EDF211/4

LECTURE FOUR:MARCH 19^TH, 2019

LECTURE PLAN

 

 Review of Lecture 1  (5 Minutes)

i.            Definition of Philosophy

ii.            General and Technical Philosophy

Review of Lecture 2 (10minutes)

i.            History of Western Philosophy

ii.            Methods of Philosophy, 

iii.            Epistemology and Axiology

Review Lecture Three

i.            Metaphysics- (05 minutes)

ii.            Logic-  (10minutes)

Lecture Four

i.            The concept of Education (35Minutes)

ii.            The concept of Teaching (35minutes)

iii.            African Philosophy (45 Minutes)

iv.            Summary (5mins)

1.3. The concept of Education

1.3.1. Definitions of Education

The Concept of Education is a very complex concept and thus cannot be defined  in simple terms due to its diverse shades of meaning. It also applies to diverse activities and processes. Most definitions of education are descriptive in nature. As such, they do not capture a single idea but a family of ideas. The meaning of the word education can be accessed from the following perspectives:

(a)    Etymological Definition

Etymology is the study of the origin of terms/words.

Educare:  Accordingly, education is said to be derived from the Latin verb educare. In the ancient Rome, the verb referred to the general process of growing up, of rearing, of bringing up. Originally, it designated both the rearing of plants, animals and the bringing up of children. Based on this definition, education has come to be viewed as the art of molding, of giving form to an incomplete or delicate person i.e. child. It presupposes the role of an adult molding the character, mind and psychomotor of the learner.

Educere: Other scholars trace the origin of the term education to a Latin word ‘Educere’ meaning to lead out or to bring out. In other words, the adult assists the child to come of age and realize his potential without any shade of coercion. The assumption is that the child is in possession of abilities/potential awaiting to be elicited by proper guidance..

(a)    Descriptive Definition

Dictionary: This is the meaning as offered in a dictionary. The meaning  is descriptive in nature and inadequate because it tends to be general and vague e.g. the Fontana dictionary defines educating as:

Ø  Passing on a cultural heritage

Ø  Initiation of the young into worthwhile ways of thinking and doing.

Ø  Fostering of an individual’s growth.

This definition is limited because it does not explain the cardinal factors requisite in the process of educating namely that   which has to do with transmission i.e. how does one do it? Which component of cultural heritage is worth of education?

(b)   Prescriptive/Normative Definition

This perspective tends to be biased depending on the thinkers/theorists involved for instance:

Ø  Plato defined education in the laws as training

Ø  Comenius defined it is as the art of teaching all men all things

Ø  Milton defines it as the art of knowing everything

Ø  Lodge defines it as equivalent to experience i.e. the experience of man interacting with his/her normal environment.

These definitions tend towards  the end that Education should achieve

The more we pursue the definition of the concept of education along the foregoing paths, the more complex it becomes. Realizing this, analytic philosophers have suggested necessary conditions or criteria of education

1.3.2. Criteria/Conditions/ Dimensions of Education

a. R. S Peters' Criteria of Education

According to R S Peters (1966) in Ethics and Education:

i.             Desirability condition: Education must involve the transmission of what is worthwhile, valuable or desirable(Normative Criteria)

ii.            Knowledge  Condition: Education must involve knowledge and understanding, and some kind of cognitive perspective(Cognitive Criteria)

iii.            Procedural Condition: Education rules out certain procedures of transmission that lacks willingness and voluntaries on the part of the learner(Procedural Criteria)

b. Njoroge and Benaar's Dimensions of Education

Njoroge and Bennars in Theory and Practice of Education (1994) have reflect on these criteria and proposed four criteria or dimensions of education.

i.            Cognitive Dimension: Education must involve the development of knowledge and understanding. Education presupposes the acquisition of knowledge – facts, skills, ideas, principles. It also involves intellectual activities like thinking, judging, reasoning, perceiving, deciding, abstraction, discrimination, intuition and imagination.

ii.            Creative Dimension: Education should involve the development of individuality. It should encourages the development of individual unique capacities and so it should make the individual creative rather than a docile recipient of knowledge. It should make one a tool – user rather that make one a tool. This happens through encouraging self- esteem, self–reliance, self–determination, self–expression and individual growth. Education that places emphasis on knowledge only may produce a person who is too academic but lacking social training. Besides being academically endowed, an educated person should actively participate as a creative agent.

iii.            Normative Dimension: Education should involve Socialization. Education takes place in a social setting and serves social functions. Education as Socialization is the acquisition of Knowledge, values, attitudes, skills to make learners acceptable members of society. These values and skills are passed from one generation to the next.  The aims (objectives), content and methods of education are socially determined. The norms and values transmitted ought to address the mind/the understanding level as opposed to mere habit formation.

iv.            Dialogical Dimension: Education should involve dialogue which is essentially a process of communication between the learner and the environment as well as between the learner and teacher. Education as dialogue encourages mutual respect, understanding, free debate and co-operation between learner and teacher. Methods that hinder free and active participation of both teacher and learners negate proper education. The methods should neither be too permissive nor too authoritarian.

c. Paolo Freire's Banking concept of Education

i. General Description

Over-emphasis -on the cognitive dimension of education has reduced the learning process to an almost mechanical exercise in mental skills, normally known as training.

Banking Concept: Underlying all this is what Paolo Freire has called the banking concept of education revolving around the principle of deposit and withdrawal seen as operative in education.

Learners are regarded as knowledge banks, depositories, receptacles or empty vessels which are to be filled with knowledge which they are expected to keep and guard till it’s demanded back at the time of examination.

Passivity: Throughout, learners tend to be passive and docile in matters of knowledge and learning. They acquire notions without internalizing or understanding them fully. Learners become mere storehouses of facts, of intellectuals. Consequently, says Freire, what they have learnt does not in any way affect them personally in their daily understandings.

Externality: Knowledge remains external and the products of the system become full in their heads but empty in their hearts.

ii.Characteristics of the Banking Concept

Ø  Narration: The teacher narrates all they know to the learners who consume every word without alterations or questioning.

Ø  Memorization: The learner mechanically memorizes the narrated content. Learning becomes a process of conditioning and brain washing. An activity that is characterized by cramming and rot learning.

Ø  Tabula Rasa: Learners are perceived as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge from the teacher or textbooks.

Ø  Depositionism: Education becomes an act of depositing in which the teacher the depositor and the learner is the depository.

Ø  Superiorism: Education and knowledge in particular, is seen as a gift by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those they consider to know nothing.

Ø  Justificationism: The teacher considers the learners’ ignorance absolute and justifies his knowledgeability.

iii. Limitations of the Banking Concept of Education

Ø  Stifling: The banking activity in education stifles the learner’s creativity.

Ø  Competition: It creates unnecessary and unhealthy competition in the classroom.

Ø   False Premise: It is founded on the false premise that the learner is a tabula rasa and like an empty vessel. The learner always has something of their own that they bring with them into the educative process.

Ø  Passivity: It makes learners passive observers rather than active participants, creatures rather than creators in the process of acquiring knowledge. Thus knowledge obtained is to a large extent only skin deep and without internalization, it is short lived

Ø  Narrow-mindedness: The banking concept narrows the student’s outlook and vision. It perpetuates narrow mindedness and meanness of ideas in learners.

Ø  Undermining: It undermines the rational powers or abilities of the learner.

Ø  Counter productivity: It also promotes rot learning i.e. it emphasizes memory and recall which are often counterproductive in education.

NB: Personal involvement in the discovery of knowledge and internalization of knowledge by the learner are to be emphasized. Noting that knowledge cannot be acquired passively, the learners must be actively and directly involved.

1.4. The concept of teaching

 Teaching may refer to three aspects:

a)      An occupation or a profession.

b)      Normal activity of a teacher in a classroom or school situation (enterprise)

c)      Describing an actual teaching exercise.

   

(a)   Teaching as a profession

This entails the following:

Ø  An occupation by which a living is earned.

Ø  Deeper commitment.

Ø  Long duration of preparation/training.

Ø  Formal induction and acceptance.

Ø  Standard of performance or competence.

Ø  Code of regulations, ethics or practice to preserve the honor and prestige of the profession.

Ø  Willingness to advance the growth and effectiveness.

Ø  Regular scheme of payment and remuneration.

Ø  A great regard for the interest or advantage of the client.

(b)   Teaching as an enterprise

It refers to the cluster of activities that the teacher engages in within the school setting:

Ø  Marking registers.

Ø  Maintaining discipline.

Ø  Filling mark books.

Ø  Coordinating co-curricular activities.

Ø  Being on duty (TOD).

(c)    Actual teaching

Simply defined as a system of actions intended to induce learning. Must meet the following criteria:

i.            Have a person who is consciously and deliberately doing the teaching.

ii.            Another person or oneself who is being taught – learner is logically necessary.

iii.            Something (content) being taught (facts, information, knowledge, skills).

iv.            At least an intention on the part of the person doing the act that the recipient should learn.

v.            Involve methods or procedures that are orally and pedagogically sound or acceptable.

According to William Frankena (1973), education is said to take place when 

 “X is fostering or seeking to foster in Y some disposition. D by method M.” Where

  X is the society, the teacher or whoever is educating (even oneself)

Y is the leaner (child youth or adult)

D is disposition beliefs, habit, knowledge, skills, attitudes considered desirable both for the leaner and society.

 M is morally acceptable methods that pay attention to the interest of the learner, personal integrity and active participation in the learning process. (Methods should not dehumanize or degrade the learner.)

1.5. Educational thought in Africa

This can be classified into various categories:

I           Traditional

·         The African traditional/indigenous education.

·         The Islamic tradition in education

·         The Western tradition in education

II         Contemporary

(a)   Conservatism

·         Colonial view of education

·         The religious view of education

·         The nationalist view of education

(b)   Progressivism

·         the liberal view to education

·         the radical view to education

·         the instrumental view to education

(I)                Traditional thought: the african indigenous educational thought

According to J P Ocitti (1973), African indigenous educational thought comprised of the following philosophical principles:

·         Communalism

·         Preparationalism

·         Functionalism

·         Perenialism

·         Whotisticism

(a)   Communalism

It is derived from the adjective communal originating from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning belonging equally to two or more people. It refers to a condition where people are united, cohesive, cooperative, and are committed to  the welfare of the group as opposed to individualism. In practice, the principle of communalism was expressed through the socialization of children as opposed to individualization. Education was aimed at strengthening the organization, unity of the clan, community and chief-dom. Overall, cooperation was preferred to competition enabling the children to grow up seeing their well being in terms of the welfare of the group.

Relevance to contemporary education

·         Unity and cooperation are desirable virtues which modern education ought to inculcate in the learners. Education policy makers should do away with parochial/narrow minded extension  of the society as a whole.

·         Teaching of social education and ethics, history, literature as instruments to this endeavor.

Limitations

·         Communalism’s emphasis on the organic whole of the community denies the human person the freedom to exercise unique potential, and to aspire to become rather than conform.

·         Unity of purpose, theory and action in inhibitive to creativity. It negates the need to establish unity in diversity.

(b)   Preparationalism

Derived from the noun preparation which stems from Latin word ‘prepare’ meaning to make ready. It entails the process of making someone ready or suitable for a certain purpose. In the African indigenous society, children were prepared to become useful members of the society. They were expected to become well adjusted with certain values, ideas, modes of behaviour and attitudes in their adult life particularly as married men and women.

Relevance

·         It is imperative for education to equip individuals with the capacity to cope with the physical, social and perhaps spiritual environment. The content, methods and overall aims of education ought to prepare someone to become a useful member of the society.

·         Modern education has relegated this aspect to training colleges and universities which caters for a negligible percentage of learners.

Limitations

·         Over  emphasis on the outcome/preparation can easily overlook the process value of education. Each piece of knowledge, skill and general attitude ought to be useful.

(c)    Functionalism

Function  is Latin word meaning action or activity proper to anything. It also refers to the ability to function or to be useful in practical terms. Indigenous education emphasized this principle by ensuring that every learning experience was useful. Children were inducted into the society through participatory learning. They were involved in work, ceremonies, rituals, imitation play, hunting and oral literature. Practical learning was highly valued.

Relevance

·         The utility value of learning experience is a positive approach to education. In other words, education is of use to the society.

·         Learning by participation can encourage production in society. Instead of confining the youth and energetic adults to institutions of learning and exposing them to theories, they should work as they learn.

·         The principle underscores the empirical approach to learning which is a useful method of teaching and learning.

·         Creativity component of education is essential.

(d)   Perenialism

The term emanates from the adjective perennial which is from Latin ‘perenis’ meaning lasting throughout the year or a succession of years. It designates a sense of permanence. Indigenous education was based on the  assumption that cultural heritage e.g. language, food types, beliefs and traditions was essential for the survival of the clan or tribe. The values, attitudes and practices contained in the common heritage were considered established once and for all in the long distant past. Succeeding generations were not allowed to change or modify it but had to perform/observe it and hand it over.

Relevance

Historical study of the past is good so as to appreciate and understand the milestones in the development and evolution of ideas, knowledge and certain practices.

Limitation

·         It tends to overlook the learners. Teaching based on perenialism is mainly teacher and content centered while today’s teaching advocated for the learner centered approach.

·         Knowledge is pragmatic and keeps on changing after every given period of time.

(e)    Wholisticism

It is derived from the adjective wholistic whose origin is the word ‘hal’ an old English term meaning not divided into parts, complete amount or a combination of parts. Indigenous education entailed a wide range of skills, attitudes, values and knowledge. It was aimed at producing an all round person equipped with a wide range of skills.

Relevance

·         Wholistic approach to learning is important because it enables and individual to function in diverse situations. The approach however encourages shallowness (jack of all trades and master of none)

·         Specialization is essential for innovation to be realized in the society.

(II) Contemporary view: Nationalism ideas in education -Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832 -1932)

Born in West Indies in 1932, he migrated to Liberia in 1851. He lived during a time when racism was at its peak. Africans were considered backward and primitive. The Western education was widespread and its major aim was to enable Africans to imbibe Western values ideas and worldviews. His contemporaries reacted to the racial prejudices differently. Some were persuaded to discard their cultures and absorb the Western culture wholesale attaining what Frantz Fanon refers to as a “black skin, white mask”. The second group attempted to integrate the Western values with African values i.e. they discarded whatever was repugnant and adapted that which was useful. The third category adopted a racial stance against the prevalent racial myths. They tenaciously defended the Negro cultural heritage by dispelling the lingering racial myths, and second by advancing unprejudiced racial theories. This category of thinkers was equivalent of cultural nationalists. Blyden falls in this category. His nationalist ideas included:

·         Defending the Negro race as a distinctive race capable of playing its rightful role in the civilization of humankind.

·         He opposed the inferiority complex exhibited among Africans in their encounter with people of other races.

·         He painted to the fact that the Negro race had played a significant role in the field of learning in the past and could do so again if the right education was transmitted.

He thus advocated for:

·         A race-conscious-culture based type of education i.e. a curriculum specially tailored towards the innate capacity and the ultimate utility of race. This should be an education that will cause Africans to discover themselves. Education in Africa should instill confidence among Africans. It should restore human dignity and absolute confidence or faith in one’s creative abilities. This call for authentic personality that strives to dispel the lingering myth of European people being superior to the Negro. He came up with the Philosophy of Afrikaners that sought to establish how to make black people participate in the community of nations.

·         The development of the mind to be able to subdue complicated phenomena. This would enable one to express themselves in normative, rational and creative domains. Towards this, he advocated for the education of girls and women in order to ensure rapid and permanent progress.

(III) Progressivist perspective: Liberal view to education Julius Kambarage Nyerere

Born in 1922 in Musoma Tanzania, he obtained a Diploma in education at Makerere College Uganda and later undertook a Master of Arts Degree in Edinburg University in 1952. He became involved in the politics of Tanzania when he returned home. He was a co-founder of TANU along with other nationalists. During the first presidential elections in 1962, he was elected the first president of post-colonial Tanzania. Besides politics, Nyerere articulated his ideas in diverse spheres of knowledge including social philosophy and education. In education, he advocated two related views namely: education for self-reliance and education for liberation.

Education for self reliance

The concept of self reliance comprises of two distinctive words, ‘self’ and ‘reliance’. Self refers to the human person, the agent or the ‘I’ of the individual. Reliance points to a state of being that are dependent on something or somebody else. It refers to some bond or relationship where subjects embrace in inter-subjective relationship viewed together. Self reliance refers to a situation where the individual relies upon himself/herself or his/her being. In a book called ‘education for self reliance’ (1967), Nyerere underscored the need to radically examine education in Tanzania. He diagnosed the major pitfalls of the inherited colonial education in Tanzania as:

·         Education was founded upon the principle of capitalism; it promoted a class of elites and inequality and class structure.

·         It divorced its participants from society and discouraged them from unconditional service to the community. They want to live in towns.

·         It tended to be formal; book centered and despised traditional informal knowledge and wisdom.

·         It tended to be unproductive, discouraging students and pupils from hard work.

These factors were not in agreement with the past independent Tanzania which basically embraced the philosophy of Ujamaa (African Socialism). Ujamaa stood for:

·         Work by everyone and exploitation by none.

·         Fair sharing of resources which are jointly produced.

·         Equity and respect for human dignity.

·         Education for self reliance. It meant the attainment of economic and cultural independence at a corporate level where society could rely on itself for progress and development.

·         It also meant individuals expressing themselves in creative, productive terms as a result of education.

Education for liberation

The concept of liberation stands for:

·         Being freed from what appears inhibiting/constraining.

·         Being freed to be able to undertake, empowerment or freedom to become.

Education for liberation implied in Nyerere’s context:

·         Removal of constraints and limitations that stood in the way of Tanzanians to become self reliant: this is namely colonialism and post colonial conditions that were in the interest of colonial powers.

·         Liberation is not a once for all event: it is an ongoing process involving systematic eradication o physical and mental impediments to freedom.

·         Liberation is both physical and mental – the total emancipation of man.

·         Education should release liberating ideas and skills to the mind of learners. This is likely to increase control over themselves, their lives and their environment

·         Education for liberation should employ rational approaches to educating in the sense that educating should arose curiosity and provoke inquiry.

·         The product of education for liberation is likely to be a self reliant individual.