Contents

lntroduction
Education and Literacy
Education as Preparation for Social Role in Ideal State
Education as Cultivation of Reasoning Ability
Education as ~ e a h i n gWhat Children Want to Know
Built-in Value in Education
Nature and Scope of Education: Cross-cultural Perspective
Cultural Dimension of Education in lndia
Sociological Perspective on Education
Conclusion
Further Reading
Learning Objectives
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
distinguish between literacy and education;
' discuss the multiple dimensions of education; and
explain the interrelationship between education and value system.

1.1 lntroduction
You must have heard your parents and teachers telling you how important
education i s for securing a job, receiving honour and respect i n society, and
above all making you a 'refined' person. Have you ever wondered what the
concept of education i s ? Is education merely a means of securing a livelihood
I or prestige in society? What i s it in education that people think brings about
i refinement in personality? Is education confined to teaching and learning
activities in schools and universities? Often the term education i s used
synonymously with literacy. We begin this unit by highlighting the difference
between education and literacy. We will atso explore the meaning and different
dimensions of education as also the interrelationship between education and
value system in general and in the context of lndia in particular.

1.2 Education and Literacy

The term 'education' i s derived from the Latin word, educare which means,
'to bring up', 'to lead out', and 'to develop'. In the simplest sense, therefore,
education refers to the process of bringing up, leading out, and developing
individuals as mature, adult members of society. There i s no denying that the
meaning and usage of the word were excessively pervasive and generalized till
industrialism gained ground. Peters (1977) explains that the coming of
, industrialism was accompanied with greater demand for knowledge, skill and
training which called for formal means of imparting these i n specialized
institutions that came to be referred to as 'schools'. Conseauentlv. education,
in i t s earliest conception as training or the handing down of knowledge and
skills, got associated with schools. Over time, the scope of education got
delimited to the development of knowledge or understanding.

In i t s widest possible sense, education i s characterized by the moral,

intellectual, and spiritual development of a person. It may be noted that the
conception of education as the all-round development of an individual, as ..
Perspectives and
distinct from training, emerged in the nineteenth century. The process of
Theories On Education
education comprises cultivation of distinct qualities and traits through explicit
instructions or through implicit inhibition as pa&&-growing up amidst family
members, kin and peer groups. Surely then; the doqain of education enfolds
both, what children learn in schools as also in families' and peer-groups as part
of the process of socialization. More specifically, Peters writes (1977: 11), "In
other words, though previous to the nineteenth century there had been the
ideal of the cultivated person who was the product of elaborate training and
instruction, the term 'an educated man' was not the usual one for drawing
attention to this ideal. They had the concept but they did not use the word
'educated' quite with these overtones. Education, therefore, was not thought
of explicitly as a family of processes which have as their outcome the
development of an education man in the way it is now".

The Renaissance humanists emphasized learning Latin as al'so other classical

languages. An educated person was described as one who had mastered Latin
and classical languages and had studied classical literature. The Renaissance
educators believed that the endeavour would instill humanistic, human-centered
knowledge in the minds of children. These educators were largely literary
figures - writers, poets, translators, and teachers. They encouraged the
learners to develop their faculties in a way that they would be able to challenge
existing customs and mediocrity in literature and in their own lives. Such
education was reserved for the elite (Ornstein and Levine 1993).

The invention of the printing press in the year 1423 was a milestone in the
history of education. Books and print material now became readily available.
One consequence of this was the spread of literacy. The Protestant Reformers
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries extended literacy among the
masses. Vernacular schools brought the curriculum essentially consisting of
reading, writing, arithmetic and religion among the masses in the community's
own language.

In common parlance, a term that is often used synonymously with education

is literacy. Much in contrast to education, the scope of the concept of literacy
is delimited to the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic - the so-called
three R's. The literacy campaigns of the government bodies, non-governmental
organizations, as also international organizations seek to initiate people into
the skills of reading and writing with the expectation that literate individuals
are better able to secure a livelihood, raise productivity, and safeguard their .
own and their nation's interests more competently than their non-literate
counterparts.

At the time of its founding, LINESCO sought to enable as many people in as

many nations as possible to read and write. Mass education campaigns were
launched. Over a period of time, however, it came to be realized that literacy
programmes did not match the needs of adults. In the 1960s LINESCO adopted
a functional view of literacy following which the focus shifted to fostering
reading or writing skills that would raise productivity i n agriculture,
manufacturing and other jobs. The functional approach to literacy was evident
in the Experimental World Literacy Programme (EWLP) in which UNESCO was an
important participant. It was found that the focus narrowed two sharply on
needs of national economic development. Consequently, the socio-cultural
and linguistic context in which learners acquired and applied their literacy
skills as also the needs of learners in their local context remained largely
ignored.

In the 1970s the concept of literacy got widened, particularly after the
intervention of Paulo Freire who emphasized literacy as an educational process.
The chief concern was with encouraging the people to question why things
were the way they were and striving to change them i f need be. While earlier
12
literacy programmes treated the learners as beneficiaries, Freire treat& them The Concept of
as 'actors' and 'subjects'. The major fallout of the change in approach was Education
that literacy, which had hitherto been confined to classroom learning found
place in the socio-political domain of society. The socio-cultural and linguistic
contexts assumed significance. UNESCO bestowed one of i t s literacy prizes
on Paulo Freire in 1975 as recognition of the contribution to what was termed
as 'critical literacy'. The term critical literacy was used to refer to the capacity
of an individual to participate as an active citizen given to critiquing national
and international practices, claiming rights, and challenging power structures.
We can now appreciate better the broadening of the concept of liferaey,;and
its rising affinity with that of education. In the 1980s, UNESCO recognized the
clear-cut distinction between 'autonomous literacy' (referring to a skill acquired
with no reference to values and context) and 'ideological literacy' (refer'ring
to mediation of literacy by social or political ideologies). Modes of schooling
and ways of transmission of knowledge acquired greater importance in the
larger framework of consolidation of and expression of power particularly so
because it was recognized that literacy was a major means through which
power i s both, acquired and exercised in society.

Box 1.1: Literacy as an evolving concept

"The concept and practice of literacy are in constant and dynamic evolution,
with new perspectives reflecting societal change, globalising influences on
language, culture and identity, and the growth of electronic communication.
In this development, two fundamental notions are clear. First, Literacy is
ambiguous, neither positive or negative i n itself, its value depending on
the way it i s acquired or delivered and the manner in which it is used. It
can be liberating, or to use Freire's term, domesticating. In this, literacy
matches the role and purpose of education more broadly. Second, literacy
links with the broad spectrum of communication practices in society and
can only be addressed alongside other media, such as radio, TV, computers,
mobile phone texting, visual images, etc. The massive development of
electronic communication has not replaced paper-based literacy, but
provides a new context for it; graphics have an increasing place alongside
text; computer-based learning and play occupy both children and adults
and displace the reading of books - all these phenomena are changing
the way we view literacy" (UNESCO 2003).

1.3 Education as Preparation for Social Role in Ideal

State
Some of the earliest ideas on the concept and meaning of education have
treated it as a process by which children acquire moral values that are essential
for harmonious existence In society. Both Socrates and Plato upheld that it
was morality alone that ensured happiness and a sense of fulfillment in life.
Moral existence, they said, was derived from rational understanding of the
virtues of human nature as also truth. Cultivation of philosophical reason,
therefore, was imperative to 'good life'. Moral reason enveloped all aspects of
existence. Plato explained that since the source of intelligibility, nature and
the very being of everything is the supreme form, a philosopher aspires to
attain knowledge of it as the ultimate objective of life. Plato was convinced
of a pre-bodily life in the course of which the soul gets originally acquainted
with the supreme form, and by implication, the all-pervasive moral reason.

'The task of the teacher in a classroom was limited to reminding the children
and enabling them to recollect all that they innately know or are aware of.
Cultivation of moral reason comes from the study of mathematics since it
fosters abstract, disciplined thinking. When abstract, disciplined thinking
develops, an individual is able to transcend mundane, empirical reality. PLato
vehemently guarded the idea that education is essentially the training of
Perspectives and character. He was sure that culture (including music, architecture, literature)
Theories on Education provided an appropriate learning environment to the child and created an
indelible impact on their minds. His concern was with the effect on characters
of literature, dramas, and other forms of representation that lay at the core
of Athenian education and formed the basic medium for transmission of
information and ideas. He was critical of works of literature (including Homer)
that failed to display respect and honour for gods, heroes, and great people
who would otherwise serve as role models that children could emulate.
Furthermore, he did not approve of the idea of young people enacting mean-
spirited or otherwise contemptible characters in plays and drams. He felt that
such people would somehow acquire the nature and character of the character
they were portraying. Plato was severely criticized for his protective attitude
towards cultural education in which the autonomy of children was laid down
in favour of totalitarian ideology.

In his widely read, oft-quoted work, Republic, Plato divided people in society
into different categories based on their intellectual development and acumen.
The major classes were: the intellectual rulers or philosopher-kings; the
auxiliaries and military defenders; and the workers who produced goods and
services. Individuals received education appropriate to the category to they
belonged which determined the tasks they were required to perform in the
course of their lives. He devised the curriculum in that the educational needs
of people in the ideal state were met appropriately.

1.4 Education as Cultivation of Reasoning Ability

In contrast to Plato's belief that all knowledge lies innate within the individual,
Aristotle upheld that knowledge was derived from sense perceptions. A child
observes the objects and phenomena through the five senses. This observation
forms the basis of developing a principle or a set of principles for understanding
and explaining them. The process of arriving a t general conclusions from
specific, or particular observations is known as 'inductive reasoning'. One
example of what inductive reasoning means is that of a child who sees the
buds turning into flowers over a period of few days and concludes that the
rose bud in hislher garden will also turn into a flower over a period of time.

Like Plato, Aristotle believed that the control of education should lie with the
state. This would enable the state to employ education as a means for prepafing
the desired kind of citizens. He felt that the major aim of education was the
cultivation of moral values and virtues. His model for moral education centered
on the notion that children acquire the traits they practice. In Aristotle's own
words (trans 1976: 91-92), "We become just by performing just acts, temperate
by performing temperate ones, brave by performing brave ones". Evidently,
the guidance that a child receives from parents, elders and teachers is crucial.
He said that till the age of 7 years, the focus of a child's education should be
on physical training and character building. Between the age of 7 years and
21 years, the education imparted to the child should be state-controlled. In
this period gymnastics, reading, drawing, and music are the basic subjects
that should be taught. Training in these subjects would prepare the children
for the final period of education which would last for their Lifetime extending
beyond the walls of the school. Unlike Plato, Aristotle did hot speak of higher
stages of education for women. He referred to the Last period of education
as one of liberal education that, "frees the mind from ignorance and is also
the education appropriate for free men. The subjects to be studied in this
period are similar to those that we believe were taught at Aristotle's Lyceum,
chiefly mathematics, logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, aesthetics, music,
 The coni:ept of
1.5 Education as Learning What Children Want to Know Education
Education is commonly understood as confined to information essential for an
individual to live intelligently as a useful member of society. This implies the
perpetuation of basic information in schools that tends to get monolithic and
uniformised. In corollary, educational curriculum needs to be revised regularly
in order to cope with social change and all that it needs to enable an individual
to be of use to society. It is only natural then that children compete with
others and seek to establish their own credentials and potential for learning
more rigorously than others. There is much talk about how to universalise
education and make it more effective and efficient. Holt attacked the system
of compulsory and competitive education entailing the system of compulsory
and competitive education which brought with it the system of rewards and
punishments. According to him, the conventional practice of education was,
"the most authoritarian and dangerous of all the social inventions of mankind.
I t is the deepest foundation of the modern and the worldwide slave state, in
which most people feel themselves to be nothing but producers, consumers,
spectators, and 'fans' driven more and more, in all parts of their lives, by
greed, envy and fear" (Holt 1976: 8). What needs to be done then? Well,
following him, the education system in i t s present form needs to be done
away with more so because it constraints an individual to an extent that his/
her innate potential and capabilities get curtailed. This means that the basic
~ i g h tto take decisions about oneself, to control the mind and thought, to
explore and experience the world and make meaning of one's life are
conveniently handed over to the external agency - the educational system.
Such an educational system that exercises complete control over a child prepares
the groundwork for raising slaves (rather than vibrant, socially and mentally
independent, intelligent adults) driven by greed, envy and fear.

Does this imply that one person should not interact with another or seek to
influence another person's thought and behaviour? Is it possible to live in
complete social insulation? Certainly not, because in the course of our daily
life we meet and interact with several people and often touch and change
them, sometimes marginally and at other times substantially. Alternatively we
are also shaped and influenced by others. What is important is the conviction
that we should not put others in a situation in which they feel compelled to
be influenced by us. In essence, we need to allow an individual to accept or
reject our viewpoint and make sure that his/her freedom to choose is not
curtailed. In the context of education, the argument is in favour of encouraging
the children to learn what they most want to know rather than cram their
minds with bits and pieces of essential knowledge that we think would be of
relevance to them. Holt refers to this is 'real learning' or 'true education'.

True education is acquired, by way of 'doing things' rather than by 'learning '
things' which then cannot be imparted fully in schools which are identified as
places of learning. The fact of the matter is that true education comes from
experience. We tend to learn i.e., imbibe from what we actually do and
experience. We are influenced by the quality of our experiences, the
satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) as also the excitement and joy (or unhappiness)
that we derive from them. Children who experience humiliation, threat, and
unhappiness in school will not be able to learn what the teacher .tries to
teach. In case such children do manage to learn something, but they tend to
forget it in a short span of one or two days. Learning is greatly enhanced
when the children are filled with confidence, boldness and the eagerness to

Reflection and Action 1.1

Visit a nearby school and find out from at least 20 children of classes X and
XI1 what they think the process of education should consist of. Discuss
your findings with those of your co-learners at the study centre.
Perspectives and
Theories on Education I.6 Built-in Value in Education
Some of the earliest ideas on the concept and meaning of education were
those of R S Peters for whom the very term education enfolds normative
implications. He explains the concept of education in terms of initiation into
activities that are worthwhile to pursue for their own sake. These include,
among others, the pursuit of sciences, history, literature and philosophy. An
educated person i s one who has been able to understand the broad perspectives
characteristic of these disciplines and their influences on other domains as
also on human life. The prominent argument i s centered on the imbibing of
values and ideas that are worthwhile. Peters (1966:25) maintains that education
has the criterion built into it that "something worthwhile i s being or has been
intentionally transmitted i n a normally acceptable manner". By implication, a
person who has undergone the process of education has been essentially
transformed for the better.

The critical issue at this juncture i s the determination of what constitutes

'worthwhile' or what i s worth cultivating and pursuing. Peters clarifies that
those activities and pursuits are worthwhile which are thought to be valuable.
Education, therefore, can be said to have 'built-in value'. This is a positive
view of education which takes a position that i f any teaching-learning enterprise
is treated as education, then it must necessarily be valuable failing which it
cannot be treated as education.

Box 1.2: Criteria of Education

According to Peters (1966: 45) the basic criteria of education are:
i) "that 'education' implies the transmission of what i s worth-while to
those who become committed to it;
ii) that 'education' must involve knowledge and understanding and some
kind of cognitive perspective, which are not inert;
iii) that 'education' at least rules out some procedures of transmission,
on the grounds that they lack willingness and voluntariness".

More importantly, education is a not a monolithic concept applicable to chalk-

and-blackboard teaching within the four walls of a classroom. Getting children
to make things, showing them how to do things, making them find out and
explore are educative processes. A person may not be called educated simply
by virtue of the fact that helshe has mastered a particular skill. A person who
is educated i n the real sense should have acquired understanding of principles
. for organization of facts. This understanding affects hislher outlook. More
explicitly stated, a person who has specialized in a particular discipline may be
said to be knowledgeable but not educated till hislher specialization influences
hislher perspective on other dimensions of life. When the knowledge a person
has acquired affects the way in which helshe Looks at, understands, and
explains different aspects of life, the person may be said to be educated. This
i s what Peters meant when he said that education has a transformative effect
on an individual. An educated person (i) places an issue in a larger framework
of reality; and (ii) i s committed to the standards imminent i n hislher field of
interest. It is believed that all forms of thought and awareness are characterized
by distinctive standards for appraisal. This boils down to the conception of
education as all-round development of an individual for which Peters used the
expression, 'Education i s for whole man'.

1.7 Nature and Scope of Education: Cross-cultural

Perspective
We have already read in the previous pages that the concept of education
is not monolithic or uniform across cultures and periods of history. Educational
ideas are known to have developed out of the human struggle for survival and The Concept of
enlightenment. The educational heritage of the western civilization has greatly Education
influenced American education. World educational history has, however, also
benefited greatly from Mero-American, Africa, and Asian civilization. The Mayans
in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and Guatemala developed expertise in the fields
of architecture and astronomy. Equally specialized was a type of writing based
on word signs or logographs which the Mayan priests taught their apprentices
in religious schools. Similarly, the Chinese developed an elaborate educational
system which was based on Confucian philosophy. Civil servantk who
administered the Chinese empire were those who passed the formal
examinations (Ornstein and Levine 1987). Education is, however, not confined
to developing expertise in word signs or architecture and/or astronomy (as
the Mayans did); or preparing people to rule the state as civil servants through
an examination system (as the Chinese did). The indigenous people or tribal
communities also develop skills for survival and a way of transmitting the
language, skills, knowledge, beliefs and values t o their children which prepares
them for adult roles. Those who subsist by hunting and gathering teach their
boys to make weapons and their girls to collect food from forests. Similarly,
those who subsist by cultivating teach their children to prepare the earth,
sow, transplant and harvest the grain. These are not isolated activities rather
they are interrelated with the entire way of life - knowledge, beliefs, arts,
morals and customs of the community. In the absence of written texts and
formal schooling the transmission of information and cultural wisdom takes
place through oral tradition. It is through songs, legends and stories, proverbs
and riddles narrated by the elders that the children learn about the group's
history, wars, victories and defeats and heroes. These were the non-formal
ways of preparation for adulthood (as a useful member of society) among
indigenous people who were not exposed to the formal system of education
in schools. Many sociologists believe that they were in no way 'less refined'
or inferior to those who pass through the formal education system.

a) Education i n Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is treated as the epicenter of western culture. It is important
to understand how and what kind of knowledge was transmitted there. As we
know, Homer's poems provided Greeks a means of defining their cultural identity
since they explain GreeksJ origin, portray their struggles and provide a model
for the future. Chil.dren who study the behaviour of the epic heroes learn (i)
the characteristics and qualities that make life worth living; (ii) the behaviours
expected of warrior-knights, and (iii) the flows or weaknesses i n human
character that brought harm to oneself and one's friends (Ornstein and Levine
1987: 84). Greeks laid greater emphasis on participation of children i n culture
than on formal schooling. Athenians believed that Liberal education was needed
by an individual to discharge duties towards the state and for self-development.
Since slaves were required to serve the masters, they were kept away form
liberal education. Instead, they were trained in skills for specific trades. In
Athens women had no legal or economic rights. The vast majority of them
were excluded from formal education. Girls in Sparta were, however, more
exposed to schooling. Here the thrust was on athletic training that would
prepare them for healthy motherhood t o future spectrum soldiers.

In the middle of the fifth century BC, the commercial class began to take over
the landed as aristocrats. Consequently traditional ideas about education came
to be diluted. This led to the rise of a group of professional educators who
came to be known as sophists. The sophists were wandering teachers who
specialized in teaching grammar, [ogic and rhetoric. They instructed all those
who could afford to pay them. Education no longer remained confined to
select groups of people but was made available to a much larger number of
people, leading to socib-economic mobility.
Perspectives and
Theories on Education Box 1.3: The Greek Contribution t o Western Education
"Western culture and education inherited a rich legacy from ancient Greece.
It included the following:
1) A profound conviction of the possibility of achieving human excellence;
2) The idea that education had civic purposes related to the political
web-being of the community;
3) A distinction between liberal education and vocational training, which
has led t o curricular controversies throughout Western educational
history;
4) The legacy of the Socratic Method, by which skilled teachers might
use dialectical processes to ask universal questions relating to truth,
goodness, and beauty" (Ornstein and Levine 1987:93).

b) Education i n ancient Rome -

In ancient Rome education was aimed a t raising politicians and able
administrators. It was reserved for those who could afford to pay for it and
had the time to attend school. Children belonging to poor families could not
attend school, rather they were taken as workers. Most of the children of
slaves were trained to perform certain tasks. They were denied education.
Girls of upper classes learnt to read and write at home while the boys attended
primary schools, later secondary schools in which they l e a r ~ Latin
t and Greek
Grammar.

The educational ideal in Rome was the orator. An orator was a well-educated
man in public life. He could be a senator, lawyer, teacher, civil servant or
politician. A good orator was one who won debates and arguments in a forum.
Cicero (106-143 BC) was a distinguished Roman senator who was well versed
in Greek and Latin grammar, literature, history and rhetoric. He believed that
the educational ideal (i.e., the Orator) should have command over astronomy,
ethics, geography, history, law, medicine, military science, natural science,
philosophy and psychology. Knowledge of these disciplines helped him in many
ways e.g., developing and presenting an argument, engaging with the emotions
of the audience, and influencing public affairs.

c) Education i n Middle Ages

In the middle ages or the medieval period, European education was imparted
in institutions associated with the church - the elementary parish, chantry,
and monastic schools. The knights received training i n military affairs and i n
chivalric code of behaviour i n palaces. Monastic and cathedral schools, however,
followed the general studies curriculum at the secondary level. There were
some, schools that provided basic education along with training for a trade.
These were maintained not by the church but by merchants and craft guilds.
Most of the learners in schools were those who planned t o embark on religious
life as priests, monks or clerics. The serfs confined their activities to the
estate of feudal lords as agricultural workers.

By the eleventh century, the scholastic tradition emphasizing the spirit of

inquiry, scholarship and teaching set in. Faith and reason were identified as
complementary sources of truth. In effect, the teaching clerics, better known
as scholastics, believed that God's words were revealed i n the sacred scriptures
and in the writings of church fathers. They also accepted the importance of
human reason. In scholastic schools, the disciplines of logic, mathematics,
natural and moral philosophy, metaphysics and theology were taught as part of
higher education. The education encouraged inculcation of deductive reasoning
among learners.
Over a period of time the number of students enrolled in cathedral schou~sfar The Concept of
exceeded their capacity. As a result, universities were established to impart Education
higher education. Since the basic constituent of knowledge was believed to
be the authority of the scriptures, medieval universities emerged as centers
of theology. A high level of scholarship, however, developed in secular disciplines
too. The universities set up professional schools of law, medicine along with
theology. These were in addition to the liberal arts. There is no denying that
education in the middle ages was formal, organized and institutionalized to a
large extent.

d) Education i n the Renaissance period

In the Renaissance period, the scholastic model was challenged. The cleric
who was trained in scholastic logic was not longer regarded as representing
an educated person. Instead, the courtier who was liberally educated in classical
literature, a capable diplomat, a man of style and elegance was treated as a
model to be emulated by children. Education now basically consisted of learning
classical Greek and Latin literature. The aim was not merely to teach the
nuances of logic but to develop the all-round personality of an individual. It
was in Italy that the effect of the Renaissance was most clearly marked because
here the revival of commerce generated a financial surplus that was directed
towards extending support to the arts, literature, and architecture. 'The elite
of the country established their identity as custodians of knowledge, while
the rulers set up court schools that would impart 'new learning'.

The Renaissance humanists identified the study of Latin as the marker of an

educated person. An educated person was one who had studied classical
languages and classical literature closely. The emphasis was on a human-centered
conception of knowledge in which human beings were not studied as objects
for scientific inquiry but indirectly through classical literature. It was later
that undue emphasis on the study of literature at the cost of experience was
questioned by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Dewey and others.

e) Education i n the age o f Enlightenment

In the age of Enlightenment, the reason governed education as also all other
major institutions. Scientists used objective methods to formulate 'natural
laws' that established the idea that all the natural processes follow an order.
The Enlightenment period encouraged rationality among people particularly
for improving their lives and solving their problems. Against this backdrop,
school education was designed t o develop reasoning ability in students. The
major challenge before teachers in schools was to cultivate the spirit to raise
questions among students and the willingness to apply scientific and empirical
methods of inquiry in understanding social reality. Enlightenment marked the
creation of an education system based on equality, individualism and intellectual
reasoning.

1.8 Cultural Dimension of Education in lndia

In the traditional sense, education in lndia was based largely on respect,
concern, and sharing. In rural areas, the people would contribute in whatever
way they c o ~ l dtowards the construction of the school building and meeting
the needs of the teacher. It was only later that the government officials
exercised control over these institutions to an extent that the people felt
alienated. While the villagers were asked to make contributions and take care
of the infrastructure, the school belonged to the government. It was the
government which would recruit teachers, decide the admissions policy, and
frame the curriculum.
Joseph Di Bona wrote One teacher One School which dealt with basic education
in pre-British India. Now, in this village school there was only one teacher who
Perspectives and was a local person and highly respected by everyone. The villagers provided for
Theories on Education all his requirements. The teacher was the custodian of the financial resources
of the school. A sum of money would get collected by way of nominal fees
or donations. The teacher would keep a token amount for himself and use the
remaining amount for providing writing material and playthings to the children.
When some amount of money got accumulated, he gave scholarships to
children. He was guided by the tenets of gyan i.e., knowledge, seva i.e.,
service, and tyag, i.e., sacrifice. One can appreciate the one-teacher-one
school approach which appears to be governed by concern, commitment and
accountability. This may be contrasted with the governmental approach of
appointing several teachers in one school and the rising concern about teacher
absenteeism, particularly i n rural and far-flung areas (see Naik 1998).

According to Coomaraswamy (1983) a meaningful educational system pursues

the following ideals: (i) universal philosophical attitude; (ii) recognition of
sacredness of all things, which is the antithesis of the Western division of life
into the sacred and the profane; (iii) religious toleration based on the awareness
that all dogmas are formulae imposed upon the Infinite by limitations of the
finite human intellect; (iv) etiquette - civilization conceived as the product
of civil people; (v) relationship between teacher and pupil implied by the
terms guru and chela, respectively, i n memorizing great literature - the
epics as embodying the ideals of character, learning as a privilege never t o
be used merely as a means to economic prosperity; (vi) altruism and recognition
of the unity of all life; and (vii) control not merely of action but also of
thought. In the traditional sense, the essence of education lay in realizing
one's potential and developing it as an integrated aspect of growing up. It is
for this reason that socialization as education assumes greater relevance in
the East. This is education for life.

In India several Education Commissions have been set up since Independence

with the chief purpose of initiating reforms in the present educational system
- the foundations of which were laid by the British. Why were these reforms
thought t o be important? Well, one of the major reasons has been the
discontent with the present system of education. The so well established
educational system lays excessive emphasis on literacy, reason and rationality,
success, achievement, material progress and competition and all that makes
for prosperity, richness and affluence. The content of education is designed
in a way that the child acquires the basic information and skill-set that would
enable himlher to do well i n the global market. What happens in the process
is that the child gets alienated from hislher own, local environment and
concerns. In this sense, education becomes a process of uprooting and
alienating children from the culture(s) to which they belong. Individual creativity,
initiative and spontaneity get clipped to a large extent.

Increasing attention is, therefore, being paid to the need to take the cultural
dimension of education into cognizance. It is being felt that meaningful
education (one that integrates education with cultural values) has t o be
developed so that the values, ideals and goals of education imparted in schools
do not conflict with those imparted to a child at home as part of socialization.
Much earlier, Gandhi had advocated a system of education better known as
basic education or 'nai talim'. He advocated a kind of education that would
develop among children self-reliance, commitment to non-violence, awareness
about others' and their own rights, responsibilities, and obligations in society.
An important aspect of 'nai talim' was the inculcation of appreciation for
manual labour. To this end, he incorporated activities that involved working
with the hands or manual labour as a major component of basic education.
Gandhi's ideas on education seem relevant as an alternative way of a total
development of the body, mind, and soul through self-restraint, self-reliance,
self-sacrifice, self-fulfillment, and community participation. Its relevance is
greatly enhanced in the present day fraught with tension, conflict, violence
and intolerance. At this juncture t w o questions assume significance The Concept of
(i) how can education be webbed with ecological concerns; and (ii) how can Education
education ensure peaceful coexistence of people. These are fundamental issues
that touch upon the basic philosophy of life i n lndia and in many eastern
countries. Of course, we will learn about Gandhi's idea of 'nai talim' as also
of other Indian thinkers i n the third Unit of this Block.

Reflection and Action 1.2

Do you think the traditional system of education in lndia provides a valid
alternative to the Western system with emphasis on competition? Discuss.

1.9 Sociological Perspective on Education

The sociological perspective on education focuses on both, the prqcess of
education and the interrelationship between education and different aspects
of society. The chief concern is with understanding how education influences
social processes and gets influenced by them. The seeds of sociology of
education were laid in the writings of Plato and others (about some of whom
we have read i n earlier sections) who focused on the role of education i n
laying the foundation of social order and supporting the state. .Sociology of
education was, however, carved as a specialized domain of enquiry much later.
Emile Durkheim, the French Sociologist, stresses the need for a sociological
approach to the study of education.

Jayaram (1990) explains that what was earlier called 'educational sociology'
was born out of the need of educators i n the United States of America and
Canada to integrate the large number of immigrants (around the turn of the
twentieth century) with the school and the community at large. The complexity
of demands imposed by industrialization confounded the problem. The major
questions before them were regarding (i) effective means by which immigrants
could be blended with the community; (ii) nature, scope and design of education
for rural children who were being initiated into the formal means of education
for the first time; and (iii) influence of languages, ethnic identities and religious
affiliations on patterns of learning behaviour. In order to address these issues,
it was necessary to guage the social problems of education, to understand the
linkage between social factors and education. The result was the coming
together of sociologists and educationists and the consequent emergence of
'educational sociology'. The scope of educational sociology was defined in
terms of providing the basis for determining the, objectives of education;
place of education in society; and interplay between school and the community.
Over the years educational sociology failed to keep the interests of both
educationists and sociologists alive and gave way to what is now referred to
as 'sociology of education'.

Sociology of education surfaced as a legitimate field of enquiry due t o the

interest of sociologists i n the process of education. More and more sociologists
endorse the contribution of education i n society. In the words of Mannheim
(1940: 271), "Sociologists do not regard education solely as a means of realizing
abstract ideals of culture, such as humanism or technical specialization, but as
part of the process of influencing men and women. Education can only be
understood when we know for what and for what social position the pupils
are being educated".

The sociological perspective on education establishes the importance of social

and cultural context of education. While Durkheim focuses on the role of
education i n the preservation of society and culture (which happens though
the transmission of values, knowledge, beliefs and skills of culture through the
family, kinship group and school), Dewey distinguishes between the growth of
Perspectives and natural growth of an individual. We need to understand that the goals, values
Theories on Education and skills identified as critical by the social order are transmitted through the
process of education. Now, these undergo change as social order itself
transforms. It i s for this reason that education i s spoken of as a dynamic
process (see Shukla and Kumar 1985).

From the vantage point of the aims of education, the dynamic character of
education may be explained from a historical perspective. The education system
in Greece and Rome was designed i n a way that children learnt to subordinate
themselves to the collectivity. Durkheim (orig.1956, 1985:11) explains this aspect
more clearly i n the following words, "In Athens, they sought to form cultivated
souls, informed, subtle, full of measure and harmony, capable of enjoying
beauty and the joys of speculation; in Rome, they wanted above all for children
to become men of action, devoted to military glory, indifferent to letters and
the arts. In the Middle Ages, education was above all Christian; i n the
Renaissance, i t assumes a more literary and lay character; today science tends
to assume the place in education formerly occupied by the arts". The individual
identity was merged with the society. Over a period of time there was
transformation in the aims of education noticeable in the shift of emphasis
from individual's subordination to autonomy. In the present day, the education
system seeks t o develop autonomy and self-identity i n an individual's
personality.

Sociologically, the dimensions of education that have a particular salience in

society are, the role education plays i n the maintenance (or throwing a
challenge to ) of social order, social control and power structures on the one
hand, and i t s contribution towards effecting social change on the other. A
large part of these are determined by the schooling which includes the pattern
of interaction between and among teachers and students, nature and content
of teaching, extent of learning and other aspects. Another aspect i s the
school-community matrix.

Box 1.4: Areas of Research appropriate for sociologists

"In order to better explain the social phenomena of education Durkheim
identified four areas of research appropriate for sociologists. They are:
1) ldentification of the current social facts of education and their
soc'iological function.
2) ldentification of the relationship between education and social and
cultural change.
3) Cross-cultural and comparative research i n various types of educational
systems.
4) Investigation of the classroom and school as an on-going social system"
(Jayaram 1990:2).

According to Carnoy (1974), in the United States and the countries in Latin
America which were gripped by industrialization, schooling was geared towards
the development of the factory system in the sense that children were prepared
to serve the factory system in different capacities. The economic and social
change due to the spread of capitalism i n the meteropole favoured mass
schooling which would raise children of the working class in a way that the
class structure was maintained. After World War I I when the United States
emerged as the leader of the capitalist world, its models for controlling social
change and assigning economic roles to different groups came to be adopted
<
by the Third World countries. Schooling played an exceptionally important role
in the postwar international scenario. I t has been employed as an agency of
promoting the interests of powerful economic and social groups. The present
day debates in. the area of society and education are those that relate with
the role of schooling, nature and extent of the role of education in society The Concept of
and human development. In current years, the politics of educational curriculum, Education
medium of instruction, and the role of the school in society are the crucial
issues before sociologists. Interestingly, the role of the school in society is
being re-examined by sociologists. In fact, the sociologists are questioning the
basic premise that education is the sole factor that leads to social and human
development. Alternatively, does it lead to social and human development at
all?

1.10 Conclusion
In this Unit we have explored the concept of education from different
perspectives. We began by distinguishing between the concepts of education
and literacy. We found that i n the real sense, literacy is confined to the skills
of reading, writing and doing arithmetic while education i s a broader concept
enveloping the all round development of an individual. Taking off at this point
we discussed the concept of education as, preparation for social roles in the
ideal state, cultivation of reasoning ability, and learning what children actually
want to know (rather than what they ought to know). Thereafter we explored
the value co'mponent i n education. Here we discussed the premise that
education has built-in value following which we looked into the values that
the traditional education system in lndia affords. We realized that the education
system in lndia laid emphasis on discipline, honesty, truth, kindness and
integrity.

1.1 1 Further Reading

Hobson, P. 2001. "Aristotle". In S.A. Palmer (ed.) Fifty Major Thinkers on
Education from Confucius t o Dewey. Routledge: London

Naik, Chitra. 1998. "Prologue". In B. N. Saraswati (ed.) The Cultural Dimension

of Education. IGNCA and DK Printworld: New Delhi
 Unit 2
, Theoretical Approaches
Contents
2.1 lntroduction
2.2 Functionalism
2.3 Conflict Theory
2.4 lnteractionism
2.5 Postmodernism
2.6 Conclusion
2.7 Further Reading
Learning Objectives
After going through this unit you will be able to:
explain the role of education in society; and
discuss the major theoretical approaches towards the understanding of
education.

2.1 Introduction
In any society, there i s an in-built mechanism to socialize the individual and
to transmit its culture to the young. As a simple society transforms itself into
an industrialized and a modernized state, instruction for the young becomes
increasingly differentiated, complex and closely connected with other features
of the society (Clark 1968). The resulting demands of the learning process are
fulfilled by establishing a formal educational system. This system prepares the
young for the transition from the confined and concentrated relationships of
the family to the impersonal and diversified relationships of the larger society
(Anderson 1968).

With the rise in importance of the educational system and related institutions
i n society, various scholars initiated their investigations on education as a
legitimate field of study. The scholars are not from the discipline of sociology
alone, but from different disciplines. As a result of the extensive input of
scholarship and expertise form diverse disciplines, the boundaries between
sociology of education and other participating disciplines are greatly blurred
(Bidwell 1982).

In this Unit we will discuss the major theoretical approaches towards the
understanding of the sociology of education. The Unit deals with education
as a field of study and provides a broad overview of research and methods
used by sociologists. It explains four major theoretical approaches used in the
sociology of education: functionalism, conflict theory, interactionism, and
postmodernism. The unit concludes with an analytical comment on theoretical
developments.

Functionalism treats society as a self-regulating system of interrelated elements

with structured social relationships and observed regularities. Functionalists
perceive society as similar to a biological organism which i s composed of many
distinct but interdependent parts with each part contributing to the functioning
or survival of the whole system. All the parts are not'only interdependent but
also coordinated and complementary to each other. A change in one part i s
believed to affect other parts; the malfunctioning of one part is dealt with by
 -
other parts in a coordinated way so as to maintain the equilibrium of the Theoretical Approaches
whole system.

Functionalists do not give weightage to abrupt changes in the whole system.

They lay emphasis on the absence of disruptive internal factors that disturb
the overall stability of the system. Various components or units of the society
operate in consonance with common perceptions, sentiments, values and
beliefs of the system. This agreement or consensus is achieved through the
socialization of individuals by guided principles of the society (Abraham 1982).
In simple or folk societies, the family i s the primary agent of socialization. In
modern or industrialized societies, socialization i s often mediated by
educational institutions apart from families. Against this basic understanding,
we will explore the approaches of two functionalists, Durkheim and Parsons.

According to Durkheim (1956) the major function of education i s to transmit

society's norms and values. The survival of society or collective life i s possible
only with a sufficient degree of homogeneity among various members of the
society. Homogeneity among members is reached by adhering to rules and
regulations laid down by the society. Education preserves and reinforces these
homogenising principles of society i n a child from the beginning. Durkheim
(1956:17) writes, "Education is the influence exercised by the adult generation
on those that are not yet ready for social life. Its object is to arouse and to
develop in the child a certain number of physical, intellectual and moral states
which are demanded of him by both political society as a whole and the social
milieu for which he i s specifically destined." He highlights the role played by
education in instituting 'social being' in the 'individual being.' The individual
being i s made up of mental states that apply only to himselflherself and to the
events in hislher personal life. The social being embodies a system of ideas,
sentiments and practices of the group of which helshe i s a part. The process
of socialization of a newborn differentiates human beings from animals. In his
own words, "Of what an animal has been able to learn in the course of his
individual existence, almost nothing can survive him. By contrast, the results
of human experience are preserved almost entirely and in detail, thanks to
books, sculptures, tools, instruments of every kind that are transmitted from
generation to generation, oral tradition etc." (Durkheim 1956:22). The role of
the educational system becomes important i n complex societies i n which
families or other primary groups are not fully equipped to prepare the young
for adulthood in a way that is expected by the larger society. School operates
as a model of micro social system i n which a child learns to cooperate with
other children who are not part of their primary group. The training acquired
by children in school forms the basis of their behaviour outside the school.

Box 2.1: Nature and Role of Education i n Society: Emile Durkheim

"In fact, however, each society, considered at a given stage of development,
has a system of education which exercises an irresistible influence on
individuals. I t i s idle to think that we can rear our-children as we wish.
There are customs to which we are bound to conform; i f we flout them
too severely, they take vengeance on our children. The children, when
they are adults, are unable to live with their peers, with whom they are
not in accord. Whether they had been raised in accordance with ideas
that were either obsolete or premature does not matter; in one case as
in the other, they are not of their time and, therefore, they are outside
the conditions of normal life. There is, then, in each period, a prevailing
type of education from which we cannot deviate without encountering
that lively resistance which restrains the fancies of dissent" (Durkheim
orig. 1956, rpt. 1985: 12-13):

25
Perspectives and According to Durkheim, specific skills imparted in the educational institutions
Theories on Education are necessary to maintain the division of labour i n society. As society shifts
from simple to complex form there is a corresponding increase in the complexity
of division of labour and the emergence of more specialized occupations. In
simple societies, division of labour demands generic skill sets that can be
passed on easily through families. In complex industrial societies, however,
families find themselves at a loss to impart complex and specialized skill sets.
Maintaining equilibrium among various layers of occupational structure or
divisions of labour is important i n maintaining social order. Educational
institutions give the required specifidskills to their members according to the
demands of the society and prepare them to play role sets offered by the
society. Durkheim explains that the state holds the responsibility of governing
the educational system and it decides the nature of moral principles taught
to the members. Teachers at the schools are representative of the state.
There is an underlying assumption that nature of norms, values, and skills
imparted by the educational systems are decided without any bias or
discrimination to any unit of society aiming at social solidarity.

Parsons's views (1959) on educational system are similar to those of Durkheim.

According Parsons, two critical issues are paramount in the context of education
i n society. The first is that of the internalization of commitments and capacities
among children in classrooms for adult roles. Here, the school class may be
treated as an agency of socialization through which children are motivated
and trained to perform adult roles. The second is the allocation of human
resources within the role-structure of the adult society. He recognizes the
role played by various socialization agencies like family, informal peer groups
and others in moulding the young by the society. He lays importance on school
class as a focal agency of socialization that begins with entry of children to
first grade (standard) and lasts till their entry into the labour market or marriage.
According to Parsons (1959:51), the school develops commitments and capacities
in individuals that are required for'future role-performance of individuals.
Commitments include "commitment to the implementation of the broad values
of society and commitment to the performance of a specific type of role
within the structure of society". Capacities include "competence or the skill
to perform the tasks involved i n the individual's roles", and "role-responsibility
or the capacity to live up to other people's expectations of the interpersonal
behaviour appropriate to these roles."

Parsons maintains that the school also serves as an allocation agency that
prepares human resources and allocates them within role-structure of the
society. He observes that completion of high school is increasingly becoming
a norm of minimum satisfactory educational attainment by any individual in
society. Also, the performance or achievement of a child in elementary school
determines the nature of college courses. Thus the educational system works
as the 'first socializing agency i n the child's experience which institutionalizes
a differentiation of status on non-biological bases" (Parsons 1959:51). In early
stages of schooling, the achievement of a child is measured through assessment
of two components: cognitive and moral. Cognitive component is related to
the intellectual ability of the child i n terms of written language and
mathematical skills. Moral component is related to responsible citizenship
behaviour within the school community. 'This includes respect for the teacher,
cooperative behaviour with classmates, and good work habits etc.

During early days at the school, children do not understand that achieved
rather than ascribed characteristics are the proper bases for most societal
rewards. School convinces them that they would be evaluated on the basis of
achievement, and makes them understand that there is basic consensus on
what constitutes achievement in the larger society. In early years of schooling,
children often deal with a single teacher who takes the place of mother or
parental figure for them in school. The teacher often remains affectively neutral,
treats all children as equal and follows the rules and regulations of the school. Theoretical Approaches
Parallel to the socialization process experienced at the school, students tend
to develop relationships among their own peer group. The socialization process
among peers is different from the family and the school and offers "a field for
the exercise of independence from adult control" (Parsons 1959:59), and also
provides alternative sources of reward.

Functionalists are criticized for their perception that the educational systems
operate as an integrative mechanism of the society and treat children equal.
These criticisms arise from critical theorists who argue that the educational
system is a medium of the ruling elite and not representative of entire society.
According to Collins (1972), the functional role played by education in fulfilling
the needs of division of labour is criticized as an exaggeration. There is no
evidence to prove that education supplies knowledge and skills necessary for
occupations. Only a minor part of the expansion of the education in advanced
industrialized countries djrectly serves the demands of industry in terms of
skills, training and knowledge. Most of the occupations involve training in the
job itself and employing organizations provide their own training. Further
discussion along similar lines by conflict theorists is presented i n the next
section.

Reflection and Action 2.1

Compare and contrast the ideas of Durkheim and Parsons on education.

2.3 Conflict Theory

Conflict theorists stand out in sharp contrast to the functionalists in terms of
the basic approach. According to conflict theorists, society is in a state of
perpetual disequilibrium, yet it is maintained as a body by powerful social
groups that coerce cooperation from the less powerful. They treat society as
divided into dominant and subordinate groups that are characterized by a
constant power struggle between themselves. It is not necessary that different
units would operate in a way that solidarity of the whole society is maintained.
There is an impending possibility of social instability. Society and its units are
continuously changing. This dynamism needs to be accepted as a normal
characteristic of any society. An interaction between two units involves some
form of conflict which is essential for the continuity of society. Factors of
conflict are both internal and external and range from individual to national
levels. The impact of conflict on society could be varied: positive and negative;
latent and manifest; and gradual and violent. Conflict theorists tend to be
more specific and limit their analysis to the interrelationship between two or
more units within society (Abraham 1982).

Haralambos and Heald (1980) discuss the contributions made b y Louis Althusser,
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, and Ivan lllich from a conflict perspective.
According to Althusser whose ideas are derived from Marxisni, society is divided
into the capitalist class (which owns the modes of production and exercises
control) and the labour class (which renders service in the production systems
and remains subordinate to the former). The capitalist class requires continuous
supply of labour power the exploitation of which generates profits. Educational
systems are used by the capitalist class to produce the required labour power.
Workers are socialized to accept the ideology of the ruling class which
legitimizes the capitalist system and submits t o the exploitation of the
capitalists. Bowles and Gintis (1976) explain that the capitalist system requires
surplus amount of labour power to enhance its bargaining potential while
employing the workers. The educational system raises surplus of workers whose
skill set is suited to cater to lesser-paid menial jobs. Unemployment and
availability of replaceable labour brings control over the workers and keeps the
wages to minimum. The governing structure and curriczlla of the educational
Perspectives and systems are determined by the capitalist class. Social relationships i n the
Theories on Education school replicate the hierarchical division of labor in work place. Students' lack
of control over work of importance (e.g. decision and policy making) in school,
for example, is similar to the situation they encounter a t work place when
they grow up.

The proposition that the dominant class determines the nature of educational
system is presented by Apple and King (1979). According to them schools
pursue a hidden agenda (through the curriculum) that seems uniquely suited
to maintain the ideological hegemony qf the most powerful classes in the
society. They write, "Schools seem to contribute to inequality i n that they are
tacitly organized to differentially distribute specific kinds of knowledge. This
is i n larger part related both to the role of the school in maximizing the
production of technical cultural 'commodities' and to the sorting or selecting
function of schools i n allocating people to the positions 'required' by the
economic sector of society" (Apple and King 1979: 295). They also argue that
educational knowledge is a form of the larger distribution of goods and services
in a society. Social meanings that constitute educational knowledge imparted
to the children do not relate with the vision and meanings of all groups of the
society. Apple and King suggest that the historical process involved in curriculum
designing has legitimized the social meanings of the dominant class in schools.
Curriculum specialists were predominantly drawn from the school of scientific
management that supports the capitalist class. Their concern for social meanings
in schools was invariably linked to the notions of social control. Using the case
of kindergarten, they demonstrated that teachers thrust social meanings on
the minds of the children. The children often are not in a position to bring
about any change in the course of daily events i n the classroom. Children are
made t o undergo the process of socialization which consists of learning norms
of social interactions. The socialization process includes segregation of activities
into work and play by the children. Work activities are mandatory, teacher-
directed, and time-specific. These activities may include drawing an object as
specified by the teacher, waiting in the line etc. whereas play activities are
performed only during free time. They are not necessarily directed by the
teacher.

Though not exclusively included under the conflict school, theories particularly
of Bourdieu's cultural reproduction (see Majoribanks 1985) strengthen the
views of the conflict theorists. In the words of Giddens (1993: 438), "Cultural
reproduction refers to the ways in which schools, i n conjunction with other
social institutions, help perpetuate social and economic inequalities across
the generations. The concept directs our attention t o the means whereby, via
the hidden curriculum, schools influence the learning of values, attitudes and
habits. Schools reinforce variations in cultural values and outlooks picked up
early i n life; when children leave school, these have the effect of limiting the
opportunities of some, while facilitating those of others." According to Bourdieu
and Passeron (1977) the major role of the educational system is the reproduction
of culture of dominant classes. Dominant classes are able to impose their own
meanings as legitimate the basis of the educational system. They maintain
that educational systems tend t o hide their objective function, by which is
meant masking the objective truth or its relationship to the structure of the
class relations. Children from dominant culture who already possess the cultural
capital tend to achieve higher grades and perform well, more so because the
educational system transmits social meanings that are familiar to them. Children
from non-dominant cultures encounter an in-built barrier i n the educational
system as they are made to learn social meanings that are alien to them. They
are predominantl~fioma working class background and often get eliminated
from the educational system as they fail to understand the dominant culture.
This educational failure i n turn reinforces their underprivileged position in the
society. In this way the reproduction of the relationship of power and privilege
is perpetuated among social classes. The educational system, however,
continues to project itself as a neutral body based on meritocratic principles Theoretical Approaches
providing equal opportunities to all.

Kumar's discussion (2004) on what is worth teaching provides a critical analysis

of the educational system. Though his discussion is rooted i n the Indian
context, it provides ample insights for a critical look at the world educational
system. He agrees that the nature of knowledge available i n schools for
distribution of knowledge represents overall classification of knowledge and
power in the society. Education i n early India, for instance, resisted science
teaching due to its struggle against colonialism. School curriculum remained
confined to knowledge associated with the dominant castes. He points out
that participation of children i n curriculum development is nearly impvssible
as they lack the capability to articulate their ideas. Furthermore, their
preferences change as they growup. He highlights the need for deliberations
while designing the curriculum providing space for non-dominant castes to
voice their opinions.

2.4 lnteractionism
lnteractionism emerged as an alternative perspective to understand the
relationship between individual and society. In i t s u n i t o f analysis,
interactionism shifts importance from the larger society to the individual.
Drawn largely from a social psychological perspective, interactionism starts by
examining the nature of interaction itself and thenceforth explores the nature
of interaction between members of the society. Opposing the role of external
conditions to explain an individual's action i n relation with the larger society,
interactionism tries to understand how an individual constructs meaning in
the process of interaction (Abraham 1982). An individual in hislher interaction
with others interprets and defines situations, develops meanings which direct
hislher action and so constructs hislher own social world (Haralambos and
Heald 1980: 208).

Interactionists focus on easily observable face-to-face interactions rather than

on macro-level structural relationships involving various social units. They study
social interaction through qualitative methods like participant observation,
rather than surveys and interviews. lnteractionists insist that close contact
and immersion in the everyday lives of the research subjects is important for
understanding the meaning of actions, and the process by which individuals
construct the situation through their interaction. They are, however, criticized
for being overly impressionistic i n their research methods and possible bias in
their observations. Developments i n interactionism led to the birth of various
sub-theories or perspectives like phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, and
ethnomethodology. Some of the significant contributors to this perspective
are Cooley, Mead, Blumer, Schutz, Garfinkel, and Berger and Luckmann. Cooley's
concept of the looking-glass self shows how an individual develops the meaning
of self by reflecting others' perception of who he is. This process of one mind
responding to other minds involves how we imagine our appearance to others;
how we imagine others' judgment of that appearance; and our personal feeling
about that judgment (Haralambos and Heald 1980). According to Mead,
individuals construct the self through the process of role-taking. Role taking
involves the individual imaginatively taking the role of the other person with
whom he is interacting. Goffman equates social world with theatrical drama in
which actors present their self in everyday life through impression management.

Employing the interactionistic perspective, sociologists of education seek to

explore the ways in which teachers and students interpret and assign meaning
to their interactions. lnteractionism suggests that the status of the students
in an educational system is decided by the nature of interactions with teachers
where meanings are constructed beyond academic parameters. A study by
Howard Becker (1971) delineated meanings by which teachers evaluated the
Perspectivesand students. The study derno~)scratedthat teachers constructed the image of an
Theories on Education 'ideal student' as one who came from non-working class and of 'problematic
student' as one who came from working class. Another study by Cicourel and
Kitsuse (1971) confirms that students were classified based on their class
background rather than academic performances and other non-academic factors
Like their appearance, and manners etc.

Apart from evaluation, teachers' perception about students also affects the
nature of knowledge imparted. Keddie (1971) finds that the social class is an
important factor in defining and classifying students. Though students were
supposedly divided in terms of ability, students within each group exhibited
similar socio-economic background. In other words, i n classification of students
into various groups, students who belong to upper socio economic background
formed the higher level, and lower level was occupied by students from lower
socio-economic background. Though teachers were expected to impart similar
knowledge, they modified their methods and nature of information imparted
to different categories of students. Students who belonged to different groups
also responded differently to the nature of the knowledge imparted to them.
For instance, what is an 'ideal family' as told by the teacher was accepted by
higher-class students, not by Lower-class students. Keddie reasons that lower
class students' non-acceptance was due to their different construction of
meaning for family based on their own socio-economic background.

Reflection and Action 2.2

Visit a government school and a public school in your area. Discuss the
nature and content of education with a t least two teachers of primary
classes i n each school. Do you find a difference between the two schools
i n this context?

2.5 Postmodernism
Postmodernism is emerging as an alternative theoretical framework to modernism
i n understanding the real world, but has not yet developed as a single coherent
thought or theoretical perspective. Practitioners have appropriated,
transformed and transcended ideas from various theories and there is lack of
consensus on the nature of ideas that can be covered (Ruttan 1993). In
sociology, ideas of postmodernism are related to the emergence of the post-
industrial society. Postmodernism rejects grand theories i n understanding society
and lays importance on local identities. A postmodern society is dominated by
the market-oriented world of consumption with decentralized production
systems. Society itself is a fragmented and pluralistic community of
heterogeneous groups with diverse cultures and lifestyles, where nation-state
is shrunk by privatization, globalization and new forms of citizen and civil
rights. The traditional ruling class is rejected in favor of micro-political activities
or social movements (Thomas and Walsh 1998).

Echoing postmodern concerns, lllich (1973) questions the notion of compulsory

education followed almost all over the world mentioning that in the process
traditional skills of self-sufficient people were being discarded. Schools work
as repressive systems that induce students to passively consume whatever is
taught to them. They are not allowed to think critically. They are made t o
conform to the rules laid down by the ruling class. Students are expected to
follow whatever is taught of education. They by have no control over what
they learn or how they learn it. lllich proposes the idea of de-schooling society
(which is also the title of his widely acclaimed book) that rejects the existing
educational system. He suggests that mechanisms should be built in a such
way that allows direct and free involvement of the students in any part of the
learning process. In other words, young i n the society will retain control over
what they want to learn and how they want to learn. Illich's idea of de-
schooling society appears as a utopian one. It may seem to be realistic when Theoretical Approaches
a student's performance in the educational system loses link with its status
attainment in the Larger society. In other words, decline of paid employment
is a central concern of society (see Giddens 1993).
A similar argument is evident in the work of Freire (1970) who suggests
replacement of curriculum based education with dialogue based informal
education. He criticizes the existing educational system in being akin to the
banking process in which the student is viewed as an empty account waiting
to be filled by the teacher. He seeks to abandon the teacher-student dichotomy
and favours introduction of reciprocity in the minds of teacher and student.

Box 2.2: Dialogue based education: Freire

"Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating
critical thinking. Without dialogue there is no communication, and without
communication there can be no true education. Educations which is able
to resolve the contradiction between teacher and student takes place in
a situation in which both address their act of cognition to the object by
which they are mediated. Thus the dialogical character of education as
the practice of freedom does not begin when the teacher-student meets
the student-teacher in a pedagogical situation, but rather when the former
first asks himself what he w i l l dialogue with the latter about. And
preoccupation with the content of dialogue is really preoccupation with
the program content of education" (Freire 1970:153).

2.6 Conclusion
In discussions related to theoretical developments in sociology of education,
there is disagreement among scholars with broader theoretical schemes under
which various contributions fall. For instance work of Bourdieu, and Bowles
and Gintis can be discussed under conflict school as well as under a separate
scheme of theories of reproduction. Lewis (1977) reviews the nature of research
studies conducted by sociologists of higher education that can be generalized
for sociology of education. According to him, there are three levels of analysis,
macro, micro and middle. At the macro Level, relationship between systems of
higher education and wider social structure is considered. One example of this
could be a study of how curriculum is modified or changed according to the
changes in the occupational structure. There is also a cluster of studies that
focus on education from a social stratification point of view. Here, attempts
were made to understand sources and consequences of inequality within
educational system and how they are related to the class position one holds
in the society and other variables like race, religion, ethnicity and gender.

At the micro level, social relations within the education process are examined
to understand learning outcomes of different teaching styles and strategies;
the difference between formal instruction as against informal settings with
faculty members or peers; mode of instruction; characteristics of the instructor;
and system demands on the student. In between these two ends, there is
middle level analysis that looks at the structure and function of institutions
of educational institutions as organizations. Some of the issues focused by
this analysis are: distribution of power and status, value system, disparity and
tension between the formal and informal systems and organization of social
roles and norms in the institutions.

Brookover (1982) identifies three areas of research undertaken in the field of

sociology of education: (i) education and society - which deals with purposes
and functions of education in the society, education in the process of social
change, education and stratification of the society, and relationship between
education and other units of society; (ii) education as a social system - which
Perspectives and analyzes organization and structure of the educational system from school
Theories on Education district to classroom, and informal structure and culture of these units; and
(iii) outcomes of education for students that examines the impact of education
on various aspects of students from aspirations, career, further education and
social status. Brookover further comments that methods followed are also
varied and different. Broadly, both quantitative and qualitative methods are
used including cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal studies, case studies,
ethnographies, and experimental studies. However, there is a preponderance
of research studies that investigate activities related to learning within the
context of schools in comparison with colleges and universities (Feinberg 1996).
Studies that compare out-of-school and in-schbol subjects in understanding of
the impact of schooling vis-a-vis other social factors are inadequate.

Rubinson and Ralph (1986) suggest that there are three widely researched
topics i n the study of educational change: contribution of education to
economic output; technological change and the expansion of schooling, and
educational expansion as individual utility. They highlight the methodological
problems related to inferences across levels of analysis i n studies irrespective
of nature of theoretical approach followed. There is also criticism that existing
theoretical models in sociology are inadequate to bring about a scientific
understanding of education (Carr 1990; Lewis 1977). Theories of sociology of
education are reflective of times. Different theoretical approaches dominate
different periods of time. There is a need for the development of a theoretical
perspective to integrate the macro and micro analysis of education sociologically.

2.7 Further Reading

Freire, Paulo 1997. "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." In David J Flinders and Stephen
J Thornton (ed.) The Curriculum Studies Reader. New York: Routledge

Haralambos, M and R. M. Heald.1980. Sociology: Themes and Perspectives,

New Delhi: Oxford University Press

Kumar, Krishna. 2004. What is Worth Teaching. New Delhi: Orient Longman
Unit 3
Thinkers on Education - I
Contents
lntroduction
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 -1941)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)
Conclusion
Further Reading
Learning Objectives
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
explain the perception of Indian thinkers on educa,tion;
compare and contrast their viewpoints; and
articulate your own point of view on education.

3.1 lntroduction
In this unit we will explore the viewpoints of Indian thinkers on education.
Against the backdrop of the growing discontent with western education i n
India, there is an impending need to understand how lndian thinkers have
conceptualized the education system particularly in terms of i t s nature, extent,
and scope. They represent indigenous thought with which both students and
educators are able to relate. The purpose here is to look for viable alternatives
that would play a transformative role in society and create a just and humane
social order.

3.2 Rabindranath Tagore (1861 -1 941)

Rabindr-anath Tagore was born in Kolkata to a deeply religious family of
Landowners. His father Debendranath was a man of integrity, spiritual acumen,
and strength of character. He cast a deep impact on Rabindranath in the
formative years of life. Like many other children of aristocratic families of that
time, the major part of Rabindranath's childhood was spent in servants' quarters
under the care and authority of those who served his family. His first lessons
were from the Bengali primer, Varna Parichaya. Later, he joined the Oriental
Seminary, then the Normal School (which followed the teaching-learning pattern
of English schools). He sought admission to the Bengali Academy in order to
gain a grounding in English. He remained far from happy in school. The rooms
were dismal, in fact, the entire building was unsuitable for human habitation.
There were no pictures, not a stroke of colour, nothing that would motivate
the students t o attend school. Naturally, many of them played truant; those
who did attend school regularly would remain filled with depression (Tagore
1966). The grim, monotonous, unhappy experience in school compelled him to
consolidate his ideas on meaningful education and revolutionize the whole
process of education.

Tagore was opposed to the western system of education that emphasized

learning from books with the sole objective of developing the intellectual
potential of the child. He believed that education should be aimed not merely
to develop the intellect but the complete personality of the child. An education
Perspectives and system should cultivate and nurture among children the ability to learn directly
Theories on Education from nature and life as such. Students should lead a simple, self-disciplined life
based on the virtues of sociability, compassion, and the spirit of brotherhood.
According to him, moral and spiritual values constituted the most important
aspect of education. He criticized western education for treating the child as
a receiver of packaged information in a way that did not awaken hislher own
creativity and innate abilities. The children, in turn, pick up bits and pieces
out of the information thrust upon them and present themselves for
examination of their ability to retain the information. According to Tagore it
was not enough to pass on information. What was important was the ability
to put to use what one has learnt and to develop curiosity and alertness of
'
mind. The child should be able to appreciate a sense of freedom acquired by
free movements of the body in the midst of the natural environment. It may ,

be understood at this stage itself that for Tagore, educaton stood for freedom
from ignorance and from passion and prejudice.

He upheld that the child learns the first lessons on freedom from nature which
is the basic source of knowledge. According to Tagore, the ideal school should
be established in the midst of fields, trees, and plants, under the open sky
and far removed from human settlements. This would keep the children away
from the turmoils of daily life. More importantly living in the forest was
associated with austere pursuits and renunciation. Firm on his ideas, Tagore
set out to develop an appropriate system of national education for India. He
founded the Ashram school at Santiniketan in 1901 with emphasis on non-
duality (advita) in the domain of knowledge, friendship for all, fulfilment of
one's duties without concern for the outcome(s). Here education was combined
with disciplining of the senses and one's own life. In talking about education
for Life, Tagore did not ignore the significance of science teaching. He did
value inventions and discoveries i n so far as they made life less burdensome.
What he condemned, however, was the race for material prosperity at the
cost of creative genius and dignity. He expressed the view that the current
education system was not geared to inculcate the ability to think independently.
According to Tagore, teaching through a foreign language was both difficult
and unrealistic. He was opposed to borrowed knowledge that distanced pupils
from their own social and cultural fabric. He said that education which imparts
knowledge but bears no relevance to life situations i s of no avail. He said that
-the curriculum should be developed by teachers and students together. It
should be based on their needs and requirements. He laid stress on discussion
as a mode of delivery of knowledge. The books should serve as mere
supplements to knowledge acquired through life situations and independent
thinking. Learning should proceed from familiar situations to unfamiliar
situations. This meant that children should be made familiar with their own
environment before exposing them t o alien ones. They should be encouraged
to learn from and about the natural phenomena that they encounter in their
daily Lives.

Salkar (1990) wrote that Tagore was aware that children store in their brains
the images of all that they observe. This was more marked in the early period
of childhood when curiosity i s sharp. He favoured teaching of history and
geography through field exposure by way of educational tours to specific
places for learning and widening of horizons. He wanted to set up a school
based on his ideals for which he travelled far and wide. Tagore settled at
Santiniketan where he founded the Brahamacharya Ashram with only five
students. The emphasis here was on a personalized relationship between
teachers and pupils. Tagore himself taught English in the Ashram School. He
would narrate stories from Indian history in the evening to the children.
Having prepared the ground for school education, he diverted atte.ntion to
higher education and established the Visva Bharati.
 Box 3.1: Tagore on Visva Bharati
"In every nation, education is intimately associated with the life of the
people. For us, modern education is relevant only to turning out clerks,
lawyers, doctors, magistrates and policemen.. .. This education has not
reached the farmer, the oil grinder, or the potter. No other educated
society has been struck with such disaster. ... If ever a truly Indian university
is established it must from the very beginning implement India's own
knowledge of economics, agriculture, health, medicine and of all other
everyday knowledge from the surrounding villages. Then alone can the
school or university become the centre of the country's of living. This
school must practice agriculture, dairying and weaving using the best
modern methods.... I have proposed to call this school Visva Bharati"
(Tagore 1963, cited here from Jha 1997: 610).

He believed that the basic task of education was to produce, gather develop,
and disseminate knowledge to the younger generation. In the Visva Bharati,
two autonomous institutions survive: the Kala Bhawan (the school of fine arts)
and Sangeet Bhawan (the school of music and dance). Tagore is no more but
the ideals of education he laid down and the institutions he established keep
him alive in the minds of the people.

Box 3.2: Major Works of Rabindranath Taglore

My Reminiscences. 1917. London: Macmillan
Nationalism. 1917. London: Macmillan
Ashramar Roop 0 Vikas [The Form of the Ashrama School]. 1941.
Santiniketan: Visva Bharati
Siksha [A Collection of Essays on Education]. 1990. Santiniketan: Visva
Bharati

3.3 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (18 6 9 4 948)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar situated in Kathiawar,
Gujarat. His father and grandfather were chief ministers i n Kathiawar. After
completing school education he went to London to study law. He came back
to the country and practised law in Mumbai and Rajkot. He did not get much
success in the profession and went to South Africa on an unexpected offer.
His experiments in education started when he returned to South Africa in
1897 with his two sons and a nephew for whom he searched for an appropriate
school. He could have sent them to the school for European children but did
not think that English as a medium of instruction employed in those schools
was worthwhile. He used to run the 'Tolstoy Farm' which could not afford to
pay the wages that qualified teachers would demand. So; he took upon himself
the task of teaching the children. He decided to live among the children and
lay the foundation of character-building and self-dependence in them. Gandhi
encouraged the children to undertake all the chores ranging from cooking to
scavenging themselves. Certainly, a teacher would cooperate and guide them
throughout the endeavour. Apart from physical training he engaged in spiritual
training of students (Prasad 2001). He returned to India in 1914 where he was
destined to play a major role in the freedom struggle and importantly, in the
educational reconstruction of the country. There is no denying that colonial
rule had eroded the traditions and values of the education system as people
were imparted western education that prepared them for minor positions in
the government machinery of the British. This class of people educated i n the
western system easily gave i n to the lucrative offers of the colonialists at the
expense of their own dignity. He tried hard to overthrow colonial education
and present an alternative that people could relate with and find useful.
Perspectives and Gandhi was concerned with the rising trend of people giving up their vocation
Theories on Education after acquiring western education. Cobblers, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons,
tailors tended to surrender their vocations treating them as inferior. They
would take pride in joining the position of clerk in offices.

Box 3.3: Gandhi on alternative pedagogy

"As against this, take the case of a child in whom the education of the
heart i s attended to from the very beginning. Supposing he i s set to some
useful occupation like spinning, c'arpentry, agriculture, etc., for his
education and i n that connection i s given a thorough and comprehensive
knowledge relating to the theory of the various operations that he i s to
perform and the use and construction of the tools that he would be
wielding. He would not only develop a fine, healthy body but also a sound,
vigorous intellect that is not merely academic but i s firmly rooted in and
is tested from day to day by experience. His intellectual education wou1.d
include knowledge of mathematics and the various sciences that are useful
for an intelligent and efficient exercise of his avocation. If to this is added
literature by way of recreation, it wou1.d give him a perfect well-balanced,
all-round education in which the intellect, the body and the spirit have all
full and develop together into a natural, harmonious whole" (cited here
from Fagg 2002:9).

Gandhi proposed 'nai talim' or basic education which emphasized the

introduction of productive handicrafts in the school curriculum and in doing
so bestowed honour and dignity to those who are adept at them. In the
words of Kumar (1997: 508), "It implied a radical restructurir:g of the sociology
of school knowledge in India, where productive handicrafts had been associated
with the Lowest groups in the hierarchy of castes. Knowledge of the production
processes involved in crafts, such as spinning, weaving, leather work, pottery,
metal-work, basket-making and bookbinding had been the monopoly of specific
caste groups i n the lowest stratum of the traditional social hierarchy. Many of
them belonged to the category of 'untouchabl.es'. India's indigenous tradition
of education as well as the colonial education system had emphasized the
skills (such as literacy) and knowledge of which the upper castes had a monopoly.
In terms of its epistemology, Gandhi's proposal intended to stand the education
system on its head." The basic education, hence, favoured the children
belonging the lowest rungs i n society. This facilitated the process of social
transformation. According to Gandhi, schools should be self-sufficient so that
the poorest of the poor could educate themselves. This could happen only if
the schools could generate enough resources for themselves. Further, schools
that are self-sufficient do not fall prey to the whims and interference of the
state. Teachers should not be made to give i n to the dictates of bureaucracy
and teach out of the curriculum laid down by it. Learning was not confined
to memorizing contents in the textbooks. Gandhi believed that i n India where
more than 80 per cent of the population subsists by agriculture and abo-ut 10
per cent by industries, delimiting the scope of education to literacy was not
appropriate. Boys and girls should be encouraged to value manual labour. In
fact, carpentry, spinning and other crafts may be used as a means of stimulating
the intellect. This can be made possible by explaining the underlying mechanism.
When a child interested i n spinning, for instance, is explained the mechanism
of the working of the wheel, the history of cotton, the method of determining
the strength of the yarn, hislher intellect gets sharpened. This was true
education. He was i n favour of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction,
for English creates a divide between those who are 'highly educated' and the
many uneducated people. Moreover, comprehension is faster and better when
children are taught i n their mother tongue. Gandhi clearly stated that if English
were removed from the curriculum of primary and secondary or high school
education then it would be possible to make the children go through the
whole course in seven years instead of eleven years.
r
1 Reflection and Action 3.1 Thinkers on Education-l ~

Compare and contrast Gandhi's and Tagore's ideas on education

Gandhi stayed with Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan for about a month. In

the course of close interaction between the two thinkers enierged ee* olidated
ideas on the future of education in India. Gandhi set up his 2- :rama in
Sabarmati in which he also established a school for children. He proposed the
following scheme for education: (i) adult education of the whole community,
including the parents of newborn babies; (ii) pre-basic schooling from 2 to 7
years; (iii) basic schooling from 7 to 14 years; (iv) post-basic education from
I 14 to 18 years; and (v) university and teacher training institute education. The
schedule consisted of rendering morning prayers, cleaning of the campus
including lavatories, engaging in productive work (e.g., spinning, weaving,
cultivation and others), preparing meals, and studies (that related to the day's
work and its scientific, mathematical and other aspects). Students were taught
to think before doing and think after doing. All of them were imparted training
in music and art. Stagecraft and management were an important part of
education. In the afternoon, before dinner, they played games. The evening
prayer was ecumenical. In the scheme of nai talim, there was no place for
textbooks, but the students were encouraged to use the library to enhance
their knowledge. Over a period of time nai talim schools were set up throughout
the country (Prasad 2001). Nai talim schools did not succeed as institutions.
They were thought to be meant for villagers so the ~ ~ l i t i c elite
a l did not
support them. Gandhi's ideas on education, however, continue to inspire
I
many intellectuals and humanists.

Box 3.4: Major Works of Gandhi

An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth. 1963.
Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House
Basic Education. 1951. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House
Education for life. 1937. Rajamundry: Hindustan Publishing Co.

3.4 Sri Aurobindo (1 872-1950)

I
Sri Aurobindo was born i n Kolkata. His father, Dr. K. D. Ghose, acquired a
I medical degree from the West and had developed deep appreciation of its
lifestyle. In fact, his values of life and lifestyle were largely westernized. Sri
Aurobindo's mother was Swarnlata Devi - the daughter of Rajnarayan Bose
who was often referred to as 'rishi' which means ascetic and as the 'Grandfather
of Indian Nationalism'. Rajnarayan Bose could not exercise much influence on
Sri Aurobindo because he was sent to Darjeeling for schooling at the age of
five. The school was known for imparting western-style education. It was
meant for European children. Two years later his parents sent him to England.
He, along with his brother, stayed i n Manchester in the care of a Latin scholar.
In 1890, he was admitted to the Indian Civil Services as a probationer but was
later disqualified due to certain reasons. Anyway, he came back to India and
joined as Professor of English and French in Maharaja College, Vadodara. This
marked the beginning of his deep insight into the ancient lore, mastering
Sanskrit and Bengali languages (see Das 2000). In 1910 he went to Pondicherry
with the objective of devoting his entire time to the practice of yoga and
spirituality. In the course of forty years there, he evolved a method of spiritual
practice that came to be known as Integral Yoga. In 1926 he founded the Sri
Aurobindo Ashram in collaboration with his wife who is better known as the
Perspectivesand According to Sri Aurobindo, any system of education should be founded on
Theories on Education the study of the human mind. The reason is simple: while the material with
which artists deal is inert, that of educators and educationists i s highly sensitive.
The major defect i n the European system of education i s precisely i t s
insufficient knowledge of psychology. The means through which education
could be made meaningful was to acquire an understanding of the instruments
of knowledge and develop a system of teaching which was natural, easy, and
effective, The teachers need to accept their role as that of a helper and guide
not as an instructor who imparts knowledge, trains the mind of the children,
and makes impositions on them. At best, the teacher =an make suggestions
and encourage the children to acquire knowledge for themselves. Admittedly,
children of younger age need greater help and guidance than older children.
The children should be given the freedom to choose their own qualities,
virtues, capacities, capabilities, and career. It i s improper to impose one's
ideas on them. Education needs to be geared to drawing out the innate
abilities in children and perfecting them for noble use. Furthermore, the children
should be made familiar and aware of all that surrounds them and which meets
them on a day-to-day basis, e.g., natural-physical environment, sounds, habits
and customs, nationality. The purpose here i s to foster free and natural growth,
for these are the prerequisites of genuine development.

Sri Aurobindo proposed complete education of a subject(s) encompassing

teachingllearning about itsltheir different aspects and dimensions. This stood
out in contrast to the modern teaching system wherein children are taught
portions of several subjects. Consequently, they are not able to master any
subject. The older system was to teach fewer subjects but delve deep into
each one. Sri Aurobindo felt that the practice of teaching lesser number of
subjects with great thoroughness was more appropriate In so far as it built
'real culture'. He believed that the mother-tongue served as the appropriate
medium of instruction. Children should acquire competence i n the medium
first not by making them spell words, read books but by familiarizing them
with interesting parts of literature. A Large part of their study should be
devoted to the development of mental faculties and moral character. The
foundation for the study and appreciation of art history, philosophy and science
could be laid at this stage itself. Often, the idea of universal education is
pursued as a mission with complete disregard of what education i s or what it
should ideally be. The problem gets confounded when there i s demand for
enforcing a national type of education in the Indian subcontinent which has
witnessed clash of the Asiatic and European consciousness political subjugation
that placed the control of education in the hands of foreigners. In such a
situation the call for national education is likely to raise disconcerting confusion
till the ideas on the basic concept of education are made clear. It is also not
appropriate to decry the education imparted in schools and universities in
that they are denationalizing, degrading, and impoverishing to the national
mind and character only because it is governed and controlled by the British.
It i s important to determine by ourselves the alternative, the principle or
practice we propose to replace it with. Just taking over from the foreigners
the control over education and resting it with an indigenous agency that at
best changes the medium of instruction and curriculum is not adequate for
meeting the demands of the present much less of the future. What is called
for is development an education system proper to the need, culture, and
temperament of the people themselves. Does this mean return to the
astronomy and mathematics of Bhaskara or return to the ancient chariot and
bullock cart in the name of Swadeshi? Sri Aurobindo (1920-21, cited here from
2000: 208-209), stated "It i s the spirit, the living and vital issue that we have
to do with, and there the question is not between modernism and antiquity,
but between an imported civilization and the greater possibility of the Indian
mind and nature, not between the present and the past, but between the
present and the future. It i s not a return to the fifth century but an initiation
of the centuries to come, not reversion but a break forward away from a
present artificial falsity to her own greater innate potentialities that i s Thinkers on Education-I;
demanded by the soul, by the shakti of India." The central aim of national
education i s to strengthen the powers of the human mind and evoke the will
and the ability to use knowledge, character, and culture. Sri Aurobindo explains
this through the simple example of learning science. It i s not enough to
acquire competence i n the discipline and to have the entire knowledge a t
one's fingertips. The major issue is not what i s learnt but what one does with
that learning, the use that the knowledge is put to and the way in which it
is put to use.

Sri Aurobindo upheld that one way to get to the very core to culture in India
is by acquiring knowledge of Sanskrit or any other indigenous language by
whatever means is natural and stimulating to the mind. When this happens,
i t would be possible t o establish continuity between the still living power of
our past and the yet uncreated power of our future, and how we are to learn
and use English or any other foreign language so as to know helpfully the life,
ideas and culture of other countries and establish own right relations with the
world around us" (ibid, pp. 209). This is the aim of national education.

Box 3.5: Major Works o f S r i Aurobindo

The Life Divine. 1939. Calcutta: Arya Publishing House
The Synthesis of Yoga. 1955. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo
The Human Cycle. 1949. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram

3.5 Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in the small town of Madanapalli in Andhra Pradesh
to middle-class Telugu-Brahmin parents. His father joined the Theosophical
Society in 1881 and in 1901 the family came to stay in the Society's headquarters
at Adyar. When he was still fourteen years old, Annie Besant and C. W.
Leadbeater recognized in him the potential to be the world teacher and
proclaimed him to be the vehicle for Christ in the West and of Buddha in the
East who would bring salvation to humankind. Mrs. Besant adopted Krishnamurti
and took him to England where she educated him and in the process prepared
him for a bigger role in world society. In 1911 she proclaimed him the head of
her religious organization, The Order of the Star in the East. Between the
years 1911 and 1929, he questioned himself on the need for operating through
an organization in order to coerce people to follow a particular path. In the
year 1929, Krishnamurti dissolved The Order of the Star in the East. He felt
convinced that Truth cannot be approached through a laid out path. Humanity
had to free itself from the shackles of caste, religion, sect and all that through
which people feel bound. His concern was to set human beings absolutely and
unconditionally free. He travelled all over the world delivering talks and
discourses on the nature of truth, sorrow, and freedom. One of the themes
on which he deliberated extensively was education. In fact, he established
the Rishi Valley Education Centre i n 1928 i n Andhra Pradesh.

Krishnamurti believed that the scope of education did not consist solely of
reading and learning from books, clearing examination and using the academic
qualification to secure a job. In the present day, education has been used to
develop conformity to society and culture by being sucked into the social,
economic and political streams. I t is widely believed that the only way to solve
the problems of the people is to provide them education, make them read and
write. More important than filling one's mind with information was developing
a perspective, going beyond the words in the book in order to comprehend
and appreciate what i s contained in them as also to determine whether what
the books say in true or false. He wrote (1963: 163) "When you go on the
street you see the poor man and the rich man; and when you look around you,
Perspectives and you see all the so called educated people throughout the world. They have
Theories on Education titles, degrees, caps and gowns, they are doctors and scientists; and yet they
have not created a world in which man can live happily. So modern education
has failed, has it not? And i f you are satisfied t o be educated in the same old
way, you will make another howling mess of life." Krishnamurti agreed that it
is necessary to be able to read and write, and learn engineering or some other
profession but mere competence in these cannot build the capacity of life.
One who has undergone the process of real education could excel i n
mathematics, geography, history and other disciplines but would never be
drawn into the stream of society prfmarily because it i s corrupt, immoral,
violent and greedy. The basic concern then i s with working out the right kind
of education that would develop the capacity i n the mind to resist all negative
influences and bestiality of the civilization. There is a need to create a new
culture not based on consumerism and industrialization but on real quality of
religion on the one hand and an education system that would prepare minds
not given to greed or envy on the other. Right education, therefore, is one '
that brings about inner transformation, and awakens intelligence.

Krishnamurti (1974:20) clearly stated that intelligence i s the "capacity to think

clearly, objectively, sanely, and healthily." Intelligence is a state bereft of
personal emotions, opinions, prejudice, or inclination. Now, it is possible to
think clearly only i f one in sensitive. lntelligence implies that one i s able to
appreciate the beauty of the earth, the trees, sky, sunset, stars and all that
envelops him/her. When that happens, the development of a child i s total
which means that heishe acquires not only inward understanding, the capacity
to explore and examine his/her inward self and inner state, but is good at
whatever he/she does outwardly. The two aspects, i.e., of inward development
and outward excellence need to go hand-in-hand. Krishnamurti was opposed
to the idea of competition and competitive spirit. 'The basis of competition
i s making comparison, judging and evaluating their performance. This leads to
conflict, fear, and feeling of helplessness among them. In fact, he believed
that one could live happily in this competitive word only i f one is not
competitive. More importantly, when a mind has understood the futility and
absurdity of drawing comparisons and does not engage in it can a foundation.
from which it can start to learn in the true sense of the word be established.
Then, there is no frustration, and no hankering after success. In place of
competition, confidence (without the element of self-importance) should be
insti!led i n children (Thapan 2001).

Krishnamurti was deeply interested to keep in touch with the schools in India,
Brookwood Park in England, the Oak Grove School at Ojai, California. He
proposed to write a letter to them every fortnight explaining what an ideal
school should be, t o convey that schools are not the centres for academic
excellence but much more i n that they are t o remain engaged in cultivation
of the total human beings. They are t o encourage the students and educators
to flower naturally, bring out their innate abilities in an environment not
plagued with fear, pressure of authority, or competition. After Krishnamurti's
death, a few more schools were established, like the Sahyadri School near
Pune. It is a boarding school which caters to children belonging to upper class
families. Two other schools are the Bal Anand in Mumbai and the Bhagirathi
Valley School i n Uttar Pradesh which i s attended by children belonging to
lower-middle class families. Krishnamurti's ideas on education found
manifestation i n the Rishi Valley Education Centre in Andhra Pradesh set up
under the auspices of Krishnamurti Foundation India. The Rishi Valley Education
Centre was set up with the mission to usher in a different kind of education
that would provide the children with knowledge and at the same time make
them understand that acquisition of knowledge was not the ultimate objective
of life and that it was equally necessary to be sensitive to trees, birds, to
know what i t i s t o love, and to be generous. This i s possible when the
educators are themselves able to reach out to realms beyond words in the
 books and are able to draw out the best in children. Certainly, authority i s Thinkers on Education-l
destructive. Care has to be taken that children learn from themselves. It i s a
fruitful process in the sense that it leads to wisdom. Children learn to depend
on themselves more than on anybody else. When a person depends on certain
people for safety, for money, for pleasure, there i s a strong possibility that one
feels frightened, irritated, angry, jealous and frustrated when they do something
that upsets himlher.

Reflection and Action 3.2

Do you think Krishnamurti's ideas on education are practical in the present
day? Discuss with your co-learners at the study centre.

In the Rishi Valley Education Centre and other schools established by the
*
Krishnamurti Foundation India, learning takes place through exploration and
discovery, and interaction between teachers and students. Despite the fact
that they follow a clearly laid out curriculum (becaus~they are affiliated with
,' a centrally or state-level administered education board that conducts
examinations at the class X and XI1 stages), there are co-curricular activities
that apart from the focus on arts, are intended to creatively engage the
studelits i n their immediate environment. The students are guided to
understand their inner self, psychology process, emotions thoughts, and
problems. The Krishnamurti Foundation lndia school in Chennai has developed
a well-drafted curriculum for Environmental Studies which has been adopted
by the lndian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE) Board for schools affiliated
with it (Thapan 2001). There i s no denying that Krishnamurti continues to
survive through his ideas, writings and institution to inspire both students
and educators alive. What awards greater significance to his works i s the
integration of education with individual and society.

Box 3.6: Major Works of Jiddu Krishnamurti

You are the Wdrd. 1972. Madras: Krishnamurti Foundation lndia
The Wholeness of Life. 1978. London: Gollancz 8 Harper Row
Letters to the Schools. 1981 madras: Krishnamurti Foundation lndia

3.6 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1 975)

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in Tiruttani near Chennai. He specialized in
the understanding of the ethics of Vedanta. In fact, he wrote a dissertation
on the ethics of the Vedanta and i t s metaphysical presuppositions. His interest
and study of lndian philosophy developed a great deal after he was offered a
position in the Department of Philosophy at the Madras Presidency College
following which he joined as Professor of Philosophy at the University of
Mysore. Radhakrishnan was subsequently appointed to the King George V
Chair of Mental and Moral Science in the University of Calcutta. Later,
representing India, he addressed the Philosophical Congress at Harvard
University. He was invited to join the Manchester College, Oxford. He severed
as Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University and
I
Fellow of the British Academy. Back in India, he remained Vice Chancellor
(between 1939 and 1948) of the Banaras Hindu University, Leader Of lndian
L
delegation to UNESCO (between 1946 and 1952), Ambassador of lndia to the
t USSR (between 1949 and 1952), Vice President of Indian (between 1952 and
I 1962), President, General Conference of UNESCO (between 1952 and 1954),
Chancellor, University of Delhi (between 1953 and 1962), and President of lndia
(between 1962 and 1967). Radhakrishnan believed that an education system
should be geared to both train the intellect as also instilt grace i n the heart
I and in doing so bring about balanced growth of an individual. The students
should not only be intellectually competent and technically skilled but also
i
Perspectives and civilized in their emotions and refined in their purpose because their worth
Theories on Education as members of society desires not solely for intellectual ability or technical skill
but devotion to a great cause. This was crucial in the present age marked with
greed anxiety, defeatism, and severe constrain on independent thinking. People
in the modern age are given to accepting whatever the society and its channels
of expression (e.g. the film, radio, television, newspaper) put into circulation.
Intellectual integrity remains at stake. A significant way to free oneself from
the debilitating effects and strain of modern Life was the study of literature,
philosophy, and religion that interpret highef laws of the universe and provide
a philosophy and an attitude to Life. Hence, one must Learn to read the
classics that deal with life and destiny of humankind. Quiet study of classics
develops independent reflection. Individuals master philosophy, acquire more
knowledge in universities - places of higher learning.
In an address at Moscow University on June 18, 1956 Radhakrishnan (cited
here from print version 1992 : 10 ), " But buildings do not make a university.
It is the teachers and the pupils and their pursuit of knowledge, these make
the soul of a university. The university is the sanctuary of the intellect~~allife
of a country. The healthy roots of national life are to be found in the people.
They are the wellsprings of national awakening. They are the spirit behind
revolutionary movements of society. When we give education, we start a
ferment of debate and discussion of first principles. The educated youth will
voice their thoughts and find fault with things as they are. We train in this
university not only doctors and engineers but also men and women who think
for themselves. They will not judge everything by the party line. If we destroy
the initiative, the freedom of the people we do so at our peril. If men lose
intellectual vigour, the future of civilization is bleak indeed." The students of
a university need to be trained to fight ignorance, injustice, oppression, and
fear. Indiscipline among students rises when they are not trained to deal with
the problems of life with fortitude, self-control and sense of balance. Those
serving in universities are in a position to prepare mindset that would accept
the idea of establishment of a world community with a common consciousness
and common conscience. An important function of the university was the
advancement of international understanding and international peace.
Radhakrishnan reiterated the role of the university in establishing and affirming
peace in several speeches. In an address at the Calcutta University, he said
that universities of the world form a great fraternity binding together their
members all over the world. Again, in another context he stated that the
university fraternity transcends caste, class, creed, and nationality. It honours
achievements and scholarship in art and literature, and science.

According to Radhakrishnan, an attempt should be made to draw the best

minds into the teaching profession. What often happens is that the teachers
are paid low salaries. They do not fully appreciate the intellectual value of
their service and take to writing textbooks and seeking examinerships. In
order to avoid such tendencies, the teaching profession has to be made more
lucrative. Apart from disinterested teachers, the higher education system is
fraught with the problem of inadequate opportunities for conversation and
debate. Radhakrishnan believed that true education calls for free and fearless
exchange of opinions, thoughts, and ideas between and among students.
Occasions and situations in which this would be possible are hardly made
available to students. Furthermore, there is no adequate provision for games
and other activities in which a Large member of students may engage together.
He favoured the idea of students joining the National Cadet Corps in large
numbers because its membership posts discipline, teamwork sprit, and sense
of dignity of labour. He drew attention to the fact that education of the
youth does not find a place of significance in the schemes of development
adopted by the centre and the states. He cautioned that the experiment in
democracy would suffer i f education was not accorded high priority and that
future Leadership would be imperiled i f the level of university education was
On November 4, 1948, the Government of lndia appointed the University Thinkerson Education-l
Education Commission under the chairmanship of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
This commission, therefore, came to be referred to as the Radhakrishnan
commission. The major task before this commission was to suggest improvements
in higher education. The Commission clearly stated that the teachers occupy
a crucial place in the education system. It is their responsibility to inculcate
right values and truth in students along with generating interest in the field
of study. Apart from others the Commission recommended that vocational
institutions should be established in order that students could choose to
pursue vocational courses after schooling of 10-12 years.

It is widely accepted that Radhakrishnan's vision of higher education in general

and in the context of lndia in particular was grounded in the conviction that
i t should provide leadership inpolitics, administration, industry, and commerce
at one level while at the other it should lead to self development, fearlessness,
and integrity.

Box 3.6: Major works of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

The Essentials of Psychology. 1912. Oxford: The University Press
The Hindu View of Life. 1927. London: George Allen and Unwin
lndian Philosophy. 1923. London: Allen and Unwin

3.7 Conclusion
We have come to realize that Indian thinkers on education weave strands from
philosophy and pragmatism together as warp and woof. According to them,
the scope of education extends beyond letters and words to encompass the
totality of being. Meaningful education, they laid down, is preparation for life,
for meeting challenges squarely, and for self-enrichment. Education is freedom
from fear and ignorance leading to liberation. In this sense it i s both the
means as also the ultimate objective of life.

3.8 Further Reading

Jha, Narmadeshwar. 1997. "Rabindranath Tagore." In Zaghloul Morsy (ed.)
Thinkers on Education. Vol. 4. New Delhi: UNESCOIOxford & IBH Publishing

Kumar, Krishna. 1997. "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi." In Zaghloul Morsy (ed.)

Thinkers on Education. Vol. 4. New Delhi: UNESCOIOxford & IBH Publishing
Unit 4
Thinkers on Education-ll
Contents
Introduction
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
John Dewey (1859-1952)
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937)
Paulo Freire (1921 -1997)
Basil Bernstein (1925-2000)
lvan lllich (1926-2002)
Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)
Conclusion
Further Reading
Learning Objectives
After going through this unit you will be able to:
discuss the contribution of major thinkers on education; and
critically assess the influence and impact of the thinkers on the basic
understanding of education on the one hand and policies on education on
the other.

4. I Introduction
After careful reading of the first two Units of this Block, you are familiar with
the concept of education, the major sociological theories as also the board
perspective on sociology of education. Against this background, we will now
explore the views and intellectual contribution of thinkers on education. The
chief purpose here is to understand the development of educational thought
from the earliest times to the present day. The critical thinking that marks the
intellectual contribution has a profound impact on policy and the practice of
educati0.n in society. In this Unit, we will study the contribution and influence
of prominent thinkers on education i n a chronological sequence. We have
already familiarized ourselves with the ideas of some thinkers such as Durkheim,
Parsons as also a few others in earlier Units hence we will not repeat them in
this one.

4.2 Leo Tolstoy (1 828-1 910)

Leo Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana i n the region of Tula, Russia. His
parents died when he was still very young. Tolstoy pursued the study of law
and Oriental languages at Kazan University. He was not an outstanding student.
Most of the teachers found him unable and unwilling to learn. He returned to
Yasnaya Polyana without completing studies. Here, he indulged in gambling
and incurred a heavy debt. Later, he joined the Russian army. Over a period
of time, he developed interest in literature and took to writing himself. He
became the doyen of Russian literature in the 19thcentury. Some of his more
widely acclaimed works are, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Death of lvan
Ilyich, What Then Must We Do and several others.

Apart from his contribution to the field of literature, Tolstoy is remembered

for his dynamic ideas on education. His concern with education found
expression, apart from others, i n his first book, The Four Periods of
Development i n which he sought to explain the development of human
character from the early phase of childhood. He established a child-centered
approach to education wherein children's spiritual growth, feelings, process of Thinkers on Education-11
learning find a place of significance. This formed the substratum on which his
later thought on education was embedded. Tolstoy established a school on his
ancestral estate for peasant children in the year 1849 when he was barely 21
years of age. He firmly believed that it was important to do well t o those
whom one encounters and among whom one leads one's life. He was sure that
one's own well-being was not possible till the peasants, and the majority of
the people in one's nation, remained poor and unhappy. I t was with the sole
intention of being able to provide respite to the poor peasants from poverty,
ignorance, and superstition through education that he set up a school for
them. Over a period of time, he gave up school teaching and joined the armed
forces. After the Crimean war between 1853 and 1856, he retired from the
army and pursued his passion of teaching peasant children once again. With
the objective of drawing from the experience and practice of education in
other countries, Tolstoy visited Germany, France, and Switzerland. One
identifiable impact of his visit to these countries was a significant rise i n his
educational activity back in Russia between the years 1859 and 1862. It was
i n this period that educational reforms were being planned i n Russia. Tolstoy
was convinced that education i n the hands of civil servants could not be used
to serve the interests of the country. He suggested that national education
should be entrusted to an association that would ably educate the people,
establish schools, develop the content of education, train teachers, provide
the equipment and infrastructure to schools and contribute to the democratic
management of education. He planned an association that would fulfill the
above-mentioned objectives.

According to Tolstoy, unequal access to education in Russian society was the

root cause of antagonism between the privileged class constituting only a
small group and the remaining population. The solution to the rising antagonism
and the other social problems (such as despotism, violence, superstition and
injustice) lay i n providing equal education to all sections of society. More
importantly, he expressed that the fruitfulness of education should be measured
in terms of its success in servinp, the needs of the people. His ideas acquired
greater social importance i n the light of the fact that they were put forth at
a time when capitalist development was all set to preside over scientific and
technical knowledge that would jeopardize the interests of the masses and
generate hostility and antagonism between classes. Tolstoy demanded
democratization of education which in effect meant liberating it from the
clutches of those who controlled power and harnessing it in favour of the .
society at large.

Tolstoy argued for freedom in school and in education. He believed that children
are inherently innocent and perfect. It was not proper to interfere with the
natural development of children in the name of education. But, does this
mean that children should be left completely to themselves?How can education
be imparted to them? Tolstoy explained that the role of the teacher had to
be minimal, limited to guiding them gently and certainly not by force coercion.
Freedom i n education needed t o be treated as a counter practice of
authoritarian teaching through which children would develop independent
cognitive abilities. Unless this happened, knowledge loaded on children would
not bear fruit. He perceived distinct opposition between community activity
in the field of national education on the one hand and red tapism and
bureaucracy on the other. According to Tolstoy, freedom in education was
opposed to authoritarianism in teaching. It was of utmost importance in
developing a humane attitude in children and inculcating self-esteem and
respect for their dignity as human beings. He believed that since the main
concern of education was with children, the study of the child was crucial to
formulating strategies for educating them. He' experimented with different
methods of teaching, reading and writing in terms of their efficacy. Tolstoy, as
mentioned earlier, treated the child as the subject of education. He established
Perspectives and that a teacher deals with the entire personality of a child, hence the need of
Theories on Educ a holistic perspective integrating sociological and psychological aspects. Yegorov
(1997:652) expresses this clearly, "Reading Tolstoy's educational writings, one
has almost physical perception of a living child, presented not in a frozen
photographic pose but in the manifestation and development of i t s individual
characteristics, the unfolding of i t s personality and in mental states which
fluctuate in accordance with the many and varied influences to which he or I

she i s subject".

The other aspect that Tolstoy emphasized in his doctrine of education was
the empowerment and freedom of the people to set up schools for their
chil.dren that were based on the wishes of the parents and community. This ,
would lead to the development of genuine culture among the people. The I

agencies for deciding the content and method of education would be the
parents and the community at large. Here, children are regarded as the subject
of education which calls for developing their individual characteristics,
personalities, and mental states (that are known to vary according to situations).
Education, therefore, cannot remain divorced from a child's cognitive capacities
i n different stages of growth. He demonstrated that in the first stage of
education, children's thinking and comprehension are guided by pictures,
colours, and sound rather than logical thought. Information conveyed through
pictures rather than through logical conclusions is better understood and
retained by children (see Yegorov 1997). He believed that elementary education
laid the foundation for a child's intellectual and moral growth and state of
happiness or unhappiness throughout life. Elementary education determined
whether a child would enjoy studying or would regard it as a burden, whether
he/she would lay more emphasis on spiritual values or on material well-being.
Spirituality could be impressed upon the child only in school. The Primer of
Count of Tolstoy published in 1872, "consisted of a set of teaching materials
in four volumes: a) the aiphabets proper; b) texts for elementary study; c)
Slavonic texts; and d) material for Learning arithmetic" (cited from Yegorov
1997: 656-657). It comprised basic concepts of physics, chemistry, botany, and
zoology in a way that would be comprehensible to children. Tolstoy's ideas as
,
also his publications triggered debates and controversies when they were first I

launched. Later, however, his perspective on education was accepted and

adopted not only in Russia but in many parts of the world.

Box 4.1: Major works of Leo Tolstoy

The Kingdom of God and the Peace Essays. 1951. London: Oxford University
Press 4

Educational Writings. 1951. Moscow

4.3 John Dewey (1859-1952)

John Dewey was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. He completed graduation
from the University of Vermont i n the year 1879 and took to teaching Latin,
algebra and sciences in a school located in Pennsylvania. Thereafter, he joined
a rural school near Burlington in which he was the only teacher. He pursued
research for the award of a doctoral degree. In 1884, the University of Michigan
appointed him as instructor in philosophy and psychology. Later, he led the
combined department of philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy at the University
of Chicago as its Chairman. It was around this time (i.e., in the late nineteenth
and early part of the twentieth century) that the economy in the United
States was in a phase of transition from agriculture-based to industry-based.
Evidently, the shift i n the economic situation was accompanied by significant
changes in society. Widespread turburlence marked the transition from the
simple agricultural type to the complex urban-industrial type. The Pullman Thinkers on Education-ll
strike, the impact of President Cleveland's decision to send federal troops to
support corporate interests, and his association with social activists and
educators consolidated Dewey's ideas on progressive reforms. His principal
concern was with maintenance and expansion of democracy in all spheres of
life (see Apple and Teitelbaum 2001). It i s commonly believed that the
democratic form of government i s successful only when those who elect and
those who obey the governors are educated. Since a democratic society
repudiates the principle of external authority, it must find a substitute i n
voluntary disposition and interest that can be created only be education. .

He sought to enhance the relevance of democracy i n society which, he felt,

had not to do just with governance but also with the percolation of democratic
ideals in the processes of daily life. There is no denying that Dewey's approach
was pragmatic and based on real life situations. He upheld that the practical
circumstances provided the bases from which ideals, values and social
institutions develop and receive legitimation. The worth of an ideal, value,
and institution lies in its potential to serve public and personal interests. He
accepted that change i n societal elements was inevitable; hence it was not
appropriate to attach immutable validity or worth to any ideal, value or
institution. There could be no absolute criteria for evaluating these. A particular
social ideal constitutes a criterion for educational criticism and construction.
The worth of a form of social life could be measured in terms of the extent
to which the interests of a group were shared by all its members and the
fullness and freedom with which it interacts with other groups. A society
which encourages participation of all its members on equal terms for their
betterment and allows readjustment of its institutions through interaction of
different forms of associated life is, to that extent, democratic. Such a society
would develop an education system that makes provision for nurturing
individuals' interest in social relationships and control as also dealing with
social change in a way that situations of disorder do not occur. It was, however,
possible to accept the significance of social experimentation based on objective
criteria and rational criticism intended to create a humane and just social
order.

One of the means through which these ideas could be instilled i n the minds
of children was education. He believed that education focused on the
improvement of the quality of experience and provided the succor to social
life. As societies became more and more complex i n terms of structure and'
resources the need of formal teaching increased. When teaching becomes
~ntentionaland formalized, a possibility of split between experience gained by
children through direct association as part of daily life and that acquired i n
schools develops. This is often caused by the rise in knowledge and technical
mode of skills. Schooling, therefore, emerges as basic to social progress and
democracy. According to Dewey, the ultimate objective of a school and the
process of schooling were to foster the growth and exparision of democracy.
This objective was particularly important because i n the emerging industrial
society in which Dewey consolidated his ideas on education, democracy was
largely jeopardized. The schools were given to raising children who would
follow the dictates of the teachers, undergo repetitious methods of teaching
unquestioningly. The understanding was that as adults, they would be able to
join the industry as an asset. Dewey opposed both the prevalent perspective
and the method of teaching-learning i n favour of student's alertness, focusing
on their experiences and the ability to determine the course of life themselves.
According to Dewey, schools would do well to develop a curriculum that was
integrated with social experiences. He strongly criticized public schools for
their learning ability that led to disjunction between knowledge and lived
experiences.
~ e i s ~ e c t i v and
es In his widely acclaimed book, Democracy and Education (1916) Dewey wrote
Theories on Education that the measure of the worth of the administration, curriculum, and methods
of instruction of the schools is the extent to which these are animated by a
social spirit. In the first place, " the school must itself be a community life in
all which that implies" (pp.358). He believed that social perceptions and interests
could be developed only when there i s give and take in the building up of a
common experience. Education becomes effective through constructive
activities that integrate study, growth, and shared experience. The perception
of connections and social adherence is 'nurtured i n playgrounds, schools,
workrooms and Laboratories. Here, natural, active tendencies of youth find full
expression. Dewey maintained that learning in school should not be separated
from that outside the school. The continuity i n learning within and outside
school can be maintained when there are numerous points of contact between
their social interests. A school should safeguard and perpetuate the spirit of
companionship and shared activity. Now, while a school may take upon itself
the responsibility of developing social concern and understanding among
children, it cannot be said with certainty that these would be available outside
it. Yet, it may be accepted that till such time as learning which accrues in the
regular course of study affects character, it is not appropriate to posit moral
end as the unifying and culminating point of education. An educational scheme
i n which learning is accompanied with activities or occupations that have a
social aim is worthwhile. When this happens, the school becomes a form of
miniature community which remains in close interaction with other modes of
associated experience beyond i t s four walls. Education which develops the
ability to share in social life makes for continuous readjustment which is
essential for growth.

Box 4.2: Major Works of John Dewey

I The School and Society. 1899. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
The Child and The Curriculum 1902. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
How We Think. 1910. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Democracy and Education. 1916. New York: Macmillan
The Public and Its Problems. 1927. New York: Henry Holt
Experience and Education. 1938. New York: Macmillan

4.4 Antonio Gramsci (1 891- 1 937)

Antonio Gramsci was born in the region of Sardinia, Italy. He joined the
university for higher studies in Turin (from which he had to withdraw later
because of severe health problems and want of money). Turin was the hub of
growth and development of industries, hence also of the ltalian working class.
For this reason, Gramsci witnessed the first industrial and economic development
of Italy from close quarters early i n life. His political and educational career
began with the position of journalist and theatre reporter during the First
World War. After the war, he launched two journals, Ordine Nuovo and Uinta
with the sole purpose of educating the new working class that had emerged
as fallout of industrialization and the war. Under the new fascist government,
the Italian school system was re-framed i n the year 1923. This time the emphasis
was on perceived dichotomy between preparation for work (entailing technical
and vocational training) and preparation for spiritual development and political
leadership (entailing inculcatiop of cultural and scientific temper). Gramsci did
not agree with this kind of dualism nor did he commit himself to accepting
that science and technology afforded a solution to human problems or that
intellectual and cultural affairs were independent of economic and political
concerns. He proposed the idea of 'professional culture' to refer to "the new
technical and vocatimal preparation needed by manpower (from the skilled .
worker to the manager) t o control and t o lead industrial development, as well
as the society wh~chtnis development inevitably generates" (Monasta 1997: Thinkers on Education-ll
599).

When the fascist regime gripped Italy between 1922 and 1943, and Mussolini
dissolved the ltalian Parliament, Gramsci (who was a member of the Parliament
and Secretary of the ltalian communist Party) was jailed. It is interesting to
note that i n the period of confinement, Gramsci planned to explore the
relationship between education and politics under the broader framework of
hegemony. His writings, Letters from Prison and Prison Notebooks remain the
major source from which several ideas on education and state have been'
developed by later thinkers. The core idea in Gramsci's writing was the role
of intellectuals in society viz., providing technical and political leadership to
a group which is i n a dominant position or i s near it. According to him each
person is an intellectual but not all the people perform the role of an intellectual
in society. He identified different kinds of intellectuals. The first kind referred
to as 'organic intellectuals' comprise capitalist entrepreneurs equipped with
managerial and technical skills under whose leadership industrial technicians,
specialists i n political economy, i n a new legal system develop. Organic
intellectuals combine technical and political leadership. They are known to
develop from the dominant social political group. Organic intellectuals serve
the interests of the ruling class and in doing so reinforce their hegemony over
the masses. The second kind are the 'intellectuals of the traditional type' who
comprise administrators, scholars, scientists, theorists, and others who
represent historical continuity that is unfazed even by radical political and
social changes. They regard themselves and are regarded by a vast majority of
population as autonomous and independent of the dominant social group.
Gramsci maintained that the role of informal educators was comparable with
that of an intellectual in society for the simple reason that both strive for
inculcation of awareness on critical issues and human well-being in totality.
The educators in local communities have an advantage in that often they have
much in common with the people, are able to develop relationships with them
easily, and are regarded as part of the community. This facilitates acceptance
of what they seek to educate and develop in the people.

The question that assumes significance at this stage is, what distinguishes
intellectual work from manual work? In fact, this distinction is crucial to
Gramsci's ideas on education. He maintained that the distinction between
intellectual work and manual work is largely ideological. Classical education
catering to the pursuits of the dominant classes raised individuals given to
undertaking intellectual work while vocational, technical education for the
iqorking classes raised individuals given to performing manual labour. Gramsci
rejected the dichotomy outright. He advocated that there was no human
activity from which intellectual activity would be pulled out completely. This
is to say that intellectual activity pervades all the actions of human beings.
He, however, added that new intellectuals belonging to the working class
needed to participate i n practical l i f e actively and develop socialist
consciousness that cou1.d effectively counter hegemony. In his words (cited
here from Monasta 1997: 602), "The mode of being the new intellectual can
no longer consist of eloquence ... but in active participation in practical life,
as constructor, organizer, 'permanent persuader' and not just a simple orator.. .;
from technique-as-science and to the humanistic conception in history, without
which one remains 'specialized' and does not become 'directive' (specialized
and political)." The social division between intellectual and manual work seems
to be reflected i n classical and technical education respectively. The real
division is, however, between 'directive' and 'subaltern' rules i n society
notwithstanding the nature of the job i.e., whether it is intellectual or manual.
In a strict sense, the basis of the new type of intellectual should be technical
education that was closely bound to industrial labour even of the most unskilled
kind. One implication of this assertion is the understanding of close links
between school and work, and between technical and humanistic education.
Perspectives and The new type of intellectuals may easily be identified among administrators
Theories on Education and managers of industry and services; in upper rungs of state administration.
central and local bureaucracy; within teaching profession and the growing
sector of vocational and occupational training. Traditional 'academic'
intellectuals s t i l l seem to be opinion leaders through whom political and cultural
operations are effected (see Monasta 1997).
He believed that the school system prevalent in Italy at that time was given
to reinforcing the ideological foundations of hegemony and i n this way
perpetuating the current social and political domination of the ruling class. tie
critiqued the increasing specialization afforded in the Italian school system
and proposed a more comprehensive form of education. Gramsci felt that i t
would be appropriate to develop a school system that would be committed to
imparting common basic education, balancing the inculcation of capacity for
working manually and the capacity for intellectual work. This would prepare
the students adequately to engage in productive work or pursue education in
specialized schools. He explained that modernizing education should chiefly
consist of creating a simple type of formative schaol (primary-secondary) which
would take the children up to the threshold of their choice of job, forming
them during this time as a persons equipped with the faculty capable of
thinking, studying and ruling or controlling those who rule. In order that this
type of school achieves i t s objectives, i t was important that i t related with
the daily lives of the people so that more and more students participate in i t
with vigour. The student had to be an active participant and not a passive
recipient in the teaching - learning process. Gramsci challenged the notion of
spontaneous development of the child. He maintained that right from birth,
the child i s 'educated' to conform to the environment; the school represents
only a small part of life. Education, in effect, i s the struggle against the basic
instincts (i.e., those related with biological functions); and against nature, to
dominate it and create the 'actual' human being. He used the term 'conformity'
to refer to the instrument for interpretation of those processes through which
the people follow tradition and adhere to the rules. Education, therefore,
consists of a struggle for one or the other type of conformity (e.g., socialization)
proposed or imposed within a society. Monasta (1997:609) sums up Gramsci's
basic approach to education in the following words, "Finally, as far as the
visible education system i s concerned, Gramsci's approach does not mean that
school and university education are irrelevant within the strategy of educating
for critical thought. I t suggests that innovations in methods, content and
organization of study which should be consistent with the following main
points tighten links between school and work, as well as between theory and
practice; a growing attention to the history of the organization of work and
of the organization of culture, and therefore, more interest towards the study
of 'fortune' namely, the different interpretations, of classics and theories;
and, last but not least, an open debate on the aims of education and the
values on which educational action i s based in a given society." Education has
to be set free from the clutches of both conformity and hegemony so that
children who undergo i t are able to achieve personal independence.

Box 4.3: Major Works of Antonio Gramsci

Lettere dal carcere [Letters from Prison] edited by S. Caprioglio and E.
Fubini. 1965. Turin: Einaudi
Quaderni dalcarcere [Prison Notebooks] edited by Valentino Gerratana
1975. Turin: Einaudi

4.5 Paulo Freire (1921-1 997)

Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was born to a Catholic middle class family in Recife
(the capital of north-eastern province in Brazil). His father was a military
officer who brought up his children with both authority and understanding.
Freire first received education in the traditional Catholic way from his mother.
 The family lived in one of the most impoverished regions of the nation and Thinkers on Education-11
often encountered difficulty in making both ends meet. His parents did,
however, try hard to maintain the standard of living that characterized the
middle class families of that time. Paulo Freire studied law following which he
taught Portuguese language in a secondary school in Brazil. He also served as
a trade-union lawyer. He would inform trade-union members on legal matters.
Freire was engaged in a wide variety of activities that included teaching a
language course, and lecturing on legal matters to trade union workers. The
experience of dealing and with illiteracy among Brazilian poor peasants and
workers moved him. He came to realize that educational policies and practices
had far-reaching implications.
In 1989, Freire was appointed Secretary of Education. He took this opportunity
to initiate several programmes for educating the adults, and re-casting the
curriculum. According to Freire, as society becomes excessively technology
oriented with emphasis on specialization, people become increasingly passive,
dehumanized, and fearful. While mass production of commoditi3s does call for
extensive participation of people, it reduces their capacity for critical
assessment. The way out, then, is not to reject the use of machine but to
humanize people, to bring them out of the alienation of routine, of repeating
things bureaucratically and taking lives into their own hands, at their own risk
and responsibility, and exercising control. Freire was once asked how he thought
it was possible to talk about the cultural appropriation of the dominant culture
by the dominated people. He replied that those who dominate seek to lull the
self-consciousness of those they dominate and instill i n them a sense of
inferiority about their own culture. When the dominated people come to
realize the strategy of the dominators, they mobilize themselves with
tremendous rigour. They unite, grow, struggle to overthrow the indoctrination,
and liberate themselves (see Freire 1985). Those who champion the cause of
liberation are, unfortunately, gripped by the banking concept of education
because of which they are not able to understand its dehumanizing influence.
You may read Box 5.2 in Unit 5 to understand Freire's banking concept of
education. The seekers of liberation need to adopt the concept of people as
conscious beings. This consists of devising learning situations based on dialogical
relations i n which the duality between the teacher as the repository of
knowledge) and the student (as completely ignorant and bereft of knowledge)
is snapped. Teaching and learning then becomes a two-way process in which
teachers and students engage on equal terms.

Box 4.4: Freire's Method of Literary Training

Freire's method of literacy training chiefly consisted of the following steps
(cited here from Gerhardt 1997:445).
"'The educators observe the participants in order to 'line in' t o the universe
of their vocabulary.
An arduous search for generative words and themes takes place at two
levels: Syllabic richness and high degree of experiential involvement.
A first codification of these words into visual images, which stimulated
people 'submerged' i n the culture of silence to 'emerge' as conscious
I
markers of their own culture. Introduction of the 'anthropological concept
of culture' with its differentiation between man and animal.
The decodification of the generative words and themes by a 'culture
circle' under the self-effacing stimuli of a coordinator who is not a 'teacher'
in the conventional sense, but who has become an educator-educatee i n
dialogue with educatees- educators.
A creative new codification, which i s explicitly critical and aimed at action,
wherein those who were formally illiterate now began to reject their role
as mere 'objects' in nature and social history. They undertake t o become
'subjects' of their own destiny." 51
Perspectives and More importantly, he invited participation of the community in educational
Theories on Education programmes that led to decentralization of control and democratization of
schools. What came out clearly was the thrust on praxis in education that
refers to developing a sense of critical reflexive action and critical reflection
based on action.

This assumes greater relevance in the light of the fact that Freire believed
that capitalist societies might be identified with oppression that pervades all
social relations and social processes including education. More specifically,
Brazil was plagued with intense political, social, and economic inequalities.
The stark opposition between the affluent and the impoverished, the oppressor
and the oppressed, deeply influenced Freire's thought. The oppressed or the
dispossessed were deliberately kept 'submerged' in ignorance and in situations
that would curtail their critical awareness and active response to their condition
of social, economic, and political domination by the oppressors. Freire described
this as the 'culture of silence.' He believed that those who are oppressed,
dispossessed, and marginalized tend to remain ignorant and lethargic because
of the overpowering social, economic, and political domination. The educational
system supports and maintains the domination.

He came to realize that the then current system of education would continue
to perpetuate i h e divide. The alternative before him was to present a
conception of education in which the culture, knowledge, and social, economic,
and political conditions of the oppressed were in the forefront. His book,
Pedagogy of the Oppressed was born out of the urge to empower the oppressed
through education. He believed that often the process of education gets
reduced to deposition of knowledge by the teachers in the students who
patiently receive, memorize, and repeat form the deposits. This i s the banking
concept of education proposed by Freire. In the banking concept of education,
teachers treat themselves as knowledgeable and bestow the gift of knowledge
to the students whom they treat as completely ignorant. Evidently, such
students are given to adapting to the social situation in whatever form it
appears before them. The solution lies i n humanizing pedagogy in which a
permanent dialogue between revolutionary leadership and the oppressed is
established. Here the critical consciousness and the awareness of the students
are ignited. The oppressed are encouraged to transform their destiny by way
of struggle for their liberation. Freire's basic assumption was "that man's
ontological vocation (as he calls i t ) is to be a subject who acts upon and
transforms his world, and in so doing moves towards ever new possibilities of
fuller and richer life individually and collectively" (Shaull 1972: 12). Here, 'world'
may be understood as consisting of dynamic and ever-changing social order. I t
is, hence, possible to look at the world critically with the ambition to overthrow
the oppression. What i s required, however, is appropriate outlook and training
which education can impart. When an illiterate peasant or oppressed sections
of society are initiated into critical thinking and the process of transformation,
it takes upon itself the task of changing the oppressive structures of society.
Freire believed that education either serves as an instrument that integrates
the younger generation into the existing social system and makes them conform
to it or else it serves as an instrument through which freedom is achieved. He
accepted that those who profess the notion of freedom through education
are often influenced by the banking concept and give in to its dehumanizing
power. Unfortunately, they use this very instrument of alienation i n an effort
to liberate the masses. They tend to brand those who challenge them on this
count as innocent, dreamer or reactionary. The truly committed have to reject
the banking concept of education i n its entirety. Instead of furthering the
goal of deposit- making in education, they have to pursue problem- posing
education (i.e., posing of the problems of people in their relations with the
world) that would put teacher and student contradiction to rest so that
teacher-of-the student and student-of-the-teacher cease to exist. New
terminology viz., teacher-student and students-teachers emerges i n which
 author~tyi s on tne side of freedom, not against it. People teach each other. Thinkers on Education-11
The process is mediated by the world, by cognizable objects.

Box 4.5: Major Works of Paulo Freire

Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 1970. [trans. M.B. Ramos, 19821. New York:
Seabury Press
Cultural Action for Freedom. 1970. Cambridge, M.A: The Harvard Educational
Review Monograph Series, no. 1.
Education for Critical Consciousness. 1973. New York: Seaburv Press
Pedagogy in Process: The Letters t o Guinea- Bissan [trans. C. St. John
Hurter]. 1978. New York Seabury Press
The Politics of Education. [trans. H. A Giroux] 1985. Massachusetts: Bergin
and Garvey
Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 1994. [trans R.R.
Barr]. New York: Continuum
Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters t o Those who Dare Teach. 1998.
Boulder, Co: Westview Press

4.6 Basil Bernstein (1 925-2000)

Basil Bernstein was the son of a Jewish immigrant family in London's East End.
He served as an underage bombardier in Africa in the Second World War following
which he worked in the Stepey settlement boys' club for underprivileged
Jewish children. As a child, Bernstein's mind was occupied with simple, basic
questions the answers to which were not part of the curriculum. The questions
that filled his mind related to issues that were talked about at home. In his
own words, "Why did my father work so hard? Why did I not see him in the
mornings, or until late in the evening? Why did my mother go to work 'to
support me'? Why were all the fields I played in being developed by more and
larger council estates? Why did we have to walk (or later, ride) more than
three miles to school? Why were the children from my village treated differently
from the children from the immediate school locality" (1995, cited here from
Goodson 2001 : 162). After completing 11+ Bernstein joined the grammar school
in which he felt completely alienated because he could not relate with the
structure of content. He found the content dull and the form of its transmission
as excessively bewildering. His own experience of learning in school Laid the
foundation for his ideas on education. Bernstein studied sociology a t the
London School of Economics which at that time encouraged students to explore
the influence of social inequality on education, health, and welfare. He chose
to focus on education. For a period of about six years, he taught in the City
Day College. His students were people who had remained unsuccessful in the
formal school system. Later, he developed interest in the use of language and
its relationship to social class. He explored this domain i n the course of a two-
year stay in the Department of Phonetics, University College, London. He was
appointed Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Education some time in 1963
and spent the rest of his life conducting research, and supervising doctoral
and post-doctoral research (see Goodson 2001).

Bernstein is widely acclaimed for his contribution to the theory of education.

He distinguished between two forms of speech patterns: the restricted code;
and the elaborated code. Restricted codes, as the term itself suggests are a
1I kind of shortened speech characterized by short, grammatically simple, often
unfinished sentences. One may wonder how communication is possible through
1
I
restricted codes. Despite the fact that, apart from others, one of the features
of restricted codes is unfinished sentences. Communication is made possible
because the conversing parties have shared-experiences which make detailed

I
Perspectives and explication of meanings and intentions redundant. Meaning and intention,
Theories on Education however, are conveyed through gestures, voice intonation, and context i n
which the communication takes place. There is no denying that communication
through restricted codes is (i) limited to those who are largely familiar with
each other; (ii) confined to a specific social group and specific social context.

An elaborated code, is based on verbalization of meanings and details (many

cf which are taken for granted in the restricted code). tiere, meanings are not
delimited to a specific social content, rather, they are universalistic and available
t o all. This is possible because the principles and operations are, in large part,
made explicit. Bernstein explained the relationship between speech codes
and social class with an example of stories told by two five-year-old children
one belonging to the working class whom we will refer to here as A and the
other belonging to the middle class whom we will refer to here as B. Both A
and B were given four pictures based on which they were asked to develop
a story. Out of these, the first picture depicted several boys playing football;
the second picture depicted the ball breaking a window; the third picture
depicted a woman looking out of the window and a man making a threatening
gesture to the boys; and the fourth picture depicted boys retreating from the
scene. It was found that A used restricted code to narrate the story. 'The
children left many meanings unspoken so that the story was tied to a particular
context shown in the picture. In fact, the story could not be understood
without the help of the picture. Bernstein explained that this was so because
i n the working class families (to which A belonged) position of members was
clearly defined in terms of age, gender, and relationships within the family.
There was no need for verbal elaboration. By virtue of their authority in the
family, the fathers would give a command such as 'shut up' which others
would obey. B, on the other hand, used elaborated code to describe and
analyze the relationship between events in an integrated way. The story was
comprehensible without the aid of the pictures. Bernstein explained that in
contrast to the working class, in middle class families (to which B belonged)
decisions are negotiable and less rigid. Consequently, it was crucial that meaning
and intentions were made explicit. He contrasted the working class and middle
class in terms of skill set and participation i n decision making. According to
Bernstein the use of restricted code by people of working class is also because
most of them are engaged in occupations that demand precision in manual
rather than verbal skills. They are often not engaged in making decision. The
manual worker is discouraged from developing an elaborated code. This contrasts
sharply with the position of the middle class people many of whom are involved
in white-collar jobs that entail decision making, expertise i n verbal skills.
Hence, they are able to develop elaborated speech code.

Reflection and Action 4.2

What are the major differences between restricted code and elaborate
code?

It is pertinent to understand that formal education is conducted through an

elaborated code in which universalistic orders of meaning are transmitted to
many students at the same time. This works out t o the disadvantage of
children belonging to working class families who are given t o communicating
through restricted code. Bernstein did accept that the restricted code has
'warmth and vitality' and 'simplicity and directness', but it is not compatible
with the formal education system. According to Bernstein (1973), the way in
which a society classifies, distributes, transmits, and evaluates educational
knowledge that it considers t o be public, i.e., available to the masses reflects
the distribution of power as also the principles of social control. Formal
educational knowledge may be considered to be passed on through curriculum
(which defines what knowledge is considered valid and appropriate for
transmission), pedagogy (which defines what counts as a valid transmission of
54
knowledge), and evaluation (which counts as a valid realization of this knowledge
code' to refer to the principles that shape curriculum, pedagogy, and
evaluation).

Goodson (2001) explained Bernstein's coding theory stating that strong

classification (i.e. rigid boundaries between curriculum categories) denotes a
curriculum that i s differentiated and separated into traditional knowledge
subject to whereas weak classification denotes an integrated curriculum with
weak boundaries. These two types of curriculum are characterized as collection
code and integrated code. Framing i s the transmission of what is identified as
valid school knowledge through pedagogic practices. Frame, i n effect, is
employed to refer to the specific pedagogical relationship of the teacher and
the pupil. It refers to the strength of the boundary that separates what may
be transmitted from what may not be transmitted i n the pedagogical
relationship. Strong framing implies the presence of sharp boundary; weak
framing implies the presence of blurred boundary. Bernstein analysed the
interrelationship between educational codes and the structure of power and
principles of social control.

Bernstein (1973, rpt. 1985: 279) maintained "The stronger the classification
and the framing, the more the educational relationship tends to be hierarchical
and ritualized, the educant seem as ignorant, with little status and few rights.
These are things that one earns, rather like spurs and are used for the purpose
of encouraging and sustaining the motivation of pupils. Depending upon the
strength of frames, knowledge is transmitted in a context i n which the teacher
has maximal control or surveillance, as i n hierarchical secondary school
relationships". Further, i n early chil.dhood, the frames of the collection code
socialize chil.dren into knowledge frames that overlook connection with everyday
realities. What happens as a consequence is that educational knowledge comes
to be treated as esoteric, away from the mundane and the ordinary. Those
who possess it, therefore, are accorded special significance. It is only when
this frame i s relaxed to incorporate the everyday realities will educational
knowledge cease to be a signifier of power and prestige.

Box 4.7: Major Works of Bernstein

Class, Codes and Control: Theoretical Studies towards a Sociology of
Language. 1971, Vol. 1. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Class, Codes and Control: Applied Studies towards a Sociology of Language. -
1973, Vol. 2. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Class, Codes and Control: Towards a Theory of Education Transmission.
1975, vol. 3. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Class, Codes and Control: The structuring of Pedagogic Discourse. 1990,
vol. 4. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Pedagogy, Symbolic Control, and Identity: Theory, Research, and Critique.
1996. London and Washington: Taylor & Francis

4.7 lvan lllich ( 1 926-2002)

lvan lllich was born in Vienna, Austria, i n the year 1926. In the early years of
Life lllich was served by different governesses from whom he learnt many
languages. He read extensively from his grandmother's library and got the
opportunity to interact with intellectuals many of whom were friends of his
parents. This kind of exposure i n the formative years sharpened his intellectual
skills. He studied theology and philosophy at the Gregorian University, Rome.
Later, he pursued doctoral research in the philosophy of history at the University
of Salzburg. He served as a parish priest (to. a New York church with an Irish
and Puerto Rican congregation), administrator and professor at Fordham
University. lllich founded the Centre for Intercultural Documentation (CIDOC)
Perspectives and i n Cuernavaca, Mexico which provided a platform for American and Latin
'Theories on Education American intellectuals to discuss and debate on issues of education and culture.
He is known for radical ideas (apart from those on Church and its reform,
medicine, and transport in modern societies) on education that ignited several
controversies. He condemned the school as a system for not being able to
keep pace with social change and for reinforcing the status quo and protecting
the structure of society from which they are born and within which it functions.

His book, Deschooling Society is perhaps one pf the most widely read works
in the disciplines of education in general and sociology of education in particular.
He explained that universal education cannot be imparted through the process
of schooling. He believed that often the people's right to learn is curtailed by
the obligation to attend school. lllich saw an opposition between schooling
and education. He denounced institutionalized education as also the institution
of school on the ground that it raised people as, "producers of merchandise
with a specific exchange value i n a society where those who already possess
a certain cultural capital derive the most benefit" (Gajardo 1997:714). He
maintained t h a t the prestige of a school rested on the myth of (i)
institutionalized values which is rooted in the conviction that schooling produces
learning which is of value. According to lllich meaningful learning is not
dependent on manipulation by others or on instruction but derives from
participation of learners i n meaningful settings that are least provided in
schools; (ii) measurement of values based on the understanding that the
values imparted in schools are quantifiable. Illich, however, upheld that personal
growth cannot be measured in terms of schooling. Those who employ personal
growth tend to constrain themselves a great deal i n order to match those
standards; (iii) packaging values emphasizing the clear-cut curriculum produced
as a modern staple product. This finished product is presented to the students
by the teachers and modified subsequently on the basis of their reactions and
responses. The entire process simulates the production and delivery of an
object; and (iv) self-perpetuating progress assessed in terms of the degrees,
diplomas, and certificates. Larger number of these generates Larger confidence
of the possibility of securing a good job. Pupils (who are treated like consumers)
are taught to conform their aspirations and desires i n accordance with
marketable values. It may be appreciated that people's perception of reality
is not determined solely by the schools but also by the family, media, informal,
socialization networks and society a t large.

Reflection and Action 4.1

In your opinion what is the role of school i n society? Discuss with your
co-learners at the study centre.

It was possible to undertake the mission of universal education successfully

through alternative institutions that could be developed on the style of the
present schools. Further, the need was t o (i) expand and enlarge the
responsibility of the teacher i n a way that it extended beyond the teaching-
learning engagement i n institutions to enwrap the lifetimes of pupils; (ii)
enhance opportunities for learning, sharing, and caring i n the course of
education; and (iii) deschool the ethos as also the institutions. lllich argued
vehemently against institutionalised education as also the institution of the
school for privileging those who already possess some measure of cultural
capital. He explained that schooling, i n essence, is the production and
marketing of knowledge. The people are made to believe that knowledge that
is taught in schools is respectable and worthwhile. 'This implies that those
who are self taught but do not or have not been able to attend school are
discriminated against. The fact of the matter, however, is that the
institutionalised values instilled i n schools constitute the yardstick for measuring
personal growth. People try hard to follow the standards laid down before
them in schools. For Illich, personal growth could not be measured by the
It may be understood that lllich did not argue for elimination of schools. Thinkers on Education-ll
Rather, he asked for their disestablishment. The difference between the two
situations is that while the former calls for closing down of the school system
as such, the latter calls for plugging the use of public funds to support schools.
He believed that schooling should be treated as an auxiliary item. Schools
should be made t o pay taxes. When that happened, those who had not
undergone schooling would not be discriminated against or despised. Schools
and state need to get de-linked much like the Church and the state under the
U.S. Constitution. A crucial outcome would be that schooling would no longer
be compulsory. In such a situation, teachers would impart education with
more passion and students would pursue i t without any ulterior motive (Gabbard
and Stuchul 2001).

lvan lllich has been criticized for his radical ideas on schooling. It has often
been said that his ideas and assertion were based on intuition and remained
far from socio-educational or learning research. lllich has debated with Freire
on education, schooling, and awareness. He has also discussed basic issues
with other thinkers engaged in search for ways and means of transforming life
into a learning experience outside the school system. Notwithstanding the
criticism, lllich will be remembered for initiating a debate on education and
schooling in which several thinkers participated with tremendous sense of
commitment. There is no denying that his ideas do exhibit universal validity
and have influenced a large number of educators.
Box 4.6: Major Works o f lvan lllich
Deschooling Society. 1970. New York: Harper 6: Row
Tools for conviviality. 1973. New York: Harper and Row
I In the Vineynrd of the Text. 1993. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
I
4.8 Pierre Bourdieu (1 930-2002)
Pierre Bourdieu was born in Denguin, France. His father was a sharecropper.
Later, he joined the position of postman. He studied philosophy i n Paris and
later worked as a teacher for about a year. Bourdieu served i n the French army
during the Algerian War of Independence between 1958 and1962 in the course
of which he undertook ethnographic research. From the year 1964 he held the
position of Director of Studies at the E'cole des Hautes E'tudes en Sciences
Sociales; i n 1968 he founded the research center, Centre de Sociologie
Europeenne; in 1975 he launched an interdisciplinary journal through which he
revisited the well established canons of sociology; in 1981 he held the Chair
of Sociology at the College de France. It is evident that Bourdieu sought to
integrate theoretical ideas with empirical research grounded i n everyday life.
Bourdieu is known for his theoretical and empirical contributions i n the fields
of anthropology and cultural studies, education, politics, and sociology. The
core idea in his writings revolves around the means by which the educated
social groups employ cultural capital as a social strategy to distinguish themselves
in society by acquiring status and respect. He explained the concept of social
strategy in terms of conscious rational choices that people make i n order that
their own beliefs come true. Social strategies may be consciously or
unconsciously adopted. Bourdieu's ideas are rooted in empirical research that
he carried out in France for about four decades. He also used the concept of
social strategy i n order to explain the way i n which individuals engage
themselves in the struggle over symbolic capital. He explored the relationship
between the relative autonomy of the educational system and its dependence
on the structure of class relations. Much like Marx, Bourdieu accepted that
the relationship between the ruling class and the subordinate working class is
one of conflict and hostility. He agreed that the gap or the difference between
the two classes derives from inequities i n the possession of capital. For
Perspectives and Bourdieu, capital lies in the group's or an individual's potential to fit into
Theories on Education society through shared knowledge, beliefs, values, and virtues. The role of
education assumes significance i n that it serves as a source from which the
privileged and the elite draw not only academic credentials but also propagate
an ideology that constitutes the rules of society most of which are to their
own advantage. He maintained that intellectuals spread their knowledge
judiciously and allow the people to complete for cultural capital within the
framework of rules in society. There is no denying that this competition for
cultural capital perpetuates class distinctions (Brimi 2005).

According to Bourdieu, education serves to perpetuate the culture of the

dominant classes- a phenomenon often referred to as 'cultural reproduction'.
'The dominant classes tend to project their own culture as superior and
worthwhile to an extent that they establish it as the basis of knowledge i n
the educational system. Bourdieu referred to 'cultural capital' in the framework
of culture of the dominant classes more so because through the agency of the
educational system it can be translated into wealth and power (meaning that
those who pass through the educational system which derives largely from the
culture of the dominant classes are able to acquire both wealth and power i n
society). What is interesting to note is the fact that diversity i n educational
achievements of students belonging to different classes emanates from uneven
distribution of cultural capital i n the class structure. This means that students
who belong to the upper classes find themselves in a familiar educational
environment (because they are socialized into the culture and have internalized
the skills and knowledge from which the educational system i n derived) while
students belonging to lower classes find themselves alienated from the
educational environment. Students belonging to the middle class are able to
perform better than those of lower classes because their culture is close to
the culture of the dominant class.

'The performance of the students, therefore, depends on their access to

cultural capital. Bourdieu explained that in operational terms, children of the
upper classes are able to comprehend the content of knowledge better than
their counterparts belonging to lower classes for the simple reason that the
range of meanings, the grammar, tone, and delivery of the content is more
comprehensible to them. Furthermore, they are able to articulate and present
the knowledge i n a way that is appreciated and rewarded by the teacher-
evaluator. The students of lower classes fall short on this count. Often, they
aie penalized when their style of presentation does not conform to that of
the dominant culture. Now, while the former are inherently i n an advantageous
situation, the latter are at a loss right from the beginning. One consequence
of this practice is the systematic elimination of people of the working class
from the area of education. Elimination of those belonging to the working
class takes place because of the failure in the educational system and an
understanding of their own position vis-a-vis those belonging to the ruling
class. This, in turn, leads to social reproduction- perpetuation of the power

Box 4.8: Major Works of Pierre Bourdieu

Outline of Theory of Practice. 1977. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Distinction: A social Critfque of the Judgment of Taste. London: Routledge
& Kegan Paul
Homo Academicus. 1988. Cambridge: Polity Press
The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power. 1966. Cambridge:
Polity Press
4.9 Conclusion Thinkers on Education-11

In this unit we have familiarized ourselves with the basic viewpoints of seven
major thinkers on education. It is interesting to note that despite the fact
that they were born and brought up at different places at different times,
they seem to converge on the fundamental understanding that meaningful
education was not one that was based on transmission of information i n
schools but one that led to personal growth and development. Several of them
believed that the scope of education needs to be broadened to address issues
of social and political hegemony. They argued for setting education free from
the state and dominant sections of society. They envisaged the purpose of
education as self-enrichment and, more importantly, liberation from the clutches
of domination and hegemony. What comes out clearly from their writings is
the vast potential of education to usher in and sustain social transformation.

4.10 Further Reading

Freire, P. 1972. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. England: Penguin Books

Illich, 1. 1970. Deschooling 'Society. New York: Harper and Row

Morsy, Z. (ed). 1997. Thinkers on Education. Vol. 1-4. New Delhi: UNESCO
Publishing/Oxford & IBH Publishing