What is Education?

 1. Historical Perspective and Societal Impact of Education

Historically, education transitioned from a pursuit of leisure for an "idler" class to a fundamental aspect influencing a society's economic and social order.

Ancient Greek city-states, like Sparta and Athens, designed education to prepare citizens for statecraft. Spartan education emphasized military training and physical excellence, while Athens promoted individualism through sophists' philosophy.

Indian education has transformed across Pre-British, British, and Post-independence eras, adapting to prevailing socio-political situations.

2. Education as a Social Sub-system

Concept of a System: A system comprises interrelated and interdependent units (e.g., people, beliefs, laws) where a change in one unit impacts others. The human body exemplifies this, with organs functioning interdependently.

Society as a System: Society is a social system of interrelated units (individuals, groups, organizations) with collective goals. Economic, political, and educational systems work interdependently to achieve societal objectives like literacy.

Education as a Sub-system of Society: Education is a system for knowledge transfer and socialization. Its units include ministries, boards, schools, universities, and national bodies. Education influences and is influenced by other social systems like political and family systems. It provides essential human resources for other societal sub-systems.

Characteristics: Education fosters social individualism, respect for norms, values, and knowledge, making individuals responsible within society. It shapes society, aids in understanding human group interactions, and provides opportunities for transmitting cultural values and norms.

3. Core Functions of Education

Scholars like Brown (1947), Havinghurst and Neugarten (1964), George Payne, and Emile Durkheim (1956) highlight education's role in producing behavioral changes, stabilizing society, acting as an agent of social change, assimilating traditions, developing new social patterns, and transmitting societal norms and values.

Three Broad Functions:

Transmission of Culture: Education passes culture (habits, attire, beliefs, values) across generations. Franz Boaz (1930-34) noted culture as social habits influencing individual reactions. Bronislaw Malinowski (1953) emphasized culture's role in modifying human innate endowments and fulfilling needs. In modern societies, formalized education preserves and transmits the vast store of knowledge that families alone cannot.

Enculturation: Mary Goodman defines this as the process of transmitting culture to the young, often through indirect means, but formalized by education. It ensures societal cohesiveness, maintains common conduct, and preserves cultural identity.

Training for Specialized Roles: In complex industrial societies, schools prepare children for adult roles by establishing universalistic standards and teaching specialized skills necessary for an interdependent division of labor. Talcott Parsons views schools as crucial socializing agencies, bridging the gap between family (ascribed status) and society (achieved status). Modern education must equip individuals with skills for lifelong learning due to rapid technological changes and new specializations.

Change in Cultural Heritage: Education enables society to adapt to changing needs and bring about desirable changes. Societal changes (political, economic, technological, philosophical) alter cultural heritage, social interaction, and values. Education encourages questioning cultural practices and helps in forming new cultural patterns.

Acculturation: This process involves learning new or emerging customs and values, crucial for adapting to cultural changes. Both acculturation and enculturation are vital for cultural continuity, ensuring a balance between stability and change in society.

4. Social Change and Education

The Education Commission (1964-66) identified education as the sole instrument for achieving large-scale social change without violent revolution.

Education's dual function of conservatism and progressivism drives social order and reform.

Education is linked to economic change; lack of economic promotion can hinder social reform, as seen in 18th and 19th century India where indigenous education failed due to a static economic order. Education fosters economic growth and technological development.

Social change can be unconscious (imitation) or conscious (acceptance). British-era English education in India, for instance, created both frustration and readiness for change.

Enlightened Indians like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi advocated for sound education to bring about social reforms, recognizing that educational backwardness sustained social backwardness. Gandhiji promoted "hand and head" integration in education.

Education equalizes opportunity, enabling backward classes to improve their condition, fostering vertical mobility, and replacing ascribed status with achieved status, thus reducing social inequalities.

5. Education and Economic Development

Modern nations require highly educated and skilled populations for social and economic development.

The current technological and scientific revolution demands qualified scientists, technologists, and technicians.

The value of education has shifted from being low in agrarian economies to being crucial in industrialized nations, where even agriculture is now a scientific and technological concern.