Foundations of Education

Knowledge and the History of Ideasin the West

Indigenous

West

China

India

Islam

Main Traditions of Knowledge

Acquiring knowledge vas very difficult because:

Only few people had the leisure to do so There were very few resources Communication was poor One could easily be persecuted for one’s

knowledge, ideas, or convictions

Acquisition of Knowledge in History

“History is more or less bunk” (Henry Ford, 1916)

“What experience and history teach us is this: that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it”

(Hegel, 1770-1831)

Hebrew Education

Greek Education

The Middle Ages

The Renaissance/Reformation

The Enlightenment

From the 19th Century to the Modern Period

Outline

Religious instruction Literacy and numeracy Memorization SurvivalTalmud: “One must have as much respect for the teacher as for God”

Hebrew Education

Sparta education = military training

Athens intellectual curiosity, art

Greek Education

Protagoras (481-411 BC)Sophist = teacher of excellence (consultant)

Rhetoric = correct use of language

Agnosticism and relativism“Man is the measure of all things”

Greek Education

Greek EducationThe Socratic Method: Induction Deduction Aporia Dialectic

Socrates (469-399 BC)

Visible world as illusion

World of ideas as reality

Truth is absolute

Rulers must have knowledge “philosopher-kings”

Plato (428-348 BC)

Greek Education

Logic as main tool in the search for knowledge

Natural science Rhetoric as the art

of persuasion Writing becomes as

important as speech

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Greek Education

Greek Education

Spread of Greek culture Spread of Hellenistic culture

(circa 400 BC) (circa 250 BC)

Museum and library Emphasis on the written word Beginnings of modern scholarship Foundations of modern grammar

Greek Education

Alexandria

From the Hellenistic World to the Roman World

Irish monasticism

Charlemagne (742-814) Alfred the Great (849-899)

The Dark Ages (500-1000)

Education in the hands of the Church Transmission of written knowledge By 1400 there were about 400 grammar

schools in England and Wales for a population of 2.5 million (i.e. 1 school per 6,000)

Scholasticism = education of Christian thinkers

A mediaeval scriptorium

The Middle Ages (1000-1500)

The Middle Ages (1000-1500)

Birth of the University

Disputation instead of passive learning

Latin as language of education The seven liberal arts:

trivium quadrivium grammar arithmetic

rhetoric geometry logic astronomy

music

Wandering scholars and goliards

The Middle Ages (1000-1500)

The Middle Ages (1000-1500)

By 1500 therewere 79 universitiesin Europe

Powerful influence of the Muslim world and its universities

Mathematics: Arabic numerals, the cipher (0), algebra, algorithms, etc

Geography: measurement of the Earth, which the Arabs decided was round

Chemistry: alcohol, sulphuric acid, etc Medicine: dissections, sophisticated surgery, etc

Illustration: Anatomy of the Eye (1200 AD), by al-Mutadibih

The Middle Ages (1000-1500)

An informal, international community of scholars Communication through letters, pamphlets,

exchange of books and documents Publication of the first learned journals: essays

and book reviews Creation of academies (outside of universities),

which legitimized the Republic of Letters; e.g.: Académie Française, Paris, 1635 Royal Society for the Improvement of Natural

Knowledge, London, 1660American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1743

The Republic of Letters (Respublica Literaria) from 1500 to 1800

Powerful monarchs

Henry VIII Francis I Charles V (England) (France) (Habsburg Empire)

Rise of nationalism Colonialism

The Renaissance (16th century)

Humanism: “Nihil humani a me alienum puto”

Pico della Mirandola Erasmus Juan Luis Vives (1463-1494) (1466-1536) (1493-1540)

The Renaissance (16th century)

Martin Luther (1483-1546) and mass literacy

Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560)a Protestant humanist

The Reformation (16th century)

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)-the first professional educator-

Pansophia (=universal knowledge): broad factual knowledge + flexibility of mind needed to visualize processes and connections

Author of several pioneering textbooks, including Orbis Sensualium Pictus, the first illustrated book for children

Frontiers of knowledge are felt to be beyond a lifetime’s work

The 17th Century

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Emile, or: On Education: education must enable “natural man” to survive in a corrupt society His political philosophy influenced the American

Revolution (1775-1783) and the FrenchRevolution (1789-1799)

Condorcet (1743-1794) Equality of opportunity Development of individual potential Permanent progress based on education Respect of intellectual freedom

The Enlightenment

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

Greatly inspired by Rousseau Considerable practical experience Perception must be sharpened by education Motivation must be awakened Importance of physical education

The Enlightenment

Among the first feminists…Mary Wollstonecraft Olympe de Gouges (1759-1797) (1748-1793)

Militated for educational Fought for women’s and social equality for rights; ended up at women the guillotine

The Enlightenment

Albertine Necker de Saussure (1766-1841)

Children have an innate propensity for mischief They should be guided through religious instruction Female education should not be subordinated to male

education Girls too need a liberal education to become

responsible citizens

The 19th Century

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835)Linguist and architect of the Prussianeducation system, he emphasizedlearning as constant interaction betweenthe individual and nature

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)Naturalist and explorer, he advocatedthe conjoining of all the physical sciences(holism) and worked with the most up-to-date scientific instruments

The 19th Century

Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841)Developed the “philosophy of mind” (now called psychology)

and distinguished 5 steps in teaching: Preparation: relates new material to child’s experience Presentation: always concrete Association: of new knowledge with existing one Generalization: stretching the mind

beyond concrete level Application: the new knowledge

becomes functional

The 19th Century

John Dewey (1859-1952), educational reformer

Education is a social and interactive process: the school is a social institution which can promote social reform

Students must be allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum: experiential learning

Students must be able to relate new information to previous experience

“The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas […] but as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child”

The 20th Century

Maria Montessori (1870-1952), founder of the Montessori Method

The child possesses an “absorbent mind” and an enormous capacity for repetition in order to acquire competence

The child should be viewed as a competent being and encouraged to make decisions

Education must create a scale of sensitive periods of development to provide class work that is appropriate and stimulating

Ongoing curricula must be based on ongoing observations of children

Education should not only impart knowledge, but also maximizehuman potentialities

The 20th Century

Paulo Freire (1921-1997), advocate of critical pedagogy

Experienced poverty and hunger in Brazil, and witnessed huge rates of illiteracy –- hence turned to Marxism

Education should allow the oppressed to regain their humanity: it is a political act

The dichotomy teacher/student should become a cooperation between “teacher who learns” and “learner who teaches”

“Men and women are able to take responsibility for themselves as beings capable of knowing –- of knowing that they know and knowing that they don’t”

The 20th Century

Today’s cheap, universal access to knowledge through electronic media does not guarantee the progress of knowledge

A look at history reminds us that we should never take what we know for granted:o Fads come and goo Intolerance and persecution

have never quite vanishedo There is governmental and

corporate censorshipoKnowledge can disappear

Conclusion 1

Information is different from knowledge

Information represents data organized to describe a particular situation (we can recall information)

Knowledge represents data and concepts accumulated over time (we cannot recall knowledge)

Conclusion 2