1|P a g e – E D U C 2 1 3 C o u r s e M o d u l e – T h e Te a c h e r a n d t h e C o m m u n i t y, S c h o o l

Culture and Organizational Leadership

MODULE 3 – HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION

➢ Education or school is an institution created by society.
➢ Education is a function of society and as such arises from the nature and character of society itself.
➢ Society seeks to preserve itself and to do this it maintains its functions and institutions, one of which is education, to assure
its survival, stability and convenience.
EXAMPLE: schools teaching shared values such as cooperation, discipline, and responsibility to maintain social order

JOHN DEWEY AND SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL COMMUNITY

➢ As John Dewey claimed, it is the school that “introduces and trains each child of society into membership within such a little
community, saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self-direction...”
➢ When schools succeed to do this, in the words of Dewey “we shall have the deepest and best guaranty of a larger society
which is worthy, harmonious, and lovely.”
EXAMPLE: students learning teamwork, leadership, and civic responsibility through group projects and school activities

THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS

➢ This is called the socialization process. Socialization is the “process of learning the roles, statuses and values necessary for
participation in social institutions. ...” (Brinkerhoff, D., 1989)
EXAMPLE: children learning to follow rules, respect authority, and cooperate with peers in school

SOCIALIZATION AS A LIFELONG PROCESS

➢ Socialization is a lifelong process. It occurs primarily during early childhood but as we progress from infancy to old age we
shed old roles and adopt new ones.
➢ Role learning that prepares us for future roles is termed anticipatory socialization. (Brinkerhoff, D., 1989) Because of
anticipatory socialization most of us are more or less prepared for our future roles like spouse, parent, professional teacher.
EXAMPLE: education students practicing teaching strategies in preparation for becoming professional teachers

THE FAMILY AS AN AGENT OF SOCIALIZATION

➢ The family is the most important agent of socialization. Psychology tells us that the self-concept formed during childhood
has lasting consequences.
➢ Besides, “the parents’ religion, social class and ethnicity influence the child’s social roles and self-concept which in turn
influence the expectations that others have for the child, and they determine the groups with which the child will interact
outside the family”. (Brinkerhoff, D., 1989)
EXAMPLE: parents modeling values such as honesty, faith, and work ethic that shape a child’s identity

THE SCHOOL AS AN AGENT OF SOCIALIZATION

➢ The school is also an important agent of socialization.
➢ It is an institution charged by society to impart specific knowledge and skills necessary for functioning in a society.
➢ They are also charged with the task of transmitting society’s cultural values.
EXAMPLE: schools teaching national history, language, and shared traditions

EDUCATION IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETY

➢ Brinkerhoof (1989) explains further:

SURVIVAL AND EARLY EDUCATION

➢ In primitive societies, preliterate persons faced the problem of survival in an environment that pitted them against natural
forces and wild animals.
➢ To survive, human beings needed food, shelter, warmth and clothing.
➢ To transform a hostile environment into one that is life-sustaining, humankind developed life skills that eventually became
cultural patterns.
EXAMPLE: early humans learning how to hunt animals, build simple shelters, and protect themselves from harsh weather

LIFE SKILLS AS CULTURAL PATTERNS

➢ These life skills included

1. Tool or Instrument Making – The ability to create and use tools to solve problems and improve living conditions.
2. Adherence to the Moral Behavior Code of Group Life – Following shared values and ethical norms that guide
behavior within a community.
3. Language – The system of communication used to share ideas, knowledge, and culture among individuals.

EXAMPLE: making stone tools, following tribal rules, and using spoken words to communicate needs

GROUP LIFE AND LEARNING

➢ Early humankind found security in group life based on kinship and tribal patterns.
➢ Life in the human group was educational as children observed and learned from the elders and as they were deliberately
taught by their parents and elders.
EXAMPLE: children watching elders hunt, gather food, or perform rituals and then practicing these activities
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Culture and Organizational Leadership

SOCIALIZATION AS A FUNCTION OF EDUCATION

➢ For these cultural patterns to continue, the adults had to teach these skills and values to their children.
➢ This is socialization, a function of education in society.
➢ Socialization is the process by which individuals internalize the norms and values of society and so social and cultural
continuity are attained.
➢ This is also informal education in action.
EXAMPLE: elders teaching children acceptable behavior, traditions, and survival skills through daily interaction

SYMBOLIC THINKING AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

➢ As abstract thinkers, human beings could create, use and manipulate symbols.
➢ They could communicate with one another through gestures, sounds and words.
➢ These symbols were expressed in signs, pictographs, letters.
EXAMPLE: using cave paintings or hand signals to represent animals, directions, or events

THE RISE OF LITERACY AND ITS EDUCATIONAL IMPACT

➢ The creation and introduction of oral and written language made a great leap on literacy which in turn had tremendous
educational consequences which citizens of a civilized society like netizens of the 21st century now enjoy.
EXAMPLE: modern people accessing knowledge through books, digital media, and online learning platforms

KEY PERIODS IN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

➢ Below are key periods in educational history from 7000 B.C. to AD 1600. Study the table thoroughly.
➢ The notes should make you see that education and school are a function of society and schools reflect the nature and
character of society itself.
➢ What society considers important is what education focuses on to preserve society.

Table 1. Points of Emphasis on Education in History

Key Periods in Educational History, 1000 BC to A.D. 1600

Historical
Influences on Western
Group or Educational Goals Curriculum Agents
Education
Period

Primitive
societies Practical skills of
To teach group hunting, fishing, Emphasis on the role of
survival skills; to food gathering Parents, tribal informal education in
7000 B.C.— cultivate group stories, myths, elders, and priests transmission of skills and
cohesiveness songs, poems, values
dances
5000 B.C.

To cultivate civic
responsibility and
identity with city- Athenian: reading,
Athens: private
state; writing, arithmetic,
teachers and Athens: The concept of the
Greek drama, music,
schools; Sophists; well-rounded, liberally
physical education,
philosophers educated person
literature, poetry
1600 B.C. — Athenian: to develop
well-rounded person
Sparta: military Sparta: The concept of the
300 B.C. Spartan: drill,
teachers, drill military state
military songs and
sergeants
Spartan: to develop tactics
soldiers and military
leaders

Roman
To develop sense of
Emphasis on ability to use
civic responsibility for Reading, writing,
Private schools and education for practical
republic and then arithmetic, Laws of
750 B.C. – teachers; schools of administrative skills; relating
empire; to develop Twelve Tables, law,
rhetoric678 education9 to civic
administrative and philosophy345
responsibi10lity
military skills2
A.D. 4501

Historical
Influences on Western
Group or Educational Goals Curriculum Agents
Education
Period

Arabic To cultivate religious Reading, writing, Arabic numerals and

commitment to mathematics, Mosques; court computation; re-entry of
Islamic beliefs; to religious literature; schools classical materials on science
A.D. 700— develop expertise in scientific studies and medicine
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Culture and Organizational Leadership

Historical
Influences on Western
Group or Educational Goals Curriculum Agents
Education
Period

mathematics,
medicine, and science
A.D. 1350

Medieval To develop religious Establishing the structure,

Reading, writing,
commitment, Parish, chantry, and content, and organization of
arithmetic, liberal
knowledge, and ritual; cathedral schools; the university as a major
arts; philosophy,
A.D. 500— to re-establish social universities; institution of higher
theology; crafts;
order; to prepare apprenticeship; education; the
military tactics and
persons for knighthood institutionalization and
chivalry
A.D. 1400 appropriate roles preservation of knowledge

Renaissance To cultivate a
Classical humanist
humanist who was An emphasis on literary
educators and
expert in the Latin, Greek, knowledge, excellence, and
schools such as
A.D. 1350— classics—Greek and classical literature, style as expressed in classical
lycee, gymnasium,
Latin; to prepare poetry, art literature; a two-track system
Latin grammar
courtiers for service to of schools
school
A.D. 1500 dynastic leaders

Reformation Reading, writing,

To cultivate a sense of A commitment to universal
arithmetic, Vernacular
commitment to a education to provide literacy
catechism, elementary schools
particular religious to the masses; the origins of
A.D. 1500— religious concepts for the masses;
denomination; to school systems with
and ritual; Latin classical schools for
cultivate general supervision to ensure
and Greek; the upper classes
literacy doctrinal conformity
A.D. 1600 theology

SUMMARY OF EDUCATIONAL PERIODS

PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES
➢ In primitive societies survival against natural forces was the need and so what were taught were survival skills and values to
cultivate group cohesiveness.
EXAMPLE: teaching hunting, gathering, tool-making, and cooperation within the tribe

ANCIENT GREECE
➢ For the Athenian in ancient Greece, what mattered most in education was the rounded development of every individual
while for the Spartan it was the development of soldiers and military leaders.
EXAMPLE: Athenians studying philosophy, arts, and athletics, while Spartans focused on military training and discipline

ANCIENT ROME
➢ For the early Romans, schools needed to develop a sense of civic responsibility and to develop administrative and military
skills as citizens of the Roman Empire.
EXAMPLE: training citizens in law, governance, public speaking, and military leadership

ANCIENT ARABIC WORLD

➢ For the ancient Arabic world where Islam rose the most important concern of education was to cultivate religious
commitment to Islamic beliefs.
EXAMPLE: studying the Qur’an and learning moral teachings based on Islam

MEDIEVAL PERIOD
➢ During the Medieval period, schools were concerned with the development of religious commitment, knowledge and ritual
to establish order.
EXAMPLE: monastic schools teaching scripture, prayers, and church traditions

RENAISSANCE PERIOD
➢ Renaissance period was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic "rebirth" following the Middle
Ages.
➢ Education was focused on the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.
EXAMPLE: studying works of Plato, Aristotle, and classical roman writers

REFORMATION PERIOD
➢ The Reformation period had as for its educational goals the cultivation of a sense of commitment to a particular religious
denomination and general literacy.
EXAMPLE: teaching people to read the bible and follow the doctrines of their chosen church
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Culture and Organizational Leadership

ENLIGHTENMENT PERIOD
➢ Education during the Enlightenment emphasized reason, scientific thinking, and individual rights.
➢ Knowledge was seen as a means to improve society and challenge traditional authority.
EXAMPLE: students learning logic, science, and philosophy to question superstition and absolutism

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
➢ Education focused on preparing individuals for factory work and industrial life.
➢ Discipline, punctuality, and basic literacy were emphasized to meet economic demands.
EXAMPLE: schools training students in basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and work discipline

PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION MOVEMENT

➢ Education shifted toward child-centered learning, experience, and problem-solving rather than rote memorization.
EXAMPLE: students learning through projects, experiments, and real-life problem solving

SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONIST PERIOD

➢ Education was viewed as a tool for social reform and reconstruction, addressing inequality and social problems.
EXAMPLE: students engaging in community projects to address poverty or environmental issues

CONTEMPORARY / MODERN EDUCATION

➢ Modern education emphasizes inclusivity, technology integration, lifelong learning, and global citizenship.
EXAMPLE: using digital tools, collaborative learning, and multicultural education in classrooms

21ST-CENTURY EDUCATION
➢ Education focuses on critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and digital literacy to prepare learners for a
rapidly changing world.
EXAMPLE: students using technology to solve real-world problems and collaborate globally