What is Education?| Narrow and Broad Meaning of Education

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What is Education? 

    “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”-Nelson Mandela

Education is the most important and powerful instrument to shape and desirably mould human beings. Education is the root cause of any change, which takes place in the Social, Cultural, Spiritual Political and economic aspects of human beings.

It also helps him to lead his personal as well as social life successfully, adjusting to his surroundings, we may say that education is the means which help an individual to adjust to the varying environment to fulfil his necessities and objective of life. Thus, Education is the necessities of human life like food, clothes and shelter.

Meaning of Education

In English “Education” has been derived from four Latin words these are –Educare, Educere, Educatum and E-Duco

  • Educare:- The term ‘Educare’ means to train or mould or to raise or nourish. In other words, it means that the child beside to be brought up according to certain ends and aims in view.
  • Educere:- ‘Educere’ means to lead out or to draw out or “bring forth what is within”. In other words, it means to draw out the latent potentialities of the child.
  • Educatum:- ‘Educatum’ denotes the acts of teaching. It throws light on the principles and practices of teaching.
  • E-Duco:- It is the combination of two words ‘E’ and ‘Duco’. ‘E’ stands for out of and ‘Duco’ means to draw out or lead out the inner power of man.

Definition of Education by Different Educationists

Different Scholars and Philosophers diversely define ‘Education’. They throw more light on the meaning and significance of Education.

  • Plato’s view on Education: “Man is a combination of body and soul. Education has to develop the physical and spiritual qualities of man”.
  • According to Aristotle -“Education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body”
  • According to Swami Vivekananda– “Education is the manifestation of the divine perfection already existing in man”
  • According to Gandhiji-“ By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit”

Characteristics of Education

  • Education is a purposive, systematic and planned process
  • Education is a lifelong process as it starts from one’s birth and continues till death
  • Education includes formal and informal learning and all life experiences
  • Education aims at the overall development of one’s personality
  • Formal education is basically a Tri-Polar process which involves the teacher, the pupil and the teaching-learning environment
  • Education is Multidimensional as it involves Cognitive, Emotional, Social, Mental Metacognitive development.

The Narrow Meaning of Education

  • In its narrow sense, Education means Schooling. Here, Everything is systematic, prefixed and predetermined.
  • The curriculum, methods of teaching, examination and teacher are prefixed and predetermined. It is a systematic process to achieve the definite goals of education through classroom instruction.
  • A learner can get proper employment after getting a certificate from these institutions. Overall, we can say that formal education is a narrow view of education.

To make the narrow meaning of education is more clear, the following opinions of some Educationist are being given-

  • John Stuart Mill:– “The culture which each generation purposefully gives to those who are to be its successors, To qualify them for at least keeping up, and if possible for raising the level of the improvement which has been attained”.
  • S.S MacKenzie:-“In the narrow sense, education may be taken to mean any consciously directed effort to develop and cultivate our powers”

Characteristics of Narrow Meaning of Education

We can summarize the narrow meaning of education in the following points-

  1. It is a planned, organised and formalised process.
  2. It is a deliberate and controlled modification of the behaviour of the child.
  3. It is imparted at a particular place (School) at a definite time by a definite person.
  4. It is equivalent to instruction.
  5. It is the acquisition of knowledge and skill.
  6. It is deliberately planned and generally dominated by teachers.
  7. It is considered an influence immature person by a mature one.
  8. Here students are passive recipients of knowledge and information.
  9. The amount of knowledge is measured in terms of degree and diplomas

The Broad Meaning of Education

  • In the broader sense, education is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. It is a lifelong process. It is a modification of behaviour and experience from different means of a source of education.
  • It helps one to cope and adjust in a changing environment. It equips a private with different knowledge, experiences and skills for his all-round development.
  • In a broader sense, life is education and education is life. The experiences gained through the house, temple, church, family, playground, club, society, and school include the broader meaning of education.

To make the wider meaning of education clearer, the following opinions of some educationists are being given-

  • According to Swami Vivekananda– “Education is the manifestation of the divine perfection already existing in man”
  • According to Gandhiji-“ By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit”
  • John Dewey- “Education in its broader sense is the means of social continuity”.

Characteristics of Broader Meaning of Education

We can summarize the wider or the broader meaning of education as follows-

  1. It is a lifelong process.
  2. It is as broad as life itself and not limited to a classroom or school only.
  3. It is free and uncontrolled.
  4. It means the process of development from infancy to maturity.
  5. It is meant for the development of a balanced all-round harmonious development of personality.
  6. It comprises the totality of our experiences.
  7. It is based on the innate potentialities and abilities of children.
  8. It is education “By the living, to the living and for the living.

Conclusion

We can conclude from the above points a narrow sense of education is nothing it is for the optimum development of a child and a wider sense of education gives the all-round development of children. Education is the process of development of the kid or the individual. It is a lifelong process.

Also Read:

Comparison between Narrow and Broad Meaning of Education

FAQs

  1. What are the narrow and wider meaning of education?

    In its narrow sense, Education means Schooling. Here, Everything is systematic, prefix and predetermined. The curriculum, methods of teaching, examination and teacher are prefix and predetermined.
    In the broader sense, education is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. It is a life long process. It is a modification of behaviour and experience from different means of a source of education.
    In a narrow sense, It is the acquisition of knowledge and skill whereas in broader sense it,s totality of experience

  2. What is education in broader sense?

    Education in Broader sense means, Education is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. Learning from any source such as from Club, Market, Playground etc is the broader sense of education

  3. What is formal education mean?

    Formal Education is Classroom based. It is imparted at a particular place (School) at a definite time by a definite person

  4. Who has defined education is the realization of self?

    Shankaracharya: “Education is the realization of self‘.

  5. What are the 3 types of education?

    The three types of education are
    Formal Education
    Non-Formal Education and
    In-formal Education

  6. What does Educare means?

    The term ‘Educare’ means to train or mould or to raise or nourish. In other words, it means that the child beside to be brought up according to certain ends and aim in view.

  7. What Does Educere Means?

    Educere’ means to lead out or to draw out or “bring forth what is within”. In other words, it means to draw out the latent potentialities of the child.

  8. What is the difference between the narrow and broader meaning of education?

    There are lots of difference between the narrow and broader meaning of education. Some of the main differences are-
    In a narrow sense, education is imparted in School by trained Teacher whereas in the broader meaning of education is imparted in any place such as Playground, club, school, bus stop etc by any person.
    In Narrow Sense, Education is measured in Diploma and Degree whereas in broader sense education is the totality of experience

References:

  1. https://blog.usaid.gov/2013/04/education-the-most-powerful-weapon/
  2. https://www.academia.edu/28143268/Notes_on_the_true_Meaning_Definition_and_Concept_of_Education.
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachings_and_philosophy_of_Swami_Vivekananda.
  4. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/73015/4/chapter%201.pdf
  5. https://books.google.co.in
  6. https://brainly.in
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