MEANING &

CONCEPT OF EDUCATIONDr. Bani Barman Roy

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

(H.O.D, Deptt. of Education)Radhamadhab College, Silchar

INTRODUCTION It is very difficult to give one definite meaning of the

term ‘Education’. Different philosophers, educationists, thinkers, statesmen, politician artisans and priests will give widely different definitions of education according to their own outlook on their life and according to the

circumstances they have been facing. The reason is that it is an abstract entity and its concept is dynamic.

It is a continuous process of evolution and at every stage it had a different meaning according to

conditions, then prevailing. Education deals with every-growing man in ever-growing society. Its concept, Therefore, can never be static. It must continue to

grow and change.

ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

The word ‘education’ is a product of joining together of ‘E’ + ‘Duco’ of which the first ‘ E’ means from inside while the second means to develop to move forward. Education is that which brings out innate powers of an individual which has the capacity to develop them and make them manifest. Thus education is not only a process of development but also an instrument of developing the innate powers of an individuals.

The word ‘education’, is derived from the following Latin Words:

Word(s) from which derived

Meaning of the word

(a) Educatum To train, or act of teaching or training.

(b) Educere To lead out, to draw out

(c) Educare To mould/to bring up, to raise, to educate.

INDIAN CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

The ancient Indian concept of Education is ‘Shiksha’ which is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root ‘shas’ which means to discipline, to teach, to instruct or to control. ‘Vidya’ (Education) is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘vid’ which means to know. Thus, ‘vidya’ actually means knowledge.

According to Rigveda, “Education is something which makes a man self reliant.”

According to Upanishadas, “Education is that whose end product is salvation.”

According to Mahatma Gandhi,“By education I mean drawing out the best in child – body , mind and soul ”

According to Swami Vivekananda , a modern exponent of Vedantic philosophy, “Education is the manifestation of divine perfection, already existing in man. The aim of all education, of all training should be man making.”According to Ravindranath Tagore, “Education means enabling the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of dust and gives us the wealth, not of things but of inner light; not of power but of love, making truth of its own and giving expression to it.”

The Indian concept of education is well summarized by The University Education Commission (1948-1949):

“Education according to Indian tradition, is not merely means to earning a living; nor is it only a nursery thought or school for citizenship. It is initiation into the life of spirit, a training of human souls in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue. It is a second birth ‘Dvityam Janam’.”

WESTERN CONCEPT OF EDUCATIONAccording to Aristotle, “Education is the creation of a

sound mind in a sound body… it develops man’s faculty, especially his mind so that he may be able to enjoy the contemplation of supreme ‘truth, goodness and beauty’ of which perfect happiness essentially consists.”

According to Spencer, “Education is complete living.”According to John Dewey, “Education is the process of

living through a continuous reconstruction of experiences. It is the development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities.”

Redden’s definition of Education:It is perhaps, in the words of Redden that we can best describe the term ‘education’. According to him,“Education is the deliberate and systematic influence, exerted by mature person on the immature through instruction, discipline and harmonious development of physical, intellectual, aesthetic, social and spiritual powers of the human being, according to individual and social needs and directed towards the union of the educand with his creator as the final end.”

BROADER MEANING OF EDUCATION

In the broader sense, education means the process of development from ‘infancy to maturity’. It begins at birth and continues throughout the life, till death; from ‘Womb to tomb’ as they call it. It includes all the knowledge and experiences acquired during infancy, childhood adolescence, youth, manhood or old age, through any agency of education i.e. the school, home church, society etc. In this way ones whole life activities become the real source of education. The education becomes sum total of all experiences that the child receives inside the school or outside, through the study of different subjects, through various activities, through the library, the playground, the workshop or through other agencies. So education is life and life itself is education. Education is nothing but experiences of life. It starts in the cradle and ends in the grave.

Education in the wider sense has also been emphasized International Commission on Development of Education (UNESCO). In their report ‘Learning to Be’, they have given the concept of ‘Life Long Education’ by saying… human beings keep on learning and training themselves throughout their lives, above all through the influence of surrounding environment and through the experience which mould their behavior, their conceptions of life and the content of their knowledge.

NARROWER MEANING OF EDUCATION

In its narrower or relatively restricted meaning, the term education is applied to whatever taught in school or university system of education. It refers to whatever knowledge is made available to an individual at a specific time, in a specific place (school, colleges etc.), according to a specific curriculum and specific time-table, and by a particular team of teachers. It has a limited field and it primarily emphasizes the intellectual development of the student. This type of education is formal, intentional and consciously organized by the institution. Students need to pass a pre-conceived set of examination patterns through the organized way. The knowledge imparted by this method is primarily theoretical, based on information derived from text books, which only constitutes cognitive domain of human behavior. It does not take into account the all round development of the student’s personality and other domain of human behaviors.

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