Education for Public Administration

(Early Egyptian Education)

Ancient Egypt

- Birthplace of one of the world’s first civilization.

- Arose about 5,000 years ago in the Nile River Valley and thrived for over 2,000 years.

- Became one of the longest lasting civilizations in history.

 Aims of Education

- Scribes were in great demand to record the transactions of ecclesiastical and commercial business.

- To train the scribes was the most coveted profession at that time.

- Religion aimed to inculcate in the minds of the learners proper respect for the gods and the pharaoh who was also
considered as god.

- Their aim was also utilitarian.

- Preservation of cultural patterns was also another aim of Egyptian education.

 Types of Education

- Religious education was predominant as the priests wanted to inculcate in the minds of the learners proper respect
for the gods, moral conduct, and a preparation for life after death.

- Vocational-professional education was also predominant because they wanted to perpetuate the artistic skills that
embellished their temples and other buildings and their wonderful achievements in engineering and architecture.

- Military education on the other hand, was only for the sons of the nobles.

- Education for public administration was for those who aspired for positions in the government because the pharaoh
needed many assistants to implement his desires.

- Priesthood education was for those who aspired to become priests.

- Home arts education was largely vocational and offered to women.

- Writing-reading was another type of Egyptian education. They used hieroglyphics as a form of writing.
 Agencies of Education

- Education was under the control of religion.

- The temple schools were for higher education, especially for the professions such as engineering, architecture,
medicine, dentistry, surveying, etc.

- Military schools were only for those sons of the nobles purposely for defense and aggression.

- Vocational schools were schools of arts and trades.

 Methods of Instructions

- Apprentice was dominant method especially in the lower and vocational schools.

- Dictation, memorization, copying, imitation, repetition were standard practices in the teaching especially in the
lower grades.

- Observation and participation were also standard practices of teaching in the vocational courses.

- Flogging was use to penalize failure to learn.

 Effects/Contributions

- The ancient Egyptians made outstanding contributions to the development of civilization.

- They created the world’s first national government, basic forms of arithmetic and a 365-day calendar.

- Development of geometrical measurement and surveying.

- Invented papyrus, a paper-like writing materials made from the stems of papyrus plants.

- Developed the first religions to emphasize life after death.

- Built great cities in which many skilled architects, doctors, engineers, painters and sculptors worked.

- Built pyramid as tombs for their rulers.

 The Downfall of Egypt

- After centuries of progress, Egypt declined due to refusal of the priestly class to change the accepted rules and
practices.

- The incapacity of the Egyptian mind to ascend from the practical and empirical to the scientific and universal was
the chief cause.

- Conceptual thinking, reasoning, creative imagination, and intellectual curiosity were foreign to them.

- They saw in knowledge only as a means of practical advancement and love knowledge for its own sake.