COURSE CODE: EDU 2102

COURSE TITLE: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY

OF EDUCATION
LECTURE NOTES

LECTURER: JASTO M. MAORE/CECILIA

SEMESTER : SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2024

1
EDU 2102: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

SELECTED TOPICS

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Definition of Terms
1.2 History
1.3 Philosophy
1.4 Education
1.5 History of Education
1.6 Philosophy of Education

TOPIC 2: DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

2.1 Man and Education in Pre-historic Period
2.2 Ancient Times and Education
2.3 The Middle Ages and Education
2.4 The Renaissance and Education
2.5 Reformation, Counter-reformation and Education
2.6 17th Century Realism and Education
2.7 18th Century Enlightenment and Education.
2.8 19th Century Science Nationalism and Education.
2.9 20th Century Progressivism, Radicalism and Education.

TOPIC 3: THE EMERGENCY OF STATES AND INFLUENCE ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION
3.1 Ancient Egypt
3.2 Ancient Athens
3.3 Ancient Rome
3.4 Ancient India
3.5 Ancient China

TOPIC 4: EDUCATION IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES-

EDUCATIONAL THINKERS
4.1 Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746 - 1827)
4.2 Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel (1782 -1852)
4.3 John Dewey (1959 -1952)
4.4 Maria Montessori (1870 -1952)
4.5 Edward Wilmont Blyden (1832-1912)
4.6 Henry Rawlinson Carr (1863-1945)
4.7 Julius Nyerere (1922 - 1999)

2
TOPIC 5: HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN KENYA
5.1 Precolonial Education
5.2 Colonial Education
5.3 Africa initiatives in the development of Education in colonial Kenya
5.4 Development of Education in Kenya 1945-1963
5.5 Post-Colonial Education since 1963

TOPIC 6: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AS A DISCIPLINE

6.1 History of Educational Philosophy
6.2 Branches of Philosophy
6.3 Methods of Philosophy
6.4 Approaches to Educational Philosophy
6.5 Philosophies of Education

TOPIC 7: EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT IN AFRICA

7.1 Philosophy of Education in Africa
7.2 Ethno philosophy
7.3 Cultural philosophy
7.4 Political philosophy
7.5 Formal philosophy
7.6 Philosophic sagacity

TOPIC 8: PHILOSOPHICAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

8.1 Education as a Multidimensional Concept
8.2 Forms of Knowledge
8.3The dialogical Dimension of Education
8.4 Normative Dimension of Education

TOPIC 9: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN TEACHING

9.1 The concept of teaching
9.2 Teaching and learning

3
COPY RIGHT
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior permission of the owner or Kirinyaga University.
© Jasto Mati Maore 2024

4
EDU 2102: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION
Definition of Terms
History
The term history comes from a Greek word historia meaning inquiry, knowledge acquired by
investigation. It is the study of human past.
According to the earliest definition of Aristotle (385-322 BC), history is an account of the
unchanging past.
Other historians define history as the record of all past human experience. It shows how they
came to be. It deals with social, economic, political, scientific and technological events which
have shaped, fashioned, and given rise to mankind.

D.N. Sifuna and J.E Otiende (2006) asserts that History is an evaluative study of what we have
undergone in retrospect, what we have come to be today and what we propose to be in future. To
them, history is a study ourselves, our problems our aspirations our successes and our failures.

Philosophy

The word philosophy comes from the Ancient Greek philosophia which literally means love of
wisdom. The introduction of the terms philosopher and philosophy has been ascribed to the
Greek thinker Pythagoras.

The word philosophy is also derived from two Greek words philein meaning to love, to strive
after, to search for and from the word Sophia which means wisdom.
Therefore philosophy involves a search for wisdom by philosophers, who are constantly

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with
reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

5
Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical,
generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. In more casual speech, by
extension, philosophy can refer to the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual
or group.

Education
Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind,
character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by
which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one
generation to another. Various attempts have been made to explain the meaning of the term
education.

1. Etymologically the term education is derived from the latin word e-ducere which means
to bring up. This is related to educare which means to bring out, bring forth, what is
within or bring out potential. It also compares with the latin word ducere which means to
lead.

2. Webster defines Education as the process of educating or teaching. It is to develop the

knowledge skills or character of an individual.

3. Nyerere (1982) defines Education as the transmission of accumulated wisdom and

knowledge of the society from one generation to the next and also to prepare the young
people for their future membership of the society in which they find themselves in.

4. G.P.Oluoch (1982) defines Education as a process of acquiring and developing desirable

knowledge skills and attitudes.

5. D.N Sifuna and J.E Otiende (2006) assert that Education as the entire process of
developing human abilities, potentialities and behaviour, Education is an organized and
sustained instruction meant to transmit a variety of knowledge, skills, understanding and
attitudes necessary for the daily activities of life. It is also a social process in which an

6
individual attains social competences and growth within a selected, and controlled
institutionalized setting.

7
History of Education
History of Education has been defined as;
1. The background records or stories on principles and methods of teaching and training. It
has existed during the past ages and in different countries of the world.

2. It is the study of factors that have influenced the growth of education throughout the past
ages.
3. It is a course of study that analyses the various factors such as political, social, economic
religious, scientific technological and intellectual factors that have influenced the
development of Education.

4. It is a branch of general history especially related to history of human civilization or

culture development. History of education is both a cause and effect

D.N Sifuna and J.E Otiende (2006) defines history of Education as a study of the past
educational developments especially of educational systems, theories and institutions within the
general historical context of social, economic, political, cultural, scientific and technological
change

Philosophy of Education

The Philosophy of Education is the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education.
This can be within the context of Education as a societal institution or more broadly as the
process of human existential growth.

It tries to explain how it is that our understanding of the world is continually transformed, be it
from facts, social customs, experiences or even our own emotions.

The Philosophy of Education is also referred to as a field of applied philosophy that examines the
aims, forms, methods, and results of education as both a process and a field of study. It is

8
influenced both by developments within philosophy, especially questions of ethics and
epistemology, and by concerns arising from pedagogical practice.

9
Philosophy of Education seeks to comprehend education in its entirety interpreting it by means
of general concepts that will guide our choice of educational goals and policies. It interprets all
the scientific findings as they bear on education. It has been established that scientific theories do
not carry direct educational implications and they cannot be applied to educational practice
without first being examined philosophically.

Educational philosophy depends on general or formal philosophy to the extent that the problems
of education are general and philosophical in character. We cannot criticize existing educational
policies or suggest new ones without considering such general philosophic problems as:

a) The nature of the good life to which education should lead.

b) The nature of man himself because it is man we are educating
c) The Nature of society because education is a social process.
d) The nature of ultimate reality, which all knowledge seeks to penetrate.

Like general philosophy, philosophy of education is speculative, prescriptive and analytic. It is

speculative when lit seeks to establish theories of the nature of man, society and the world by
which to order and interpret the conflicting data of educational research and behavioral Sciences.

It is prescriptive when it specifies the ends that education ought to follow and the general means
it should use to attain them. It is analytic when it clarifies speculative and prescriptive statement.

10
TOPIC 2: DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE

Historically Education developed through the following nine historical phases;

1. Pre-historic period
2. The Ancient times
3. The Middle ages
4. The Renaissance Period
5. The Period of Reformation and Counter Reformation

11
 6. The 17th Century Period of Realism
7. The 18th Century Period of Enlightenment
8. The 19th Century Period of Science Nationalism
9. The 20th Century Period of progressivism and Radicalism

Man and Education in Pre-historic Period

Man has existed in some form on this planet for between 0.5 million and 1million
years. Between 500,000 and 75,000 years ago, the tools man madebecame refined.
75,000 to 20,00 years ago, there were rapid strides in human culture. Art and
expression took place. From 10,000 to 8,000 yearsago, there were even more rapid
developments than before: complicated buildings were constructed; man produced
his own food rather than simply gathering wild fruits.

Indeed, man developed gestures, signs and symbols to convey ideas and
communicate. Between 6,000 and 5,000 yearsago man invented writing.

Education thus became an institution. Significantly, when pre-historic man began

to control his environment rather than submit to it, human culture took familiar
forms, somewhat recognizable to-day. Between 4,000 and 3,000 years ago, man
improved skills in commerce. Ironically war consolidated the cities into large
empires.

Ancient Times and Education

In the ancient or classical times, there was no common education in the Persian
Empire. Only a few people were chosen for schooling to be scribesand priests.
Education in the Persian Empire was a tool to make the massesconform.

In Sparta, a city-state of Greece, in about 8,000 BC the sole purpose of education

was to produce warriors, for Spartans dwelt in the middle of a hostile conquered
people. Spartans therefore developed a system of education for instilling obedience
12
and loyalty to their state.

13
Athenian training, about 8,000 BC was not unlike Spartan training. Athenians felt
that the state was supreme. However, there was also agrowing conviction among
the Athenians that individual fulfilment was good for well-being of their state.
Thus the great ‘mediators’: Socrates (469-399 BC), Plato (429-347) BC) and Aristotle
(384-322 BC) tried to make people realize that the social process cannot be
arrested, and demanded reconstruction on a higher plane than before. They
advocated the pursuit of truth and knowledge.

The Romans, on their part, consistently sought the application ofknowledge rather
than the pursuit of truth for its own sake. They were therefore unlike the Greek
‘mediators’. Their educational approach was thus suggestive of power and
organization. The fusion of the Graeco- Roman heritage is the basis of western
civilization.

Educationally, the Greek and Roman influence saw the development of three levels
of educational institutions; the lowest schools, with extended literary content,
taught by imitation and memorization, the learning beingaccompanied by severe
discipline; grammar schools, where the teaching was done in both Greek and Latin,
the curriculum including oratory, and interpretation of poets; and technical schools
where both Greek and Latin were used for training students in legal and literary
subjects. On compilation, the Greek students went to universities in Athens.

As to the Roman influence in education, this is evident in ideas of a universal

empire; the concept of law; and the ‘pax Romana’ (Roman peace)which to this day
underlies the guides civilization. The coming of Christianity is also a result of
roman genius for organization. In AD 313 Christianity was recognized as an
imperial religion with the Roman Empire. This witnessed the rise of catechumenal
schools which gave some sort of formal instruction, lasting for three years, to
members of Roman Catholic Church. Catechumenal schools offered little or no
intellectual message in the formal instruction offered.

14
The Middle Ages and Education
Following the arrival of barbaric hordes from Northern Europe, for three centuries
after AD 300 Europe presented a spectacle of ignorance, lawlessness and violence.
It was the Moslems who were to awaken mediaeval Europe, developing
universities in Spain (A1050) which in the end saw mediaeval universities
developing out of cathedral and monastic schools. Universities grew out of
growing need for higher education.

The Renaissance and Education

By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Europe witnessed a rebirth of knowledge,
the renaissance. This revived the ancient Graeco-Roman heritage and added to it a
new appreciation of humanities, arrears ofknowledge that refine human spirit, such
as literature, and philosophy. The Renaissance was an offshoot of progressive
social, political, economic and philosophical changes. The crusades, the
enrichment of cities, theexpansion of commerce, industry, and banking, the rise of
guilds, and the growing spirit of nationalism were key causes of change which led
to the development of national languages and literatures.

Reformation, Counter-reformation and Education

In the sixteenth century Protestants revolted and the Roman Catholic Church reformed.
The reformation was a series of revolts from the Catholic Church, which had
resisted all attempts at internal reform of its ecclesiastical doctrines and abuses of the

16th century. The reformation brought more changes in education.

The Counter Reformation arose out of the Council of Trent (1543-1563) and used
inquisitions and education a reaction against the Reformation Movement, which
was leading to separation. Thus, whilst the Protestants allied themselves to the
state, the roman Church developed theological seminaries, encouraged teaching
congregations and reorganize parish schools to counter the protestant onslaught.

15
17th Century Realism and Education
The 17th century was to be gripped by the cult of realism, which resulted in an
attempt to make education more meaningful. It witnessed humanistic realism, an
attempt to understand the content of what was taught, and social realism an attempt
to adjust education to the life situation. The crux of the matter was that the
enormous heritage of the past collided with over-whelming body of new ideas.

18th Century Enlightenment and Education.

In the 18th Century there was a general revolt against absolutism and ecclesiasticism.

By 18th century, authoritarianism was giving way to the spirit of truth and freedom
based on reason and inquiry. Despotism and ecclesiasticism were becoming thoroughly
intolerable, and the individual saw his own development as an individual as within
his reach. The picture of education, however, was bleak, though the presence of
perspective individuals, like Rousseau (1712-1778) was a redeeming feature.

19th Century Science Nationalism and Education.

The 19th Century was an age of conflicting ideologies. The various socio- political

dogmas of the 19th century replaced the much worn out inherited commitments to
the religious dynastic status Quo. Industrialism, liberalism, democracy and

capitalism were the context of the 19th century socio-political ideologies.

Educationally the interaction of these trends hasa graphic influence, leading to
great diversity of educational development in various parts of Europe, which
corresponded to the diversity of nationalconditions resulting from Napoleonic
wars.

20th Century Progressivism, Radicalism and Education.

20th Century Education trends should really be the concern of the philosopher and
sociologist rather than the historian. Nevertheless, a number of historic trends are
noteworthy: he thrust of modernization, problems of generation gap, and the

16
changing criteria of educational authority. These have witnessed the emergence of
two broad educational movements: progressive and radical.

17
TOPIC 3: THE EMERGENCY OF STATES AND INFLUENCE ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION

Ancient Egypt
Introduction
Egyptian civilization existed between 4000 BC and 1000 BC. It is the oldest and earliest
civilization with a recorded history. The Egyptian civilization was a product of the agricultural
activities around the River Nile. This civilization was strengthened with the newfound political
unity between kingdoms under Pharaoh Menes. The upper and lower Egyptian Kingdoms united
around 3100 BC. This meant that they had one centralized government which maximized the
existing agricultural economy.
Egyptian social classes
Egyptian society was stratified. It had three classes of society members namely;
1. The upper class: This included the royal family, the priest and the nobles.
2. The middles class: This comprised of the professionals and the scribes
3. The lower class: This comprised of the fellahins or serfs and the slaves
The Egyptian priests had a very prominent position in all the aspects of the society i.e politically,
economically, socially and educationally. They controlled education directly or indirectly.

Educational aims in ancient Egypt

Education in ancient Egypt aimed at:
i) Enhancing a social stability of the Egyptian society. It also largely supported the status
quo. Through the education process the various social classes were being slotted i.e.
socially, politically and economically.

ii) Enhancing a socially, hierarchical society.

iii) Promoting the development of sophisticated agricultural sciences, creating irrigation and
flood control networks which made Egypt a leading producer of food crops. This is
because their education was technical professional and practical which aimed at
supporting the social economic and political life of the Egyptian society.

18
iv) Promoting the religions view of the world. Through education, they were enabled to
achieve their religious ideas on earth and beyond. In other words, it was a vehicle to
achieve religious ideas.

Levels of education in ancient Egypt

Elementary education

The first elementary or primary schools existed between 3000 and 2000 BC. Writing was in the
beginning restricted to the priests and their sons who were instructed by priests in temple
schools. Later, due to the usefulness of the jobs done by the nobles, the military, the civil
servants and commercials classes, they had to learn how to read and write. Their courses
included;

a) Reading
b) Writing
c) Arithmetic
d) Pronouncing
e) Moral education
f) Story telling
g) Manners
h) Social-political education
i) Elementary science
j) Astronomy
k) Music
l) Geometry
The school day was short in that the students left at mid-day. The students were few and
comprised of the few lucky ones from the upper and middle classes. They started their schooling
at the age of 4 years and completed at the age of 14 years. At this point, they were considered
well prepared for the world of work.

The elementary school did not emphasize high-level thinking or problem solving. Teachers
rarely explained their lessons. The teaching methods were fixed and included;

19
a) Memorization

20
 b) Imitation
c) Copying of text
d) Dictation
e) Observation.
Secondary education

Secondary education was conducted in the same premises as elementary education and thus it
was difficult to present a complete picture of what secondary education was. However,
secondary education is known to have emphasized the art of writing given that there were
different styles of writing. It refined the different ways of writing and was mainly an
improvement of the skills acquired in elementary school.

Higher and professional education

This was a professional kind of Education and took place in temples, temple colleges and
universities. The professionals included teachers and scribes. The teachers instructed in their
homes, offices and business premises. The scribes had to go through vigorous instruction in
order to master the skills required. The scribes could serve as secretaries, book keepers and
advisors to the pharaoh depending on their grade.

Contribution of the ancient Egyptian higher education to world civilization

Egyptian education system was very successful in achieving its aims which were;
a) Arts

b) Literature

c) Architecture (pyramid building)

d) Mathematics (mainly in multiplication)

e) Medicine (the experimented field of medicine)

f) Writing- they invented the earliest known writing material known as papyrus.

21
Ancient Athens

The Athenians considered their state supreme. However self-actualization was also encouraged.
Thus an individual had a lot of freedom in Athens. Their education was aimed at producing
creative, imaginative and artistic individuals.

Aims of Athenian Education

1. It advocated for the development of an individual and aimed at producing
individualistic democratic spirited persons
2. It aimed at promotion of the concept of good life.
3. It aimed at preparing the youths for both peace and war.
4. It aimed at promotion of the aesthetics of the Athenians.
5. It aimed at producing liberal, controlled and intelligent society.
6. Promoted the development of a whole person’s personality, emphasizing both the
physical and intellectual areas. However, Athenian education was discriminative.

Ancient Rome

Rome was one of the several Latin city-states that existed on the Italian peninsula. Between 509
B C and 250 B C the patricians or the rural landowners established an oligarchic republic of
Rome, which had a three hundred-member senate that made policies.

The Curriculum
There were three stages in the new system of education which comprised of;

1. The Elementary school: The elementary stage offered to boys between the ages of seven
to twelve years. Boys were trained the skills of reading, writing arithmetic as well as
physical exercises. Strict discipline was emphasized and corporal punishment was
administered to students. The emphasis at this state was on acquiring literacy. The boy
who attended elementary school or the Indus was usually accompanied by a slave or
pedagogue mainly a Greek who acted as a tutor. The elementary schools were completely
private with no state control.

22
 2. Secondary stage or the grammar school: This was established in the middle of the 3rd
century B C and was mainly taught by a grammar teacher (Grammaticus). Roman boys
of between the ages of ten to sixteen studied Greek grammar, composition, poetry, and
history. There were also other parallel institutions to the Greek grammar school, which
was known as the Latin grammar school. This taught the Roman vernacular grammar.
The curriculum in the grammar school increasingly became formal and embraced all the
liberal arts such as Music, astronomy, grammar, arithmetic, dialectic, rhetoric and
geometry.

3. Higher education. This was attended by boys between the ages of sixteen and eighteen
years. The schools for higher education were known as Rhetorical schools, which began
in 100 B.C The studies at this level combined both the Greek conception of the liberally
educated man and the Roman emphasis on practicality. Socrates who was a great Greek
rhetorician influenced the Roman educational theory and practice through his programme
of rhetorical education. Therefore to the Romans an orator served as a model of the
educated man. One of the major contributor and theorists of Roman education was
Quintilian.

Quintilian Contribution to Modern Education

1. He emphasized on strict and severe discipline, which is a prerequisite for producing
2. individuals who are willing and able to serve their country.
3. He de-emphasized on corporal punishment, which he saw as demeaning to a student.
Instead
4. he advocated for motivation of students through competition and commendations.
5. He promoted the idea of group learning, which he considered as beneficial to students and
6. teachers.
7. He advocated for knowledge and experience.
8. He advocated for medium sized classes for effective teaching.
9. He emphasized on proper training of children in the early years.

23
10. He advocated for a teaching syllabus that accommodated a students’ intellectual ability
and
11. interests.

24
 12. He promoted the idea of assessing the students’ level of achievement before starting to
instruct
13. him thus the teacher should base his instructions to the level of the students’ achievements

Ancient India

India’s education was affected by the religions that existed in the sub-continent. These were
Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

Aims of education in India

Education in India:

a) Aimed at preparing the youth for the life to come. It prepared them to go to a place they
called Nirvana (Heaven). It trained them to be submissive. They believe in reincarnation
and thus, ones conduct determined in what form one was to be reborn.

b) Aimed at preserving the caste system. The youth were prepared to fit in their castes.

c) Aimed at serving the religions purposes. It was intended at enabling one to fulfill
religious obligations and duties in preparation for sinless state in Nirvana.

The structure of Indian education

Ancient education in India comprised of two levels. These are;

a) Elementary education

b) Higher education

Elementary Education

This was given to the first three classes or castes i.e. the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas and the
Vaisyas. Formal schooling started at the age of five and since there was no government
sponsored education system, formal education composed of parents teaching their children and
some hiring professional
25
teachers to teach their children. The professional teacher was called a Guru. The Brahmans
served as teachers. The teacher was paid in terms of voluntary gifts.

The teachers held their masses outdoors in open-air villa schools or hunter sheds. The classes
were small and normally composed of 15 students and lasted several hours. The curriculum of
education was not academic or intellectual. It was mainly practical and vocational. It consisted
subjects such as domestic training, religious dancing, military training, studying of laws,
traditions and customs, physical education among others.

Teaching methodology

Elementary education was imparted using three main teaching methods;

a) Imitation

b) Memorization

c) Oral or mnemonic teaching

Writing was learnt by imitation of teacher’s copy and involved writing with the stick on sand or
with a stylus on palm leaves and finally with ink on dry plane leaves. Teachers hardly explained
their lessons or the reason for learning and there was no room for individual development
initiatives and innovation. Because of the methods used, progress of education was slow and
took about twelve years to complete the elementary course.

Discipline was very strict. Corporal punishment was allowed and included canning, throwing of
water to students etc.

Discipline also involved arising early before dawn and greeting the teacher (guru) while touching
his feet and being obedient when talking to him. However, the teachers only punished the wrong
doers.

Higher education

Higher education was highly regarded and was only offered to the highest caste, the Brahmans.
However higher education was not offered to women even among the Brahmans. This education
was offered in several institutions such as;
26
Private schools

These were established by teachers (gurus) to train their disciples.

Tols

These were one roomed one teacher educational

centre They were surrounded by huts where students

lived.

Forest colleges

These were for distinguished scholars and emphasized about thinking on matters of life.

Temple colleges

These trained priests and were restricted to religious matters.

Court schools

These concentrated on secular matters such as matters of the state or administration.

Curriculum in higher education

This consisted subjects such as astronomy, history, law, drama, mathematics, grammar,
phonetics, rhetoric, logic, medicine and Arabic notation.

Indians developed and used balance and scales for weights and measures. They used a binary
system running in series from 1-2-4-8-16-32 for smaller weights and decimal systems for larger
weights. Candidates who were to become priests had to take subjects like linguistics, philosophy
and theology.

Like elementary education teachers in higher education hardly explained their lessons. There was
no room for individual development, innovation or creativity, discipline was highly emphasized
even at this level. Because of their established education system Brahmans were able to establish
great universities such as Banares, Nadia and Taksasila

27
Buddhists established their university known as Nalanda. This admitted students across the
castes but it only admitted the best students. The said university offered sciences, philosophy and
to a lesser extent law subjects.

Contribution of Ancient Education system of India to the modern world.

1. It has contributed to the concept of Pacifism i.e. solving problems through peaceful means

2. It has contributed to the idea of a classified society

3. The Indians discovered the solar year that consisted of 365-358 days that is still in use
today.

4. They discovered the figure zero

Influences of Indian religions to education

1. Most of its educational ideals and entirely life in general is conservative in that it pays
less attention to personal success and advocates for less personal ambitions

2. Perpetuation of the family and state unity

3. It enhances the status quo

4. The religions are individual life denying. The world is an illusion to them and death is an
escape from the sinful world. This doctrine is emphasized in education.

Ancient China
Modem china is a vast territory extending into temperate zones in north and into sub-tropical
zones in the south. The Chinese are a heterogeneous people including Mongolians, Turkish
people and Tibetans among others. All these have been assimilated into the Chinese nation.

China is the name of a very old civilization. Essentially Chinese civilization and culture was
largely undisturbed for a long period due to isolation. Chinese history is more comprehensively
recorded than most others, though there are archaeological disagreements regarding early
historical records between the Paleolithic and Neolithic epochs of around 4000 BC which have
still to be ferreted out. This part of Chinese history is therefore still obscure.

28
Ancient education in china was influenced by three main religions namely;

a) Confucianism

b) Taoism

c) Buddhism

Structure of Education in China

Schooling started at the age of 6 to 17 years. The first day of a child in school was crowned by
giving him a new name to mark the day. There was no state sponsored education. Parents had to
pay school fees to hire a teacher. It was the responsibility of the parents to provide education
hence those who could afford were the only ones who got education. These were mainly boys
from the upper classes. However some schools were started out of charity to cater for the poor.

School attendance was poor and the school day was from sunrise to five in the evening all the
year round. There were no holidays. Teachers were to be respected by the students despite the
fact that they were among the failures in the civil services. The teaching profession was noble
and highly regarded. Teachers were expected to be morally upright in order to encourage
students to evaluate them. Moral uprightness was emphasized by Confucianism.

Levels of Education

Elementary education

Elementary education started at 6 to 7 years as said earlier and was mainly undertaken in the
teachers’ houses, patrons’ homes, pagodas and temples. The study of Chinese classic was the
main body of formal education.

Curriculum and teaching methodology in elementary education.

The elementary schools emphasized on reading, writing and computation (additions and
subtractions). Archery, boxing, Health exercises and cleanliness were offered too. Whatever was
taught was aimed at moral training. The teachers utilized the Confucian method of instruction
which was similar to Socratic one .i.e. learning was practical oriented and aimed at helping the
students to practice what they learnt. Teachers taught according to the students’ needs, abilities
29
and interests. In addition they were to respect their students. In other words, teaching was learner
centered. It was also life centered and inquiry oriented.

However those who came after Confucians were back to the traditional methods of imitation and
memorization. They also instilled harsh discipline. The family played a critical role in the
education of the youth. It remained the basic social and economic unit in china.

Higher education

This was not well organized and was dependent on an individual’s initiatives. By around 960
AD, private academies started developing to prepare candidates for formal government
examinations. These academies later, turned to be centres of advanced research and learning and
thus they produced many distinguished scholars

However education in china was reduced to passing of examinations. China started an

examinations oriented education around 1100 BC and went on until 1905 AD when it was finally
discontinued due to corruption and family connections. Examinations were open to all candidates
who had good knowledge and were of good character. To be fair in examinations they introduced
use of numbers instead of names.

Those successful in examinations were employed in public service. The examinations were
administered at three levels in higher education.

1. Preliminary examinations

These were held at the home country (home district). Those who passed were awarded the degree
of Bachelors of Arts (B.A) or Hsiu Tsai. Some were absorbed in jobs and the rest went for
intermediate levels i.e. provincial levels. The preliminary examinations demanded knowledge in
writing and literature.

2. The intermediate level examinations

These demanded knowledge in five classics and four books. The five classic were, the book of
History, poetry, book of changes (prophetic outline) book of rights (a social etiquette outline) the
book filial piety

30
The four books were;

a) The great learning

b) The doctrine of the mean

c) Sayings of Confucius

d) Sayings of Mencins

Successful completion of the intermediate level led to the award of the degree of Master of Arts
or the Chu-Jen

3. Final examinations

These were held at the Chinese capital and the successful candidates were awarded the degree of
doctor of philosophy or the Chin-shin. Those who passed PhD level did palace examinations
which were administered by the emperor himself. Successful candidates in these examinations
were to work in hah lih academy; which was a leading teaching and research institutions of the
time.

Contribution of Chinese education to modern world

1. They were the first people to cultivate silkworms from which they made silk clothing

2. They invented printing whereby they used to print using wooden blocks

3. They invented the compass

4. They invented playing cards

5. They invented the umbrella

Contribution of ancient Chinese Education to modern Education

The Chinese contributions to modern education include;

1. Formal state administered examinations

2. Learner centered and practical oriented teaching methods

31
3. Promotion of a holistic education which aimed at producing morally upright
individuals who could fit in the society.

4. Promotion of social equality in education.

5. Education geared towards production of skilled manpower that meets the needs of the
society.

6. Education that promoted individual creativity and innovation.

32