PPE6014 COMPARATIVE EDUCATION 1.

The Meaning
DR. MOHD ASRI MOHD NOOR of Education
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this session, students should be able to:
1. Explain the meaning of education,
2. Understand the history of education,
3. Discuss education from the perspective of Islam,
4. Explain the functions of education.
WHAT IS EDUCATION?
Activity 1: [10 minutes]
In your group, discuss the meaning of education. How do you perceive education?
What does it mean to you? Is your perception based on geographical factor?
Religion? Ethnicity? Or any other factor? Is the meaning of education influenced by
any specific philosophies? What are they?
Present your ideas to the whole class. Be prepared to explain, justify your ideas.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION
Acitivity 2: [10 minutes]
In your group, discuss how people were educated in the past. What was the purpose?
What motivated them?
THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION
 The rise of civilizations of Egypt and Babylonia complicates the transmission of knowledge.
 Man needed some ways of accumulating, recording, and preserving his cultural heritage.
 So, with the rise of trade, government, and formal religion came the invention of writing by
about 3100 BC.
 Because firsthand experience in everyday living could not teach such skills as writing and
reading, a place devoted exclusively to learning – the school – was formed.
 A group of adults specially designated as teachers – the scribes of the court and the priests
of the temple appeared.
 The method of learning was memorization, and the motivation was the fear of harsh
physical discipline.
ANCIENT GREECE
 The goal of education in the Greek city-states was to prepare the child for adults
activities as a citizen.
 However, the nature of education varied greatly.
 In Sparta, education was to produce soldier-citizens.
 In Athens, education was to produce citizens trained in the arts of both peace and
war.
ANCIENT ROME
 Roman education was influenced by Greek education.
 Education took place at home.
 If the father was educated, the child could learn to read and learn Roman law,
history and customs.
 When the child was older, he was sent to orators for apprenticeship.
 Children were sent to elementary schools to learn 3Rs, then upper classes to learn
“grammar”.
 For Greeks, education produced good citizens (a well-rounded individual); for
Romans, a good citizen meant an effective speaker.
THE MIDDLE AGES
 In the early Middle Ages, the elaborate Roman school system had disappeared.
 Mankind in 5th-century Europe might well have reverted almost to the level of
primitive education had it not been for the medieval church.
 Cathedral, monastic and palace schools were operated by the clergy in parts of
Western Europe.
 Prepared men for life beyond the grave.
 Schools were ungraded.
 Toward the end of the Middle Ages (12th and 13th centuries) – the rise of
universities.
THE RENAISSANCE
Began in Italy in the 14th century, was a revolt against the narrowness and
otherworldliness of the Middle Ages.
Wanted to develop man’s intellectual, spiritual, and physical powers for the
enrichment of life.
However, the actual humanists’ “liberal education” was not much different from that
of medieval education.
First signs of change in attitude toward educational methods – more exciting,
pleasant and fun.
EDUCATION IN ASIA
Activity 3: [5 minutes]
In your group, discuss the nature of education in Asia.
ASIA – TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
 Education in Asia reflected and extended the influence and teachings of three
major philosophical, religious traditions: Hinduism (including Buddhism), Islam, and
Confucianism (including Neo-Confucianism).
 Over time, these traditions interacted with one another, although the interaction was
not entirely mutual, nor did it blunt the cultural distinctions of the various regions of
South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia.
 Indeed, while Buddhism exerted its widespread influence across East Asia from the
third century B.C. on, it never replaced the primacy of Confucianism.
 Similarly, although Islam infiltrated India from the eighth century A.D. on, the
foundation of Hindu cultural traditions remained unshaken.
ASIA – WESTERN INFLUENCE
 From the eighteenth century on, as Western culture came into the region, Asia's
educational practices in general underwent a sea change that resulted in a
previously unknown level of uniformity.
 Regional diversity, however, remains visible, reflecting the differences in political
settings, cultural values, and economic development.
ASIAN EDUCATION - MODERNIZATION
 In East Asia, Japan was the first country to embark on modern educational reform.
 In the wake of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the government sent out a group of
distinguished officials to tour many countries in Europe and America, hoping to gain
firsthand knowledge about social, political, and educational systems in the modern
West.
 By comparison, as the first country that confronted the Western powers in East Asia,
China lagged behind Japan in initiating educational reform.
 In its struggle against the Western challenge, the reigning Qing dynasty
established a few translation schools and sent out a few groups of students
abroad, but throughout most of the nineteenth century China apparently lacked the
desire to adopt more comprehensive educational reforms.
MODERN ASIA
 It was not until 1895, after its shattering defeat by Japan in the Sino-Japanese
War (1894–1895), that the dynasty, as well as Chinese educators, began to
realize the importance of modern education. In the aftermath of the war, China
witnessed a short-lived political reform, which resulted, among other things, in the
founding of a modern university in 1898—the Metropolitan University—now
Beijing University.
 All in all, the structure of modern education took root in most of Asia from the late
nineteenth century on. Over time, it evolved into a uniform system across the
continent and bore a striking resemblance to that of the modern West. Meanwhile,
it demonstrates in its ideals and practices the diverse influences of the religious and
cultural traditions and political ideologies of the region.
EDUCATION & ISLAM
Activity 4: [5 minutes]
In your group, discuss how does Islam perceive education.
EDUCATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ISLAM
 The term ‘education’ in Islam is understood and comprehended in a totally different
manner to what is understood within Western societies.
 From an Islamic perspective, an educated individual must possess the necessary
component of the belief and knowledge of how to worship God and how to live
life in accordance to the Islamic laws.
 There is no one word that describes ‘education’ within the Arabic language,
however scholars generally tend to use three different words:
 Tarbiyah, which implies a state of ethical and spiritual nurturing in developing the individuals
potential and guidance of the child to the state of complete maturity.
 Ta’dib, which suggests the social aspects of a human being including the process of character
development and good social behavior.
 Ta’lim, which refers to knowledge, the imparting and receiving of it through instruction and
teaching.
SO, WHAT’S EDUCATION?
 A social institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic
knowledge, learning skills, and cultural norms.
 Every nation in the world is equipped with some form of education system, though
those systems vary greatly.
 At first, education is an informal process in which an infant watches others and
imitates them.
 As the infant grows, the process of education becomes more formal through play
and preschool.
 Then in grade school, academic lessons become the focus of education as a child
moves through the school system.
 But even then, education is about much more than the simple learning of facts.
KEY CONCEPTS ABOUT EDUCATION
Activity 5: [10 minutes]
In your group, discuss what each of these means.
 Formal and informal education
 Cultural transmission
 Access to education
ROLES OF EDUCATION
Activity 6: [10 minutes]
In your group, discuss what are the functions of education.
 Manifest functions
 Latent functions
CONCLUSION
 The meaning of education has evolved over more than 4000 years.
 Each period and region has its own perspective on education.
 In order to understand education and its system, one needs to understand the
contexts in which the system is situated.