Page 1 of 4 EDUC 201 History and Philosophical Foundation of Education II.

HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION (Part 1) *Education in Preliterate Societies Before the invention of reading and writing, people lived in an environment in which they struggled to survive against natural forces, animals, and other humans. To survive, preliterate people developed skills that grew into cultural and educational patterns. For a particular groups culture to continue into the future, people had to transmit it, or pass it on, from adults to children. The earliest educational processes involved sharing information about gathering food and providing shelter; making weapons and other tools; learning language; and the values, behaviour, and religious rites or practices of a given culture. Through direct, informal education, parents, elders, and priests taught children the skills and roles they would need as adults. These lessons eventually formed the moral codes that governed behaviour. Since they lived before the invention of writing, preliterate people used an oral tradition, or storytelling, to pass on their culture and history from one generation to the next. By using language, people learned to create and use symbols, words, or signs to express their ideas. When these symbols grew into pictographs and letters, human beings created a written language and made the great cultural leap to literacy. *Education Ancient Chinese Civilization Confucius, the great educator, devoted all his life to the private school system and instructed most students. It is said that over three thousand disciples followed him, among whom there were 72 sages who went on to broaden the acceptance of the philosophy set out by their master Confucianism: a philosophy embracing benevolence in living, diligence in learning, and so on. Other schools, such as Taoism, also taught widely and this led afterwards to 'a hundred schools of thought' in the Warring States Period. During the succeeding years, private schools continued to exist although there were times when state education became fashionable. In 136 BC during the reign of Emperor Wudi (156 BC - 87 BC), the government introduced a system which was named 'taixue'. Usually the students were provided with a free diet and mainly studied the classical Confucian books. Following examinations, jdgalvez those with good marks would directly be given official titles. In the Han Dynasty there had been no system for testing a person's ability, and the most prevalent method was merely through observation. Officials would see who was intelligent and recommend individuals to their superior. This obviously restricted the source of talented people and did little to provide any kind of equality for the population as a whole. Such a system could only lead to nepotism and corruption and the need for a different means of selection had to be sought. *Education in Indian Civilization An early civilization that flourished along the banks of the IndusGanges River was Hindu civilization. The Hindus were categorized by birth into different social classes (caste system): Brahmins the priestly class Kshatrias the class of warriors or military executives Vaishyas the industrial class Shudras the service class Pariahs the outcasts or untouchables who were tasked with collecting garbage, burying corpse, and other menial jobs. Education for the Hindus was of philosophical and religious nature. The Hindus believed in reincarnation or continuous rebirth. Education is based in religious texts Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads. Types of Schools: 1. Brahminic School for the priestly caste stressing the Vedas, religion, and philosophy 2. Tols or one-room school where a single teacher taught religion and law 3. Court schools sponsored by princes 4. Temple schools emphasized religion and rituals Indias educational system provided no social mobility schooling was reserved for the Brahmins. *Education in Greek Civilization The Greeks made the greatest educational advances of ancient times. In fact, Western education today is based on the ancient Greek model. Greek civilization flourished from about 700 B.C. to about 330 B.C. During this period, Greek arts, philosophy, and science became the foundations of Western thought and culture. Homer and other Greek writers created new forms of expression, including lyric and epic poetry. The greatest Greek poet was Homer. Homer composed two famous poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, during the 700's B.C.

Page 2 of 4 Ancient Greece was divided into city-states, independent states that consisted of a city and the region surrounding it. The educational system of each city-state aimed to produce good citizens. Athens and Sparta, two of the most powerful city-states, had different ideals of citizenship. In Sparta, citizens were also expected to develop their bodies and serve the state. Sparta, the chief political enemy of Athens, was a dictatorship that used education for military training and drill. In contrast to Athens, Spartan girls received more schooling but it was almost exclusively athletic training to prepare them to be healthy mothers of future Spartan soldiers. Athens made the greatest educational advances of any Greek city-state. But Athenian education was far from democratic. Education was limited to the sons of Athenian citizens. Less than half of all Athenians were citizens. Slaves made up a large part of the Athenian population and were not considered worthy of an education. Athenian boys started their education at about age 6. But they did not go to schools as we think of schools today. A trusted family slave simply took them from teacher to teacher, each of whom specialized in a certain subject or certain related subjects. Boys studied reading, writing, arithmetic, music, dancing, and gymnastics. As the boys advanced, they memorized the works of Homer and other Greek poets. Boys continued their elementary education until they were about 15 years old. From about ages 16 to 20, they attended a government-sponsored gymnasium. Gymnasiums trained young men to become citizen-soldiers. They emphasized such sports as running and wrestling and taught civic duty and the art of war. Students held discussions in order to improve their reasoning and speaking ability. In the 400s BC, the Sophists, a group of wandering teachers, began to teach in Athens. The Sophists claimed that they could teach any subject or skill to anyone who wished to learn it. They specialized in teaching grammar, logic, and rhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core of the liberal arts. The Sophists were more interested in preparing their students to argue persuasively and win arguments than in teaching principles of truth and morality. Unlike the Sophists, the Greek philosopher Socrates sought to discover and teach universal principles of jdgalvez truth, beauty, and goodness. Socrates, who died in 399 BC, claimed that true knowledge existed within everyone and needed to be brought to consciousness. His educational method, called the Socratic Method, consisted of asking probing questions that forced his students to think deeply about the meaning of life, truth, and justice. Plato, who had studied under Socrates, established a school in Athens called the Academy. Plato believed in an unchanging world of perfect ideas or universal concepts. He asserted that since true knowledge is the same in every place at every time, education, like truth, should be unchanging. Plato described his educational ideal in the Republic, one of the most notable works of Western philosophy. Platos Republic describes a model society, or republic, ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings. Warriors make up the republics second class of people. The lowest class, the workers, provides food and the other products for all the people of the republic. In Platos ideal educational system, each class would receive a different kind of instruction to prepare for their various roles in society. Platos student, Aristotle, founded his own school in Athens called the Lyceum. Believing that human beings are essentially rational, Aristotle thought people could discover natural laws that governed the universe and then follow these laws in their lives. He also concluded that educated people who used reason to make decisions would lead a life of moderation in which they avoided dangerous extremes. Greek orator Isocrates developed a method of education designed to prepare students to be competent orators who could serve as government officials. Isocratess students studied rhetoric, politics, ethics, and history. They examined model orations and practiced public speaking. Isocratess methods of education directly influenced such Roman educational theorists as Cicero and Quintilian. *Education in Roman Civilization While the Greeks were developing their civilization in the areas surrounding the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Romans were gaining control of the Italian peninsula and areas of the western Mediterranean. The Greek education focused on the study of philosophy. The Romans, on the other hand, were preoccupied with war, conquest, politics, and civil

Page 3 of 4 administration. As in Greece, only a minority of Romans attended school. Schooling was for those who had the money to pay tuition and the time to attend classes. While girls from wealthy families occasionally learned to read and write at home, attended primary school called ludus. In secondary schools they studied Latin and Greek grammar taught by Greek slaves, called pedagogues. In primary and secondary school, wealthy young men attended schools of rhetoric or oratory that prepared them to be leaders in government and administration. Cicero, a Roman senator, combined Greek and Roman ideas on how to educate orators in his book De Oratore. Like Isocrates, Cicero believed orators should be educated in liberal arts subjects such as grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and astronomy. He also asserted that they should study ethics, military science, natural science, geography, history, and law. Quintilian, an influential Roman educator, wrote that education should be based on the stages of individual development from childhood to adulthood. Quintilian devised specific lessons for each stage. He also advised teachers to make their lessons suited to the students readiness and ability to learn new material. He urged teachers to motivate students by making learning interesting and attractive. *Arabic Learning and Education The Prophet Muhammad said "it is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek education," and under his influence, the Arabs were encouraged to pursue knowledge for its own sake. Fulfilling the duty to pursue knowledge gave Muslims a headstart in education. Among the early elementary educational institutions were the mosque schools which were founded by the Prophet himself; he sat in the mosque surrounded by a halqa (circle) of listeners, intent on his instructions. Muhammad also sent teachers to the various tribes to instruct their members in the Qur'an. The formal pursuit of knowledge had existed in one form or another since the time of the Greeks. The Arabs translated and preserved not only the teachings of the Greeks but those of the Indians and the Persians as well. More importantly, they used these basic teachings as a starting point from which to launch a mass revolution in education beginning during the Abbasid dynasty. jdgalvez In the mosque school, the teacher sat on a cushion and leaned against a column or wall as his students sat around him listening and taking notes. Only Muslims were allowed to attend the Qur'an or hadith sessions, but non-Muslims could attend all other subjects. There was no age limit, nor were there any restrictions on women attending classes. Historians such as Ibn Khallikan reported that women also taught classes in which men took lessons. Few Westerners recognize the extent to which Arab women contributed to the social, economic and political life of the empire. Arab women excelled in medicine, mysticism, poetry, teaching, and oratory and even took active roles in military conflicts. Current misconceptions are based on false stereotypes of Arab life and culture popularized by some journalists and "Orientalists." In the mosque schools, rich and poor alike attended classes freely. Classes were held at specific times and announced in advance by the teacher. Students could attend several classes a day, sometimes travelling from one mosque to another. Teachers were respected by their students and there were formal, if unwritten, rules of behaviour. Laughing, talking, joking or disrespectful behaviour of any kind were not permitted. Different teachers used various methods of instruction. Some preferred to teach from a text first and then to answer questions. Others allowed student assistants to read or elaborate upon the instructor's theories while the teachers themselves remained available to comment or answer questions. Still others taught without the benefit of texts. Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier, founded the Nizamiyya Madrasa in Baghdad which became the forerunner of secondary/college level education in the Arab empire. Madrasas had existed long before Nizam alMulk, but his contribution was the popularization of this type of school. The madrasa gave rise to various universities in the Arab empire and become the prototype of several early European universities. Founded in 969 A.D., Al-Azhar University in Cairo preceded other universities in Europe by two centuries. Today it attracts students from all over the world. The madrasas, which literally mean "places for learning," were the beginning of departmentalized schools where education was available to all. The madrasas even provided student dormitories.

Page 4 of 4 Each madrasa, depending on its location, had a specific curriculum. The subjects taught were the religious sciences (e.g., the study of the Qur'an, hadith, jurisprudence and grammar) and the intellectual sciences (e.g., mathematics, astronomy, music and physics). As these schools began to attract distinguished teachers and specialists from all corners of the Arab empire, the number of disciplines increased. Teachers received substantial salaries and scholarships and pensions were available for students. Funds for operation of the madrasas came from both the government and private contributions. Since the government placed an important role in promoting these institutions, the subject matter, choice of teachers and allocation of funds were closely supervised and regulated. The development of the madrasa evolved from the various elementary and secondary schools which were prevalent in the Abbasid empire: the mosque schools and other traditional institutions; maktabat, or libraries, which originated in the pre--Islamic Arab world; tutoring houses, palace schools; halqa, discussion groups in the homes of Muslim scholars; and the library salons in the palaces of wealthy men and courtiers who were patrons of learning and scholarship. In addition, there were the majalis or meetings which were presided over by learned men at various social institutions and private homes. The majalis covered a wide range of topics and subjects. In the current revivals of traditional Islam, many of these "old" institutions and customs are being resuscitated. Travelling to other cities to seek knowledge under the direction of different masters was a common practice in the early centuries of Islam. From Kurasan to Egypt, to West Africa and Spain, and from the northern provinces to those in the south, students and teachers journeyed to attend classes and discuss social, political, religious, philosophical and scientific matters. The custom was later popularized in Europe during the Renaissance. Academies began to emerge in the eighth century, serving as centers for the translation of earlier works and for innovative research. Each academy provided rooms for classes, meetings and readings. The Bayt al-Hikma for the Caliph al-Ma'mum (813833 A.D.) and the Dar al-'Ilm of Cairo founded by alHakim (966-1021 A.D.) are the most notable. Books were collected from all over the world to create jdgalvez monumental libraries that housed volumes on medicine, philosophy, mathematics, science, alchemy, logic, astronomy and many other subjects. Along with the introduction of paper and textbooks in the eighth century came the antecedent of "teacher certification." An instructor would give his permission (ijazah) to competent students to teach from one or all of his textbooks. Because of this practice, an individual could have an ijazah to teach a subject although he might be a student in another class. Consequently, the distinction between teacher and student was often minimized. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as Arab influence spread to Spain, Sicily and the rest of Europe, Europeans became increasingly aware of Arab advancements in many fields, especially education and science. Books were translated from Arabic into Latin and, later, to vernacular language. European schools which had long limited learning to the "seven liberal arts" began to expand their curricula. For some five hundred years, Arab learning and scholarship played a major role in the development of education in the West. The Arabs brought with them well-developed techniques in translation and research and opened new vistas in areas of medicine, the physical sciences and mathematics. Applications of empiricism in all fields of study were rapidly incorporated into the learning system of those who became familiar with Arab methodology. Long before the popularization of the phrase "transfer of technology," a term used to describe advanced expertise which developed nations offer to Third World countries, the Arabs shared their accumulated knowledge and institutions with the rest of the world.