ephebi or cadet-
citizens and underwent vigorous military training. From age twenty to
thirty, they were posted to serve at border points. At age thirty they
became warriors, full citizens and could marry but continue to lead a
communal life in the barracks. Women received gymnastic training at
home aimed at producing mothers of strong and brave warriors.
Spartan education developed no art, literature, philosophy or
science. They developed an education that produced physical strength,
endurance, stamina, and strength of character, loyalty and patriotism.
31
Today, the word "Spartan" makes an image of discipline, obedience,
loyalty and hand-to-mouth existence. In politics, it is derogatory to refer
to a regime "Spartan".
Note: The importance of the environment - geographical, social,
political in influencing the kind of an education any particular
society adopts to fulfil its needs.
Question: What were the main stages in the education of Spartan youth?
Activity: Look up the word Sparta in the dictionary and draw parallels
between a modern and an ancient Spartan.
3.3: Education in Athens
Athenian education is symbolic of the New Greek education. As in
the case of Sparta, Athenians believed in the supremacy of the state,
although theirs was tempered by an emerging belief that individual self-
actualisation was just as good for the welfare of the state. Athenian
education was liberal and emphasized science, humanities and physical
fitness.
The Athenian state only provided education between the ages of
sixteen and twenty which was an advanced course in physical training in
preparation for military service. Before this, and starting at seven years of
age, Athenian boys received two types of education in private schools:
physical exercises and music, singing and playing musical instruments.
State education also included instruction in reading, writing and
literature and was wholly under state-officials. The boys became cadet-
citizens at 16 years, graduating to full citizens after two years, after which
education and training continued, since the whole environment was
educative. Girls received domestic education in the seclusion of their
homes.
During the transitional Age of Pericles that was marked with
extreme individualism, political and economic exchanges with various
kinds of peoples, a cultural revolution occurred, and with it the need to
change the curriculum. The emergent curriculum was cantered towards
the individual land was literary and theoretical. It included geometry,
drawing, grammar and rhetoric. The education of citizen-cadets now
emphasized intellectual development rather than physical fitness. This
produced freelance teachers known as sophists who faced the challenge of
training young men for a political career. They were trainers in practical
wisdom and claimed they could teach any subject. Their influence on
Athenian youths was profound, to the point that they accepted no
32
universal criteria for truth, knowledge and morals. This was negative, for
no satisfactory interpretation of life could be made: every situation would
be subject to individual judgement. This was seen as destructive by the
older generation who disapproved of the Sophists' tendency to be biased
towards a laissez faire (leaving things alone) approach in teaching. As a
result there arose a conflict between the new and old Greek education.
Realizing that a return to the old moral system would not be
possible, there arose educational theorists who were known as the "Great
Mediators". They tried to construct a middle ground in the conflict based
on a new understanding of work or virtue revolving around the
individual, rather than Athenian citizenship. Among the most unknown
educational theorists were Socrates (469 B.C - 399 B.C), Plato (427 B.C. - 347
B.C) and Aristotle (384 B.C. - 328 B.C.).
As a result of their efforts, two classes of higher education
developed; the rhetorical schools, preparing pupils for public life through
training in oratory, and the dialectic philosophical schools whose primary
objective was speculative metaphysical and ethical questions. The
University of Athens grew out of a synthesis of the two types of schools.
The University had the elaborate structure of a modern University and
continued to function as the hub of learning within the Roman Empire
until emperor Justinian suppressed it in A.D. 529. The Athenian Senate
elected its head.
After the Roman conquest of 146 B.C., Greek civilization fused with
Roman education and spread over the east, extending beyond its
boundaries without changing its character. The Greek legacy for the
history of education and the course of human civilization was thus spread
around the world by the Roman Empire.
4. Summary
In this lesson, we have discussed Sparta and Athenian education in
ancient Greece and how it later fused with Roman civilization and how it
spread around the world to influence education and the course of human
civilization.
Note: That Hellenistic (Greek) thought in education was later to be
an important catalyst in the rise of medieval European
universities after it was rediscovered and availed to medieval
Europe through Spain by early Islamic scholars.
Question: What was the contribution of "The Great Mediators" to the
development of ancient Greek education?
33
5. Activities.
1. (a) Discuss the aims, content, and methods of education in
ancient Greece and Rome
(b) show how aspects of these aims, content and methods
are relevant to school education in your country.
2 ‘The study of education in ancient Greece and Rome can be
used to improve the theory and practice of education in the
school where I work’ Discuss.
3. Discuss the influence of education in ancient Greece and
Rome on modern education.
6. Further Reading:
Power, J Main Currents in the History of Education,

Boyd, W. The History of Western Europe, New York:

Barkes and Noble, 1968.
Rusk, R. R. The Doctrines of Great Educators, London:

Macmillan, 1954.
Curtis, S. J. A Short History of Educational Ideas,

London: University Tutorial Press, 1968.
34
LECTURE 7
HEBRAIC-CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
1. Introduction
In the last lesson, we discussed Athenian and Spartan education and
noted the Graeco-Roman legacy for education today. In this lesson we
will discuss how the course of human civilization has been influenced by
Hebrews in terms of religion. We shall also describe how Christianity
became a driving force of human history through its immense influence on
educational thought and practice.
2. Objectives:
 Compare Hebraic and Christian educational ideas.
 Identify the contributions of Hebraic-Christian education to the course
of human civilization.
3. Content
3.1: Hebraic Civilization
The ancient land of the Hebrews or Habiru, variously referred to as
the 'children of Israel', Palestine, Canaan, "the Promised land", a "land
flowing with milk and honey", and Israel extended from Damascus to the
Sinai desert and the Negev. Ironically, its Southern part was an arid rocky
land with hardly any rain, with only the coastal plains having an adequate
water supply.
The importance of old Palestine was its religious history, unparallel
worldwide, which made it to become the Christian "Holy Land". The
Hebrew were monotheistic believing in only one God, Yahweh, the
"blower" or the "feller", the "thunderer of the wilderness". The effect of
sustained monotheism was Judaism, a religion that saw the actions of
human beings as divinely inspired, with Yahweh demanding individual
righteousness.
Before the eventual conquest of Canaan by the Hebrews, the
Canaanites had developed an impressive civilization, building important
cities like Jebus, later Jerusalem. Due to the centuries-long wars over
Palestine by the Hebrews, the constant conquest and counter-conquests,
and mingling with the Senutes (the original inhabitants of Palestine), the
population of Canaan became heterogeneous from the early times.
The History of the Hebrews is legendary and occupies an important
place in world history. The Hebrews believed in Divine Providence and
intervention and thus saw the hand of Yahweh behind every calamity or
35
pestilence. They were the founders of the systematic study of history,
believing as they did that history was purposeful, with no recognition of
chance events and situations.
Note: Hebraic civilization is central to the vexing question of the
legitimacy of both the Palestinians and Israel's claims in the
Middle East.
Question: What is the Hebraic interpretation of history?
Activity: Using your knowledge of Hebraic Civilization discuss the role
of Yahweh in regulating human behaviour.
3.2: Hebraic Education
Judaism, the Jewish religion, is one of the oldest religions in modern
times. Despite the trials and tribulations the Jews have underground,
their national and religious heritage has withstood the test of time. They
have developed a solid national consciousness and vehemently shunned
paganism, magic and superstition, always doing the will of Yahweh.
Due to the Jewish practice of and devotion to Monotheism, their life
cantered on man's relations with Yahweh, undivided faith to Him, and
man's moral uprightness. Their single-mindedness pursuit of this mode
of life left no time and place for any meaningful progress in the theory and
practice of politics, arts, science and technology.
Education was aimed at character building, to produce ethical

individuals with a strong sense of being Jewish, a holy and chosen people
who were pure and uncompromising with gentile, Semitic or non-Jewish
culture. Morality, religion and national consciousness (patriotism) were
seen as one and the same thing.
Their education was vocationally and practically oriented to
produce young people oriented to produce young people who could meet
the society's economic needs. The girls were taught domestic duties,
while the boys were trained in crafts, trade, and other profession. The
young were instilled with deep respect for the dignity of labour, which
was considered vital to the development of upright human character. To
illustrate the high respect for labour, the prominent Jewish personalities
were also artisans; Jesus was a carpenter, Saul of Tarsus a tent-maker,
Peter a fisherman, etc.
In the beginning during the Biblical era, there were no formal,
organized schools. Learning was home-based and cantered on domestic,
moral and oral traditions. Later, when schools emerged they did not
replace but rather supplemented the family as an agent for education.
36
Synagogue emerged during the exile period to become the cornerstone for
the transmission and survival of Judaism, learning and worship.
Although some form of organized places of learning were in existence
as early as the Sixth century B.C., institutionalised school among the Jews
emerged distinctly in the post-exile era between 539 B.C. and A.D. 70.
Three types of schools developed.
 'House of Books' or Beth-hasopher located in the Synagogue. This
emphasized elementary instruction in basic religion.
 The Bethhamidrash or "House of Exposition” which was a kind of
secondary school, which taught oral traditions and laws, Mishna.
 Rabbinical schools which provided higher education, where "masters"
or scribes taught the Talmud (commentaries and interpretations of oral
law and traditions).
Education for literacy was only available for boys initially, with that for
girls coming at a later date. Compulsory elementary education was
introduced by Joshua ben Gamala, a high priest, in A.D. 64. Each
Synagogue, town and province was supposed to start and support a
school, otherwise it would be excommunicated.
Thus the Jews were the first old era people to institute and demand
formal schooling for all. This enabled their heritage to be recorded and
conserved through history. This was to reinforce their rich historical

roots, which gave them a deep sense of a divinely given mission.
Note: The central role played by religion in Hebraic education, with
religion being dominant in the curriculum at all levels.
Question: What are the three types of education institutions that
developed in the post-exile era?
Activity: Using any literature available to you, give examples of Jewish
personalities who were artisans to illustrate the deep respect
the Jews had for the dignity of labour.
3.3: Christianity and Education
The birth of Jesus in Nazareth was a momentous fulfilment of a
central historical and religious prophecy contained in the oral law and
traditions. During their long tribulations, the Jews had expectantly longed
for the coming of the Messiah, who would free them from bondage and
persecution. The main sources of information about Jesus are the three
gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, written between AD 66 and A.D. 68.
37
But the information they give is fragmentary and as a result not everything
is known about the life of Jesus.
Christianity has had immense influence on history and education.
Jewish education laid the foundation stone upon which the Christian
tradition in education is built.
Jesus presented his teachings forcefully and symbolically. He
emphasized humility, gentleness, peace and poverty. He said little about
economic needs, government and property. He showed preference to
celibacy, sometimes exhorting his followers to abandon their family ties.
The gospels depict a powerful, charismatic and knowledgeable teacher; a
master. He was able to match his style of teaching to the level of
understanding of his audience, using appropriate similes, metaphors,
aphorisms, analogies and parables to effectively deliver the message.
After his crucifixion and accession around A.D. 30, his disciples and
followers preached that he had been the long-awaited Messiah, and that he
had conquered death. Christianity grew gradually at first, but was in
consequent centuries to become the leading religion of the world. In
developing and teaching a coherent and credible ethical standard against
which individual and societal responsibilities and personalities could be
measured, Christianity combined and harmonized the best elements of
Graeco-Roman education.
The Christians did not wish to perpetuate the Greek and Roman
teachings and traditions, which they considered pagan. In the beginning
they had no schools of their own. These came after the battle for survival
in a repressive pagan world was won at three levels;
 Politically, to gain recognition by the Roman masters,
 In religion, to achieve acceptance of their doctrinal beliefs and practices
among competing and hostile religions, and
 Culturally, to co-exist peacefully with pagan societies and their culture.
Under Emperor Constantine Christianity was recognized as a
religion within the Roman Empire in A.D. 313. It was granted the same
protection as pagan worship. It was not until the fifth century A.D. that
St. Augustine (A.D. 354 - A.D. 430), a great Christian scholar, completed
the structure of the faith and practice of Orthodox Christianity. In his
book, "De Civitate Dei" he developed a systematic and complete theology
for the Roman Catholic Church.
38
The moral education of the members of the early Christian Church
was given a lot of emphasis. Catechumenal instruction was given to those
waiting to be baptized. Out of this emerged the catechetical school, which
was the first well-defined institution for Christian education. Its basic
aim was rudimentary instruction in the doctrine and practice of Christian
life.
By the Sixth century A.D. the church Councils had established
Episcopal or cathedral schools for boys intending to become priests. The
moral uprightness of the individual was the primary aim of these schools.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the monastic and conventual schools in
cathedrals are the only ones that survived.
4 Summary
In this lesson we have briefly described the history of the Hebrews
and seen that they developed an educational system that was meant to
impart a deep sense of religious identity based on a new historical heritage
that viewed morality, religion and patriotism as one and the same thing.
As mentioned, Christianity has deep Hebraic roots, with their education
being a means of fostering moral regeneration of members.
Note: That the monastic and Cathedral schools that survived the fall
of the Roman Empire were at the centre of the growth of
medieval European universities as we shall see later in this
text.
Question: Between Hebraic and Christian educational ideas, which of
the two is more influential in modern society?
6. Activities.
1. Discuss the contribution education in the ancient land of the
Hebrews to the development of modern education.
2. outline and assess the educational ideas and practices in the ancient
land of the Hebrews. Show how aspects of these ideas and practices
bear relevance to the theory and practice of ducation in your country
today.
39
Further Reading:
Wilds, E.H. and


(revised Edn)
40
LECTURE 8
ISLAM AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA
1 Introduction
In the last lesson, we looked at Hebraic and Christian education,
noted their religious moral orientation and their legacy for modern
education. In this lesson, we shall look at Islamic education in Africa; the
aims and curriculum, major features and contribution to human
civilization.
2. Objectives:
 Identify the historical roots of Islamic education in Africa
 List the objectives of Islamic education
 Identify the features/pillars of Islamic education
 Name at least five ways in which Islamic education has contributed to
educational and scientific development in modern times.
3. Content
3.1: Islamic Education in Africa
Arabic language and records have helped a lot in the understanding
of early African history and civilizations. Much of the knowledge about
ancient Kingdoms of Kush, Tumbuktu, Sokoto, Mali, etc. was derived from
Arab travellers and historians.
The process of Islamization occurred through the activities of
individual Muslim scholars and teachers who ventured to large towns and
cities to establish Islamic centres of learning. This process was slow and it
took generations for their influence and convertees to grow among the pre-
literate societies they worked in.
In West Africa Islam was first established towards the end of the
eleventh century A.D. when Muslim dynasty began to rule the Kingdom of
Bornu in 1085. In other parts of West Africa, it was not until the end of the
15th Century that Islam was firmly established, in Hausaland. The
nineteenth century saw a series of Jihads, Islamic holy wars, the
consequence of which was the establishment of Islamic institutions in
many African societies, with Islam becoming virtually the dominant
culture. A typical example is Northern Nigeria where over 70% of the
population is Muslim. In the Sudan, Arab immigrants between the tenth
and fifteenth centuries introduced Islam to the Northern Nilotic
population.
41
In East Africa, Islam slowly filtered down across the Sahara from
Persia and Arabia first being established along the Coast, from where it
gradually penetrated to the interior. Although the Muslim groups along
the East African coast have tended to maintain a social and cultural
identity in contrast to their indigenous non-Muslim coastal neighbours,
intermarriage between them resulted in the Waswahili who have their
own district language and culture with Islamic roots.
Note: Contrary to common beliefs, Jihads, are not the dominant
means of spreading Islam. Indeed the early Muslim scholars
and traders were content to practice Islam within their own
small groups, with little effort to convert the non-Muslim
populations around them.
Question: In what ways has Islam been established in Africa?
Activity: Name at least five countries or religions in Africa in which
Islam is the dominant religion.
3.2: Objectives and Curriculum
The Islamic education system places less importance on
examinations and certificates compared to western formal education. In
general, it places more importance or expressive and normative than
instrumental goals. The essence of this education is moral and character
training, although it places considerable emphasis on physical, mental,
scientific and practical aspects. Each lesson emphasizes moral aspects.
Islamic education also focuses on secular issues and material aspects
of life. Subjects such as sciences, literature and arts are studied to sustain
livelihood and acquire truth to enhance moral uprightness. Through the
study of vocational and industrial subjects the individual is enabled to
earn a livelihood. After the initial study of the Koran and Arabic
language, every child pursues vocational preparation until he masters a
profession, art or trade inorder to earn a living and lead a honourable and
dignified life, morally, spiritually and materially. This way, the material
aspects of education enrich the moral/spiritual objectives.
However, the Koranic school curriculum in Africa has been seen to
have a strong religious bias, thereby diminishing emphasis on secular
aspects of education. Koranic schools focus on memorizing the 60 parts
(esus) of the Koran. This can take up to five years and is divided into five
stages, with a ceremony marking the completion of each. Memorizing of
the Koran goes hand in hand with learning of Arabic alphabet, the vowel
sounds and writing.
42
Note: Islamic education has been criticized in regard to the following:
(a) Neglect of Arabic grammar, poetry and composition, and students
not understanding the meaning of the words they chant.
(b) Harsh discipline, contrary to Islamic educational theory.
(c) Neglect of women's education, contrary to the Koran, which Muslim
scholars cite to emphasize the right of women to education.
Question: What is the justification of the above criticisms levelled
against Islamic education?
Activity: Discuss how secular education complements religious/moral
education in Islam.
3.3: The Koranic School System
Children between the ages of six and fifteen are admitted to the
Koranic schools, usually found in or outside a mosque, but sometimes in
private houses or premises. In these schools, the Mallam (teacher) teaches
the children to memorize the shorter verses of the Koran through
repetition and rote. The teacher uses tada (ink) to write each chapter on
the wala (slate) of each child. At the primary level, children are only
required to memorize one or two of the shorter chapters in each part of the
Koran that are needed for daily prayers.
From here the child is taught the alphabet of the Arabic language,
which is composed of 26 letters, all consonants. This stage lasts between
six and thirty-six weeks. This is followed by a period in which the child is
taught the formation of syllables with vowels, which are four notations or
signs written above or below a consonant to indicate what vowel sound
should go with it. The newly acquired skills are used to read the first two
parts of the Koran all over again. This stage can take between six and
eighteen months.
The above is the elementary level, which every Muslim must pass
through to be able to pray and perform other religious duties and
ceremonies, which are done in Arabic.
Some students proceed to secondary school or Ilm, which has a
wider curriculum covering Islamic literacy, theological and legal subjects.
The curriculum includes tafsir, the interpretation of the Koran; literature,
mainly derived from Koranic commentary; study of hadith, the texts that
contains teachings about the Muslim faith, traditions, rites, personal
conduct, and social organization; study of the figh, the theory of Islamic
sacred law (sharia), which prescribes people's status, duties and rights;
Arabic; Madith or praises to Prophet Muhammad; Sira or literature on
43
stories in prose and verse about the life of The Prophet; and Wa'z which is
literature describing the Islamic ideas of paradise and hell.
The secondary level is for students of all ages. The stage merges
with the post-secondary level and marks the point where the students start
to specialize in a chosen area. This marks the beginning of the university
level. Having chosen the area of the specialization, the student proceeds
to a university or continues under the tutelage of local specialists. At the
end of university learning, a license is awarded, empowering one to
practice either as a teacher (Imam or Alkali), depending on their speciality.
 



 

Some of the charact n.
eristics of the Kora School week starts from Saturday to Wednesday.
nic educational inst Usually there are three sessions a day, whose times for beginning and
itutions are: ending vary from area to area and from teacher to teacher.
There are no rigidl Fees are nominal, paid in cash and kind, and not fixed. Teachers may
y codified rules; on also receive gifts, especially during the festive periods.
ly conventional wa During the month of Ramadhan, pupils accompany their teachers to
s of behaviour their preaching grounds.
to guide pupils and On ceremonial occasions, pupils present plays based on the life of The
teachers. Prophet.
Periods for classes The Walimat or graduating ceremony is the most momentous occasion
are vaguely fixed. in the life of a Muslim scholar and can take place any time after the
Teacher can declareprimary level.
a holiday if include Teacher qualifications differ from school to school and from place to
d in other matters s place and range from the highly learned Ulama to those whose only
uch as burial qualification is that they can recite the Koran and write Arab characters.
a naming ceremon Most schools are run according to the discretion of the individual
y. proprietors, who are usually Koranic schoolteachers themselves. Due
Teacher-pupil relatto this, there is no uniform curriculum, teacher qualifications, teacher
ionship is cordial wages, tuition and admission fees, and certificates.
and, personal, wit
h the former
acting as a custodia
44
Note: The lack of a well-defined and rigid structure of Koranic
schools, unlike in formal schools which are rigidly segmented
into levels and learning programs.
Question: What are the four levels into which the Koranic school system
is divided?
Activity: Using what you have learnt in this lesson, try to come up with
as many differences as you can between Koranic and forma
schools.
3.4: Integration of Islamic and Formal Western Education.
Islamic religion and culture occupy an important place in the lives of
a large preparation of Africa. During and after colonialism there have
been attempts to integrate Islamic and western formal education. These
attempts have usually taken two forms.
The first has been to introduce secular subjects into the framework
of Islamic education, or to incorporate an Islamic perspective within a
largely secular curriculum. This has usually ended up in over-loading the
curriculum and not resolving the inherent contradictions between the two.
A second approach has entailed the introduction of modern teaching

methods to teach the traditional Islamic subjects. This has in essence
meant leaving the Islamic curriculum intact, to the seclusion of the formal
western education curriculum.
Both approaches have been successful only to a limited extent. As
some scholars have suggested, a more effective approach would be to
adopt a two-way integration process which would involve different
curriculum, material, structure and processes accompanied by a candid
admission of the basic contradictions inherent in the two systems. The
approach is considered pragmatic in view of the strong and deliberate
proselitisation present in both systems that are difficult to reconcile or
abandon. As long as these remain, Christians will continue being wary of
sending their children to Muslim schools, with the Muslims just as
suspicious of Christian schools dominated by scripture teaching and
Christian staff.
3.5: The Achievements of Islamic Education.
The achievements and contributions of Islamic education to modern
developments in the knowledge of science and technology are many. We
shall only mention a few of the most notable here.
45
In mathematics, the Muslims introduced Arabic numerals and
decimal notations. Arabs made great advances in geometry, invented
algebra and developed spherical trigonometry, especially the sine, tangent
and cotangent.
In the field of physics, Muslim Arabs invented the pendulum and
advanced the worlds' knowledge of optics. They also built several
astronomical observatories and instruments.
In chemistry, they discovered substances such as potash, silver
nitrate, nitric and sulphuric acid. In manufacturing, they were
acknowledged leaders through their captivating variety, beauty of design
and perfection of workmanship in gold, silver, copper, bronze and iron.
In design, they produced glass and pottery of the finest quality and
invented the dyeing and manufacturing of papers.
In farming, they adopted scientific methods and came up with
elaborate systems of irrigation, land reclamation and flood control. In
medicine, they studied physiology hygiene, methods of treatment, blood
circulation, surgery and were the originators of the Hippocratic oath.
In art and architecture, the Muslims proved their expertise in the

construction of mosques, palaces, tombs and cities.
Note: Muslim and Arab sciences, technology and civilization
influenced the European Renaissance so much so that scholars
have observed that Western civilization owes much of its
modern day advances in science and technology to the Arabs
and Muslims. It was Islamic scholars that catalysed the
revival in learning in Europe when they availed classical
writings of the Greeks and Romans through Spain, the centre
of learning in medieval Europe. A century before presiding
over the birth of medieval European universities, the Muslim
world had already established centres of higher learning in
Basra, Baghdad, Cairo and Kufa. All these began as religious
schools and grew into universities.
Note: The issue of Arab-Muslim contributions to modern advances
in science and technology is controversial and needs one to
read widely and intensively to ground these contributions in
their historical context.
Question: How did the Muslims contribute to the European
Renaissance?
46
Activity: Name at least five contributions of Islamic civilization to
modern science and technology.
4 Summary:
In this lesson we have discussed the main features of Islamic
education, the Koranic school system and how it differs from the journals
western system and attempts to integrate the two in Africa.
Note: That in theory, most African states profess freedom of
worship, but in reality Christians find it hard to attend
predominantly Muslim schools, or vice-versa, due to the
strong religious undertones present in both. Hence the need
for a carefully thought-out integration process.
Question: In what ways has integration of Islamic and Western formal
education in Africa been attempted?
5. Activities.
1. discuss the aims, content and methods of Islamic education
during the ancient times.
2. discuss the development of Islamic education in ancient times
and its contribution to the modern education.
3. show how aspects in ancient Islamic education bear relevance to
school education in your country today.
6. Further Reading
Al Ibrashi, M. A. Education in Islam, Cairo: The supreme
Council for Islam Affairs, 1967.
Ogot, B. A. ed. Zamani: A survey of East Africa History,

Nairobi: East African Publishing House
and Longmans Kenya, 1974.

(revised Edn)
47
LECTURE 9
EDUCATION DURING THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD.
1. Introduction
In the last lecture we explained how indebted the human civilization
is to the Hebrews in terms of monotheism, the Ten Commandments and
the Bible. We also described how, through fusion with Christian
education, Hebraic educational theory and practice spread and affected
western education.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture we should be able to:
 explain the forces that contributed to the rise universities in Europe;
 describe the structure, organisation, methods of teaching and types
of universities;
 discuss university degrees during the medieval times and point to
the influence of medieval universities.
3. Content
3.1. Medieval Education and Universities.
The ancient world may fairly be said to have had their universities,
institutions in which all the learning of the time was imparted. Such
institutions existed in Alexandria, Athens, Constantinople and later Beirut,
Bordeaux, Lyons and Odessa. But the growth of Christian supernaturalism
and mysticism, as well as barbarian inroads from the north and south had
put an end to most of these by A.D. 800. After A.D. 800 eastern Moslems
founded universities in Baghdad, Cairo and Basra, bit these came to an end
early in the 12th century. Then there arose in Spain at Cordova, Toledo and
Seville, the universities of western Moslem, lasting to the end of the
thirteenth century, when they were suppressed by orthodox fanatism. The
Moslem universities may therefore be said to be parents of the Christian
universities.
3.2. Medieval education and the Rise of Universities
The Middle Ages are also referred to as the ‘Dark ages’. The early
Middle Ages lasted from the sixth to the eleventh centuries. European
universities can be said to have come into existence in the late Middle
Ages: from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries. They are therefore a
feature of the comparative peace that ensued when the northern men, the
last migratory Teutons, accepted a settled life in the tenth and eleventh
centuries. In the resulting quest for universal knowledge, the need arose
for higher education, for dialectic discussions and for intellectual interests.
Therefore a number of upper cathedral and monastic schools came into
48
prominence. The most important of these was at Paris under William of
Chapeaux and Abelard. These schools were later to be known as
universities. The essential elements of early universities were students and
teachers. They found their models in the universities of Spain.
3.2.1 The Forces Behind the Rise of Universities
Many influences combined to produce the universities. Universities
did not originate under exactly similar conditions. Among the forces or
influences that produced universities were the following.
(a) The Moslem Influence
The Moslem religious conquests, ‘jihads’ or ‘holy wars’ had reached
Spain by A.D. 900, giving Spain a civilization and intellectual life. The
Moslem had come into contact with Greek civilization and learning in
Syria, clothing their faith in Greek forms. The Nestorian Christians had
collaborated with them. They had also mathematical and astronomical
knowledge from Hindu sources and brought them to Spain. By A.D. 1000,
European monks were attracted to this training because of its superiority
to the western equivalent, though like the clerics they regarded Moslem
learning as being dangerous. Spain thus reflected ancient Rome at this
time. In the Moslem – established universities of Cordoba, Toledo and
Seville, physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, physiology
and Greek philosophy were taught. The Moslem translated Greek classics
into Arabic, cultivated high standards of learning and were tolerant when
it came to new ideas. The outstanding scientific work of the time
Avicenna’a (980 1037) Canon of Medicine. Roger Bacon (1214 – 1294)
owed a major debt to Moslem mathematicians, physicists and chemists.
(b) The Development of Scholasticism
Scholasticism was a feature of educational developments in Europe
from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries. The scholastic method
consisted in citing all known authorities on both sides of a given question,
drawing an orthodox conclusion and then by a variety of distinctions and
devices showing how each authority may be reconciled. It was the
explication of what was implicit in mysticism: a reaction from the ‘other-
worldliness’ which had led the Church to withdraw from the ways of the
world, becoming pre-occupied instead with the world to come. Bernard
(d1153) was the prince of mystics. Scholasticism was a systemization of
speculation and faith by the rigid application of Aristotelian logic to
philosophical and theological questions of the middle ages. Aristotle was
rediscovered and his teachings were strong mean to the scholars of the
Middle Ages and had to be broken down into its essentials to be
49
assimilable. For Aristotle ideas were only names, reality consisting only of
concrete individual objects.
Scholasticism was therefore necessary in order, first, to correct the
mystical tendencies of the orient, the mere contemplation which had been
introduced in Europe and was sapping the energies of the Europeans,
withdrawing the best brains from the life of the whorl; secondly, to put
Europe in possession of rational thought of the ancient world; thirdly, to
save Europe from moral suicide and ignorance, paving the way through
the logical method for modern research and science; and finally, to compel
Christendom to rouse itself and state its position as definitely opposed to
Islam, with systematic body of doctrine distinctive from Islam. Thomas
Aquinas (1225 – 1274) was the most important of the Scholastics. He tried
to combine Aristotelian thought with Christian tradition.
(c) The Growth of Cities and Wealth
The development of commercial enterprises and municipal
government stimulated secular interests and learning more than ever
before, and the new intellectual interests hasten the development of
universities. The growth of secular interests prompted educational
specialization and in time European universities began to offer studies in
four faculties, arts, consisting of seven liberal arts-grammar, rhetoric,
dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, law, medicine and
theology. Not all medieval universities offered studies in all four faculties.
Some instead specialized in one area: Salerno founded in 1224 in the study
of medicine, Bologna (1158) in the study of law, Paris (1180) in the study of
theology. By 1500 there were seventy-nine universities in Europe.
(d) Kings and Universities
The founding of universities was encouraged by definite privileges
in the form of charters; these were written documents from the Pope or
Emperor giving the university full recognition as a distinct body. The first
charter was given by Emperor Fredrick I to Bologna in 1158. University
privileges and exemptions included: the right of internal jurisdiction,
based on their inbuilt sense of maturity; the right to confer a degree or
licence to teach; exemption from taxation and contribution; exemption,
partly or wholly from military service; clerical status for their scholars,
who wore clerical dress, as in orders, though they might not be ordained;
and the right to strike, or move the university, consisting as it did of
students and teachers only, if its privileges were infringed. The scholars of
Oxford therefore migrated from Paris and those who founded Cambridge
moved there from Oxford.
50
3.2.2 Types of Universities in Europe
These forces thus combined in various proportions. Each university
had its own characteristics. In France and England universities were
outgrowths of the Church. Thus, the university of Paris came to be known
for its dialectic and scholastic pursuits. In southern Italy, universities came
into being or were influenced by contacts with the Saracens, Normans and
Greeks, leading to the study and practice of medicine by the University of
Salerno. In northern Italy a struggle with the German Emperor for its right
led to great interest in Roman and Canon Law at Bologna, the first
organised university.
Medieval universities were organised around teachings faculties and
student population. They were organized like guilds, for no individual
then was sure of his rights, even of life and property, unless these were
protected by specific guarantees secured from some organisation. The
same therefore applied to groups of students, or teachers, which
recognised as distinct bodies. Thus the term university meant a corporate
body of persons.
Being heterogeneous masses of students, drawn from all over
Europe, language and kinship constituted the most natural division in the
universities. Students and masters were therefore organised in groups
according to their national affiliations. It was to these nations that charters
containing privileges were granted.
The masters were organised into faculties, (faculty means a kind of
‘knowledge’). These were to regulate studies and methods. In time the
name ‘faculty’ applied to a department of study, like the faculty of law,
theology or arts. Later, ‘faculty’ came to refer to a body of men in control
of a Department of Study. This body of men later gained control of
granting degrees.
Medieval universities used methods of teaching based on the formal
lecture, which would be memorised by the students. Lectures involved
reading and explaining the required texts. Students then debated the
relevant points with each other, and sometimes the students and masters
held public disputations. Latin was the language used for lectures.
The examination for the award of degree were strict. After three to
seven years at university, the student had to defend a thesis before the
members of the faculty. For the doctor’s degree, the examination
frequently lasted a week or more. The examinations were oral and tested
the ability to defend and dispute. If the candidates passed, they would
become masters, doctors or professors, since these were synonymous in
51
the early university period. All these signified that a student was able to
defend, dispute and determine a case, and so was authorised to teach
publicly; all such students were admitted to a guild of masters or teachers,
or faculty, a level of parity with its other members.
The preliminary degree, the baccalaureate, or bachelor’s was a term
signifying a beginner in any field or organisation, and was formal
admission as s candidate for the licence. Initially it was not a degree by
itself, but in the fifteenth century it became a distinct stage in the
educational process, defined as a minor degree. The masters of doctorate
merely indicated two aspects of the final conferment of the privilege: the
master was a more private and professional test and the doctorate was
public and ceremonial. In due course ‘master’ was preferred in England
and ‘doctorate’ on the continent. The development of three successive
degrees was therefore a result of slow historical growth and not a feature
of the medieval university.
3.2.3 Influence of University Training
Universities like Paris, Bologna, Salerno and Salamanca (1230)
provided more advanced instructions than ever previously offered in
Europe. Culturally and socially their effects were considerable, helping to
accelerate the pace of social progress and hastening the end of the
medieval epoch. Before the universities arose, educational ideals were the
function of exhaustively constructed worldview that was dominated by
religious interests, and schools existed largely to train the clergy.
(a) Political Influence
Unlike the monastic, conventual’s and cathedral schools, the
universities were usually located in centres of population rather than in
remote spots. Also, unlike the religious institutions, they were democratic
in nature, so that politically, ecclesiastically and theologically they were a
bulwark of freedom, given their legal privileges. They preserved freedom
of opinion and expression, the monarchs respected the scholars’ opposing
views and there were rare instances of violation of student privileges. Even
monarchs like Henry VIII and Philip of France appealed to universities for
arbitration in their divorce cases, which raised critical doctrinal matters of
the time.
(b) Intellectual Influence
Although medieval times were static educationally, because of
barbaric conquests, and although universities were restricted, formalized
and meagre, their greatest influence was in crystallizing intellectual
interests and making libraries and teachers more accessible than the
52
religious institutions did. They provided a retreat for the rare geniuses
such as Bacon (1214 – 1294), Dante (1265 – 1321), Petrarch (1304 – 1374),
Wycliffe (1324 – 1384), Huss (burned 1415) and Copericus (1473 – 1543)
4 Summary
In this lecture, we have explored the various reasons that
contributed to the rise of universities in Europe during medieval times,
mentioned the type of Europeans universities, and seen their structure and
organisation. We pointed to their methods of teaching and degrees, and
discussed the value and influence of universities training in the middle
ages.
5. Activities.
1. write notes on the main factors that contributed to the
development of universities during the medieval period.
2. ‘The university is one of the most important contributions of
medieval period to modern education’.
3. discuss this statement with special reference to the factors that
led to the rise of medieval universities and their impact on
modern university.
6. Further Reading.

Curtis, S. J. A Short History of Educational Ideas,


(revised Edn)
53
LECTURE 10
EDUCATION DURING THE PERIOD OF RENAISSANCE AND THE
REFORMATION
1. Introduction
In our last lecture we discussed education during the medieval
period. In the process of doing so, we looked at the main factors that
contributed to the development of universities during that period. We
further looked at the types of universities in Europe during the period. We
finally looked at the influence of the university of the medieval period on
modern university. In this lecture we are going to discuss features of
historical importance in education during the period of Renaissance and
Reformation.
2. Objectives
 explain what renaissance was;
 discuss the causes of Renaissance;
 describe the re-emergence of liberal education with Renaissance;
 explain what the reformation and counter reformation stood for, and
their specific influences upon education.
54
3. Content
3.1. The Renaissance and education
The conventional term employed to denote the rise of worldliness
ushering in the modern period of Renaissance (rebirth). The era of
Renaissance covers the period between 1320 and 1600. The Renaissance
represents a new period in man’s history and culture. It was, however, a
gradual break with medieval times. Whereas the middle Ages had
advocated mortification of the body, the Renaissance strongly asserted that
life was to be enjoyed to the utmost. The keynote of the shift to
worldliness, as exemplified in the spirit of Renaissance, was an emphasis
on man. Renaissance humanist culture was filled with a sense of opening
vistas, a broader social and cultural outlook, the possibilities of self-
actualisation, freed from old bonds. Thus the spirit of humanism can be
seen as a belief in mad, a passion for learning and, stress on scholarly
exactness. Reasons were more important than faith, an emphasis which led
t classical learning and modern liberalism.
The rebirth of knowledge revived the ancient Greek and Roman
heritage, adding to it a new appreciation of the humanities. In fact, the
Renaissance has correctly been referred to as a ‘Humanistic’ revival, with
‘humanistic’ being interpreted broadly rather than confining it to the
revived interest in Litterae Humaniores (a study of classics). The
Renaissance was to a greater extent an age of optimism: the feeling then
was that no discovery and no scientific advance lay beyond human
achievement. Nevertheless, the Renaissance mind looked both forwards
and backwards.
3.1.1 Causes of the Renaissance
The causes of the Renaissance include the following:
(a) The spirit of discussion of medieval universities
Scholasticism led to the speculative spirit which culminated in a
struggle between Naturalism and the Hellenic in nature, seen then to be
progressive; and Supernaturalism, seen in the authoritarian, stable and
suspicious Catholic Church.
(b) The Crusade of 1095 – 1270
The crusaders who flocked to the east in the seven crusades
following 1095 came into contact with eastern civilization. This created a
craving for new products and commodities; trade prospered and
commerce and manufacturing were reactivated in the free cities. The
middle class or burghers rose in importance, pointing the way to a new
manner of living. The crusades also brought European contact with
55
Byzantine and Arabic learning, both being in direct line with the Hellenic
tradition. This tradition was more thoughtful and inquiring.
(c) The Age of Discoveries
The work of explorers and scientific discoverers quickened the spirit
of inquiry and investigation. Expanding commerce sought new trade
routes. Free cities could not handle their trade alone, so other cities
combined with them to form the nuclei of nations.
(d) The New Spirit of Nationality
The new spirit moving in Western Europe also found expression in
the evolution of the modern European states based on the emergent
national consciousness. This spirit stimulated the European mind, which
came to believe in its own natural powers, as opposed to the static church
mentality. Many hitherto settled questions were raised again by the
universities, the supreme agent of belief in man’s natural powers. New
national languages were also coming into existence, and people’s national
epics were recorded in writing. Thus, new native literatures were being
produced throughout Europe.
(e) The Invention of Printing
Towards the close of the thirteenth century, the process of making
paper was introduced into Europe from the East. By 1450 paper was in
common use, with the way being opened for the invention of printing. The
discovery of the art of printing spread the new learning all over Europe. It
meant that manuscripts were replaced by books, and great numbers could
be printed, so that information and learning spread to more people.
Printing therefore made learning and education widespread, though
grammar was still the despot and rote memory the slave.
(f) The Order of Chivalry
The order of chivalry, a secular ideal adopted by the rich,
emphasised prowess and character. This led to greater faith in human
capacities and possibilities in opposition to the dogmatic ecclesiastical
bondage.
3.1.2 Contribution to the Spread of the Renaissance Ideals
Of all countries in Europe, Italy was the most important in the
spread of the Renaissance ideals. The Renaissance extended through the
second half of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Italy was influenced
by the already developed secular spirit, which encouraged a progressive
approach to religion, art, literature and philosophy. The exodus of
Byzantine scholars, after the fall of Constantinople (1453), and their
decision to take refuge in Italian city-states contributed to this. Add to this
56
the originality of Renaissance scholarship, with the recovery and editing of
Latin and Greek manuscripts by European Scholars.
By the mid-fifteen century, Italian humanism had reached the north
of Europe. In the north the interest was more in social humanism than in
the southern state of individualism. Northern humanism was both
classically and Biblically oriented. It endeavoured to eliminate mass
ignorance, and unlike Southern humanism was essentially democratic
rather than autocratic.
Prominent among the Northern humanists was Erasmus of
Rotterdam (1467 – 1536) who aimed to remove the common ignorance that
was basically the root of the gross evils imputed to the Church and the
state. He opposed dogmatism and appealed for tolerance, freedom and the
ideals and interests of a contemplative life. Education for him was not so
much a form of self-culture, but the most important factor in the much-
needed moral, religious, educational and social reform of the time. His
work was primarily educational, and aimed to eradicate those abuses in
society that were the result of ignorance. He used satire as a tool to bring
about reform. He also discussed educational subjects, advocating a study
of the child and personal care in directing its studies. He emphasized the
importance of the mother, of play and keeping education in touch with the
times.
3.1.3 Educational Significance of the Renaissance
The Renaissance was characterized by two educational features:
(a) Liberal Education
Renaissance education encouraged the development of freedom and
individualism, moving away from the medievalism and supernaturalism
of the Romans towards the free Germanic spirit. Educationally, the
Renaissance influenced language and also developed a broader and more
liberal kind of education which aimed to develop the whole man in mind,
body, taste, knowledge, heart and will. This education encouraged the
development of the free man, possessing his own individuality and the
power to participate effectively in everyday life, based on a wide
knowledge of life in the past and an appreciation of the opportunities in
the present.
Thus from the fifteenth century onwards there were four growing
tendencies in European education: an endeavour to make it natural and
practical instead of abstract and theoretical, including an aesthetic element
unknown in medieval education; the education of care for the body, which
had been greatly neglected and dispersed in previous cultures; a move to
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extend education to all classes of people, and not merely to the clerics as
was formally the case; and an endeavour to adopt gentle and attractive
methods of teaching, instead of the harsh and repulsive methods formerly
used.
(b) Humanistic Education
Humanistic education emphasised the language of Greece and
Rome: the humanities. The spirit of humanism was not confined to
scholars, but was spread to other parts of society, aiding in generally
tolerant way of life, and in scholarly circles contributing toward
moderation in intellectual altercations.
Nevertheless, in due course humanistic education was narrowed

down to linguistic education only. It was becoming pointless and profitless
to concentrate on humanistic education by the seventeenth century. Its
fanaticism is shown by the religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Aristotle had been replaces by Cicero (106 B.C. – 43 B.C.) and
Ceceronianism, which maintained that the aim of education was to impart
a perfect Latin style based on Cicero and his imitators. Eramus (1467 –
1536) satirized this in The Ciceronians.
3.2. The Reformation and Education
In the sixteenth century Protestants revolted and the Roman
Catholic Church reformed. The reformation was a series of revolts from
the Catholic Church, which had resisted all efforts at internal reform of its
ecclesiastical, doctrines. At the Council of Trent (1543 – 1563) the need for
reform had been accepted. The Reformation therefore was the application
of Renaissance reasons to matters of religion. Thus, the sixteenth century
Protestant Reformation spelled the demise of the grand medieval
synthesis, a consequence wholly unintended by religious leaders.
The principal period of reformation growth was between 1520 and
1550, after which the Catholic reform movement got underway. The
immediate impulse to the revolt against the Catholic Church was the
publication by Luther (1483 – 1546) in ninety-five theses, reflecting his
conviction that salvation was a matter of faith rather than the consequence
of good work. The German reformation followed Luther, while that of the
Swiss, the Dutch and the Scandinavians was based on the teachings of
Calvin (1509 – 1564). The Protestant revolt had important consequences for
education, to which the rebels looked for fulfilment of their ideas.
58
3.2.1 Impact of Reformation on Education
(a) Changes In Aims and Content of Education
With the reformation the religious and theological aims of education
became very prominent, for both Catholics and Protestants in the
universities this was noticeable in the development of training in dialectic,
rhetoric and theology for heading off ecclesiastical opponents.
(b) Development of Public Support of Elementary Schools
Protestants, believing on a close union of Church and state, thought
it wise to have educational works supported and administratively
controlled by the state. They sought universal, free and compulsory
education, with the exception of the Anglicans. Luther advocated
universal state control of public schools. By contrast the Catholics left
educational works in the hands of their various religious orders.
(c) Influence on Secondary Schools and Universities.
The move towards a state system of education at the elementary
level was soon to be extended to secondary schools. Princes and states
began to control such schools.
In the case of universities, many remained loyal to Catholicism, the
champion of authority. All adhered to the principle of submission to
ecclesiastical authority. In Germany the universities gradually threw off
their allegiance to temporal princes. The English universities, especially
oxford and Cambridge, went over to Protestantism, under the Church of
England.
Despite these educational changes during the reformation,
education remained largely what it had been before, in the hands of clerics,
teaching old subjects, with science being suspect as magic or a black art.
Education therefore remained a struggle between supernaturalism and
authority, on the one hand and nature and science on the other.
3.2.2 Impact of Counter-reformation on Education
The struggle for control between the Roman Catholic Church and
Protestantism resulted in religious wars. With the failure of the
conciliatory Council of Trend (1543-1563, the counter-Reformation
developed, using inquisitions and education in a reaction against the
Reformation Movement. The Society of Jesus (1544), the Jesuits, became
the chief instrument of the counter-reformation.
The Society of Jesus was founded by the mystical Loyola (1491-
1556). The Jesuits strove through missionary work to extend Catholicism
throughout the world, and by means of schools to hold their converts and
educate all people to papal allegiance. They trained leaders to advance the
59
causes of the society and the church. They were, however, not concerned
with elementary and working-class education, confining themselves to
higher education. Their graduates became important in every sphere of
life.
Later La Salle (1651-1719) of France, through ‘Christian schools’ and
his order of Christian Brothers, became concerned with elementary
education for the lower classes and the poor. The order sought to
propagate religious instruction in the vernacular. They concerned
themselves with reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling, besides their
emphasis on the catechism. It is the Christian Brothers who introduced the
idea of grading, or standards.
4 Summary
In this lecture we have looked at the causes of the Renaissance and
shown its educational significance. Further, we have discussed the role of
education in serving the cause of both the Reformation and counter-
Reformation.
5. Activities.
1. discuss the main characteristics of the renaissance
2. write notes on the factors that contributed to the Renaissance.
3. discuss the impact of Renaissance on education.
4. discuss the impact of Refomation and counter-Reformation on
education.
6. Further Reading.
Wilds, E.H. and


(revised Edn)
Curtis, S. J., Short History of Educational Ideas,

60
LECTURE 11
EDUCATION DURING THE PERIOD OF REALISM: 17TH CENTURY.
1. Introduction
In our previous lecture we discussed major features in education
during the period of renaissance and reformation between 1300 and 1600.
we looked at the main characteristics of Renaissance, the main factors that
contributed to it. We went further to discuss the impact of the Renaissance
and Reformation and the counter-reformation on education. In this lecture,
we move on to examine education during the period of realism in the 17th
Century.
2. Objectives
 describe the background to Realism in education in the 17th century
 discuss the contribution made to educational theory during the
period of Realism in the 17th century.
3. Content
3.1. New Ideas and Education.
In the seventeenth century the enormous heritage of the past clashed
with overwhelming body of new ideas. It was thus the century
characterised by the Pansophia and Thirty years War (1618-1648)
The abundance of legacies of the past led to the compilation of a
number of encyclopaedias whose authors tried to channel the flood of
scholarship into some universal system of knowledge: Pansophia. The idea
was to ensure that the learners were given full information on every
subject, so that they could see the relationship between any given subject
and others, and general principles behind the various subjects.
The Thirty Years war (1618-1648) was a calamitous experience for
larger parts of Europe, and led to German realm splitting into hundreds of
principalities, with Switzerland and Netherlands becoming independent
Germany. Plunder and misery were evident all over Europe.
3.2. Realism and Education.
It was against this background of Pansophism and war, that
utilitarian and realistic tendencies in education were to develop. Realism
was one manifestation of general dissatisfaction with degenerate
humanism. It was force behind attempts throughout the seventeenth
century to introduce vernacular instruction, more efficient methodologies,
better schools and broader curricular. For in the final analysis
scholasticism and Christian humanism were failures, driving schools
toward further isolation from life, ignoring personal aspirations or
61
societies’ legitimate needs. The existing body of academic theories could
not withstand the real and hard test of life’s persistent realities.
The seventeenth century therefore attempted to construct an approach
that could meet felt human needs. The new intellectual approach was
Realism, implying a search for a method by which ‘reality’ could be
known. The problem of man and nature were approached inductively, by
means of scientific observation and experimentation, rather than
deductively, with nature seen in terms of the ends and purposes of God.
Already Copernicus (1473-1543) had shown that the earth was not the
centre of the universe. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) became but another wise,
erring, mortal, who explained a world he did not see.
2.2.1 Humanistic Realism.
Humanistic realism attempted to understand content. It
retained allegiance to past educational practice, with an emphasis on
the flaw-ness use of language in order to capitalize on scientific
discoveries. It maintained the language as a means of
communication was dependable in passing on scientific knowledge,
and therefore language and literature were to be at the heart of
education for effective communication of scientific progress. Science
was even to be included in the curriculum. In schools the influence
of humanistic realism was exerted by individual teachers
programme.
3.2.2 Social Realism.
Social realism often appeared in conjunction with humanistic
realism: it is therefore difficult to distinguish one type from the
other. Social realism sought language and literary skills, like
humanistic realism, but also craved for direct social reform of
society’s institutions. Thus society itself was to be the school, rather
than the school curricula. Social realism was a representative of the
education of the upper classes of the time. In schools it was not
widely represented.
3.2.3 Sense Realism
Sense realism was a mixture of humanistic and social realism.
It has appropriately been called the early scientific movement in
education on the assumption that modern philosophical and
scientific thought began in the seventeenth century. It was a protest
against the narrowing tendencies of the Renaissance, which became
institutionalised; sense realism shaped a working conception of
practical education. It was an attempt to adjust education to real life.
62
Education with sense realism was considered to come
primarily through the senses: the training of sense perception rather
than memory. Education thus came to be directed towards natural
sciences, real life situations, with some application of child
psychology. The emphasis in education was no longer on literacy
and grammatical materials. In addition to the application of child
psychology, vernacular was to be used in earliest years. Sense
realism therefore contains the basic features of modern education in
psychological, sociological and scientific terms.
3.3. Contribution to Educational Theory
3.3.1 Contribution by Individuals
John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) was born at Nivnitz in the
kingdom of Bohemia, at a time when the tides of religious hatred was
high. He is the greatest exponent of realist movement. Indeed, he may
justly be called the father of modern education. His educational
contributions were as follows:
a) A series of Texts for Learning Latin
These texts were intended to afford a grasp of all scientific
knowledge, while also facilitating the learning of Latin. They contained an
arrangement into sentences of several thousand Latin words, for the most
familiar objects or ideas. The Latin printed on the right part of the page,
and the left was translation in vernacular. Comenius wrote four graded
books in addition to the first ever-illustrated book, a text accompanied by
pictures
b) The Great Didactic.
In the Great Didactic, he spelt out what the theory and practice of
education should be. He held ‘knowledge, morality and poetry’ to be the
aim of education, and maintained that education was to be for both sexes
and all classes. In the Great didactic he also arranged a course of
instructions extending from infancy to manhood: a fourth-grade school
system. The course of each stage was to last six years starting from birth,
and each stage was to be a preparation of what was to follow, though
complete in itself. The present conventional division of the school system
into nursery, primary, secondary and university education is along the
lines of advocated by Comenius.
(a) The Pansophia
He attempted to create an encyclopaedic or organization of human
knowledge, of arts and sciences: Pansophia. In his books, each chapter
leads to the next, and thus embodies his universal principle of method:
proceeding from what is best known to what is less familiar. His idea was
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to produce wise men. Education would provide them with an
understanding of their own ends and of the world. Education was
therefore a process that continued throughout life.
(b) Method of Education
Being an experienced teacher, he advocated the use of inductive
method, in keeping with sense-realism. He advocated using models,
pictures and copies, based on the objects themselves. He therefore
recognized that children’s faculties have to be drawn out of their natural
order, perception, memory, reason and imagination. He also recognized
the value of physical exercises and manual training. He insisted that
schools should be built in healthy situations, having plenty of free space.
Despite his educational achievements, his theoretical writings
remained unknown until the nineteenth century, when his methods were
rediscovered and published. Till then his influence was slight except for
scientific method of language teaching derived from his textbooks. Today,
however, all these constructive suggestions of Comenius for experience-
based education remain a subject for debate amongst educational
theoreticians and practitioners the world over.
4 Summary
In this lecture we have looked at the background to realism, spelling
out the place of Pansophism and Thirty Years war in relation to the
various types of realism that were evident during the seventeenth century.
We have also seen how Comenius theorized and put into practice the ideas
of sense realism in education, embodying his universal principle of
method teaching or learning from known to unknown.
5. Activities.
1. describe how the idea of education through contact with the world
found justification in the realistic tendencies of education in the 17th
century.
2. write notes on the educational ideas of John Amos Comenius and
show how these ideas could be incorporated into education where
you work.
64
6 Further Reading.
Wilds, E.H. and
Gutek, L. G. A History of Western Educational

Experience New York: Random House,
1972
65
LECTURE 12
EDUCATION DURING THE PERIOD OF
ENLIGHTENMENT : 18TH CENTURY.
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture we discussed features of educational importance
during the period of realism in the 17th century. We looked at the
circumstances that led to the relationship between realism and education
during the period. We went further to highlight the contributors to
educational theory during the period with particular reference to John
Amos Comenius. Finally we asked you to think about the relevance of
these ideas to the theory and practice of education in primary schools in
your country. In this lecture, we move further on importance during the
period of enlightenment in the 18th century.
2. Objectives
 Describe the background to the concept of enlightenment during the
18th century.
 Discuss the impact of Enlightenemnt as a concept on education
during the 18th century.
 Discuss the contribution made to educational theory during the
period of Enlightenment in the 18th century.
3. Content
3.1. Enlightenment and Education.
To the pessimists of the time, learned seventeenth century Europe
appeared to be dominated by two largely unassailable sources of
authority: Graeco-Roman literature and Scriptures. In contrast the
eighteenth century was a time of optimism, guided by reason, natural law,
a cosmopolitan faith in universal progress, and a belief that mankind was
at long last free from superstitions, prejudices and savagery. The
eighteenth century saw general revolt against absolutism and
ecclesiasticism.
The revolt in the eighteenth century falls into two epochs. During
the first half, the movement was directed against repression in religion and
thought, leading to nationalism and scepticism of Voltaire (1694-1778) and
‘Encyclopaedists’. In the second half it was against repression in politics
and towards an assertion of the right man, leading to emotionalism and
naturalism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Thus the eighteenth
century has appropriately been called the Age of Reason, or
Enlightenment.
66
In the eighteenth century education was solely being extended to all
classes of society, passing from the hand of the clergy to laity. Latin being
replaced by vernaculars; the study of nature and culture was receiving
more attention; and men were being taught to live in the present and not
in the past. But significantly, the great movements of previous centuries
had not yet received complete expression in education, even though
education was seen a means towards transforming eighteenth century
conditions: the prospect of education at the beginning of the century was
bleak.
Elementary education was inadequate. It did not offer good
schooling: most common people were unable to attend any school;
teachers were either poorly trained or unfit for the classroom; classes were
un-graded, studying whatever the teacher happened to teach; girls were
not featuring; the course offered were perfunctory, really ending on the
twelfth birthday, and were irrelevant to future social and moral life.
Though reading, writing and arithmetic were offered, the practice was still
poor: memorization and rote- learning were rampant.
In the grammar and secondary school the picture was no different.
Though secondary schoolteachers were better prepared and the curricula
more carefully designed, school life was irrelevant to social life. It was
based on classics and was of very low standard, so that students were not
offered meaningful educational experiences: classical schools were not
suitable for this. Inadequacy was evident at the universities; men of ability
even refused to be associated with them.
Redeeming Feature.
Despite the bleakness of education at the beginning of the eighteenth
century, there was redeeming feature with the presence of perspective
individuals who recognized these weaknesses and tried to initiate reform.
These individuals advocated that society should throw aside institutions
with a corrupting and distorting influence. They demanded better schools
with fully trained teachers, and spelt out the importance of education in
the society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one such individual.
2.2 Contribution to Educational Theory
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of
a watchmaker. His mother died when he was a week old, leaving him to
his father’s erratic care. However he read through a miscellaneous
collection of books available at home, including the first century writer
Plutarch’s tales of Ancient Greek and Rome, which made a lasting
impression on him. In many ways Rousseau was a child of enlightenment.
67
He accepted hi faith in ‘nature’ a regulative standard for the conduct of
human affairs, its optimistic faith in goodness of man, and its belief in a
latent providential harmony in the universe.
Rousseau’s influence upon education in modern times is so great
that some believe that he almost accomplished a Copernican revolution in
the field. Indeed, history of education ids divided into two periods: before
Rousseau and after him. This is not because of the soundness of his
theories, but rather due to their spectacular tendencies. He championed
the ideals of romanticism and naturalism, applying them to education. In
his Discourse on the Science and arts he emphasized the nobility of man
and the freedom that was to be extended to man. He rejected authority
over individual, and also attacked reason itself. He saw the justification or
purpose of education the production of free man and the goals of
education as individual rather than social. He saw no place for social
objectives of education and state control.
He was the first to make an attempt, to put naturalism into practice.
He realized more clearly than even Comenius that the child must become
the starting point for any education. He saw the need for modern
developments in educational organization, method and content. He could
be regarded as a father of the psychological movement in modern
education. In Emile (1762), a long tale of five hundred pages in five books,
he described the education of the young which is appropriate to the ideal
of society.
A basic principle enunciated by Rousseau was that the child’s
growth from birth to adulthood is identical with the evolution of human
race. The individual’s development proceeds by stages, each possessing its
own special characteristics and requiring distinctive pedagogical
emphasis. Education was therefore to be in the ‘nature’ state and life was
to be lived in response to the promptings of the heart and inner voice of
conscience. The child should be taken from his parents, isolated from
society, and instructed by a tutor in a natural state. Education according to
nature is therefore the theme of Emile. The aim is to replace convectional
and formal education with natural and spontaneous training. In books 1-4
of Emile, education is natural and individualistic. Books 1-4 cover four
stages in development of a child: infancy or animal stage (birth to five
years) discussed in book 1; childhood or the savage stage (from five to
twelve), discussed in book 2; pre-adolescence or the rational stage (from
twelve to fifteen years), discussed in book 3; and adolescence or rational
stage (from twelve to fifteen years) discussed in book 4. Book 5 deals
partly with the education of the opposite sex, for at twenty, Emile is a man
68
and needs a life-companion. Education for women is to be passive and
repressive; they are not to learn philosophy, art or sciences. However, they
are to be given vigorous bodily training, to learn embroidery, sewing,
lacework and designing. This is this weakest part of Rousseau’s work.
4. Summary.
In this lecture we have pointed to the educational conditions of the
eighteenth century that lead to naturalistic tendencies in education.
Further, we have shown how Jean-Jacques Rousseau epitomized in Emile
the spirit of enlightenment and naturalism in education; he laid the
foundations of present ideas about child psychology and curriculum. The
child’s education should be useful. It should recognize a child’s abilities,
rather than impose the teachers’ ideas. Rousseau also emphasised learning
through play and activity.
5. Activities.
1. describe the background conditions that led to the concept of
Enlightenment during the 18th century.
2. write brief notes on the contribution made to educational theory
during the period of Enlightenment in the 18th century.
3. discuss the impact of Enlightenment on education during the 18th
century.
4. write brief notes on the educational ideas of Jacques Rousseau.
Show these ideas are relevant to the theory and practice of
education in the school where you work.
6. Further Reading.

(revised Edn)
Gutek L. G. A History of Western Educational

Experaince, New York: Random House,
1972.
69
LECTURE 13
EDUCATION DURING THE PERIOD OF SCIENCE AND
NATIONALISM : 19TH CENTURY
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture, we discussed features of educational importance during
the period of Enlightenment in the 18th century. We looked at the
background circumstances that led to the concept of Enlightenment and its
impact on education during that period. We further discussed the
contributors to educational ideas during the period and made special
reference to the work of Jacques Rousseau in this connection.
We then asked you to think about the relevance of these ideas to the theory
and practice of education in the school where you work. In this lecture, we
move further on to discuss features of educational importance during the
period of science and nationalism in the 19th Century.
2. Objectives
 describe the background to science and nationalism in the 19th
century.
 Discuss the impact of science and nationalism on education during
the 19th century.
 Discuss the contribution made by individuals to educational theory
during the period of science and nationalism in the 19th century.
3. Content
3.1. Science and Nationalism and Education
The closer one approaches the present, the more difficult it becomes
to outline historical movements under a simple formula or a simple theme.
This is particularly the case in trying to outline the broad intellectual and
social contours of the nineteenth century to there is any unifying link
binding the nineteenth century to the eighteenth century, this is to be
found in the doctrine of progress. Avery turn it was clear that men were
overcoming the world around them, at a rate never before imagined or
thought possible.
The nineteenth century in Europe was an age of conflicting
ideologies. As the historian Merz said, ‘no age has been so rich in rival
theories, so subversive of old ideas, so destructive of principles which
stood firm for many ages’. In the nineteenth-century, its various social-
political dogmas replaced the much-eroded inherited commitments to the
church and the monarchies. The socio-political dogmas developed within
70
the context of the continuing individualism. Education inevitably
graphically reflected the influences of these trends in society.
3.1.1 Influence on Education.
a) Industrialism
Round the steam engine grew the factory; round the factory, the
manufacturing town; round the manufacturing town the network of trade
relations, and an economic unit. Industrialism thus brought great changes
in the socio-economic structure had to be changed and reordered. The
middle class challenged the political status quo. They sought social
change, were against traditional, aristocratic education, and opposed
religious dominance. They wanted liberal and popular education under
state control.
(a) Nationalism
After the French revolution came the Napoleon. This stirred up a
fervent patriotism, which gave a new lease of life to the old national
divisions. Cultural unity was transformed into political cohesion and
unity. Popular national education was seen as a means to develop the
spirit of nationalism.
(b) Democracy.
The extravagances and horrors of French Revolution brought about
revolutionary movement against the eighteenth century enlightment,
freedom and reason. Freedom and reason were no longer viewed as
adequate, as the sole directors of human conduct. The older traditions of
the church and monarchies were re-established. But the success of this
regressive movement was to be short-lived and partial, for the
liberalization movement went on unabated. The democratic spirit sought
to the re-organisation of social institutions to better serve the common
welfare. Education was also to be re-organised.
(c) Capitalism
With the development of the factory system, power came to be
concentrated in the business of management groups. The business groups
were supportive of education as a way of maintaining social stability and
increasing economic stability. The reactionaries saw education in terms of
fitting the young into social order of the state and perpetuating the status
quo. Notably the context of these views was that industrialization
provided necessary surplus funds for establishing and maintaining large
scale national systems of elementary schools.
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3.2. Contribution to Educational Theory.
John Friedrich Herbat Before the French revolution education had
been much the same all over Europe, but after the revolution there was
great diversity of educational development in different parts of Europe,
corresponding to the differences between nations produced by the
Napoleonic wars. Educationally German was the leader in Europe, being
the first to build the earliest educational structure, followed next by France
and lastly England. By the 1860’s majority of Europeans were still illiterate.
It is in German where educational theorists were remarkably active. They
attempted to base an educational philosophy on some system of
psychology, rearranging and organizing patterns of educational
experience. The nineteenth century educational theorists thus reaped the
results of the educational philosophising of the eighteenth century, with
Rousseau having awakened he education of the world.
3.2.1 Contribution of Individuals.
John Friedrich Herbat (1776-1841) was one such educational theorist.
He was born at Oldenburg in North-western Germany, a son of a
prominent attorney. He was tutored at home under the close supervision
of his mother until the age of twelve and then sent to Oldenburg
Gymnasium for a six-year programme of studies. Herbat’s educational
theory is closely integrated with his theories of ethics and psychology,
both of which were built up from a more general metaphysical theory.
Herbat was both an educator and a philosopher. Thus his approach
to educational problems was grounded in both philosophy and experience.
His educational theories were therefore not theoretical deductions. In his
books Science and Education (1806) and Outlines of Educational Doctrines
(1835) he spelt out his educational theory and practice. He is the pioneer or
‘Father of Exact (or Experimental) Psychology of Education’. For him the
success of education depended on a thorough understanding of the
processes involved in ‘knowing’, ‘learning’ and ‘teaching’. As a result, he
advanced the theory of Assiociationism: the idea of assimilating new ideas
by means of mental experiences, already encountered.
He saw end of education as a moral character. His foremost
educational aim was development of a religious, moral and cultured man.
Thus, his ‘cycle of thought’ begins with knowledge, clear ideas, which are
followed by action, and the formation of moral character. ‘The one task
and whole task, of educating may be summed up in the concept of
morality (Herbart). Thus the content of instruction was to be correlated
with moral training for social regeneration.
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He saw the role of a teacher as that of motivating the learner’s
deposit of memories in the consciousness. The teacher was therefore to
make the mental experiences from harmonious whole so that each new
experience would find an appropriate storing place in the learners mind.
Thus school programmes were to be a continuum of coherent facts. The
presumption was that the learner would build up a mass of similar ideas
instead of being left with a confused welter of unsystematised impressions.
For him the success of the teacher was in terms of catering for the
individuality of the learner. This would only happen if the teacher
proceeded in five steps: ‘the five Formal Steps of Recitation’:
1. Preparation: the teacher to make sure that he intend s to teach.
2. Presentation: the teacher to associate the new knowledge with
that already acquired by the learner.
3. Association: the teacher to show the students that the new
knowledge is both logical and comprehensive.
4. Systematisation: the teacher to awaken in the learner a methodical
rather than haphazard approach to knowledge.
5. Application: the teacher to show and enhance the use of
knowledge in solving daily problems.
These steps have been applied mechanically in Colleges of
Education as a basis of the ‘moral lesson plan’ although Herbart did not
regard them as fixed.
a) Contribution on in Childhood education.
Educational theorists like Comenius, Rousseau and Herbart were
not alone in their concern for childhood education and the democratisation
and universalisation of education. Let us end this survey by mentioning
some key thinkers and practitioners who contributed to today’s
educational thinking.
Johann H. Pestalozzi (1746-1827) believed that children should be
educated through their senses or experiences and according to their
natural development. He thought that all children should receive at least
primary education, and that teachers should be trained.
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) advocated basing children’s education
on their needs, interests and purposeful play. The teacher’s role was to
guide children to realize their potentialities. Education was to be child-
centred. Froebel established a kindergarten in order to put his educational
ideas into practice. It was to be an environment like a garden, where
children could realize their full intellectual growth. Kindergartens still
exists today.
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Maria Montessori (1870-1952) further reinforced the idea of the
child being the centre of the educational process, with the teacher as a
guide and organizer. In the school she directed, learning was based on the
child’s level of understanding, thus the content of education was graded.
4. Summary.
In this lecture we have discussed the historical background to the

between
relationship science, nationalism and education during the nineteenth
century. In doing so, we have paid particular attention to such other forces
as industrialism, democracy and capitalism and their bearing on the
nineteenth century educational trends. We have further looked at
Herbart’s example of scientific trends in education while emphasizing his
contribution to teach training. Finally we have looked at some trends in
childhood education.
5. Activities.
1. write notes on the conditions that gave rise to the scientific and
nationalistic tendencies in education during the 19th century.
2. write notes on the contribution made by individuals to the
development of educational theory during the 19th century.
3. write brief notes on the educational ideas of the following
individuals: John Friedich Herbat, Johann H. Pastalozzi, Friedrich
Froebel, and Maria Montessori.

Show how the ideas of each one of them can be incorporated into
school education where you work.
6. Further Reading.
(revised Edn)
Good, H. F., A History of Western Education, London:
The Macmillan Company, 1969
74
LECTURE 14
EDUCATION DURING THE PERIOD OF
PROGRESSIVISM AND RADICALISM : 20TH CENTURY.
1 Introduction.
In our last lecture we discussed a number of historical trends that
led to scientific and nationalistic tendencies during the 19th century. We
discussed the impact of science and nationalism on education. We went
further to discuss the contribution made by individuals to the
development of educational ideas during this period. We then asked you
to think about the relevance of these ideas to the theory and practice of
education in the school where you work. In this lecture, we are going to
discuss features in education during the period of progressivism and
radicalism in the 20th century.
2. Objectives
 describe features of historical trends that led to tendencies of
progressivism and radicalism during the 20th century.
 Discuss the impact of progressivism and radicalism on education
during the 20th century.
 Discuss the contribution made by individuals to educational theory
during the period of progressivism and radicalism in the 20th
century.
3. Content
3.1. Basis of Progressivism and Radicalism in Education.
The twentieth century consolidated the nineteenth century changes,
moulding educational change to provide socially and economically
dictated innovations that were influenced by two world wars. In general,
however, twentieth-century educational trends are mainly the concerns of
the educational philosopher and the sociologist. Nevertheless, to history of
education a number of trends are noteworthy.
3.3.1 Modernisation Process.
The twentieth century is the age of machines and of science. The
modernization process originated in Europe in the scientific and industrial
revolutions of the eighteenth century and the nineteenth century.
Modernization has thus meant the need for sophisticated levels of trained
manpower. Education being a process of coming to grips with cultural
heritage and change has therefore continued to encourage and discipline
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human potentiality in order to provide technical and managerial
personnel. Educationally modernization has meant extended period of
study, of formal education in order to cope with scientific and technical
advances.
3.1.2 Impact of the Generation gap.
With the immense expansion of knowledge and experience, the
contraction of distance and improved communications, and the colossal
advances in the control and exploitation of resources, there emerged a
noticeable gap between generations. The young questioned, challenged
and rejected established values, while the old generation resisted social,
economical and political change. Thus we saw the 1960s, student unrest,
demanding immediate solution to socio-economic and political problems.
Students have therefore shown their antipathy to established social,
political and educational institutions.
3.1.3 Changing Criteria of Educational Authority.
Since Plato’s (427-347 BC) Republic, which advocated a class-based
society, educational theories and systems have dealt with the issue of
appropteness in education. The twentieth century has maintained this
interest, with a conflict arising between those who conceive of school as
being a selective social agency, and those who view school as a
comprehensive social agency without streaming open to all and with
equality of opportunity. There are even those who view school as an
uneasy compromise of a selective and comprehensive agency, which dents
the class system with its inadequacies and distinction among people. The
result has been a mixture of expansion of educational opportunity and
constant, widespread experimentation in education to satisfy rising
expectations. Though education has been broadened in scope, to become
more varied in offerings, and has been extended in length, there are still
those who want the status-quo preserved and educational advances to
remain largely pedagogic.
3.2. Progressivism, Radicalism and Education
Arising out of the conflicting views of schooling are two broad
educational movements: progressive and radical education.
3.2.1 Progressivism in Education.
(a) Origins of Progressivism in Education.
It was in North America that the rationalist spirit achieved its
political and educational fulfilment. Unlike Europe, America had
never been loaded with feudal conditions. The puritan orthodoxy of
new England had by the Eighteenth century waned, and , indeed,
76
the American Revolution was different from French revolution. The
American Revolution was both a war of liberation and a process of
re-organization guided by educated leaders, unlike the French
revolution, which was led by inexperienced revolutionaries.
Thus, with the twentieth century, American conditions were
conducive to the ideals of enlightment and democracy.
Progressivism was thus the ideology of a crusade for social, political,
and economical amelioration, founded on a belief in the power of
human intelligence to affect human progress. Philosophically, it
presumed a world order amenable to direction and control,
provided man used the critical methods of science to harness his
energy. It endorsed the democratic process, both as a means for
overcoming traditional modes of action and as an end, ultimately to
be realized in the establishment of a rational society in which
individuals could realize their fullest potential. Progressivism was
basically an optimistic viewpoint, drawing its strength from many
sources.
(b) Progressivism as an Educational Theory.
The ideals of enlightenment and democracy also affected the
American view of education. The educational manifestation of
progressivism arose from desire to enlist the schools for building a
better society.
Progressive education advocated the elimination of nineteenth
century class formalism, and the substitution of a new ‘learning by
living’ methodology. It meant that the functions of the public
schools were to be extended beyond their traditional formal and
intellectual concerns. The function of public schools were to meet the
needs of the city, the factory and massive influx of immigrants from
Europe. Schools were also to encompass the responsibilities for
physical, social and recreational needs of children. These had
formally been left to other agencies.
(c) Contribution to the Theory of Progressivism in Education
It was in the work of John Dewey (1859-1952) that this new
educational philosophy was formulated. Dewey challenged the ends
and means of traditional education, advocating means equally being
ends. Dewey sanctioned some of the proposals of the progressive
movement, though he was as much a critic advocate of progressive
education. He thus became a symbol and prophet for reform whose
basis lay deeply in the liberal-democratic tradition of nineteenth
77
century progressivism. In the history of American education Dewey
has no serious rival, being the leader in educational reconstruction,
the vanguard towering above the rest of American educators.
He was born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1859, graduated from
the university of Vermont at the age of twenty and taught briefly in
a lower school before returning for graduate studies in philosophy.
In 1894, he became Chairman of the Department of Philosophy,
Psychology, and Pedagogy at the university of Chicago. This was in
the same decade when all evils of American urban life seemed
assembled in Chicago. But reform was also stirring there. In 1896 he
founded the University Laboratory School at the university of
Chicago, hoping that the school would provide the raw material for
experimentation. This school was one of the earliest experiments in
progressive education.
In the laboratory school, Dewey concerned himself with the
effects of modern technology on an urbanized population. He
preached the gospel of democracy, and introduced and appealed for
learning by doing. Activity programmes as advocated by Dewey are
still important in our system of education, and teachers are trained
to see their role as that of guides, rather than of transmitters of
knowledge.
Dewey also sought a closer relationship between school and
life. Education was not to be seen as preparation for life but life
itself. Education was to face the business of living, and solve
practical problems. Thus, he introduced manual training such as
shop-work, sewing and cooking in the Laboratory School. Industrial
education was taught in the Fourth grade, and school subjects were
centred on the occupations of society at large. This concept is
emphasized in our 8-4-4 system of education.
The school also looked after learners’ health and recreation,
being also a Community Centre. This idea is till vogue. In the school
morality and religion, and all forms of educational experiences were
seen and considered as equally important and essentially
interconnected and integrated.
3.2.2 Radicalism in Education.
The word radical derives from the Latin word ‘radix’ root. By a
‘radical’ therefore, we mean one who favours ‘root-branch’ change: one
who wants change that goes to the root of the matter as opposed to one
who either does not change, or wants only superficial change. A radical
therefore proposes fundamental change. Sometimes the word is narrowly
78
used for one who is associated with left-wing political views or one
associated with extreme views of any kind.
(a) Origins of Radicalism in Education.
In the twentieth century education, radicalism appears in the De-
schooling movement of Goodman (911-1973), Remer (b. 1922) and Illich (b.
1926). The three regarded as ‘the holy trinity of the de-schooling
movement’. The term ‘de-schooling’ is vague: sometimes it refers to the
views that do not involve getting rid of schools, while at other times it is
indicative of a general drift of thinking about schooling.
(b) Radicalism as an Educational Theory
Radicalism recognizes that education and schooling are not the same
thing: form and substance, ritual and content are not to be confused. The
movement recognizes that schools, by virtue of being institutions,
inevitably cause damage to children. Schools therefore are seen as having
an anti-educational effect on society.
(c) Contribution to Theory of Radicalism in Education.
Ivan Illich (b.1926) is regarded as main proponent of the de-
schooling movement. He, like the other de-schoolers, objects to
institutions of schooling on four grounds:
 The multi-dimensional objection: Schools combine four
distinct social functions: custodial care, social role selection,
indoctrination and education, that is, the development of
skills and knowledge;
 The graded curriculum objection: Schools consider
learning as a product of teaching and in addition the
curriculum is graded following the dictates of university
requirements.
 The hidden curriculum objection: Schools being merely
institutions are impelled towards a certain type of
propaganda, claiming to succeed in teaching this or that,
when actually only succeeding in teaching the hidden
curriculum: teaching self-importance, the value of competition
for prizes, and encouraging dependency on teachers.
 Schooling as a wastage of resources objection: Schools us up
the resources available for education, while deschoolers
believe that funds could be better used to provide meaningful
education outside school.
Illich therefore sees schools as the enemy of learning and the
educative process, and says they should be avoided. He advocates
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alternatives, including cheap-non-competitive alternatives for individuals
going to school being replaced by opportunities to go practically anywhere
from a similar course in physics to the local fish-market. He prefers this to
full-time attendance at institutions at specific ages, following graded
curricula under teacher supervision.
Some of these alternative approaches to education have been
attempted in practice in Europe and America. Indeed, many countries are
currently re-examining their educational approaches with a view to
restructuring them to meet their needs. The moves to democratise and
universalise educational are still at issue.
4. Summary.
In this lecture we have discussed the twentieth century historical
circumstances that have resulted in progressive and radical trends in
education. We have shown Dewey’s (1859-1952) contributions to
progressive education. We have considered Illich’s (b. 1926) part in
radicalism in education.
5. Activities.
1. write notes on the conditions that gave rise to tendencies of
progressivism and radicalism during the 20th century.
2. write notes on the impact of progressivism and radicalism on
education during the 20th century.
3. write brief notes on the contribution made by individuals to the
development of educational theory during the 20th century.
4. show how aspects of educational ideas put forward by individuals-
John Dewey, Remer and Ivan Illich- may be relevant to the theory
and practice of education in the school wher you work.
6. Further Reading.



Rusk, R. R., The Doctrines of Great Educators, London:

Macmillan, 1954.
80
SECTION B.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION WITHIN
THE CONTEXT OF AFRICA
81
LECTURE 15
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION IN AFRICA.
1. Introduction
In our first lecture, we attempted to define what we understand by
education. Do you recall what we said? If you do not please refer to that
lecture to refresh your memory. In this lecture, we move on to discuss
indigenous education in Africa.
2. Objectives
 Discuss the view that before the coming of Europeans to Africa,
Africans had their own systems of education.
 Describe the goals, content and methods of indigenous education in
Africa
 Show how aspects of indigenous education in Africa are relevant to
the theory and practice of primary school education in the
community where you work.
3. Content.
3.0 Africans and their systems of education.
Long before the Arabs and Europeans came to Africa, the African
peoples had no literacy and formal schooling. However African peoples
had developed their own coherent systems of education. We noted in our
first lecture that education in the whole process by which one generation
transmits its culture to the succeeding generation or still better as a process
by which people are prepared to live effectively in their environment. One
of the basis of this definition then, it is easy to see that before the coming of
the Arabs and Europeans there was an effective systems of education in
each African clan, chiefdom or kingdom. Thus this kind of traditional
education in Africa was effective ever since the elevation of the African
race; it was tangible, definite and intelligible.
3.1 Aspects of Comparative Indigenous Education in Africa.
There was, and still is, no single indigenous form of education in
Africa. Societies differing from each other (as they do) developed different
systems of education to transmit their own particular knowledge and
skills. The differences were not necessarily great. But it was clear that for
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example, the indigenous system of education among the Yoruba of South-
West Nigeria and the Akan of Ghana differed in method and content. On
the other hand indigenous forms education were sometimes remarkably
similar. One form could be seen to have influenced another. This is
because the cultural and economic interactions between societies were at
times very fluid and intense.
Thus Africans had systems of education that bore basic similarities.
But each of many ethnic groups led its own distinctive feature reflecting its
particular life and culture. The basic similarities in indigenous education
are that it was strongly adapted to the environment. Its aims were to
conserve the cultural heritage of the family, clan and ethnic group; to
adapt children to their physical environment and teach them how to use
it; and to explain to them that their own future and that of their
community depended on the continuation and understanding of their
ethnic institutions of laws, language and values they inherited from the
past.
3.2 Systems of Indigenous Education in Africa.
3.2.1. Childhood Education
In most communities, the general attitude people had towards the
newborn was one of interest, encouragement and well wishing. The
parents and close relatives, in particular, usually took keen interest in the
welfare of a newborn child and its development. The arrival of a new baby
always brightened the family atmosphere and tended to strengthen the
marriage and insure family continuity. Immediately of a few days after
birth, the child was given a name in accordance with his or her lineage or
occasion of birth. During the first years, the mother was responsible for the
child’s education. She was close to the child and satisfied every need,
especially by suckling the baby until weaning. After weaning, the child
started to interact with more members of the family.
A child was given a lot of encouragement in physical development.
It was assisted to sit, crawl, stand and walk. This too applied to language
development. Morally the child was made to conform to the modes,
customs and standards of behaviour inherent in the clan into which it was
born or in which it is living. Bad habits and undesirable or disruptive
behaviour was not tolerated in any child. Children were protected against
dangers and all sorts of harm. There were precautionary measures against
fire, suffocation, accidents and malignant glances. In childhood education,
games occupied an important place in conformity with the awakening of
intense mental and physical activities.
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As children grew they were engaged in productive education. A boy
could be informally introduced to a trade such as metal work or hide
tanning, if it was an occupation in his clan, or start taking part in
agriculture, herding, hunting and collecting. Through play, he could make
miniature tools such as bows and arrows. In the fields, under the
supervision of older members, he handled such tools as hoes and pangas
adapted to his size and strength. He trapped creatures or protected
harvests from grain-eating birds. In the herding of cattle he came to learn
to distinguish between medicinal and poisonous plants. Girls learnt
feminine responsibilities. They helped out in the kitchen, fetched water
and firewood, and took care of their younger brothers and sisters. In some
clans they were introduced to such trades as basket weaving and pottery.
Through these apprenticeships and participation in the world of
work, children developed physical endurance, skills, a sense of
observation and a good memory. The progressive acquisition of a trade
provided the child with a social and economic function. Because of this,
the child came to be integrated deeply in the family and in the clan. It
acquired the feelings that it played an indispensable role in the family as
well as in the community. Care was taken so that the child’s participation
in common work did not become burdensome. The child however knew
that through work he or she was making a meaningful contribution to the
common production of the family or clan.
Vocational training advanced with age. A young girl, for instance,
played an increasingly important role in the company of women and
shared their domestic as well as agricultural responsibilities. The boy too
assumed more responsibilities with his peers and adults. Through these
contacts children came to learn collective and self-discipline and
undertook duties adapted to their age.
Children also interacted with other members of the community, thus
broadening their spheres of learning. They learnt good manners, respect
for elders, and the various beliefs that formed and shaped their everyday
behaviour. They learnt through such channels as folk songs, tales, riddles,
proverbs, dances, ceremonies and festivals, prohibition and many others
which contributed to their intellectual, spiritual and moral formation.
In late childhood, generally between the ages of ten and fifteen, with
the development of ability to abstract thought and reasoning, and the
development of personality, children became more and more closely
associated with. At the same time, they were given a certain amount of
84
independence in the family, along with increased responsibilities. It was
during such periods that they improved on their apprentiship in some
occupations.
3.2.2 Adolescence and Adulthood Education.
In many communities at the age of fifteen, adolescent boys and girls
underwent some kind of initiation rites. Educational activities centred on
physical exercises, sex education and awareness of responsibility. The
harmonious acceptance of the child into the community was stressed with
special force. During an intensive period of training, the male initiates
submitted to physical and moral tests that helped to mould his character,
develop his spirit of companionship and render him capable of facing the
hard struggle of existence. Initiation in the form of circumcision was in
many communities deliberately made an emotional and painful
experience, and sometimes covered a period of several months. This
would be engraved forever on the personality of the initiates. Without
circumcision a man could not be regarded as a full member of his ethnic
group or have property rights.
Education was therefore more intense during initiation. In some
communities, a good deal of time was devoted to the acquisition of both
theoretical and practical knowledge, which was imparted by elders. The
theoretical knowledge involved recital of certain general rules of
behaviour and etiquette which an adult was expected to comply. The
initiates were warned against such things as incest, adultery, assault and
theft. They were also taught rules and ways of behaviour in the presence
of senior people. These were taught both formally and informally. The
rituals of initiation were generally hard, but they helped the young men
and women to become fully themselves, in a way they graduated into new
life as adults.
3.3 Goals of Indigenous Education in Africa.
Indigenous systems of education in Africa varied from one society to
another. However, the goals of these systems were often similar.
Indigenous education was essentially an education for living. Its main
purpose was to train the youth for adulthood within the society. Emphasis
was placed on normative and expressive goals. Normative goals were
concerned with instilling the accepted standards and beliefs governing the
correct behaviour. Expressive goals were concerned with creating unity
and consensus.
Indigenous education was intertwined with social life. What was
taught was related to the social content in which people were called to live.
85
It was concerned with the systematic socialisation of the younger
generation into norms, religious and moral beliefs and collective opinions
of the wider society. It placed emphasis on learning practical skills and
acquisition of knowledge which was useful to the individual and the
society as a whole.
3.4. Content and Methods of Instruction
One important question we need to ask ourselves is: Did indigenous
education in Africa have a curriculum and methods of instruction? And if
so, what determined its contents and methods?
3.4.1 Content of Indigenous Education in Africa.
Content of indigenous education in Africa grew out of the
immediate environment, real or imagined. From the physical environment
children had to learn about the weather, the types of landscapes as well as
their associated numerous and insect life. Children had to learn to cope
with the environment. Certain emotional attitudes and sentiments were
developed around aspects of their environment. Children had to have
knowledge of the important aspects of the environment as well as the
attitudes the people had towards them.
Physical environment- Children had to make proper adjustments to
the physical environment by means of using equipment such as axe, the
hoe, the spear and other tools. They were taught how to cope with the
environment: how to farm, how to hunt, how to fish or prepare food or
build a house. The physical environment also demanded close-knit
societies under a strong form government, to foster a strong communal
sense. Individualistic tendencies were allowed only to grow within the
umbrella of the society. Through his relations with other members of the
society the child was made to imitate the actions of others and to assimilate
the moods, feelings and ideas of those around him and thus acquire the
community identity.
Economic environment – Among economic activities dictated by the
physical environments were agriculture, pastrolism, fishing, hunting and
collecting. Within the homestead and its environs, parents and older
relatives were responsible for the training in economic responsibilities.
Learning by imitation played a big part as smaller children followed the
example of the older members in building, herding and hunting in case of
boys or sweeping, carrying wood and water and cooking in case of girls.
Religion – Indigenous education included religious attitude of life.
Religion was concerned with morality. It gave support to the laws and
86
customs of the community. It had much to do with moral principles such
as conduct of one individual towards another.
Social environment – This also shaped the content of indigenous
education in Africa. The child learnt manners, laws, history of the clan or
ethnic group, especially of its heroes, songs, and stories, oral traditions,
customs and beliefs. The child also learnt many things through ceremonies
such as initiation, birth, death, war, harvest, religion and magic. Another
important area of knowledge was through riddles, proverbs, poems and
lullabies.
3.4.2 Methods of Instruction in Indigenous Education.
In most African societies, parents played an important role in the
education of their children. There was often a marked division of labour.
The mother educated all the children in the early years. Later the father
took over the education of male children while the mother remained in
control of the females.
Traditional educators applied various methods of instruction to
attain the educational or learning purpose that was desired. These
methods could be broadly divided into informal and formal. Among
informal methods of instruction included learning through play, imitating
activities of adults, learning through myths, legends, folk-tales and
proverbs. Teaching could be by way of deterrence or inculcating fear in the
children. Right from early childhood, children were made to conform to
the morals, customs and standards of behaviour inherent in the clan into
which they were born or living. Bad habits and undesirerable behaviour,
such as disobedience, cruelty, selfishness, bullying, temper, thefts and
telling lies were not tolerated. Learning could be through the medium of
productive work to acquire the right type of masculine or feminine roles.
Children learnt by being useful; by doing and working hand in hand with
adults. A child was expected to learn largely by seeing (observation) and
imitating.
Formal methods of instruction involved theoretical and practical
inculcation of skills. Learning through apprenticeship, for example, was
formal and direct. Parents who wanted their children to acquire some
occupational training, normally sent their children to work with craftsmen
such as potters, blacksmiths and basket makers who could then teach them
formally. The same was true with the acquisition of hereditary occupation;
for example, herbalist, in handing over his trade secrets (about medicine to
use for which disease and how.)
Formal instructions were also given in the constant corrections and
warning to children; in some aspects of domestic work, in herding, in
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cultivating and tending to certain crops, in fishing and manners which
children were expected to follow. An important aspect of formal
instructions in some of the communities took the form of succeeding stages
of initiation from status to status culminating in the puberty ceremonies,
such as piercing of a child’s ears and circumcision.
4 Summary.
From what has been outlined in the foregoing sections, there are a
number of important features that characterised the indigenous system of
education in Africa. It served, first and foremost, a preparatory purpose.
Children were brought up to become useful members of the household,
village and community and hence the ethnic group. The girls, for example,
were brought up as future housewives and mothers. The boys too, were
brought up as future fathers.
In this respect, the education provided was strictly functional.
Education was generally for the immediate induction into society as
opposed to a theoretical approach to preparing children for adulthood. For
a greater part of their lives, children were engaged in participatory
education through play, work, ceremonies, rituals and initiation. The
children learnt by helping adults, engaging in productive wok and
generally being useful.
Indigenous education therefore emphasised economic participation
through job orientation and the application of what was learnt to the needs
of the community. What they learnt was not only functional to the
community but also valuable to the individual. For this purpose, unlike
western education, the learner did not require much motivation in order to
learn, since he knew what he learnt was a preparation for him to play his
rightful role in the society. Motivation was also unnecessary, since learning
was largely practical and enabled the learner to live productively.
Indigenous education enabled its learners to be adaptable. While
some clans specialised in specific trades such as manufacture of tools,
generally speaking learners were encouraged to acquire a variety of skills.
Children learnt the skills of farming, hunting, house building and cookery
and the principles required for the well being of the home, clan and ethnic
group. They learnt about trees, shrubs, birds, animals, the heavens and
their role in the community.
To fulfil this function, therefore, the curriculum of indigenous
education had to grow out of the immediate environment. The children
had to be knowledgeable in important aspects and problems of the
88
environment, so as to equip themselves with appropriate skills for
exploiting resources. In this way they were taught to cope with the
environment. Since this environment was often hash, the children were
taught to live and work with other members of the family. There was
strong communal cohesion and individualistic tendencies were allowed to
grow only within the ambit of society. An individual was to live and serve
other people in accordance with the accepted norms and customs and a
vigorous code of morality. Decency of speech and behaviour, respect for
elders and superiors, obedience to authority and co-operation with other
members of the community were inculcated for the survival of society.
5. Activities.
 Discuss the view that before the coming of Europeans to Africa,
Africans had their own systems of education.
 Discuss aspects in systems of indigenous education in Africa you
think would be relevant to primary school education in your
community.
 With specific reference to indigenous education in your own
community explain;
(i). The goals of African education.
(ii). The content and methods of instruction.
6. Further Reading.
Castle, E.B Growing Up in East Africa;
London: Oxford University Press,
1966.
Sifuna, D.N & J.E Otiende An Introductory History of

Education, Nairobi, Nairobi
University Press 1994(Revised Edn)
Ocitti, P.J African Indigenous Education, As

Practiced by the Acholi of Uganda:
Nairobi: East Africa Literature
Bureau, 1973.
Kenyatta, J. Facing Mount Kenya, London:

Seckar and Warburg, 1938.
89
LECTURE 16.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA UP TO 1920.
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture we tried to show how pre-colonial Africa had its
own system of education. We went further to describe how that education
was imparted, its content and methods. In this lecture we are going to
discuss aspects in the development of education in Africa in the period
preceding 1920.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture, we should be able to:
 Show how formal western education was introduced in Africa.
 Show who the main players were and what role they played in the
development of education in Africa up to 1920.
3. Content
The most obvious characteristic of education in Africa in the 19th
century is that it was almost entirely in the hands of Christian
missionaries. These missionaries had been active for decades before the
colonial governments (British, French, German, Belgian) declared their
territories protectorates.
3.1 Factors behind the Development of Education.

Prior to 1920, three groups took part in the development of
education in Africa – namely, European, Missionaries, Government
officials, and Africans. At certain times and places one of these groups
assumed a leading role while others responded to its initiatives. At other
times their roles overlapped: for instance, when Africans became
themselves agents of missionary activity and missionaries became
involved in the formulation of official educational policy. Thus, new
schools and rising enrolments were the product of interaction between the
two, and occasionally all the three groups. However, the dynamics of
educational expansion in Africa during this period may best be
understood by discussing these three groups separately. This is because
each group had its own quite distinct reasons for furthering education.
From mid-19th century there were intense European political and
economic activities in Africa. These led to the partition of the continent and
the Berlin Conference in 1884. With the planting of colonialism came the
introduction of formal western education. The pattern of education in
these areas was greatly influenced by the colonial power and still reflected
this dominance after 1920. There were reasons for establishment of formal
90
western education in Africa. There was the need for educated Africans to
help in the colonial administration. The educated Africans would act as
local administrators and clerks. The missionaries needed to open schools
since the education provided in these schools went hand in hand with
evangelisation. The colonial education would inculcate the values of
Western civilisation in the minds of those who were to serve the occupying
power.
3.2 Contribution to development of education up to 1920.
(a) The Missionary Enterprise.
In most countries of Africa, Christian missionaries were, a powerful
factor in the development of their education. Christian missionaries
entered most parts of Africa ahead of the colonial government. Formal
western education in Africa had its beginnings with Portuguese
missionaries four centuries ago. But little record remains of their
accomplishments. The colonial powers and, in some instances, local
traders also established schools. But the foundation of the school system in
Africa was laid by the 19th century missionaries. They alone had the
motivation and the organisation to enable them to bear the brunt of the
work in this early period. The colonial governments did give some aid to
the missionaries.
(ii) Impetus behind Missionary Enterprise in Education.
 New Missionary Movement – Christian missionary activities in
the period prior to 1920 were motivated by a new missionary movement in
Europe which had started towards the end of the 18th century. This
movement grew out of the conditions surrounding the slave trade. The
stark inhumanity of the slave ship began to stir the conscience of many
individuals. England had become the leading slave trading nation in the
world by second half of the 18th century. Little wonder, then, that the anti-
slave trade campaigns began in Britain. The aim of the abolitionists was:
First, to end the commercial transactions in human beings
and transportation of slaves and end of slavery in
England;
Second, to give a new attention to the continent of Africa
and the suffering of its people.
The long campaigns against the trade had produced in many
Christians a deep sense of guilt. This was because of the gross injustice
through commerce of the people of Africa.
 Evangelical Revival – The religious impetus behind the new
missionary movement was motivated by the evangelical revival in Europe
91
in the late 18th Century. This revival created a new and growing Methodist
Church and an increasing powerful evangelical party within the
established Anglican Church. It affected all Protestants in Europe and
North America, with a new fervour and zeal in religious matters. This
resulted in the foundation of various societies in the last decade of the 18th
century.
Several aspects of missionary activities helped to account for
effective participation in the development of education in Africa: the
missionaries’ head start over the colonial regimes, their heavy stress on
education, the uneven geographical distribution of mission schools, the
priority given to educating the rural population, and the rivalry between
voluntary agencies (as the various denominational groups were termed by
the colonial governments of Africa). All these affected missionary activities
in their contribution to the development of education in Africa prior to
1920. The fact that missionaries had opened schools long before the French,
British, Portuguese and Belgians established their colonial regimes
increased the capacity of the new governments – for literate Africans were
available to assume low grade positions within the governments from
these early years. This enabled the British, French, Belgians and
Portuguese more easily to assume effective control over their territories
and to engage rapidly in developing the economies of these territories. The
colonial governments did not have to pay for the training of these literate
Africans, nor did the colonial governments need to convince the Africans
of the advantages of western-type progress. The missionaries, after all,
spread an interest in the plough as well as the bible. At the same time,
early educational activities of missionaries increased the capacity of
Africans to resist colonial rule, for instance, beginning of national
movements.
(ii) Aims of Missionary Enterprise in Development of Education.
The objective of nearly all missionaries was to bring Africans into the
membership of the churches to which they themselves belonged. This
would be done through networks of village schools in which children of all
ages could be given simple education based on elementary reading,
writing, and arithmetic (3Rs). Thus school education prior to 1920 grew
out of desire to win coverts.
The missionaries wanted to train African catechists and workers. The
catechist would spread the gospel particularly since he was a man who
spoke the language and was one of the people. The spread of Christianity
had to rely on a person’s ability to read and understand the bible.
92
Thus the education provided by the Catholic and Protestant missionaries
was restricted to the basics. These basics would enable the student to carry
out evangelistic- catechetical work through singing, scripture, prayers,
reading, arithmetic and religion. Christian missionaries took up
educational forms and contents that were in practice in Europe for the
working class. This education emphasised the spiritual value of hard work
and the tenets of evangelical Christianity. However, there was room in the
curriculum for secular subjects. Emphasis was on basic education. More
attention was given to manual labour than to training. Post-elementary
education was not emphasised.
The 1890s saw widespread attempts to put vocational aspects of
education in Africa into practice. Industrial training formed part of the
curriculum in most schools. The insistence on vocational training as part of
the school education programme had some economic implications. The
missionaries in Africa were badly under-financed. Thus, missionaries in
the field initiated money-saving practices out of necessity. Most of these
included the production of foodstuff for mission workers, converts, and
schoolboys. Also quite common was the introduction of training in various
artisans’ skills such as carpentry, masonry, blacksmithing and brick laying.
(iii) Establishment and Development of School Education by

Missionaries.
In order to understand the dynamics of educational development by
missionaries in Africa, we need to understand the dynamics of the
missionary movements that first introduced western type of schooling –
i.e. the timing and geographical direction of their advance; the techniques
they employed, and their relationships with each other. The mission
impact was not confined to coastal areas of Africa.
In English Speaking West Africa, Sierra Leone became the centre of
educational activities. It produced traders, missionaries and civil servants
for other parts of the region. In 1804, the Church Missionaries Society
(CMS) began to set up their schools. In 1827, they established a teachers
college at Fourah Bay. In 1845 the CMS opened the first grammar
secondary school. The catholic activities in education in Sierra Leone were
carried out by sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. They started a school in
Freetown which developed into primary and secondary departments.
In Gambia, the Weslyan Methodist Mission opened their first school in
Barhust in 1826. Soon afterwards the Catholic and Anglican mission began
work in Gambia. By 1860 both groups of missionaries had opened and
93
developed their own schools. Ghana (Gold Coast) had a stronger tradition
of government support. The Bassel Mission started a school at Akropong
in 1843 and opened a teachers college at Abetifi in 1898. Other schools
opened at Christianborg and Begoro. The Wesleyans opened their school
at Cape Coast. In Nigeria the Methodists opened their first school at
Badagary in 1842 and Abeokuta in 1843. The CMS opened a teachers
college at Abeokuta in 1843 and later another school at Ibadan. In 1859
they opened a grammar school in Lagos. In 1860 the Catholics started their
work in Lagos which became a main area of their educational activities.
In French Speaking West Africa the appearance of the first schools in
Senegal dates back to 1817 at which time possession of colonies in Africa
was being taken. Plans were made for initiating elementary school
education and determining the most effective means of its expansion. This
expansion was to take place once the native had been partially cultured
through the medium of Christianity. Several schools were established
between 1847 and 1895. For instance schools were opened at Otages in
1847, at Podor, Sedhiou, Dagana, Bakel and Dakar. Vocational education
schools were established in Dakar in 1903. Several schools were
established in other regions of French speaking West Africa: Niger and
Guinea, starting in 1896, Ivory Coast, and Dahomey.
Education activities in Eastern Africa were closely linked with
abolition of the East African slave trade. It followed a similar pattern to the
development of schools for freed slaves in West Africa. Elementary schools
consisted of literacy instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, singing and
catechism. The curriculum was strongly religious and the main intention
lay in training Christian converts in their faith. The second school was
industrial. Its aim was to give former slaves an occupation and means of
livelihood. In this school Africans learned various trades and handcrafts,
such as carpentry blacksmithing and building. By 1866, there were over
136 pupils in attendance at mission schools.
Although Missionary education work was relatively successful in
Zanzibar compared to later progress on the mainland Christian churches
made little headway in strongly Muslim states of Zanzibar and Pemba. In
1864 the Catholic Holy Ghost Mission moved to Bagamoyo on the
mainland of Tanzania. Here they carried out some of the earliest
educational activities in Tanzania.
In Kenya, the first group of missionary settlement can be traced back to the
time of Portuguese about 4 centuries ago – i.e. during the 16th and 17th
centuries. The second wave of missionaries was in the 19th century when,
in 1844, the CMC established a mission and a school at Rabai. The slave
94
settlement at Freretown had successful educational activities. In the late
1880’s the school had over 300 pupils.
(iv) Features that hampered missionary activity in the
development of education
Missionary activities in the development of education were
hampered by stringent budgets, limited personnel and unhealthy working
conditions for expatriate missionaries. In areas where Islam was the
dominant religion missionaries were not welcome. In most of these areas,
the British and French Governments forbade conversion work. However,
where missionary groups were well received and the colonial
administration helpful, mission schools were firmly established.
Consequently, by the time of World War I (1914 – 1918), mission schools
were well established along the West Coast of Africa and in the present
day Uganda, Central and Western Kenya, and Western Tanzania.
b. Enterprise by Government Officials
During the period prior to 1920 in Africa, education was largely
controlled and organised by Christian missionary societies. The colonial
governments played some part in the provision of education after the start
of the 19th century. But it was insignificant compared to the efforts of the
missionaries.
(i) Impetus Behind Enterprise by Government Officials in
Development of Education
European nations made adventure into Africa in the period prior to
1920. The roots of their enterprise lay in the great expansion of mercantile
activity, which transformed Europe in the late 15th century medieval
period. The emergence of towns, growing wealth and expanding
population quickened the pace of international trade and enhanced the
development of nation states. Factors that seem to have determined early
European activities in the development of education included:
 The commercial Expectation.
The traditional conflict of Christians and Muslims that
culminated in the conquest of the Iberian Peninsular (Spain
and Portugal) tended to show the unsuitability of trade in
Muslim areas in eastern direction.
 Information about the wealth of the interior of Africa had
accumulated from the Moors of North Africa who knew about
the caravan routes across the Sahara desert.
95
 Discovery of America provided a demand for slaves. Hence
the establishment of a triangular trade which European
nations were anxious to participate.
 Desire to establish empires in Africa. European settlements
were set up particularly along the African Coast.
(ii) Aims of Government Officials in Development of Education
In the period up to 1920 the colonial education aimed at inculcating
the values of western civilisation in the minds of those who were to serve n
the colonial administration. There was need for the colonial school. The
colonial administration could not cope with everything. Thus, the aim here
was to educate Africans who would become local administrators and
clerks in the colonial administrative set-up.
(iii) Establishment and Development of school education by
Government Officials
Activity of government officials in the development of education prior
to 1920 was not as widespread as that of the missionaries. Generally
speaking, during this period little official interest was expressed in the
development of education in Africa.
The colonial powers established some schools, but the foundation
and development of formal school education was done by the 19th century
Christian missionaries. In British, Belgian and French Africa the colonial
government gave aid to the mission schools.
In each of the countries in Africa there was no official government
policy on education during this period. Government grants to mission
schools were modest. Missionary bodies themselves came to realise that
the magnitude of the educational task was beyond their resources. And so,
mission groups urged governments to take a more active and responsible
part in the development of education in Africa.
In English-speaking West Africa, in Sierra Leon, up to 1909
government contribution to education was limited to the financing of Bo
school which had been founded in 1905. the government decided to assist
mission schools and also opened new ones. A number of government
primary schools were opened between 1912 and 1916. nevertheless,
education on Sierra Leon continued to be mainly in missionary hands. In
Gambia, the government showed an inclination towards support for
development of education. A sum of money was voted to support a
number of mission schools. In Nigeria, the beginning of the 20th Century
saw a considerable government interest in education. In 1901 it took over
the high school at Bonny and opened an elementary school in Benin. In
96
1907, a first government secondary school opened in Lagos. By 1910
government run schools were 40. the government also increased its
assistance to mission schools.
In French speaking West Africa, most schools were run by the
missions. An attempt to general re-organisation of education took place in
1903 following the federation of the colonies into a political group in 1895.
the charter of 1903 constituted the first colonial education policy. It
regulated the development of school education system. The decrees of
1912 re-organised the Department of Education in each of the colonies
which included Ivory coast, Guinea, Senegal, Niger and Dahomey. A
number of educational institutions were opened – e.g. Ecole Faidherbe in
1903 and Ecole Normale de St. Louis.
In Eastern Africa education was mainly under Christian missionary
control. Bu 1914, in Tanzania, the German administration had established a
fairly extensive . All educational activities were abruptly brought to a
halt with the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
c. African Enterprise
The period preceding 1920 is often referred to as a period of African
resistance or indifference to education.
(i) Impetus behind African Enterprise in Education
The initial impetus of Africans in educational participation was one
of curiosity. Christian missionary stations initially attracted the social
outcasts and victims of amine and other maladies. Later groups of curious
people gathered around the mission stations. As soon as their curiosity
was satisfied, they returned to their villages. There were small schools in
the interior of Africa because people failed to appreciate the advantages of
education. Many of them refused to allow their children to attend school.
Some of them used force to keep their children at home. There were
reasons for this.
 Children were needed to contribute labouring the family
 To preserve customs and traditions of the clan.
Indifference to education during this period was not widespread. In
some parts of Africa the importance of European education was
recognised - e.g. In Kenya (in Nyanza) under the strong Anglican
influence the idea of literary training for church leaders and chiefs was
given emphasis. Demands for education, especially of the literary natures
were high. There was pressure for more reading and writing.
New opportunities in the colonial world through the missions acted
as an impetus for demand for education. Consequently young men ran
97
way from homes to European farms for higher wages and also to missions,
thus escaping their tribal obligations. Indeed, mission schools served to
reduce dependence of the young men upon their traditional societies.
Enthusiasm of the African youth to Western school arose from the socio-
economic structures imposed by the colonial administration.
4. Summary
In this lecture, we have learnt that, in the period preceding 1920,
formal education in Africa was almost entirely in the hands of Christian
missionaries. We further described the factors behind the development of
this education during the period. We noted the contribution made to the
development of this education through the enterprise of three groups of
chief players – namely, the missionary bodies, government officials and
Africans. For each of the groups we noted:
 The impetus behind its enterprise in education in Africa.
 The aims of its participation in the development
 The role it played in the establishment and development of school
education
 Features that militated against its effectiveness in participating in
educational development.
5. Activities
(1) Discuss the factors that influenced the development of formal
education in Africa prior to 1920.
(2) Discuss the contribution of the following to the
development of education in Africa prior to 1920.
(i) Christian Missionary enterprise
(ii) Government officials
(iv) Africans.
6. Further Reading
Hilliard, F.H. A Short History of Education in West

Africa, London: Thomas Nelson and
Sons ltd, 1975.
Watson, T. &O.W. Furley; A History of Education in East

Africa, New York: Nok Publishers,
1978.
98
Moumonni, A. Education in Africa. London: Andre
Deutsch, 1968.
Sifuna, D.N. & J.E. Otiende, An Introductory History of
Education, Nairobi: Nairobi
University Press, 1994 (Revised edn)
99
LECTURE 17
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA: 1920 – 1945
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture we showed how formal western education was
introduced in Africa in the period preceding 1920. we further learnt the
role played by missionary bodies, government officials, and Africans in the
development of education during this period. In this lecture we are going
to discuss the development of education in Africa from 1920 up to the end
of World War II in 1945.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture, we should be able to identify and discuss:
 The main factors behind the development of education during the
period 1920-45.
 The impetus behind the formulation of policy on education during
the period
 The main features of development in systems of education during
the period (1920-45)
3 Content
World War I (1914 – 1918) marked an important turning point in the
history of education in Africa. Before the war, there had been virtually no
overall policy in education. Having been locked for four years in war, the
colonial powers were no longer self-confident as to the natural superiority
of Europeans. The general feeling in metropolitan countries was that
colonialism needed a good and justifying political philosophy with
implications for development of education in their territories..
Factors behind the development of Education
(a) New Interest in Education
Education, treated indifferently for decades was now recognised as
an important aspect of colonial policy. Governments increased grants to
mission schools. Africans began to develop new interests in education, for
they saw it as a means to political and economic emancipation. They came
to accept the education provided, despite its narrowness and elitism, as the
source of the white man’s magic. It was an important part of the road to
success and to positions of status and prestige. Not surprisingly, therefore,
there was an increasing demand in the years between the wars from
Africans themselves and from voices in Britain that educational
100
opportunities in the colonies should be increased. These aspirations were
particularly realised after 1943 with the announcement of the Asquith and
Elliot Commission. Their reports led to the establishment of university
colleges in Ibadan, Accra, Khartoum and Salisbury in special relationship
with the University of London.
(b) African Agricultural Products
There was economic depression following World War I. As a result
of this war, farms in Europe had been devastated. Consequently, African
agricultural products began earning a higher price on the international
market. This made additional funds available for development and
expansion of education during this period (1920 – 1945)
(c) International Interest in problems of Colonial Education
Soon after World War I, the international community began to
develop an interest in problems of colonial education. This interest was
brought to surface by the League of Nations mandate system. This forced
European powers to review their past educational activities in Africa and
draw up policy programmes for future development. Germany was
defeated in World War I and its colonies in Africa – Tanganyika, Rwanda,
Burundi, Cameroon and Namibia – were given to Britain and France by
the League of Nations as mandated territories.
(d) Impact of the Phelps Stokes Commission Report
An important event that gave rise to the expansion of educational
institutions was the visit in the early 1920s of the Phelps Stokes
Commission on education in Africa. A new climate of opinion was
highlighted by the publication of the commission’s reports. The reports
were the result of the work of a commission composed of American,
British and African Educators who visited educational institutions in
Africa. The commission’s terms of reference were: to assess the nature and
quality of education of Negros both in Africa and the USA. The
importance of the commission to Africa lay in its recommendations. It
focused attention to the needs and problems of African Education. It
encouraged local administrators to study experiments that had been made
among American Negros.
(e) Colonial Policy Statements on Education in Africa.
Following the Phelps Stokes report, colonial governments issued policy
statements on the development of education in their territories in Africa.
These policy statements had a tremendous impact on development and
expansion of education in Africa. British colonial policy statements
included:
101
 the 1925 Memorandum on education policy in British tropical
Africa;
 the 1935 Memorandum on education of African communities;
 the 1944 Memorandum on mass education in African society.
 the 1937 De la Warr Commission on higher education; played
an important role in the development of education at this level
The French colonial policy statements on education included the
1925 circular concerning the organisation of public education in French
Equatorial Africa. The report of the 1944 Brazzaville Conference had an
impact on the development and expansion of education in Africa.
The Belgian Colonial Policy statements of 1925 led to the review of
educational policy in Africa. New policy directions on systems of
education affected Congo.
3.2 Policy on Education in Africa
After the (1914 – 1918) Word War I, the League of Nations was
created in the hope that disputes between nations would be settled by
discussion rather than by war. Countries which had been German colonies,
such as Tanzania mainland, the Cameroon’s and Togoland were put under
the supervision of the League of Nations and were known as “mandated
territories”. The nations principally Britain and France, to whose rule these
countries passed, received a “mandate” or commission, from the League of
Nations by which they were to regard the interests of the native people in
the countries as their first consideration. They were to do all they could to
enable these peoples stand on their own feet in the world. This ideas of
trusteeship was extended by the British government to include other
colonies, such as Nigeria, Ghana (gold Coast then) and Malawi (Nyasaland
then). These were not held under the mandate from the League.
Following the creation of the League of Nations two types of policies
of colonial administration were established in the African colonies. One
utilized by the French, Belgians and Portuguese known as direct rule, and
the other utilised by the British known as indirect rule. The system of direct
rule assumed that indigenous Africans authority groups and
administrative institutions would not be effective in providing the king of
control and political security required of modern colonial regimes. Little in
the political security required a modern colonial regimes. Little in the
indigenous political institutions was adaptable to modern colonial
government. Direct rule, therefore sought to replace African categories of
government with administrative units fashioned by European officials and
operated largely by them.
102
Lord Lugard, who had achieved fame as administrator in Uganda,
Hong Kong and Nigeria, wrote a book, The Dual Mandate. This book
became almost a text book for British administration in Africa. The book
contributed to the development of policy on education in Africa. Lugard
argued that in its African colonies, the British government had a dual or
double duty to perform. One duty was that laid down by the League of
Nations as noted above. Te other was to make the colony an economic
asset to the world at large. This involved the encouragement, within limits
of European enterprise and industry.
The Dual Mandate argued that in preparing the African peoples to
stand on their own feet in the modern world, the only form basis for
eventual self-government was to build on the native foundations, that is,
on the potential political institutions which the people already possessed.
These institutions should be taken an gradually modified by the
introduction of Western ideas so that, in time, they became efficient and
modern, but African, instruments of government. The name Indirect rule
was given to this system. It was adopted in every British colony in Africa
where there was importance given to chieftainship. This system led to the
establishment of local government, generally known as Native Authorities.
These authorities were given a varying measure of responsibility and
authority. The form of authority extended from a local headman to the
authority of the great chiefs. Thus, an orderly system of local government
was established which was linked through the administrative service to
the central governments. It was an instrument by which policy on
education in Africa was developed.
The U.S.A., which ha d a wide experience of Negro education within
its own boundaries, also became interested in education in Africa. As a
result or private benevolence in the U.S.A, the Phelps Stokes commission
paid a prolonged visit to West, South and Equatorial Africa in 1920-21 and
to East Africa in 1923. their report – Education in Africa (1922) and
Education in East Africa (1924) gave a detailed study of existing conditions
with suggestions for development pf policy on education.
In 1923 the British Government established he Advisory Committee
on Native Education in Tropical Africa, which later became the Advisory
Committee on Education in the colonies. This committee became the
principal agent for formulation of educational policies in British colonies in
Africa. The committee met monthly to consider the education reports
103
received from the colonies and to discuss policy with governors, directors
of education and other authorities in the field of education.
In 1925, the British Government as a result of consultations with the

Advisory Committee issued a White Paper on Educational Policy in
Tropical Africa. This Paper became the basis of policy in the period 1920 –
1945. The White Paper covered all aspects of education in Africa. The
Paper:
 Led to the establishment of the Colonial Education Service.
 Encouraged co-operation between government and other
educational agencies.
 Recommended the setting up in each colony an Advisory Board of
Education.
 Recommended an effective system of inspection and supervision to
ensure that educational standards were maintained.
 Envisaged a system of schools which would include elementary
education, intermediate or secondary education and higher colleges
that would develop into universities.
 Emphasised religious teaching
Following the White Paper, colonial governments introduced Education
Ordinances. These Ordinances:
 Regularised the form and nature of co-operation between
Government and Voluntary Agencies.
 Laid down the amount and conditions for grants-in-aid.
 Provided regulations for the establishment and management of
schools.
At the same time syllabuses were prescribed for different types of
schools. These syllabuses were made by committees comprised of
Educational Department Officials, members of the Voluntary Agencies and
African teachers where they were available.
With the introduction of Indirect Rule, or Native Administration,
there was established a network of local government bodies called
variously, Native Authorities, Local Native Councils, Local African
Councils. None of these local authorities was constituted a a local
education authority. They were, however, expected to take interest in the
development of education.
Thus, during the 1920 – 1945 period policy on education in British
colonies in Africa was largely determined by two bodies, namely,
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a. The Advisory Committee on Education in the colonies
(committee based in London) and
b. The territorial Central Advisory board of Education
This, Advisory committee on Education, since its inception, produced a
number of valuable papers, the most outstanding during this period being:
 The 1935 Memorandum on the Education of African Communities
 The 1944 memorandum on Mass Education in African Societies.
These were discussed by the territorial Advisory Boards of Education
and their proposals embodied in territorial policies on education.
All these aspects contributed towards preparing for advances in the
development of policy on education that came after the end of Word War
II in 1945.
3.3 Developments in systems of Education
During the period 1920-1945, most territories in Africa witnessed
developments in their systems of education. Most colonies in British
tropical Africa witnessed the development of educational systems which
were capable of providing a quarter of children with 2 to 4 years of
education and select a few with 8 to 12 years. Belgian policy in Congo was
similar, but with emphasis on primary education. The French on the other
hand, made little use of the pre-existing missionary foundations, but set up
state schools in which a small minority of Africans followed the curricula
of metropolitan France.
With regard to British colonies in Africa, Sierra Leone, in West
Africa experienced an expansion of education at various levels. Secondary
education was offered mostly at mission schools. For many years
secondary schools prepared their pupils for the Junior Cambridge as well
as for Cambridge school certificate. Teacher education was offered at
Government agricultural college at Njala (opened in 1919), teacher training
colleges at Bunumbu (opened in 1935) and the Bo (opened in 1942). Fourah
Bay College offered degree courses in affiliation with university of
Durham. The missions continued to develop their educational work: in
Gambia at Bathurst; in Ghana at Cape Coast and Amisano, Odumase; in
Nigeria at Lagos, Onitsha, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Calabar. In the late 1930’s
many secondary schools expanded. These were opened both by the
churches and colonial governments. Each of the missions had several
teacher training colleges for men and women. A notable development in
the period was the finding of Yaba Higher College which pioneered
University education in Nigeria.
105
In French Africa, much of the education provided was given by the
state. Primary education was given in regional schools which, by 1937,
were about 80 and scattered over French West Africa. A small number
existed in French Equatorial Africa. Secondary education was limited to
the filling the needs of the government service. Nearly all of it was given in
three first-class institutions in Dakar. The best known of these institutions
was Ecole Normale William Ponty. These e‘coles normales mainly trained
secondary school teachers. They recruited students by holding competitive
examination among those finishing the advanced primary schools.
In East Africa, there was considerable enthusiasm in Western
education after the end of World war I. Education expanded greatly at all
levels with missionaries having a virtual monopoly of all types of primary
and secondary school education. In Uganda, junior secondary education
was given at: King’s College Budo, Mengo High School, Namilyango and
Kisubi. From 1938, following the De-La-Warr Commission report on
higher education, these schools started preparing students for Cambridge
School Certificate. Makerere started as a technical college in 1922. in the
Directors of Education Conference held in Dar es Sallam in March 1929, it
was agreed that Makerere became the Centre of higher education for East
Africa. Makerere taught medicine, agriculture, elementary engineering,
surveying and teacher education. The De-la-Warr Commission report in
1937 recommended that the college should award its own diplomas which
were to be recognised by universities and professional bodies. Tanzania
mainland was taken away from Germany and given to Britain after World
War I as a mandated territory. The effects of the war and the process of
transfer affected the development of education. Policy formulations were
slow. This affected the establishment and growth of primary and
secondary education. Tabora and Tanga provided education up to
standard six. These were gradually upgraded in junior secondary schools
by 1939 preparing students for entry to Makerere.
4 Summary.
In this lecture we learnt that among the factors behind the
development of education during the 1920-1945 period were:
 The new interest shown in education by the colonial
governments, the missionaries, and Africans.
 African agricultural products earning higher price in
international market. Funds available to develop education.
 International interest in problems of colonial education.
106
 Impact of the Phelps Stokes Commission reports in early
1920s
 Colonial policy statements on education in Africa.
We went further to examine government policy on education in Africa
during the 1920-45 period. We finally looked at developments in systems
of education in Africa during this period.
5. Activities.
(1) Discuss the main factors behind the development of education
in Africa during the 1920-1945 period.
(2) Discuss the development of policies on education during the
1920-1945 period in Africa.
(3) Describe the main features of development in systems of
education in Africa during the 1920-1945 period.
6. Further Reading.

1978.

Deutsch, 1968.
Hilliard, F.H. A Short History of Education in

West Africa, London: Thomas
Nelson and Sons ltd, 1975.
107
LECTURE 18.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA: 1945 – 1960.
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture we saw the development of education in Africa
from 1920 (soon after the end of World War I in 1918) up to 1945 ( a year
which marked the end of World War II) we looked at factors behind the
development of education, the impetus behind formulation of policy on
education, and main features of development in systems of education. In
this lecture we are going to look at the development of education in Africa
from the end of the World War II in 1945 up to 1960.
2 Objectives.
By the end of this lecture we should be able to identify and discuss;
 The main factors behind the development of education during the
period 1945-60
 The impetus behind the formulation of policy on education during
the period 1945-60
 Main features of development in systems of education.
3. Content.
World War II (1939-45) was an important turning point in the
development of education in Africa. Before it broke out, the pace of
change in education since the establishment of the colonial rule at the end
of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries had been slow. After the
war, the pace of change in education increased tremendously.
3.1 factors behind the development of education
There were a number of factors that contributed to the development of
 War Veterans.
Soldiers from all over Africa were recruited by European colonial
powers. These soldiers fought in many parts of the world. While in these
areas they were able to see their own countries from a world perspective.
On their return, they became resource persons for new ideas in the
development of education. They called on colonial masters to accelerate
the education of Africans.
 Economic Boom.
Local manufacturers began to supply goods to the world market
since these goods were no longer coming from Europe due to disruption
108
by war. The increased money in circulation was used for development in
education.
 Urban growth.
With increase in local production many people migrated from rural
areas to towns to take up jobs. Many urban areas doubled in size. The
already overcrowded slum areas grew bigger and more congested. The
creation of new jobs in urban areas could not match the number of those
coming in. This contributed to the problem of unemployment. With larger
urban population more people were able to read newspapers and share
ideas relating to educational provision and participation.
 Nationalism.
The spread of nationalism in Africa changed the mental attitudes of
Africans and Europeans towards each other. Previously, Europeans had
dominated over Africans due to alleged advanced military and economic
power. During the war, the myth of Europeans superiority was destroyed.
Several colonial powers were defeated and publicly humiliated. The allied
soldiers (who were greatly appalled by the existing colonial condition)
supported demands for enhanced formal education in Africa.
 Demand for self-government.

There was impatience in Africa when, after the war, Europeans
concentrated their efforts on reconstruction of their own countries to the
neglect of their empires. The European colonial powers underestimated
the strength and urgency of African feelings. Africans demanded
reconstruction of their own education systems as soon as possible.
With development funds being availed by the colonial governments
and the United Nations, African education expanded rapidly to address
the shortage of educated people in Africa. Priority was given to higher
education.
3.2 Policies on Education in Africa, 1945 – 1960
Education in the period 1945 – 1960 operated under the nature of the
political situation we discussed in Lecture 16 above. Policies on education
in the colonies in Africa were largely determined by advisory bodies on
education that were set up in metropolitan colonial countries in Europe.
There was a desire on the part of colonial governments to create a more
conducive political situation in the colonies in preparation for eventual
self-government. This shift in policy on the part of colonial governments in
109
Europe facilitated the development of improved policies on education in
their colonies in Africa.
In British colonies in Africa, policies on education were mainly
determined by two bodies namely,
a. The advisory Committee on Education in the colonies in
London and
b. The territorial Central Advisory Boards of Education (based in
the colonies).
The Colonial Development and Welfare Act of 1995 in Britain
worked a significant shift from the traditional policy of colonial self-
sufficiency to a policy giving increased amounts of aid to British colonies
in Africa. Financial grants from the Colonial Development and Welfare
Fund contributed to the development of improved policies on education in
British colonies in Africa.
In 1945, the Royal Commission on higher education in the colonies,
the Asquith Commission, submitted its report. This report contributed to
the development of improved policies on higher education in British
colonies in Africa. The report initiated the establishment of university
colleges in Africa with special relationship with the University of London,
and the establishment of an inter-university council for higher education
overseas. The “special relationship” allowed university colleges in British
colonies in Africa to submit candidates for London degrees based upon
syllabuses and examinations mutually acceptable to each college and the
University of London. The inter-University Council provided guidance
and advice both to the colleges and the United Kingdom government,
assisted in the recruiting of staff and as a general source of information.
The development of higher education outside the British colonies in Africa
was also given great impetus after 1945. In some countries under the
colonial control various types of affiliation with universities in the
metropolitan countries provided help similar in general terms to that
provided by the Inter-University Council and the University of London.
In 1948, the Advisory Committee on Education in colonies produced
a White Paper entitled Education for Citizenship. This memorandums was
an important contribution to the development of improved policies on
education in British colonies in Africa. The document went beyond
previous statements by stating that education in the colonies must develop
a sense of public responsibility. Democracy was to be lived and not just
taught in the classroom. Following the recommendation of this document,
110
many technical schools were set up for the people who could not qualify
for secondary education.
The demand in 1948 for Development Plans in colonial Africa

contributed to the development of improved policies in education in the
colonies in Africa. Following C Development and Welfare Act in 1945,
there was demand for drawing up plans for the development of education
in the colonies. The Ten-Year Development Programme was found in most
of the countries in East, west and Southern Africa. The programme called
for provision of 50 per cent of school age population with 6-year primary
course at the end of a 10-year period.
The London Advisory Committee on Education in the colonies
reviewed the post-war development plans of colonial governments. From
its knowledge of what was happening both in Britain and the colonies as a
whole was able to give experienced and practical advice. The secretary of
the State’s Educational adviser and his assistants travelled to various
colonial governments and educational departments. The territorial
Advisory committees composed of government education officers,
representatives of Voluntary Agencies and African teachers, participated
in the formulation of policies on education.
In a few countries there were, in addition to the Central Advisory
committee, local committees based on the province or the district. These
committees took part in the formulation of provincial or district
development plans. Although great care was taken to obtain local views,
control and responsibility of policies on education rested almost
completely in the hands of the colonial government. In most matters the
final word was that of the Director of Education.
The Cambridge Conference of 1952, which was attended by
representatives of all the African governments made comments and
recommendations that contributed to the formulation of improved policies
on education in Africa. At this conference, it was decided that small
groups of experts should visit East, Central and West African territories.
There were two missions: one led by A.L. Binns visited East and Central
Africa in 1951; the other led by G.B. Jeffery visited West Africa in 1951.
The Conference Report on Education Policy and Practice in British
Tropical Africa placed on record views which helped in the shaping of
policies on education in Africa. The Binns Report on 1952 recommended
supervisory and inspectoral systems and government-missionary co-
111
operation. The report recommended the preservation of selected tribal
vernaculars while advocating the general elimination of Kiswahili except
where it was a local vernacular. It reason that its use as a lingua franca
impeded the teaching of both vernacular and English. It advocated the
teaching of agriculture at primary school level especially for those who
could not continue with school education. It further recommended the
expansion of teacher training as a away of improving the quality of
education.
3.3 Developments in Systems of Education
3.3.1 Situation in School and Higher Education
Following the end of World War II in 1945, the colonial governments
in Africa realized that one of the most serious limitations to development
was the shortage of educated people. This was because there had been so
few secondary schools before the war. Education therefore was seen as the
cornerstone of every development plan.
By the end of the war, most schools in the colonial territories were
largely primary schools, providing only four tears of education. The first
post-war priority therefore was to extend the four years to six years with
an emphasis on the teaching of a European language. The main problem
was to train enough primary school teachers who had the necessary
qualifications in the language of the metropolitan colonial country – i.e.
English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The most significant
development in systems of education of the 1940s was the establishment
throughout colonial Africa of primary teacher training centres.
At the secondary school level, many territories had very few
secondary schools, most of them junior secondary schools. Secondary
schools had to be increased. While the reform of primary education
involved the addition of two years, six more years of education were
required for secondary school. Most schools took much longer to develop
the 6-year programme. Thus secondary education became a bottleneck in
the development of systems of education.
Developments at the level of higher education were determined by
the output of secondary schools. The growth and expansion of this level of
education was connected with the desire to control the amount of higher
education received by Africans.
3.3.2 Growth and expansion of institutions within systems of education
Institutions within the systems of education in Africa witnessed
tremendous growth and expansion during the 1945 – 1960 period. In
112
British territories in Africa, with the abolition of the Junior Cambridge
Certificate and the institution of the Cambridge Overseas School
Certificate and Higher School Certificate, a number of schools began to
prepare their students for these examinations.
a. Primary and Secondary School Education
In British West Africa, after the end of World War II, Sierra Leon had
a number of Secondary Schools, e.g. the Price of Wales and Bo schools. In
Gambia, arrangements were made to open a science school in Bathurst in
1946. in Ghana the number of assisted secondary schools increased three
times between 1946 and 1950, brining the total to eleven. In addition to the
assisted schools, there were many non-assisted secondary schools and
secondary departments in many parts of the territory. From all the
secondary schools, 743 candidates were entered for the Cambridge School
Certificate examinations in December 1950, the number of secondary
schools rose from 12 to 38 between 1951 and 1957. in Nigeria, there was
also a sharp rise in secondary school enrolment. By 1951 there were 93
secondary schools with an enrolment of 31,425.
The French West Africa witnessed expansions at all levels of
education. There were changes in secondary education after Word War II.
The former advanced primary schools became secondary schools (classic
and modern). Classic schools offered complete secondary education in
classics. Modem schools off red complete secondary modem education.
There were 19 of these schools in 1949, unequally distributed in French
West Africa. Lyceese were originally two, at Dakar and at St. Louis. Two
more were added in Bamako and Abidjan in 1958. they offered courses in
secondary education
In the East Africa region, in Uganda, by 1945 there only 6 senior
secondary schools prepared students for the Cambridge School Certificate.
Between 1952 and 1957, the number of children in junior secondary
schools increased considerably. This also applied to senior secondary
students who increased from 839 in 1952 to 3,153 in 1960. The post-war
period witnessed the opening of private secondary schools. In Tanzania
the development of secondary education was slow. By the late 1950s there
were only two government secondary schools and two Voluntary Agency
schools which provided Cambridge School Certificate courses.
Government’s two schools were at Tabora. Mission schools were St.
Andrews Minaki, and St Francis, Pugu. The total number of secondary
schools rose to 24 by 1960. In Zanzibar, there were limited secondary
school opportunities. Africans who wanted such an education studied in
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secondary schools in mainland Tanzania. Kenya witnessed a steadily
growing expansion of secondary education.
b. Higher Education
The period 1945 – 1960 witnessed growth and expansion of
institutions of higher education in African territories. Within four years,
following the end of World War II 4 University Colleges were opened
within British territories at Ibadan in Nigeria, the Gordon Memorial
College in the Sudan, Achimota in Ghana and Makerere in Uganda. The
University College at Salisbury in Zimbabwe (former Southern Rhodesia).
Entrants to these colleges were few.
In sierra Leon, Fourah Bay College was expanded in 1950 to
continue p[providing limited degree courses in arts and theology and post
graduate studies in theology and education at university level. It started
offering science courses in 1954. in Ghana in October 1948 the university
College of Gold Coast was established at Achimota. It was later moved to
Legon Hill, a few kilometres from Achimota. In Nigeria a university
college was established in 1947. in 1948 it had its centre at Yaba. In French
West Africa, the institut des Hautes Etudes was established in Dakar in
195. it was expanded to become the university of Dakar in 1958. the centre
for higher Education was established in Adidjan in 1958. it later developed
in to a university.
In the East African region, Makerere was upgraded to a university
college status. Degree programmes were offered from 1950 in “special
relationship” with the University of London. Makerere became the
University College of East Africa up to 1960 it was the apex of educational
structure for Africans in East Africa.
6. Activities.
(1) Discuss the main factors behind the development of education
in Africa during the period 1945-1960.
(2) Discuss the main feature in the formulation of policies on
(3) Describe the main features of development in systems of
114
6. Further Reading.

Deutsch, 1968.
Associates, R.S. The educated African London:

Andre Deutsch, 1968.
115
LECTURE 19.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA: 1960 –2000
1. Introduction
In our last lecture we discussed the historical development of
education in Africa from the end of World War II in 1945 to 1960 the time
when most countries in Africa were in the process of achieving their
political independence. We looked at the factors behind the development
of education in Africa during this period. We looked at the basis policies
on education in Africa during this period. We finally discussed features of
development within systems of education.
2. Objectives
By the end of this lecture we should be able to:
 Describe the factors behind the development of education in Africa
during the 1960- 2000 period.
 Identify and discuss main agents in formulation, adoption, and
implementation of policies on education in Africa during the 1960-
2000 period.
 Discuss the features of change in systems of education in Africa
during the 1960- 2000 period.
3. Content
During the period 1960- 2000 African countries placed considerable
importance in the role of education in promoting economic and social
development after the achievement of independence. Their systems of
education were expected not only to furnish future manpower with
relevant skills and knowledge, but also to enrich people’s lives. The
countries saw economic growth as a means to development. They,
therefore, saw education as one to foster the knowledge, skills and values
relevant for productive activity.
Implicit in the relationship between education and economic
development was the belief that school education could be used to develop
the types of knowledge, skills and values relevant to national growth.
Consequently, African countries devoted the early years of their
independence in the 1960s to expansion of educational facilities and
provision of qualified personnel to man their economic, administrative
and educational institutions. This meant heavy government investment in
education.
116
3.1 Factors behind the development of education
There are factors which contributed to the development of education
during the 1960- 2000 period. Some of these factors were external, and
others internal.
Among the external factors were recommendations at international
conferences on the development of education in Africa. Views of the
international community to raise the status of the newly independent
states of Africa found expression in these conferences.
There were internal factors too. The expansion and reform in
education systems in Africa were motivated by political pressure from
within. In nearly all countries in Africa, politicians and their election
manifestoes leading to independence elections called for more educational
opportunities of all types and for cheaper and free education. These
politicians and their manifestoes also called for Africanisation of school
education syllabuses and of the teaching staff; for change to an atmosphere
in which the African personality and culture could flourish.
3.2 Policies on Education in Africa 1960 – 2000
One of the declared aims of the newly independent countries of
Africa in the early 1960s was to make the continent safe for democracy.
Education was seen as one of the means to the achievement of this aim.
Reports of conferences on the development of education in Africa have
helped in setting the pace for shaping policies on education during the
1960 – 2000 period in order to bring about the aspired for democracy on
the continent.
The 1961 conference of African states on the development of
education in Africa held at Addis Ababa provided a forum for African
States to discuss policies of reform on education for the continent. At this
conference the goal was that African states decide their priorities and
formulate policies on education geared to meeting the needs of their
people. The conference report stressed Africa’s need for more and better
educational opportunities. Education be adapted to fit the era of
independent Africa, particularly the curriculum. It stressed the
development of secondary and post-secondary education. Universal
primary education was to be achieved by 1980. it pointed out the need for
massive financial commitment on education. The conference called on
UNESCO, developed countries and NGOs to support and share in the
implementation of policies of reform on education.
The 1962 Tananarive conference on the development of higher
education in Africa was held under the auspices of UNESCO and the
117
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The conference played a
complementary role with that of the 1961 Addis Ababa conference in
providing a forum for African states to discuss and formulate reform
policies on higher education in Africa. It estimated the qualitative and
quantitative educational changes necessary to meet the manpower
requirements in Africa. The conference established targets in higher
education and made recommendations geared to helping African countries
formulate policies that would improve the overall planning, financing,
curriculum development and staffing of higher education institutions in
Africa for the next twenty years.
Ministers of Education in Africa met in Paris in March 1962 to
discuss ways and means that would help in formulation of policies that
would facilitate the implementation of the 1961 Addis Ababa plan. The
ministers agreed that machinery for educational planning was necessary in
each country. The conference reaffirmed the high priority placed on
teacher education and the entire range of secondary school education and
adult education. Adult education was likely to be cheaper and would have
increased productivity in return.
The February-March 1963 Kinshasa Conference was a follow-up

meeting to discuss the implementation of the Addis Ababa plan. The
conference met under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Africa.
The meeting reaffirmed the resolutions of the Paris conference and called
for more aid from UNESCO and other sources to help African nations in
the development of their education.
The March 1964 Abidjan Regional Conference on the planning and
organisation of literacy programmes in Africa reviewed the question of
regional targets set at the Addis Ababa Conference. It placed emphasis on
the part that education could play in the economic and social progress of
communities in Africa, particularly those in rural areas. It emphasized the
need for inclusion of scientific research and adult education in all
educational plans.
The Lagos Conference in July 1964 on the organisation of resources
and training in Africa in relation to study, conservation and utilization of
natural resources contributed to the development of reform policies on
education. The conference gave attention to such educational matters as
the teaching of science and the introduction into general education of
subjects related to natural resources.
118
The September 1965 Teheran Conference brought into focus the
functional concept of adult literacy. This conference reorganized and
emphasized the need for co-operation between the then Organisation for
African Unity (OAU), formed in May 1963, and UNESCO, particularly in
development of reform policies on education in Africa.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) World Employment
Programme was launched at the 1969 session of its conference. The
conference provided a forum for discussion of reform policies on
education in Africa. It analyzed the employment problems in Africa – that
is, causes of unemployment in countries of Africa with particular types of
problems and brought about what needed to be done internationally as
well as nationally. The ILO report emphasizes the need for basic education
in Africa and the importance of integrating the school education
curriculum in community activities. The report recommended that the
cycle of basic education should be universal and free.
Africa’s educational developments in the 1970s varied from those of
the 1960s first development decades in several respects. Policies on
education placed greater emphasis on social; factors in development,
reduction of social imbalances, and stress on basic education. Universal or
basic education was to assume greater importance.
The UNESCO General Conference of 1970 formulated a set of
recommendations that facilitated the formulation, adoption and
implementation of policies that stressed the long-term educational reform
and new types of education strategies in Africa.
The UN established an international Commission on Education
Department. The report of this commission—learning to be—was tabled at
the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. it recommended that basic
education should meet the needs of substantial portions of the population
with no access to minimal educational opportunities. It was to supplement,
and not to Rival, the formal system. Basic education was to provide a
functional, flexible and low-cost education, particularly for those whom
the formal system could not reach.
3.3 Developments in Systems of Education
At independence, in the early 1960s, in most African countries, the
new governments were aware of the shortcomings as well as the
advantages of colonial systems of education. Among their many and
varied problems, one was that of manpower development. Consequently,
there was pressure to expand their educational structures.
119
The rate of expansion of most schools outstripped the possibilities
for employment that existed for school leavers. Job creation proved a
difficult, slow and expensive business. In the late 1960s, governments in
Africa began to have second thoughts about continued rapid expansion of
the formal systems of education. The quest for modern employment led to
migrations of young people from rural to urban areas. The school system
was often blamed for school-leaver unemployment.
The incentive structure made employment highly undesirable for
school leavers to return to unreformed peasant agriculture of their
forefathers when other opportunities seemed to be available. In many
parts of Africa, many school leavers at various levels were likely to engage
in manual labour or farming if these opportunities were profitable.
3.3.2 Changes in Systems of Education.
In order to meet public demand, and in line with the
recommendations of the 1961 Addis Ababa Conference, the new
governments in Africa in the 1960s began to devote large potions of their
resources to education. Priority was put on expansion of secondary and
higher education. For instance, in Ghana, under the second development
plan (1959-1964), 11.4% of the total expenditure was on education. In
Nigeria, in a 6-year educational plan for development, three fifths of the
federal expenditure on education was earmarked for higher education. In
Tanzania mainland, the three-year plan proposed that a high proportion of
central government funds available for education be devoted to secondary
schools expansion. Between the years 1961 and 1962 about 16.2% of the
national budget was spent on education. Similar plans were made in
French- speaking countries in Africa. Several of these countries allocated
education expenditures in line with manpower requirements.
Curriculum reform was another aspect of change in systems of
education in a number of colonies. Curriculum revision laid emphasis on
local needs. At lower levels, the curriculum was adapted to African needs.
And background through adoption of textbooks and subject matter
designed for the needs of children growing up in an African society. New
teaching methods were incorporated into the school education systems. In
Ivory Coast, for example, there were attempts to Africanise courses in
geography and history. New textbooks which made use of illustrations
from African life were written for use at primary level.
The republic of Guinea undertook major educational changes that
drastically departed from the French school education system. The school
education system was revised so as to bring its objectives into closer
120
harmony with the needs of the nation. The government introduced a
philosophy of education that was different from that which underlay the
French-oriented system of education. It was designed to have a strong
relationship between the country’s system of education and the political,
economic, social and cultural life of the new nation. From 1961 all
secondary school students were to undergo compulsory course in political
education. Emphasis in the curriculum was vocational.
Other changes characteristic of the 1960-2000 period were attempts
made at the level of higher education. Attempts were made to break away
from university structures of the metropolitan colonial countries, with
some adaptation at newly established universities. For instance, the
University of Nigeria at Nsukka adapted a more course system than that of
the British university structure. The University of Ghana required that, in
their first year, all students attend lectures on African studies and
institutions. This was also a case with universities of Lagos and Dar es
Salaam.
Another change was in the organisation of courses in university-
type institutions of higher education. Universities in Africa have had to
offer a comprehensive range of professional training adapted to local
conditions regardless of whether the courses were then accepted within
the European pattern of university studies or not. Manpower needs further
led to the creation of new degree structures, like the B.Ed. (Bachelor of
Education). There were also changes related to the length of training in
some degree structures. Other changes included university entry
requirements.
The problem of unemployment in Africa during the 1960-2000
period brought a number of concerns to the front. Various experimental
programmes were set up in many countries. These were designed to
complement the formal school education by providing programmes of out-
of-school education and training for young people. The aim of these
programmes was to provide education for national consciousness and
skills training. Thus among the changes in systems of education in Africa
has been the emphasis on non-formal education. This involved a deliberate
provision of this type of education in order to enhance their educational
attainment.
Another change in systems of education has been the diversification
of the school curriculum. This allowed students to be exposed to
vocational skills of their choice in addition to acquiring the cognitive skills
learnt in preparation for university work. For instance, in Tanzania, the
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school curriculum was geared to rural employment and fostering attitudes
favourable for manual work.
4. Summary.
In this lecture we have pointed to the external and internal factors that
that contributed to the development of education during the 1960-2000
period. Further, we have shown how various agencies have facilitated the
formulation, adoption and implementation of policies on education in
Africa during this period. Among these, we noted the role played by the
deliberations and reports of the conferences. Each one of these provided a
forum that facilitated discussion of the formulation, adoption, and
implementation of policies of reform on education in Africa. We went on
to show developments in features of education: the awareness of the need
for change within systems, and the nature of the changes within these
systems.
5. Activities.
(1) Discuss major factors behind changes in development of
education in Africa during the period 1960-2000
(2) Outline and discuss factors that influenced policies on education
in Africa during the period 1960-2000
(3) Describe major features of change in systems of education in
Africa during the period 1960-2000.
6. Further Reading.
Jolly, R. (ed), Education in Africa , Nairobi: East

African Publishing House, 1969.
Cameron, J. The Development of Education in

East Africa, Teachers College
Columbia University Press.
122
SECTION C
HISTORY OF EDUCATION WITHIN
THE CONTEXT OF KENYA.
123
LECTURE 20.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN KENYA: UP TO 1920
1. Introduction
In the previous lectures in section B we learnt that the introduction
of modern education to Africa was done mainly by Christian missionaries
of different societies. In most cases, this was done long before the continent
was colonized politically. In this lecture we shall focus our attention on the
historical development of modern education in Kenya prior to 1920.
2. Objectives
By the end of the lecture, you should be able to:
 Discuss the establishment and development of formal western
education in Kenya upto 1920 in the light of the role played by:
a) European Christian Missionary Societies
b) Government Officials
c) Africans in Kenya
 Discuss the response of Africans in Kenya to the establishment and
development of formal western education up to 1920
3. Content
3.0 Early Educational Activities
Before colonization no foreign systems of education had been
established inland. This did not mean that no education systems existed in
Kenya. African communities in Kenya had developed their own ways of
training the younger generations. On the Kenyan coast Koranic Schools
had sprung up in and around the mosques which had been built by the
first Arabs for their worship.
3.1 Christian Missionaries and the Establishment and development of
Formal Western Education
Christian missionaries are said to be the founders of formal western
education in Kenya. The missionaries arrived in Kenya from two
directions. There were those who came through Mombasa and eventually
were responsible for the establishment of this education along the coast
and central regions of Kenya. From Uganda came other missionaries who
occupied the present Nyanza and Western provinces of Kenya.
3.1.1 Establishment of Mission Stations
The first group of Christian missionary settlement in Kenya may be
traced back to the time of the Portuguese. Roman Catholic missionaries
from Portugal were at work at the Coast in the 16th and 17th centuries.
These missionaries did not remain to take up sustained evangelical work.
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They made some contacts with the local population. There were over 600
converts from among local people.
The second group of missionaries started with the arrival of John L.
Krapf in Kenya in 1844. the beginning of activities in Kenya by this group
of missionaries is, in essence an extension of missionary work in Ethiopia.
Krapf had been a missionary in Ethiopia. Under the auspices of the Church
Missionary Society (CMS). He worked among the Galla (Oromo) in the
southern diocese the headquarters at Shoa. He arrived in Mombasa in 1844
and was joined by Joham Rebmann in 1848 and Erhardt in 1849. They
moved from Mombasa, a predominantly Muslim town, and established a
CMS station at Raabai Mpia. The CMS, who had been joined by the United
Methodist Free Church, extended their work among the coastal people
after 1880s. The Catholic Holy Ghost Fathers, who had established
themselves in Central Tanzania, established mission stations at Mombasa
and Bura in Taita and later in Nairobi in 1890. The Consolata Fathers
station stationed themselves in Kiambu, Limuru and Mangu. The Mill Hill
Fathers split into Western Kenya.
It was not until the establishment of the colonial rule in 1895 and the
building of the Uganda Railway (1895-1901) that the missionaries
established their stations upcountry. Between 1895 and 1920 many mission
stations were established in Kenya. The Church of Scotland mission (CSM)
moved from Mombasa to Kibwezi and then to Kikuyu where it founded a
station in 1898. From here it spread to Tumu Tumu in Nyeri and Chogoria
in Meru. He CMS, on the other hand, founded stations at Kabete,
Weithaga, Kahuhia, Mahiga and Embu between 1903 and 1910. The United
Methodist moved inland mainly to Meru. The African Inland Mission
(AIM) established itself at Kangundo, Kijabe, Githumu and Kinyona. At
the same time came the Catholic Holly Ghost Fatehrs who stationed
themselves at Kabaa, Kilungu, Nairobi and Kiambu by 1910.
Western Region of Kenya witnessed the establishment of many
mission stations. Many mission here were the offshoots of missions
already established in Uganda and Tanzania. The Friends African Mission
(Quakers) set up stations in Nyanza and Western Provinces with their
headquarters at Kaimosi. The Catholic Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) and
the CSM came down from Uganda. While the Catholic MHM missionaries
got established at ala, Mumias, Mukumu, Nyabururu and Asumbi, the
CMS set up missions at Maseno, Buere and Ngiya. In this area also were
the African Institute of the Church of god Mission and the Seventh Day
Adventists. The smaller missions scattered amidst the bigger ones, such as
the CMS, AIM and various Roman Catholic Orders.
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The position by 1920 was that missionaries of all denominations had
spread through the country.
3.1.2 Contribution of Missionaries to the Establishment and Development
of Formal Western Education.
The establishment and development of formal Western education in
Kenya up to 1920 is bound up with missionary work. During this period
Christian missionaries were in the field promoting the new system of
education by establishing schools in many places in Kenya.
An important educational phase was started by J L Krapf in 1844.
Krapf and Rebmann in the service of the Church Missionary Society
(CSM), established the first schools for Africans in Rabai Mpia in 1846.
This establishment marked the beginning of modern education in Kenya.
To this event may be added the opening by the CMS of schools at
Freretown in 1875 for freed slaves, at Sagalla (Taita) in 1882, and at Taveta
in 1890. The CMS moved up-country and in close succession established
numerous schools in the central part of the country at Kabete (1898),
Kahuruko, Weithega, Kahuhia, Kabare, Embu and Kigar. The missionaries
who came after 1846 moved to the interior of the country establishing
schools as they invaded those areas.
The African Inland Mission, by virtue of its early establishment, set
up many schools in Ukambani area – e.g. at Nzani in 1895. The Church of
Scotland Mission (CSM) worked in Central Kenya area from 1898 setting
up schools in various parts. The Roman Catholic Holly Ghost Fathers in
1892 opened schools at Mombasa and Bura in the Taita Hills, and later, by
1910, at Kabaa, Kilungu, Nairobi an Kiambu. Beginning in 1904 the Mill
Hill Fathers started to establish schools in Western Kenya, Yala, Mukumu,
Mumias and Kisii. The Consolata Fathers having started work early in the
country established their schools in Nyeri and Limuru and extended their
activities to Kabaa on the Athi River in Ukambani.
The protestant missions co-operated among themselves and set up a
Board of Education to direct their educational activities. In 1909 these
missions called a United Missionary Conference for Protestant Missions in
Kenya. At the conference the board of Education presented a scheme of
elementary education for schools in Kenya, which the government in
Kenya later adopted. To prevent duplication of efforts the conference
separated evangelisation work from schoolwork. It further demarcated
spheres of operation for each mission to prevent competition.
The formation of the Missionary Board of Education coincided with
the Fraser Education Commission of 1909. Fraser discussed with the
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Missionary Board of Education and agreed on the need for government-
missionary co-operation in education. Fraser noted that education facilities
for Africans should be provided by mission societies on the grounds that
education of any kind, industrial or technical, needed morality, and should
be accompanied by Christian instructions.
By 1920, missionaries were increasingly committing themselves to
education not only to meet the demands for converts, but also to resist any
attempts on the part of the government to monopolise education. In a
number of cases, missions reused early government efforts to help because
of their determination to return their hold on formal education.
3.2 Government and establishment and development of formal
Western education
It was the arrival of European settlers in Kenya from 1903 onwards
that made the colonial government consider seriously participating in the
development of education in the territory. The settlers were anxious to see
their children well taught.
3.2.1 Establishment of the Government

Despite the steady increase in European power in Africa, only a
small portion of the African continent was under European rule by 1879.
Algeria was under French rule, but elsewhere in North Africa it was only
in Egypt and Tunisia where some kind of European control existed. The
partition of Africa was prompted by the various European nations
scrambling for territories in different parts of Africa. This scramble
culminated in the Berlin conference in 1884 which established territorial
boundaries. By the final stages of partitioning in 1914, at territorial
apportionments, Britain possessed, among other territories, the British East
Africa Protectorate (Kenya). European powers went ahead to establish
colonial administrative structures in their respective territories.
The east African Protectorate was transferred from the Imperial
British East Africa Company to the Foreign Office in 1895. The succeeding
eight years were spent in the construction of the railway trunk line from
Mombasa to Kisumu. The British administrators of the time, apart from
being preoccupied with the building of the railway, were impressed by the
possibilities of large land in the highlands which they considered suitable
for European settlement.
Following the Crownlands Ordinance and the publicity campaign in

South Africa, the first batch of settlers arrived in 1904 from South Africa.
127
They were soon followed by other immigrants from Britain, Australia,
New Zealand and Canada. They saw in the East Africa Protectorate as get
a new loyal Dominion founded on the British tradition.
3.2.2 Contribution of Government to the establishment and development
of education
The government had neither a policy nor a development plan or an
organisation plan to guide its participation in a field education. In this field
missionaries had gained exclusive and informed experience.
It was felt in Government circles that a survey of education in Kenya
should be made by an educationalist. Consequently n 1908 Nelson Fraser
was commissioned to recommend a structure of education in the then East
Africa Protectorate – i.e. how the system could be organised and what type
of education to give to different racial groups when government
participation began.
Among it findings, Fraser Commission noted a problem of African
education where Western influences were corroding the traditional fabric
of society. In this report, Fraser recommended to the government that:
 A department of education be set up and a director of education be
appointed.
 There should be three branches of education- namely for Europeans,
Asians and Africans.
 Academic type of education be given to European and Asian
children.
 For African children emphasis be put on industrial and agricultural
education.
 The government should give grants-in-aid to missionaries to assist
them in their education enterprise.
As follows up of the 1908 Fraser commission report, a board of
education, including settlers, missionaries and government
representatives was set up. This board reviewed and approved Fraser’s
proposal relating to the administrative structure of the system of
education in Kenya. In this respect, the government set up a
department of education and appointed James R. Orr in March 1911 as
the first director of education. The board provided guidance to the
department.
After 1911 schools were to be set up along racially segregated lines,

namely, European, Asian and African. European and Asian children
were to be given an academic type of education. The board of education
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took over and improved the European and Asian Railway schools. It
also opened new schools for Europeans and Asian children. With
regard to education for Africans, the government opened and operated
a number of industrial and agricultural schools – for example, the
Ukamba Native School at Machakos in 1914, Maasai school at Narok
and Kabete in 1919, Coast Technical School and Waa, for the Wadigo.
The government tried to open schools in areas not effectively served by
the mission school system. Government grants-in-aid began to go
through a system of payment to mission schools for industrial and
technical education.
In 1918, a conference was called by the government for all the
representatives of different races in Kenya to present their views as to
what kind of education should be given to their children. At this
conference proposals were put forward for a commission to bring
together various views on the nature of education needed in Kenya.
This led the government to set up an Education Commission in 1919.
This commission.
The 1919 Education Commission noted that the best method of

furthering education among the natives was by means of the
organisation which already existed among missionary bodies. The
commission recommended that:
 Government should subsidize mission with pupils at technical
schools.
 Content of African curriculum to continue on technical lines.
 Any efficiently run school should be eligible for grants-in-aid
even it was not an industrial school
By 1920, despite these education commissions and statements of policy,
government participation in the education of Kenyan Africans
remained minimal. Government main concern was education for the
immigrant groups.
3.3 Kenyan Africans and the Establishment and Development of Formal
Western Education.
Africans in Kenya played part in the establishment and
development or education prior to 1920.
3.3.1 Response of Africans in Kenya to Formal Western education

African response to formal Western education was that of
indifference, hostility and apathetic.
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The initial response of Africans in Kenya to Europeans and their
formal Western education was that of curiosity. When the missionaries
established themselves in the area it was the social outcast and victims of
famine and other maladies who were initially attracted to the mission
stations. Later, groups of curious people gathered around the station but
as soon as their curiosity was satisfied they returned to their villages. For a
long time, therefore, the mission stations remained things apart, attracting
few people and having little influence on the surrounding areas. Apart
from this indifference and apathy there was opposition to missionary
influence for a variety of reasons.
 Education was aimed at children and adolescents. This interfered
with tribal rites and instructions. Many Africans opposed it because
it tore away children from their tribal way of life.
 Children played an important role in the family economic life.
Parents did not see immediate benefits to be gained by sending their
children to school when they should have been herding cattle and
goats or helping in the gardens.
 Youths who went to the mission stations spent most of their time
weeding school gardens and helping in the building of mission
houses. Therefore, parents assumed that their children would be
paid for doing such wok. As soon as they realised that this was not
the case, they withdrew their children from school.
In many cases missionaries were obliged to engage in a system of payment
to parents to induce them to send their children to school. When this
happened many parents tended to send the difficult children to
school, probably to keep them from mischief.
Were it not for the fact that chiefs and headmen sent their own sons
to school, and forced hose of their wards to go too, mission education
would not have taken root prior to 1920.
3.3.2 Contribution of Kenyan Africans to the Establishment and
Development of Formal Western Education.
Africans might not have given financial help, but they provided
labour. Chiefs or leaders in village communities offered land for schools to
be built on.
3.4 System of School Education

1. Village Schools
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By 1920, at the base, the school system consisted of a very large
number of schools grouped together under the general name of village
schools. Many of these were mainly catechumenate where secular
instructions was given. But the general tendency was towards the
introduction of more and more general instructions. Most of the village
schools had four classes.
2. Central Schools
Above the village schools were central schools. These aimed at the
completion of the primary school course. They had a combined
course of general and vocational instruction. They provided a
general education leading up to a course of teacher training.
4. Activities
(1) Write notes on the establishment and development of formal
Western education in Kenya prior to 1920.
(2) Discuss the main factors that led to the establishment of formal
Western education in Kenya prior to 1920.
(3) Describe the role played by the following in the establishment
and development of formal Western education in Kenya prior to
1920.
(a) The Christian missionaries
(b) The colonial administration
(c) Africans in Kenya
(4) Discuss the response of Africans in Kenya to the establishment
and development of modern education in Kenya before 1920.
6. Further Reading.
Sheffield, J.R Education in Kenya: An Historical

Study, New York: Teachers College
Press, 1973.
Anderson, J. The Struggle for the School, London:

Longman, Green and Co., 1970.
131
LECTURE 21.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN KENYA : 1920-1945.
1. Introduction
In our previous lecture, we learnt that, prior to 1920, education in
Kenya was monopolized by the missionaries. Government contribution
was minimal before the arrival of settlers. We also noted the government
influence after the Fraser Commission report in 1909. We noted the role
played by Africans in Kenya in the establishment and development of
formal education in the country. We finally took note of the village and
central schools during this period. In this lecture we are going to examine
features in the development of modern education in Kenya during the
1920-1945 period.
2. Objectives
 Discuss the factors behind changes in the development of education
during the 1920-1945 period.
 Identify and discuss major agents who have helped to shape the
policy on education during this period.
 Discuss initiatives made by government, missionaries and Africans
in Kenya in the development of education during this period.
3. Content.
The period 1920-1945 witnessed important changes in the
development of education in Kenya. There were a number of probable
contributory factors.
3.1 Factors behind the changes in development of education.
 Incentives to local leaders: Local leaders were persuaded
to send their sons and subjects to mission schools for training. Thus
there were established schools for sons of chiefs. The British
administrators encouraged chiefs and headsmen to educate their
children so that they might succeed their factors in the ruling posts.
The colonial officials also wanted to have literate children assist in
government business so as to make colonial administration efficient.
The government rewarded the chiefs with parcels of land and
permitted them to force people to work for them. Chiefs were under
orders to assist missionaries in their educational efforts.
132
 Attractions and rewards to the youth. With the establishment
of colonial administration came the end of warfare and raiding
among many communities. This robbed the warriors of their most
important purpose. The youth began to perceive a new colonial
society instead of the traditional society. These youth became more
and more idle to herd cattle and work in the farms. They became
attracted by reading and writing in schools. The opportunities to
obtain clothes and free food and hear stories about foreign lands as
told by teachers all acted as an important factor to make the youth
attend school.
 School attendance as a means of escaping settlers farm labour. With
the establishment of British rule and creation of settler-oriented
economy there was a demand for formal labour for settlers. Students
attending school were excused from all or most of the demands for
labour. Indeed, through their access to administration officials,
missionaries could protect their students from labour demands by
chiefs. Given this situation, many young people view the mission
school as a means of escaping labour demands.
 School education seen as a gate way to employment the skills of
reading and writing gained in school resulted in paid employment
as clerks and store men in the administration and in large-scale new
farms. This knowledge also opened ways to a new and respected
status in the community. An important factor was the knowledge of
the white man’s ways of life and his language. There could only be
gained at school.
 School education seen as a gate way to political leadership.
Following the breakdown of tribal systems and a changed
economic system, African communities became interested in
western education. School education was not only a means for
economic improvement, but also an effective gateway to political
leadership. It was amongst the educated African elite that political
leaders had to emerge and articulate their grievances of the illiterate
peasants and workers. These held their leaders in great respect. They
prized education highly and often made sacrifices to educate their
children.
3.2 Policy on Education in Kenya
During the 1920-1945 period, education was shaped by increasing
government involvement, mainly through its support to mission schools.
The government provided policies support to mission schools. The
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government provided policies that affected the whole system of education
in the country.
In 1922, the Department of education officially established a grants-
in-aid system. By this, mission schools, judged to meet certain standards
received financial aid. In 1923 in London, the British Government
established an Advisory Committee on Native Education in British
Tropical Africa.
The committee met monthly to consider education reports it
received from the colonies (including Kenya) and discussed policy with
Governors, directors of education, and other authorities in the field of
education.
In 1924 the Phelps Stokes Commission visited Kenya and made a
detailed study of existing conditions. It then made suggestions for
development. In its recommendation the commission stressed:
 Co-operation between the government and missionaries
 Need to educate the Africans for his environment- i.e. education for
rural development.
 Religious values in schools
 Use of vernaculars – i.e. there be recognized as first language of
school instruction in schools.
 Need for more financial support for the education of Africans
 Vocational training for Africans.
 Adaptation of education to meet local needs.
In response to the recommendations of the commission, the government
instituted the Education Ordinance of 1924. The Ordinance marked the
beginning of the government’s commitment to supervise and direct
education at all levels with the assistance of three advisory committee to
deal with education for European, Asian, and African children. All schools
and teachers were to be registered; the Director of education was given
power to inspect all schools. District boards were set up to assist in the
management of all local schools. Although members to the boards were
nominated, it marked a start of African representation and opinion in
education matters. The government imposed a uniform nomenclature for
schools of all races. However, the content of education for each race
differed in many respects.
In 1925, the British Colonial Office, as a result of consultations with
the Advisory Committee issued a White Paper on Education Policy in
British Tropical Africa. Often referred to as The 1925 Memorandum. This
134
document became the basis of education policy in Kenya in the 1920-1945
period. It established 13 broad principles that guided policies.
With the establishment of the grants-in-aid system, the Department
of Education officially acknowledged the co-operation between mission
schools and the government in 1926. Missions assumed major
responsibilities for primary and secondary education. Government
assumed responsibility for higher and technical subjects.
The 1931 Education Ordinance created separate advisory councils on
education for Europeans, Asians, and Africans. The ordinance also made
rules regarding the issue of teachers’ certificates. The Ordinance of 1934
established district educational boards. These would handle specifications,
e.g. allocation of grants, fees, scholarships, and leasing of plots for schools
development.
In 1935 the Advisory Committee on Education in Britain produced a
white paper (or Memorandum) on the Education of African Communities.
This memorandum served as a guide on formation of policies on specific
aspects education in Africa. In Kenya, the document was discussed by the
Advisory Board on Education. Proposals in the document were embodied
in government policies on education.
The De-La-Warr Commission of 1937 on higher education in East
Africa made a detailed study of existing conditions of this level of
education. In its report, the commission recommended that:
 Makerere in Uganda, which started as a technical college in 1922,
should award its own diplomas.
 Efforts be made to secure recognition of Makerere diplomas by
universities and provisional bodies.
The report served as a guide in the formulation of policies on education
that affected higher education- particularly policies on expansion of
secondary school education.
In 1944 the Advisory committee on Education in the colonies issued
a White Paper (or Memorandum) on Mass Education in African Society.
The document was discussed by the Advisory Board on Education in
Kenya. Proposals in the document were incorporated in government
policies on education in the country.
3.3 Systems of Education.
During the 1920-1945 period, there were identifiable stages within
the systems of education.
(a) Sub-elementary schools.
Usually unaided, run by missions, manned by untrained teachers.
Elements of Christian religion were taught plus reading, writing,
135
arithmetic, hygiene, drill and gardening. Very few of them ever got
government grant. They taught more than one half of Kenyan African
children who could read.
(b) Elementary Schools.

These offered a 5-year elementary course based on a prescribed
syllabus. Medium of instruction was vernacular. English was taught as a
subject in the last two classes. These schools tried to provide facilities for
practical work.
(c) Primary schools
These were mainly boarding schools. However a small number
admitted day pupils. They offered a 3-year course in standard 6,7 and 8 in
literacy and practical subjects. Medium of instruction was Kiswahili.
English could be used if permission was obtained from the Director of
Education. The end of course was marked by primary School Examination.
(d) Secondary Schools.
Secondary school development was painfully slow during the 1920-
1945 period. Alliance High school, founded in 1926, for a considerable
length of time served all protestant missions in Kenya, regarding
secondary education for African boys. In 1928 the Roman Catholics
established Kabaa as a secondary school. Secondary school development
was taken seriously after the recommendation of the 1937 De-la-Warr
Commission on higher education in East Africa. As a result of the
commission’s report, the government began to raise several upper primary
schools, then known as high schools to secondary school status- e.g.
Maseno, Yala etc.
When the development of secondary education began to be accepted as a
policy, the government policy for making agricultural and industrial
education for Africans stepped down into second place. Students were
prepared for the overseas Cambridge school Certificate Examination.
Success at this examination enabled the student to gain admission to
Makerere College in Uganda.
In 1939, Kenya had 4 secondary schools, namely; Alliance (enrolment 106),
Kabaa (50 student), Maseno (58), and Yala (17 students).
3.6. Africans in Kenya and the Development of Education.
Africans in Kenya were not mere spectators as developments were
taking place in the field of education. They got involved more than any
other time before.
136
3.6.1 Aspects Needing Reform.
In the 1920s Africans started to feel that mission schools were not
adequate in number. They needed to be increased by the government
taking part in establishing schools.
 Africans felt that mission schools were out to discourage many
African cultural practices. These were the embodiment of their
social strength and identity. Africans wanted the government to
establish schools free from mission control.
 Missionaries were not financially able to offer secondary education
which people demanded for their sons from mid-1920s.
3.6.2 African educational initiatives.
Africans played an important role in the development of education
through the local native councils and independent school movement.
(a) Local Native schools.
To meet African demands for education, the local native councils
(established in 1924 with powers to collect taxes) set up new schools which
were secular and divorced from mission influence. These schools were set
up by Africans who decided to work through the established government
machinery. In 1927 Central and Northern Nyanza local native councils
raised ten thousand pounds from levies at the rate of twenty shillings per
taxable population. Nandi local council gave forty acres of land to the
government industrial school at Kapsabet. At Tambach they gave land and
money. Masaai County Council supported the Narok school. Local native
councils in Central Kenya combined to vote money to establish a Kikuyu
government secondary school in 1930. Thus local native schools were
established as follows; Narok (1922), Kericho (1925), Kajiado (1926),
Tambach (1926), Loitoktok (1929), Kakamega (1932), Kagumo (1934) and
Kisii.
(b) Independent Schools.
In Western Kenya a number of independent schools were opened before
World War I. Little was done to control these schools until after the Phelps
Stokes Commission. These ‘outlaw schools’ were conducted by Africans
without dependence on government or missionary organisations. By 1925
there were schools set up by 500 adherents of john Owalo in Nyakach.
A move was made to establish independent schools outside the control of
the church. Those who defected from the church and had initially offered
land on which the schools had been built, reclaimed their land. Under the
Kikuyu independent schools association (KISA), and the Kikuyu Karing’a
education association (KKEA), the number of independent schools rose
from 34 in 1935 to 44 in 1936.
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3.4 Missionary Education
The missionary education which started in the period before 1920
was expanded during he years 1920-1939. From a handful of missionary
schools in 1910 their number rose to some 2,266 by 1931. There were many
more of such schools by 1939. However it is more important for you to
note that a big majority of these schools were what was called village
schools (those which offered education for 3 or 4 years). The so-called
central schools (Stds IV-VI) were so few that in 1931 they numbered only
32. However, far less than half of them had grown to full primary (std VI)
schools.
You will also note from your textbooks ht secondary schools were
the rarest commodity in missionary education. The first secondary school
for Africans was Alliance High School which was established in 1926. it
was followed by Kabaa (afterward Mangu) in 1930, Maseno in 1938 and
Yala in 1939. For many years these schools catered for junior secondary
classes (present Stds. VII and VIII). These schools offered courses leading
up to he Senior Secondary Examination (present form II). But no school
offered its pupils for school certificate examinations during this period. It
was in 1940 that the first Cambridge School Certificate (overseas) was
attempted by school candidates at Alliance and Kabaa (Mangu).
In short by 1939 the bulk of missionary education for Africans was
elementary. In 1939, for instance, he proportions of African Children
attending different levels of education were 96.77 % elementary, 3.05 % in
primary and 0.18 % in secondary schools. The content of that education
was largely religious and industrial. Yet even here mission schools were
not doing well, as there were not enough artisans and teachers to man the
lower levels of government machinery as clerks and hut counters: hence,
the government reservations regarding the usefulness of African
opposition to missionary education.
3.5 The Role of Government in African education
What did the government do to better its situation and that of
Africans? You might rightly ask. The government took a number of steps
towards standardisation of education given to Africans. First, it provided
education policy guidelines and frameworks within which missionary
education developed. It is in this context that the Education Ordinance of
1924 and 1931 and the grants in aid rules of 1925 have to be understood.
The government also appointed special boards/committees on African
education, the details of which you will find in chapter 3 of your textbook.
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Second, the government continued with the policy of staring secular
schools for Africans, mainly in areas where missions had least influence.
To that end, the government established the Native Industrial Training
Depot at Kabete and Jeanes school Kabete in 1924 and 1925 respectively.
Also rising in the course of 1920s and 1930s were such schools as
Kericho/Kabianga, Kapsabet, Kajiado, Tambach and Kapenguria. All these
government schools laid stress on industrial education ranging from
agriculture to carpentry and ghee production.
The government did not meet the African aspirations for academic
education. While the missionary stressed religious education, the
government emphasised technical education. Literary education was left
in the balance. Another point worth noting is the government did not as
yet develop its own secondary schools for African wards. At least that was
the position by 1939. The government also provided facilities for teacher
training in a number of its schools. This aspect of education is treated in
lecture 20.
4 Summary
The lesson teaches you a number of things. These are:
1. The government and missionaries cooperated in developing
education for Africans; both running schools in their own right
2. Christian missionaries shouldered the majority of schools then in
existence in Kenya
3. The bulk of that education was elementary.
4. Secondary education was limited to 2 schools during the greater part
of period under review. None of the secondary schools was offering
its pupils for ‘O’ level examinations by 1939.
5. Religious and industrial education predominated in the African
curriculum.
6. The government, through its policy guidelines and through
education committees and Boards, tried to direct the development of
education for Africans towards refinement
1. Africans had come to play a direct role in their education
5. Activities
1. Assess the role played by the following in the development of education
in Kenya Between 1920-1945.
(b) The Colonial government
(c) Christian missionaries
(d) Africans in Kenya
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3. Write on the 1924 Phelphs Stokes Commission in Kenya under
the following headings
(a) Terms of Reference
(b) Findings
(c) Recommendations
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LECTURE 22
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN KENYA 1945-1963
1. Introduction
In our last lecture on education in Kenya during the 1920-1945
period, we noted; the factors behind the development, the agencies that
facilitated the formulation, adoption and implementation of polices on education
in Kenya; and the part played by the government, missionaries, and Africans in
the development of education in the country. We also noted the increasing need
and campaign for literary education among Africans. We further indicated that
technical and religious education predominated, although there were trends
towards academic directions. In this lecture we move on to focus on the
development of education during the 1945-1963 period.
2. Objectives.
 Identify and discuss factors that influenced the development of
education during the 1945-1963 period.
 Discuss major agencies that helped in shaping policies on education
during this period.
 Describe features of change in the system of education during this
period.
3. Content.
3.1 Factors influencing trends in the development in education.
During the period 1945-1963 many factors helped to influence trends
in the development of education in Kenya. African soldiers returning from
services in World War II told of the goodness of education wherever they
had been. They and the rest of their kith and kin asked for the same
education in Kenya. World opinion also sharpened against colonialism.
With the formation of UNESCO in 1948 the principle of regarding
education as a human right was promoted. A feeling of African
nationalism in Kenya also mounted pressure on the colonial government
to give more and better education to Africans. This would produce local
skilled manpower for independence which from the middle of the 1950s
seemed inevitable. Another factor to consider is the effects of schools built
by the African initiatives through the local native councils.
These initiatives saw the setting of new schools on similar lines as
Kakamega, Kagumo and Kisii schools had been established during the
1920-1945 period. As we noted in the previous lecture, these schools were
erected from the sweat of Africans. By 1945 these schools had
overshadowed the endeavours of mission schools in giving literary
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education. Thus, during the 1945-1963 Africans demanded more schools
that were run outside missionary control.
3.2 Policies on education in Kenya: 1945-1963.
Following the end of World War II in 1945, government views
on education in Kenya changed. The role of education in economic
development and modernization became more clearly appreciated.
In this respect, the colonial Development and Welfare Act of 1945
marked a significant shift from traditional policy of colonial self-
sufficiency to a policy of giving increased amounts of aid to the
colonies- including Kenya. The war years marked a shift in
economic policy. These years also revealed a desire on the part of
the British government to create better political situation in the
colonies in preparation for eventual self-government. The
government engaged in a rapid expansion of the government aided
school system to cope with the pressure for education.
The grants-in-aid rules of 1945 attempted to control a likely
unchecked expansion of schools by stopping additions to the lists of aided
schools. The new regulations placed the financial responsibility to primary
schools upon the local native councils. However, the expansion of aided
schools continued almost unchecked.
The memorandum education for Citizenship was a significant
contribution to the educational policy in Kenya. This document went
beyond policy statements made during the 1920-1945 period by stating
that literacy and technical skills were not enough in a rapidly changing
world. It stated that education must develop a sense of public
responsibility. By this assertion education for citizenship gave a political
dimension to educational policy which indicated an awareness of African’s
growing political role. Democracy was to be lived and not just taught in
classroom.
In 1947 a committee was appointed to draw up a ten-year plan for
the development of African Education. Following the report of this
committee, there was set up in 1948 a Development Programme in Kenya.
This programme called for provision of 50% of the school-age population
with a six-year primary education course by the end of a Ten-year period.
The programme seems to have been sparked by the government’s alarm
with a likely rapid expansion of schools and a decline in quality due to the
lack of control and supervision.
In light of the problem of uncontrolled expansion, a
committee was appointed under the chairmanship of L. J. Beecher. Terms
of reference: to examine and report on the scope, content and methods of
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African educational system. The committee’s findings and
recommendations were published in 1949. Findings; the most serious
problem was that expansion at primary level had been done without
adequate financial provision or control. The committee recommended:
control of primary school expansion; expansion of teacher training;
responsibility for primary and intermediate schools be placed under
district education boards; co-operation between the government and
voluntary agencies in educational development; a 4-4-4 system of primary,
intermediate and secondary schools to replace the 6-2-4 organisation. The
report was approved by the government in August 1950, and the task of
reorganizing the school system was started.
The Binns Committee Report of 1952, which visited East Africa,
contributed to the development of policies on education during the 1945-
1963 period. The report was in general agreement with the Beecher Report
supervision and inspection of the education and on co-operation between
government and missionary bodies. It recommended the preservation of
vernaculars in schools and general elimination of Kiswahili, except where
it was the local vernacular.
The Education Ordinance of 1952 sought to provide a greater degree
of central control of schools and decentralization of the administration- i.e.
separation of inspectorial and management duties.
The end of the plan period in 1957 also marked the beginning of the
end of missionary control of African education. From the beginning of the
end of missionary control of African education. From then on mission
supervisors were to be replaced with government education officers. But
although missionary control in education diminished this was by no
means the end of church-state partnership in education.
The 1961 Addis Ababa Conference report contributed to
shaping polices on education in Kenya. It facilitated the formulation and
adoption of policies on expansion of education of quality and adopting the
content of that education to the needs of Africans in Kenya.
The 1962 Tananarive Conference report contributed to the
shaping of policies on the development of higher education in Kenya. It
stressed the need for higher education to respond to the needs of the
society in its national development progress.
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3.3 Features in the system of Education.
3.3.1 Structures within the system.
Primary education was an important segment of the school; it
provided opportunities for African children. As already stated, its
expansion was generally uncontrolled. It was generally of low quality
especially at lower levels.
Primary education: lasted six years and was then followed by
two years of junior secondary. At this level students sat for the Kenya
African Primary Examination (KAPE). Primary education formed two
functions: first, to provide a course for the majority of children whose
formal schooling ended at or before the end of primary stage; second, to
provide a course for the few who continued to secondary schools.
The 1949 Beecher report introduced the 4-4-4 system. In this system,
primary children took Competitive Entrance Examination (CEE) in fourth
grade. Successful candidates proceeded to 4-year intermediate schools.
Here emphasis was on agriculture and handicrafts. In the eighth grade,
students sat for Kenya African Preliminary Examination. (KAPE).
Secondary Education covered Forms three to six in 1948. the
Kenya African Secondary Examination (KASE) was taken in form four,
while the O-level Cambridge School Certificate Examination in form six.
This examination was first offered in African secondary schools in 1940.
the development of secondary education was slow. In the late 1950s there
were changes in the structures- 8 years primary and 4 years secondary O-
level. In 1961 some senior secondary schools began to offer 2-year courses
for higher School Certificate Examination (HSC).
Higher Education: Makerere continued to be the main centre
for higher education for all the East African territories, including Kenya.
The first Kenyan based institution to provide higher education was Royal
Technical College of East Africa situated in Nairobi in 1954. The Asian
Community had also started an institution of higher learning in memory
of Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi Memorial Academy). The two institutions
were merged into one college in March 1957- as the Royal Technical
College. Like Makerere, it enjoyed special relationship with the university
of London. In 1963, it became the University College of Nairobi – with the
establishment of University College, Dar-el Salaam and already existing
Makerere University College, the Federal University of East Africa was
created.
3.3.2 African Demand in Education to 1963.
Proper focus is now needed on this topic. Africans increasingly
demanded more and better secular schools ran by their LNCs as such
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schools would be divorced of missionary control and supervision and
they would perform as well in exams as Kakamega, Kagumo and Kisii
were doing. More secondary schools were also sought. Africans also
demanded better higher education-they needed a college in Kenya
similar to Makerere College. Above all they campaigned, for the
extension of compulsory and ‘free’ primary education to African
children, as was the case for alien races.
But in its replies the colonial government never went far toward
meeting African demands. All the government did was to aid a few
primary schools, to limit wastage in schools and to increase the number of
secondary schools so that they were about 16 by 1957. those were the
message that The Ten-Year Plan for the Development of African
Education, (1948), the Beecher Report of 1949 and the Binns report of 1952
carried. You will note that the government was not interested in giving
compulsory primary education to Africans.
3.3.3 Developments in Education for Africans.
Despite the above limitations, a number of good developments took
place regarding education for Africans. First, although wastage was not
curbed it was drastically reduced from 75% (at std II) in 1947 to 13% in
1959. Second, the number of senior secondary schools rose from 6 in 1949
to 50 in 1961. Third, teacher education was improved in that TI (later KTI
present PI) which was formally acquired at Makerere College began to be
obtained from Kagumo and Siriba Teacher Training Colleges during this
period. Fourth, regarding higher education, increased opportunities were
offered locally with the opening of the Royal Technical College of East
Africa, Nairobi, in 1956. Fifth, an intermediate school system (Stds. V-VIII)
was developed only to be abolished in the early 1960s when seven year
primary education started. But the common (competitive) Entrance
Examination (CEE) which was done at the end of standard IV and which
was supposed to be eliminated in 1950s was not done away with until
1963.
Two or three other points are noteworthy here. Racial discrimination
continued up to the eve of Kenya’s independence. The interracial character
of the Loitokitok and Hospital hill schools since the middle of 1950s did
not change the racial character in offering education to the races of Kenya.
At secondary level however, where all races sat for Cambridge School
Certificate, Africans outshone all the other races. In 1950, for instance,
100% of the Africans who took that examination passed, while the
Europeans and Asian passes were 84% and 32% respectively. This did not
mean African intellectual superiority over the other two races. The main
145
reason was that Africans were frequently pruned by the many
examinations which punctuated their education that by the time hey
reached ‘O’ level, only the cream remained. The pony is that by 1952,
Africans were sitting for examinations of std. IV, form II and Form IV
before Cambridge School Certificate (Form VI), while Europeans and
Asians did only Std. VII examination and then went on to sit for the CSC.
Were the two alien races subjected to the same kind of educational
pruning or were equal opportunities extended to every race, there is no
doubt they would all have performed equally well at CSC examinations. In
1957, the percentages of those passing were 95, 90 and 56, in that order.
Moreover, the Higher School Certificate (HSC) course was decentralized
from Makerere College to the local secondary schools. By 1962 such
schools as Alliance, Kangaru, Kakamega, Kisii, Maseno and Shimo La
Tewa offered HSC. The populace, however, still had to be convinced that
the facilities of Makerere for forms V and VI were available locally.
With the coming of independence looming high, steps were taken to
found a university of East Africa while other students were airlifted to
foreign land to acquire education which could enable them to run the
independent African governments. For more information on this topic,
read your textbook, by Bogonko and Sifuna chapter 8.
4 Summary
This lecture has highlighted, the following developments in African
education.
Factors which sharpened African education, 1945-1963.
 Returning soldiers
 African nationalism
 World opinion
 The literary education offered at Kakamega, Kagumo and Kisii
schools.
The nature of African education by 1945.
 Much of it was too elementary
 There was very limited primary education
 Secondary education was limited to 2 schools
 University education was not made available locally.
Africans demands in education, Africans demanded:
 Compulsory and free primary education
 Secular education
 More secondary education
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 A local college in Kenya of similar status to Makerere College.
Developments in African education
 Drop-out rat in primary schools dropped
 Expansion and improvement of teacher education
 Number of secondary schools increased tremendously
 Opportunities for higher education offered locally expanded in East
Africa.
 Racial discrimination was not abolished completely
 Africans were proving to be more of geniuses than the alien races at
‘O’ level examinations, mainly because of their stiff competitive
education system
 Higher school certificate class were brought to the local schools-from
Makerere.
5. Activities.
(1) Discuss the factors that influenced the development of
education in Kenya during the 1945-1963 period.
(2) Discuss the development of policies on education in Kenya
during the period 1945-1963.
(3) Describe features of the main stages (or levels) in the structure
of the systems of education in Kenya during the period 145-
1963.
(4) Assess the African contribution to the development of
education in Kenya during the period 1943-1963.
6. Further Reading
Otiende, J.E. et al. Education and Development in

Kenya: A Historical Perspective,
Nairobi: Oxford University Press
1992.
Sheffield, J.R. Education in Kenya: An Historical

Study, New York: Teachers College
Press, 1973.
Sifuna, D.N. Short Essays on Education in Kenya,

Kenya Literature Bureau, 1980.
147
1978.
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LECTURE 23.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN KENYA SINCE 1963.
1. Introduction.
In our last lecture on the development of education in Kenya during
the 1945-1963 period, we noted: first, the factors that influenced the trend
of activities- e.g. the returning soldiers, African nationalism, world opinion
and literacy education from schools that had been established; second,
agencies that helped in shaping policies on education- e.g. the Colonial
Development and Welfare Act of 1945, the grants-in –aid rules, the 1948
Memorandum on Education for Citizenship, the Ten-year Development
Programme, the 1949 Beecher and the 1952 Binns Reports, the 1952
Education Ordinance, the 1961 Addis Ababa Conference and the 1962
Tananarive Conference reports. We finally looked at features of change in
the system of education during the period – e.g. structural changes at
primary and secondary levels. In this lecture we move on to look at
development of education in Kenya since the time of independence in
1963.
2. Objectives.
 Discuss factors that have influenced changes in the development of
education in Kenya in the post 1963 period of independence
 Discuss features of change in policies on education in Kenya in the
post 1963 period of independence
 Discuss changes in the development of the system of education in
Kenya in the post 1963 period of independence.
3. Content
During the post 1963 period of independence, Kenya placed
considerable importance on the role of education in promoting economic
and social development. This resulted in rapid expansion of the education
system. There are factors that contributed to this feature in the
development of education in Kenya.
3.1 Factors contributing to changes in the development of education.
Internal factors: the expansion and reform in the system of education were
partly motivated by political pressures. On the eve of Kenya’s
independence politicians and their manifestoes called for more educational
opportunities, for cheaper or free education, for universal primary
education (UPE), for africanisation of syllabuses and the teaching staff, and
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for change in the atmosphere in which the African culture and personality
could flourish.
External Factors: These partly contributed to the expansion of education
especially at secondary and higher levels. Several reports contributed to
the formulation of policies on education in Kenya. These included: the
report of the conference of African States on the development of education
in Africa which met in Addis Ababa in May 1961, the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development in the same year.
3.2 Policies on education in Kenya since 1963
At independence in 1963, Kenya inherited a system of education
with maximum provisions for the minority European and Asian groups
and minimum provisions for the majority African Kenyans. This racially
based system had been enforced by the colonial administration since the
Fraser Commission report of 1909. It was still as strongly put forward by
the Beecher report of 1949 on which educational administration and
development was based on the last few years leading to independence. At
independence expectations were naturally heightened and the pressure for
more and better education renamed as intense as ever.
The new government was quick to recognize the complexities facing
education at independence and the need to provide guidelines for their
solution. To give the needed changes a firm foundation and clear direction,
the Minister of Education appointed a commission chaired by S.H.
Ominde. Terms of Reference were: (a) to survey the existing educational
resources in Kenya, and (b) to advice the government in the formulation of
national policies for education. The commission found that the conditions
created by independence were totally different from those under which
similar committees on education during the colonial period, there was the
assumption that different racial groups would remain separate.
The Ominde Commission report was submitted in two parts. Part
one which dealt with questions of policy was completed in 1964. Part two
which provided quantitative recommendations and plan of priorities was
completed in 1905.
The commission report endorsed as a valid educational policy
objective, the provision of free primary education. In the commission’s
view, this level of education would contribute to economic progress both
by providing a reservoir of candidates for secondary and higher education
and fulfilling the minimum basic education requirement for participation
in the modern sector of the economy. It was, however, noted that, while
the economic values of expanded primary education was appreciated, it
150
was not so important at the time. Secondary, commercial, technical and
higher education were more important. Consequently, too great an
emphasis on primary education was not allowed to hinder economic
growth in these other sectors. The independence government therefore
chose as a policy to place the main emphasis on the expansion of higher
levels of education. Besides the policy was: to gear these levels of higher
education to manpower needs of the modern sector of economic lives, and
to provide facilities for a slower but steady increase in primary school
enrolment.
The commission considered issues of racial and religious
segregation in schools, localization of the curriculum and the medium of
instructions. Racial integration would be facilitated by giving African
pupils bursaries to enable them t attend former European schools. The
commission recommended that the ex-European or Asian schools should
maintain the standards of education, while opening them to children of
other races. It suggested that each secondary school should allocate at least
20 per cent of its places to students from outside its region. The
commission believed that the secret of a national feeling which overrides
tribal and local loyalties lay in bringing about more conscious mixing
within the educational system.
While recognizing the impact of modernisation, the commission was
anxious that schools should promote the nation’s own historic instincts
and moral values. Considerable attention was, therefore, to be given to
curriculum reform as a means of promoting greater knowledge and
appreciation of Kenya’s history and culture. English was to be the
universal medium of instruction in all schools. Kiswahili was to be
compulsory in primary schools.
The 1965 Sessional paper No. 10 on African Socialism and its
applications to planning in Kenya has contributed to the development of
policies on education since independence. The paper evolved a principle
which identified a direct relationship between education and economic
growth. It facilitated the formulation of policies geared to make education
produce the high and middle level manpower that would accelerate the
pace of economic development in Kenya.
In 1967, parliament in Kenya discussed and enacted what came to be
known as the Education Act of 1968, (revised in 1970). The Act contained
several sections forming the legal foundation of education in Kenya.
Among the sections geared to helping in shaping of policies on education
151
were: promotion of education, management of schools, registration of
unaided schools, inspection and control of schools, examinations and
diplomas, the Kenya Institute of education, and the financing of education.
Thus, according to the Development Plan 1964 – 1970, the main
thrust of policies on education were mainly geared towards manpower
development. In primary education, for example, efforts were made to
avoid its rapid expansion to meet general popular demand. Importance
was attached to expansion of secondary school education. This policy was
reflected in the distribution of development expenditure on education
during the first Development Plan period. The largest share of
development expenditure went to secondary schools. From 1969 to 1970,
the percentage of expenditure on secondary education was 43 per cent as
compared with 0.003 per cent for primary schooling. There was a major
commitment to the expansion of pre-university Form Five and Six.
In line with the policy of concentrating on the production of high-
level manpower, there was also a major investment in university and
tertiary education. Development expenditure in the early 1970s also laid
emphasis on expansion of vocational and technical secondary school s. by
the end of 1970, there were ten vocational secondary schools. They offered
programmes intended to provide students with skills basic to specific
occupations.
Education for manpower development met its objectives within few
years after 1963. The Africanisation of the civil service was virtually filled.
There then followed the problem of unemployment. In response to the
problem of unemployment, there was the policy to establish non-formal
education institutions with a strong vocation bias, e.g. the National Youth
Service (N.Y.S) Youth polytechnics, industrial-training centres.
In 1975, a committee was appointed to examine Kenya’s educational
objectives and policies (The National Committee on Educational Objectives
and Policies). The committee report emphasized the need for basic
education in the country and restructuring of the education system.
3.3 Developments in the System of Education
3.3.1 Awareness of the need for change
The most striking feature of the system of education in Kenya since
independence has been the increasing demand by more and more people
in society for he opportunity to receive education. This has all along been a
feature calling for adjustive changes in the system to respond to the needs
152
of the people. There has been an awareness of the need to cope with the
ever-increasing numbers within the inherited system of education.
At independence, Kenya inherited from the British colonial
administration an educational structure that consisted of racial
segregation. This structure had institutions within the system set up on
racially segregated lines. There was an awareness of the need for removal
discriminatory practices based on racial segregation within the system of
education.
There was an awareness of he need to modernize and increase the
efficiency of the government administration and to provide specialist
training for the small but crucial commercial and industrial sector and to
maintain national educational standards in the world setting.
3.3.2 Changes in the System of Education
An important change in primary education was the abolition of the
old four-year primary and intermediate courses in favour of a straight-
through seven years course in primary education. The Competitive
Entrance Examination, which was originally taken in the fourth grade, was
scrapped. With the removal of this examination, upper primary school
numbers shot up. This ensured that a fairly high number of primary pupils
completed the seventh grade. The removal of this examination opened
gates to all pupils to continue to the upper primary stream.
The increased numbers of pupils in upper primary school
contributed to the increased social demand for secondary school places.
Allied with it was the youthfulness of primary school leaver. The average
primary school-leaving age was now 13 years, an age unsuitable for
placement in the labour force. The demand for further schooling became
all the greater as everyone began to realise that the Kenya Preliminary
Examination Certificate was no longer the key to personal advancement.
The government, in line with major expansion in secondary education.
Over the period 1964 to 1968 Form One intake by 240 per cent.
Another change was the wave of voluntary self-help schemes to
build harambee secondary schools. The first of such schools was Chavakali
in Vihiga District, Western Province. These schools sprung up in large
numbers; 50 were opened in 1964, and 30 more in the first half of 1965.
Vocational and technical secondary schools also developed in response to
manpower demands. By 1970 there were 10 vocational secondary schools
offering programmes intended to provide students with skills basic to
specific occupations. Enrolment at these schools rose from 1,043 in 1964 to
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2,426 in 1970. The Kenya Polytechnic, which was the apex of the vocational
technical education system, expanded greatly. It had 1,600 students in
1966.
In teacher-education, there were 35 primary teacher colleges in 1963.
In line with the governments policy of amalgamation and expansion, by
1998 there were 22 of these colleges – namely, Shanzu in the Coast
Province, Garissa in North Eastern Province, Egoji, Machakos, Kigari,
Meru in Eastern Province, Kamwenja, Kilimambogo, Thogoto and
Murang’a in Central Province, Highridge in Nairobi, Kericho, Mosoriot,
Tambach, Narok and Baringo in Rift Valley, Asumbi, Migori and Bondo in
Nyanza, Eregi and Kaimosi in Western Province.
Three institutions were engaged in preparation of secondary school
teachers – namely, the Faculty of Education, University of Nairobi,
Kenyatta College (prior to 1985) and Kenya Science Teachers College.
We have already noted that the demand for education on the part of
the community became more pronounced in Kenya after 1963. The
government responded to these demands by expanding learning
institutions within its system of education. In the first years of
independence, in the 1960s, the government claimed that the need for
high-level manpower justified the rapid expansion of institutions at
secondary and higher education levels. This manpower was needed to
Africanise the public service and staff management positions in the private
sector.
In the late 1960s, however, the government in Kenya began to
question the wisdom of continued expansion of the formal sector of its
system of education. There was the problem of posed by school leavers
who had completed some education but were unemployed. The system
imported from Britain was noted to be too academic and mainly geared to
a foreign examination system rather that the needs of predominantly
African rural societies in Kenya.
Dimensions of the unemployment have led to the setting up of
experimental programmes within the system of education. These
programmes are designed to complement the formal school by providing
programmes of out-of –school education and training for young people.
Many of the programmes try to ensure the application of the skills taught
in working situations some of the programmes have fallen under the
general umbrella of non-formal education. Within the context of changes
in the system of education in Kenya, non-formal education may be defined
as a process which has adopted a rigid set of relationships of traditional
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schooling with regimented curricula, classroom teacher discipline and
syllabuses. But unlike formal education, it is more flexible and diverse,
being adapted to the particular needs and their unique circumstances. The
mode of non-formal education programmes has involved a deliberate
provision of education for both the youth and adults within the formal
system to enhance their educational attainment. Among the non-formal
education programmes examples are: young farmers clubs,
apprenticeships schemes, scouts and girl guides movement, youth club
centres.
Another important change has been the diversification of the school
curriculum. This has been designed in order to expose students to
vocational skills of their choice in addition to acquiring the traditional
cognitive skills learned during their preparation for admission to
university. Diversification is said to free students from being locked into
one curriculum over another. In this respect, it provides a wide set of
future career options, than could otherwise be if a more uniform
curriculum were followed.
Another change in the system of education has been the move from
the 7-4-2-3 structure to the 8-4-4 structure. In 1984 the Certificate of
Primary education (CPE) examination (a national examination taken in the
7th grade of primary school) was officially abolished and replaced with the
Kenya certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). It was taken by the first
batch of Standard eight pupils at the end of 1985. There was a mobilization
of funds to build extra classrooms to accommodate standard eight in all
primary schools. Towards the end of 1984, the Ministry of Education
Science and Technology circulated a booklet, 8-4-4 system of Education
which outlined its rationale and examinations.
The new school structure, which became fully operational in 1989,
has an eight-year segment of primary education, four years of secondary
education and another four years of university level. The forms Five and
Six segments was abolished.
In line with the policy of concentrating the production of high-level
manpower, there was expansion in the higher education i.e. non-university
type and university type institutions of higher education.
4 Summary.
Kenya has seen a rapid expansion of its system of education
especially at the secondary and higher levels since independence. This
policy was guided by the manpower utilization model of development.
Thus stress on education to produce the needed manpower for
independence could to some extend be justified by the socio-economic and
155
political system inherited from colonialism. This emphasis has resulted in
an examination syndrome and unemployment.
5. Activities
 Write notes on features of change in policies on education in Kenya
since 1963.
 Explain some of the results that have emerged following the
government educational policy that has stressed manpower
development.
 Outline the main features of change in the system of education in
Kenya since 1963.
156
6. Further Reading.
Eshiwani, G.S. Education in Kenya since
Independence,
Nairobi: East African Educational
Publishers, 1993
Sifuna, D.N &
J. E. Otiende An Introductory History of
Education,
Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press,
1994 (Revised Edn).
Bogonko, S. N,
& D. N. Sifuna A History of Education in Kenya,
Nairobi: Kenya Publishing and Book
Marketing Co. Ltd, 1986.
Stabler, E. Education Since Uhuru, The Schools
in Kenya, Middle-Town: Wesleyan
University Press.
157

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NIKIBET.WEEBLY.COM HISTORY OF EDUCATION

1. Components of the Course Unit.

2. General Objectives of the course Unit.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY OF EDUCATION

3.1 DEFINITION OF HISTORY, EDUCATION AND HISTORY OF EDUCATION.

The total process by which human abilities and behaviour is developed; or

3. 2 REASONS FOR STUDYING HISTORY OF EDUCATION

(a) Improving the quality of education

(b) Strengthening the professional competence of the teacher

(c) Understanding our own educational systems better.

(d) Making comparisons within a historical perspective

(e) Satisfying intellectual curiosity

(f) Developing powers of thinking.

(g) Exposing one to knowledge in other disciplines.

3. 3 THE SCOPE OF HISTORY OF EDUCATION

In the context of both formal, informal and non-formal education

(i) Discuss the definition of history of education

In our first lecture, we defined history of education. We went further to

By the end of this lecture, you should be able to;

3.1 MAN AND EDUCATION IN PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD.

In Sparta, a city-state of Greece, in about 8,000 BC the sole purpose of

Athenian training, about 8,000 BC was not unlike Spartan training.

The Romans, on their part, consistently sought the application of

Educationally, the Greek and Roman influence saw the development of

As to the Roman influence in education, this is evident in ideas of a

3.3. THE MIDDLE AGES AND EDUCATION.

3.4. THE RENAISSANCE AND EDUCATION.

3.5. REFORMATION, COUNTER-REFORMATION AND EDUCATION

3.7. 18TH CENTURY ENLIGHTENMENT AND EDUCATION.

3.9. 20TH CENTURY PROGRESSIVISM, RADICALISM AND EDUCATION.

In this lecture we learnt that man invented writing, education was

 Mayer, F. A History of Educational Thought.

 Wilds, E.H., and Lottich, K.V. The Foundation of Modern Education

 Sifuna, D.N. and Otiende, J.E., An Introductory History of

EDUCATION IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.

In our second lecture, we had overview of the development of education

By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

Mayers, F. A History of Education Thought,

Power, J Main Currents in the History of Education,

Sifuna D. N and J. E Otiende, An Introductory History of Education,

Mayers, F. A History of Education Thought,

Power, E. J Main Currents in the History of Education,

Sifuna D. N and J. E Otiende, An Introductory History of Education,

Power, J Main Currents in the History of Education,

Boyd, W. The History of Western Europe, New York:

Rusk, R. R. The Doctrines of Great Educators, London:

Curtis, S. J. A Short History of Educational Ideas,

Education was aimed at character building, to produce ethical

the transmission and survival of Judaism, learning and worship.

Although some form of organized places of learning were in existence

Three types of schools developed.

 'House of Books' or Beth-hasopher located in the Synagogue. This

emphasized elementary instruction in basic religion.

 The Bethhamidrash or "House of Exposition” which was a kind of

secondary school, which taught oral traditions and laws, Mishna.

 Rabbinical schools which provided higher education, where "masters"

or scribes taught the Talmud (commentaries and interpretations of oral

law and traditions).

girls coming at a later date. Compulsory elementary education was

introduced by Joshua ben Gamala, a high priest, in A.D. 64. Each

Synagogue, town and province was supposed to start and support a

school, otherwise it would be excommunicated.