Education

History of education

Education has been around for most of human history. To put it simply, education is the teaching of ideas, abilities, principles etc. Animals that are taught by parents also have some of their actions driven by instinct. Humans however, when they started developing tools and knowledge that had to be taught, went further than this. If we think of education as part of the cultural evolution of human beings, this means there has been always some sort of education.

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In 1994 Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin, said education began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770. (The first chair of pedagogy was founded at the end of the 1770s at the University of Halle, Germany.) This quote by Lenzen includes the idea that education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before.

Related Topics:
Dieter Lenzen - Freie Universität Berlin - 1770 - Pedagogy - 1770s - University of Halle - Germany

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Basic education today is considered those skills that are necessary to function in society.

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Europe

In the West, the origins of education are associated with organized religion: priests and monks realised the importance of promoting positive virtues in the young and founded, maintained, and staffed school systems. In Europe, many of the first universities have Catholic roots. Following the Reformation in Scotland the newly established national Church of Scotland set out a programme for spiritual reform in January 1561 setting the principle of a schoolteacher for every parish church and free education for the poor. In 1633 an Act of the Parliament of Scotland introduced a tax to pay for this programme, and by the end of the 17th century education in Scotland brought literacy to much of the population, with the system being used by all except the nobility.

Related Topics:
Priest - Monk - School - Europe - Universities - Catholic - Reformation - Scotland - Church of Scotland - 1561 - Parliament of Scotland - 17th century - Education in Scotland - Literacy

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During and following the Age of Enlightenment the association between religion and education became diminished. Jean-Jacques Rousseau fuelled an influential early-Romanticism reaction to formalised religion-based education at a time when the concept of childhood had started to develop as a distinct aspect of human development.

Related Topics:
Age of Enlightenment - Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Romanticism - Childhood - Human development

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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's Commission of National Education (Polish: Komisja Edukacji Narodowej) formed in 1773 counts as the first Ministry of Education in the history of mankind.

Related Topics:
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Commission of National Education - 1773 - Ministry of Education

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Conventional social history narrates how by about the beginning of the 19th century the industrial revolution promoted a demand for masses of disciplined, inter-changeable workers who possessed at least minimal literacy. In these circumstances, the new socially predominant structure, the state, began to mandate and dictate attendance at standardised schools with a state-ordained curriculum. Out of such systems the general and vocational education paths of the 20th century emerged, with increasing economic specialisation demanding increasingly specialised skills from a population which spent correspondingly longer periods in formal education before entering or while engaged in the workforce.

Related Topics:
19th century - Industrial revolution - Worker - State - Vocational education - 20th century - Skill - Workforce

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China

The origins of education in China are tied up with the Chinese classic texts, rather than organized religion, per se. The early Chinese state depended upon literate, educated officials for operation of the empire, and an imperial examination system was established in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220) for evaluating and selecting officials. This merit-based system gave rise to schools that taught the classics and continued in use for 2,000 years, until the end the Qing Dynasty, and was abolished in 1911 in favour of Western education methods.

Related Topics:
Imperial examination system - Han Dynasty - Qing Dynasty - 1911

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Japan

The origins of education in Japan are closely related to religion. Schooling was conducted at temples for youngsters who wanted to study Buddhism to become priests. Later, children who were willing to study started to get together a place called, "Tera-koya" (literally meaning temple hut) and learned how to read and write Japanese.

Related Topics:
Japan - Religion - Temple - Buddhism - Priest - Japanese

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India

India has a long history of organized education. The Gurukul system of education is one of the oldest on earth, and was dedicated to the highest ideals of all-round human development: physical, mental and spiritual. Gurukuls were traditional Hindu residential schools of learning; typically the teacher's house or a monastery. Education was free, but students from well-to-do families payed Gurudakshina, a voluntary contribution after the completion of their studies. At the Gurukuls, the teacher imparted knowledge of Religion, Scriptures, Philosophy, Literature, Warfare, Statecraft, Medicine and Astrology (Surprisingly, ancient Indians seem to have not been interested in History). The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled all branches of knowledge, and housed upto 10,000 students at its peak. British records show that education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion. The schools were attended by students representative of all classes of society. The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced & funded by the British in the 20th century, following recommendations by Macaulay. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British govt and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was destroyed during the British rule.

Related Topics:
Gurukul - Philosophy - Literature - Medicine - Nalanda - Takshila - Ujjain - Vikramshila - Buddhism - Hinduism - Arthashastra - Gandhi

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Recent world-wide educational trends

Overall, illiteracy has greatly decreased in recent years.

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Illiteracy and the percentage of populations without any schooling have decreased in the past several decades. For example, the percentage of population without any schooling decreased from 36% in 1960 to 25% in 2000.

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Among developing countries, illiteracy and percentages without schooling in 2000 stood at about half the 1970 figures. Among developed countries, illiteracy rates decreased from 6 percent to 1 percent, and percentages without schooling decreased from 5 to 2.

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Illiteracy rates in less economically developed countries (LEDCs) surpassed those of more economically developed countries (MEDCs) by a factor of 10 in 1970, and by a factor of about 20 in 2000. Illiteracy decreased greatly in LDCs, and virtually disappeared in MDCs. Percentages without any schooling showed similar patterns.

Related Topics:
LEDC - MEDC

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Percentages of the population with no schooling varied greatly among LDCs in 2000, from less than 10 percent to over 65 percent. MDCs had much less variation, ranging from less than 2 percent to 17 percent.

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