What is Education

The word ‘Education’ derivation from Latin

words educatum/educare (to nourish, to bring
up, to raise), educere (to lead out, to draw out)
• In broader perspective: Any change in Bvr.
as a result of experience.
• Edu is a process. (long & continuous, and
not single events collection)
• Edu is an integrating process (total
development, not of some aspects)
• More than mathematical sum total of
experiences
• Edu helps to discover lasting values (tries
and tests values, critical analysis)
• Edu is a life long process (birth to death,
even prior to birth)
• Edu is modification of behavior (changes in
out-look, thinking and feelings)
• Education is life (not preparation for life, but
life itself)
Education is a foundation for the development and progress of any society. It is a base upon
which the whole building of human development stands. Getting proper education is necessary
for success in life just like the food is necessary for the healthy human body. The good education
is constructive in nature which is very helpful in future life.

Significance of Education
Global impact of education
Education can leave the long-lasting impact on global development. An
educated person always works for the benefits of humanity.

We all acknowledge the importance of education, knowledge, and truth for

promoting the world outlook. Education produces citizens who are men of
intellectual and moral integrity, tolerant and wise. It aims at producing ideal
human beings. Such kind of people is truly cultured, wise, tolerant and
public-spirited.

2. Education promotes the national interest

Education also helps in promoting the national interest of a country. The
highly educated society has a critical intelligence of an exceptional order.
They can form independent conclusions from given facts.

The educated persons have the wisdom and knowledge to work for the
betterment of the country. They are from all walks of like work together in
protecting the national interest.

3. Level of moral and ethical values

Education promotes equality of prospect. Any privilege, when primarily
based on advantage alone, is certain to be greater ethical because it has to
justify no unmerited privilege, propose no ethical system which promotes
magnificence-feeling or social snobbery and protects nothing, which is unjust
or ethically wrong.
The aim of education, whatever the social machine, have to be no longer
effective to disseminate

expertise, however additionally to stimulate the thinking spirit.

4. Vital role in the development of countries

Education is a central cohesive source of support and stability in the
development of countries. Developing countries should have to recognize the
importance of education and must focus on the development of high valued
educational system because a sound education system works effectively for
sustainable development of the economy as well as society. A stable
economy of a country is closely related to education. The educated people of
a country have more ability to become entrepreneurs, scientists, writers,
doctors, and engineers and it may become a deciding factor for the future
economic development of any country.

5. Increase in literacy rate

Literacy rate of a country also depends upon on education. Literacy refers to
the ability of a person to read and write. Literacy is important not only for
children but also for adults. Higher the literacy rate, higher will be the growth
of the country.

6. Freshness of approach
A high-valued education system encourages freshness of approach.
Education should bring out the best in the student. It should be able to bring
new ideas and concepts. The education system should be innovatively coped
with the latest technology and it should benefit all the learners or students
equally. It should also teach them ethical values enabling them to promote
the human-welfare, not self-glorification. By birth, no one is brilliant but
education can make him/her civilized and beneficial for humanity.
7. Education enhances creativity
Education or educational activities also boost the creativity of students.
Education provides the opportunity for students to apply their skills in
creative ways and become more professional. The creativity of students
provides them with opportunities to achieve their goals.

8. Education produces good citizens

Education produced the civilized and well-organized persons. The educated
persons incorporate good ideas and ultimately go for betterment in life. It
helps one in getting out of one’s comfort zone as that is where the magic
lies.

9. Awareness of rights and responsibilities

The educated person is well aware of his rights and responsibilities. An
educated citizen is aware of consumer right, right to vote or right against
exploitation by the employer. Moreover, he/she can raise voice against some
wrong happening around his/her.

Education not only keeps well informed about rights but also responsibilities
of a person. It will make the person more responsible, who is able to work for
the wellness of others.

10. Curiosity for learning new things

An educated person has the curiosity for learning new things in life,
ultimately it becomes the passion to know and understand things in a
scientific way, having objectivity.

11. Wisdom level

The educational institutions should try to arouse intellectual curiosity, the
appetite for more learning and development of critical spirit which brings the
soundness and wisdom. The wise person becomes an earnest seeker after
truth and knowledge with an open mind.

12. Character of an individual

Education also helps in building the character of a person. The
tutors/instructors make attempts to give their students a moral outlook.

13. Balance in life

Educated persons enjoy a good life as education enable them to live a
characterful, happy, well-organized and balanced life.

Education not only makes us able to learn about history, science, math,
geography, and other subjects however it makes us smart enough to learn
how to live life and handle bad situations

14. Earn livelihood

Education enables a person to earn a livelihood. It is true that employment
does not depend on scholarly achievements alone. It depends upon the
economic development of a country. The educated person can get a good
job with a smart income to earn his livelihood.

15. Helpful in future research

Education has importance in research work. Research work being done in a
different field of life is only due to the high level of education. In every field
of life, there is specialized education and research work is done in
universities.

Sources of Education
Revealed Knowledge described as a knowledge that God has disclosed to man. God inspired
certain man to write down the truth that He revealed to them so that these truth might be known
thereafter by all mankind. Revealed knowledge is external knowledge. For those who profess
this knowledge, the condition is that there must be a total surrendering of oneself to the source of
such revelation, that is, the supernatural being, is eternally superior and cannot be said to lie or
make a mistake.

In the Islamic tradition, the Quran is held to be an authoritative and revealed source of
knowledge. In the Christian fold, for instance, dreams, visions and even the Bible have come to
be accepted as forms of revealed knowledge. In African traditional religions, the status of self-
revelation is given to deities, ancestors, divination of oracles and dreams.

Revealed knowledge is from God. In every revealed message, there is a metaphysical aspect and
a physical. The metaphysical teaches the nature of the Divine Unity. The physical provides a
code of behavior. Revealed knowledge has always been brought by a messenger who embodied
it. The way he lives is the message. To behave as the messenger did is to have knowledge of the
message, and in this knowledge is certainty

This sort of knowledge is based upon revelation from some supernatural celestial beings. This
type of knowledge is commonly found in religious jargon. Revealed knowledge is the basis for
qualia/phenomenal properties, as well as the belief in God. Revealed Knowledge, or Revelation,
is that body of knowledge that exists independent of human conception. Revealed Knowledge is
that special Knowledge with which this universe, and preceding universes, and universes in the
making, and universes yet to be made are formed, sustained, and ultimately dissolved.

Islam calls us to learn all kinds of beneficial knowledge. Branches of knowledge vary in status,
the highest of which is knowledge of sharee’ah, then knowledge of medicine, then the other
fields of knowledge. This is the knowledge with which Allaahhonoured His Messenger; He
taught it to him so that he might teach it to mankind:

Intuition may occur as a sudden arrival of solution to one’s problem or puzzle, having
worked for some hours or days without arriving at such solution. It may also come in the form of
quick guess of solution to a problem presented by another person. Intuitive knowledge cannot be
verified by the senses or the intellect. The true knowledge that comes f rom beyond the intellect
and that is the intuitive knowledge.

Intuitive Knowledge is the ability to utilize and acquire knowledge without the use of reason;
that science is now facilitating and helping explain. It is the faculty of knowing without the use
of rational processes. It is the most personal way of knowing. It is immediate cognition or sharp
insight. It occurs beneath the threshold of consciousness. Intuitive knowledge is based on
intuition, faith, beliefs etc. Human feelings plays greater role in intuitive knowledge compared to
reliance on facts. Intuitive knowledge involves direct and immediate recognition of the
agreement or disagreement of two ideas. It yields perfect certainty, but is only rarely available to
us. Intuition as a mode of knowledge develops on the basis of immediate apprehension.

Everybody has got this ability and we have experienced in our life this gut feeling, knowledge
from somewhere, which you cannot really make out what it is. How many of you have ever
experienced? See everybody. Somewhere you feel this is the right thing to do and something
happens in your tummy. And that knowledge comes up at that time but then we don’t honor it.
Many times we stick onto the intellect or sensory perceptions.

Sometimes your intellect says this is wrong what I am doing, but you don’t listen to the intellect
you keep doing the wrong things. How many of you have this experience? What you do? You
stick on to the sensory and ignore the intellectual knowledge. And then what happens? You
sometimes go beyond your intellect. Your intellect is saying something but your inner gut feeling
is saying something else. And you’re feeling says no, there is something different, something
more. And we ignore that and we stick onto the intellect. That’s how many times your judgments
have found to be a failure.

How many of you feel your judgments have been wrong? But sometimes, beyond your
judgments you have seen and you have taken a step and have been happy about it. In spite of
your intellect saying ‘no’, something says ‘yes’. Something else triggers and that is what happens
when there is faith and that’s when the faith comes up you know.

Intuitive knowledge being highlighted not because of what it comes from but because of what it
leads to-namely, cognition of particular things which can give us an especially powerful hold on
the truth that all things are in God. Intuitive knowledge is supposed to be greater, finer, higher,
than the mere exercise of reason; but we are not clearly told why. It is said that there are certain
truths of which definitions cannot be given; that cannot be demonstrated by syllogistic reasoning;
that must be grasped intuitively. The practicing politician censures the abstract theorist who lacks
a lively intuition of how things actually are. The educational theorist stresses, first and foremost,
the need to assist development by educating the faculty of intuition.

Authoritarian knowledge relies on information that has been obtained from books, research
papers, experts, supreme powers etc. Authoritative knowledge comes from the experts. It is only
as valid as the assumptions on which it stands. This kind of knowledge acquired by making
recourse to or depending on authority without verifying claims. This kind of knowledge is
derived from the written works, documentation and reports of others.

Authoritative knowledge is used in all academic activities as references are, most times, made to
authorities, writers, and authors in some specific fields. In the use of authoritative knowledge,
care must be made to avoid unnecessary or psychological appeal to authority as this will make
nonsense of this source of knowledge.

Turning to authorities to obtain knowledge often saves time and effort but care must be
employed in choosing authorities and evaluating their pronouncements. Tradition in many
situations modern man does not evaluate the truth or falsify of his believes any more than his
forefathers did. He unconsciously or unquestioningly accepts many traditions of his culture such
as the customary modes of dress, speech, food, worship, and etiquettes. In the world of practical
affairs this automatic acceptance of approved patterns of behavior is often necessary for one
cannot question all things. But one should not make the mistake of assuming that everything that
has customarily been done is right or that an appeal to the accumulated wisdom of the ages will
always let to the truth.

Expert opinion when searching for knowledge man sometimes seeks the testimony of experts
who, because of their intellect, training, experience, or aptitude, are better informed than other
people. Experts are necessary in a complicated cultural such as ours. An effort must be made,
however, to find out whether the experts are recognized to know the facts about the particular
problem under consideration. One should check not only the credentials but also the arguments
and evidence upon which they base their claims to knowledge. Accepting expert’s opinions
unconditionally or and for all the time is a dubious if not a dangerous practice.

RATIONAL

Rationalists hold that at least some of our knowledge is derived from reason alone, and that
reason plays an important role in the acquisition of all of our knowledge. Rationalists believe that
knowledge can be arrived at through the use of reason or deductive reasoning. The view that
reasoning or logic is the central factor in knowledge is known as rationalism. There is clearly a
limit to what we can learn through abstract thought, but the rationalist’s claim is that reason play
a role in observation, and so that the mind is more fundamental than the senses in the process of
knowledge-acquisition.

On the basis of the rational doctrine, the following [truths] hold: first, the primary criterion of
human thinking in general is the necessary rational knowledge. It is the fundamental pillar that is
indispensable in every field. The truth or falsity of every idea must be measured in light of it.
Due to this, the field of human knowledge becomes wider than the sphere of the senses and
experimentation. This is because it provides human thinking with powers that extend to truths
and propositions that lie beyond matter, and achieves for metaphysics and the higher philosophy
the possibility of knowledge.

In terms of presenting valid reasoning, rational knowledge is more convincing than intuitive
knowledge because it lacks emotional states of affairs and founded on logical relations and
meanings. Rational knowledge can be applied to different areas like mathematical formulae and
have been applied to some great intellectual advances in sciences and the arts.

The empirical knowledge is an attempt to discover a basis for our knowledge in sense
experience. In other words, empirical knowledge is the type that finds recourse or confirmed by
the evidence of sensory experience. It is thus derived from the use of five senses since
knowledge can only be acquired from the experience of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and
tasting. It is the evidence of the senses that gives meaning to empirical knowledge since the
senses, according to the empiricists, are the source and originator of our knowledge. The thrust
of the empiricists as regard knowledge is that there is no knowledge prior to sense experience and
there can be no knowledge outside sense experience.

Since empirical knowledge is fundamentally rooted on sense experience, it stands to

reason that observation and experimentation will also be basic to empirical
knowledge. Empiricists hold that all of our knowledge is ultimately derived from
our senses or our experiences. They therefore deny the existence of innate
knowledge, i.e. knowledge that we possess from birth. Empiricism fits well with
the scientific world-view that places an emphasis on experimentation and
observation. It struggles, however, to account for certain types of knowledge, e.g.
knowledge of pure mathematics or ethics.

8.3 PERENNIALISM

Perennial means "everlasting," like a perennial flower that comes up year after year. The
educational philosophy of perennialism is derived from both idealism and realism. From
idealism comes the combination of ideas that truth is universal and unchanging. It is independent
of time, place, and the immediate physical reality that surrounds us. From realism comes an
emphasis on rationality and the importance of education in training of intellect in the search for
truth. The roots of perennialism lie in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, as well as that of St.
Thomas Aquinas. Advocates of this educational philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who
developed a Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler, who further developed this
curriculum based on 100 great books of western civilization.

According to Perennialists, when students are immersed in the study of those profound and
enduring ideas, they will appreciate learning for its own sake and become true intellectuals. For
Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the
great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving problems in any
era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant,
not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change.
Teaching these unchanging principles is critical. Perennialists believe that the focus of education
should be the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They believe the ideas are as relevant and
meaningful today as when they were written. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need
to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile
education

8.3.1 Perennialists Curriculum The focus in the curriculum is classical subjects, literary
analysis and considers curriculum as constant. The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining
cultural literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest accomplishments
of humankind are emphasized– the great works of literature and art, the laws or principles of
science. Perennialism maintains that the purpose of schools is to prepare children to accept their
places in a society built upon a long and tested tradition. Society has a natural order, and schools
should operate as testing grounds to determine where children will fit in this order. To do this,
schools should offer all children an academic curriculum based on the classics, compendiums of
human knowledge that have been tested over time. The purpose of such a curriculum is to train
the intellect in a broad, general way. As a result, it will become evident who are the brightest and
best, who will be fit to be the leaders in society. Perennialism contends that schools should not
address either the fleeting, narrow interests of students or the immediate needs of society. These
concerns are left to other social institutions.

Role of Teacher
The role of the teacher, who has been trained in the same type of academic curriculum, is that of
moral and intellectual authority figure. Perennialists hold that courses in academic subjects are a
far more important part of teacher education than courses in how to teach. Teachers should be
role models of educated people. Perennialism has its roots in the Greek classics. Perennialists
recommend that students learn from reading and analyzing the works by history's finest thinkers
and writers. Perennialist classrooms are also centered on teachers in order to accomplish these
goals. The teachers are not concerned about the students' interests or experiences. They use tried
and true teaching methods and techniques that are believed to be most beneficial to disciplining
students' minds. The perennialist curriculum is universal and is based on their view that all
human beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that
individuals think deeply, analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively. They emphasize that students
should not be taught information that may soon be outdated or found to be incorrect.
Perennialists disapprove of teachers requiring students to absorb massive amounts of
disconnected information. They recommend that schools spend more time teaching about
concepts and explaining to make these concepts meaningful for students.

ESSENTIALISM

Essentialism is a kind of neo perennialism with roots in both idealism and realism. Essentialism maintains
that the purpose of schools is both to preserve the knowledge and values of the past and to provide
children with the skills essential to live successful and meaningful lives in present society. An educational
theory that focuses on an essential set of learning prepares individuals for life by concentrating on the
culture and traditions of the past. Essentialism, which in the post-World War era has come to replace
perennialism as the dominant educational philosophy in American public schools, holds that the purpose
of the schools is to prepare students for their roles in society through a curriculum focused on basic skills
and traditional academic content, taught by teachers who expect respect for authority and discipline.
William C. Bagley (1874–1946) was the founder of existentialism. The proponents of Essentialism are:
James D. Koerner (1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul Copperman (1978), and Theodore Sizer (1985).

Academic subject matter has priority in the curriculum, but its primary purpose is to transmit
useful skills. In response to the growing progressive movement, essentialism argued that teachers
must be returned to their traditional authoritarian place in the classroom as dispensers of
knowledge and skills and as role models of useful and competent citizens. Essentialism view that
schools should conserve important social traditions and the curriculum should be teacher and
subject centered. But there is more emphasis in essentialism on education's relevance in
preparing individuals to live in the current society and less on absolutism and enduring issues.
However, Perennialism focuses more on the value of studying the classics for their own sake,
because they help individuals to become liberally educated. Essentialism focuses more on the
utilitarian value of these great works that helps individuals develop high-order thinking skills and
acquire knowledge. In the last few decades, there have been several well-publicized
manifestations of essentialism.

Essentialists believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to
students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative perspective is on
intellectual and moral standards that schools should teach.

Essentialism is based off of the philosophies of idealism and realism. Essentialism refers to the
"traditional" or "Back to the Basics" approach to education. It contends that schools should not
try to radically reshape society. Its named comes from the striving to instill students with the
"essentials" of academic knowledge and character development. Essentialism is grounded in a
conservative philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American
society. It contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Essentialists believe
that teachers should instill such traditional American virtues as respect for authority,
perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality.
Essentialist Curriculum The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic
rigor. Although this educational philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism,
Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Essential skills (Three Rs) and
essential subjects (English, arithmetic, science, history and foreign language) are part of
essentialist’s curriculum. Schooling should be practical, preparing students to become valuable
members of society.

It should focus on facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training students to
read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence
policies. Students should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline. Essentialism
as an education philosophy seeks to instill essential topics and character traits that make students
productive members of society. Essentialism stresses the importance of the core topics such as
mathematics, reading, foreign languages, science, and history while also advocating respect for
authority, discipline, and duty as desirable character traits. Essentialism is primarily teacher
centered; teachers impart traditional knowledge to students because they have mastery of the
subject, and they are also examples to students through their exemplary character. Essentialism
often advocates the use of summative assessment and standardized tests to determine students’
mastery of topics and to gauge their ability levels; students who have not mastered the topics of
one grade must repeat this subject before they can progress to the next because they have not
gained information that is essential to their continued learning. While essentialism has existed for
some time, it gained the specific name and identity as opposition to the progressivism movement.
Similar to perennialism, essentialism stresses the “essential” knowledge and skills that
productive citizens should have, rather than a set of external.

Essentialist believe that we must know the essentials of life; survival, how to be productive, and
how to live as proper civilians. As we get older there should be more advanced subjects added to
the curriculum being taught. It is also thought that only the basic subjects need to be taught.
There should not be impractical subjects added to the curriculum. Morals and character should
be an important factor to the curriculum as well.

Role of Teacher Teacher is authority in his or her field, explicit teaching of traditional values
are the main focus of teaching. Essentialists urge that the most essential or basic academic skills
and knowledge be taught to all students. Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science,
history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum.
Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading, measurement, and
computers. Even while learning art and music, subjects most often associated with the
development of creativity. The students are required to master a body of information and basic
techniques, gradually moving from less to more complex skills and detailed knowledge.
Moreover, essentialists maintain that classrooms should be oriented around the teacher, who
ideally serves as an intellectual and moral role model for the students.

Progressivism
Progressivism purports that the purpose of education is to prepare children to live in society, but
that since society is in a constant state of change, schools should prepare students to confront the
changing world. Dewey rejected the notion that reality and ways of knowing and behaving are
absolute and of divine origin. Rather, he argued, reality is continually reconstructed, based on an
ever-changing universe and the changing needs and interests of human beings. This,
progressivism maintains, is the world for which children should be prepared. Whereas the
curriculum emphasized by perennialists is academic and teacher centered, that proposed by
progressives is highly social and student centered. Rejecting the notion that the function of
schools is simply to train the intellect, Dewey argued that children should acquire knowledge
through meaningful activities and apply it to real social situations. Thus, progressivism rejects
classroom practices that involve children passively learning information "poured" into them by
authoritarian teachers or from books. Further, progressivism stresses the importance of
addressing the needs and experiences of the whole child, not just a child's intellect. As much as
possible, what a child studies should be determined by his/her own experiences and interests.
Moreover, the best

method of intellectual training is through helping children learn to work cooperatively to solve
problems, not through studying a flexed body of knowledge. In short, progressive educators see
cooperation and problem solving as the key to human adaptation in an everchanging world.
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content
or the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active
experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing
the world. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes
meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context. Effective
teachers provide experiences so that students can learn by doing.

8.4.1 Progressivists Curriculum The content of progressivists curriculum is derived from

student interests and questions. The scientific method is used by progressivist educators so that
students can study matter and events systematically and first hand. The emphasis is on process-
how one comes to know. Progressivists curriculum involves the application of human problems
and affairs. Interdisciplinary subject matter is used. Activities and projects are also important
part of progressivists curriculum.

8.4.2 Role of Teacher Teacher is a guide for problem solving and scientific inquiry.
Progressivism maintains that the role of the teacher is as a facilitator who helps children to
examine their experiences as they interact with the physical and social worlds and to sort out for
themselves a satisfactory role in society. Teachers are not considered authority figures handing
down knowledge and precepts by which children should live. Rather, it is important that they
prepare a wide repertoire of classroom activities to stimulate and satisfy the interests of all their
students. They need to give students as much contact with real-life situations as they possibly can
so students can test their ideas, and learn from their experiences.
1.8.4 Reconstructionism/Critical Theory Social Reconstructionism is a philosophy that
emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to create a better society and
worldwide democracy. Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that highlights social
reform as the aim of education. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) was the founder of social
Reconstructionism, in reaction against the realities of World War II. He recognized the potential
for either human annihilation through technology and human cruelty or the capacity to create a
beneficent society using technology and human compassion. George Counts (1889-1974)
recognized that education was the means of preparing people for creating this new social order.

Critical theorists, like social reconstructionists, believe that systems must be changed to
overcome oppression and improve human conditions. Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian
whose experiences living in poverty led him to champion education and literacy as the vehicle
for social change. In his view, humans must learn to resist oppression and not become its
victims, nor oppress others. To do so requires dialog and critical consciousness, the development
of awareness to overcome domination and oppression. Rather than "teaching as banking," in
which the educator deposits information into students' heads, Freire saw teaching and learning as
a process of inquiry in which the child must invent and reinvent the world.

For social reconstructionists and critical theorists, curriculum focuses on student experience and
taking social action on real problems, such as violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation,
and inequality. Strategies for dealing with controversial issues (particularly in social studies and
literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives are the focus. Community-based learning
and bringing the world into the classroom are also strategies (Cohn, 1999).

7.3 IMAM GHAZALI (1058-1111) Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali is one of the most important
scholars of Islamic thought. He was a philosopher, a legal scholar, a theologian and a mystical
thinker. Imam Ghazali was an expert in the field of fiqh al-Syafii’ and Kalam al-Asy’ari. Coming
at a time when there were many disputations between philosophers and theologians, between
rationalists and traditionalists and the Mystical and the orthodox, he tried to bridge these
divisions. His IhyaUlum al-Din, The Revival of Religious Sciences embarks on a massive
endeavor to find a golden mean between all these diverging trends. Imam Ghazali was a teacher
at University of Nidzamiyah, Baghdad. Al-Ghazali's philosophy of education is based upon
Islamic perspective on education, in which Al-Ghazali's predisposition towards understanding
and integration of numerous intellectual schools is apparent. He got recognition as mystical,
legal and philosophical educational thinker. For Al-Ghazali, the aim of education is to nurture
human beings so that they abide by the teachings of religion and henceforward will be rewarded
in the life hereafter. Children learn from society and the surrounding environment. These
elements play vital role for this responsibility is subsequently shared by the teachers. Al-Ghazali
emphasized the significance of childhood in character building. A good brought up will result in
a good character and help them to live a good life; while, a bad brought up will spoil the
character of children and it will be difficult to bring them back to the straight path. Therefore, it
is necessary to understand the significant characteristics of this period so that children can be
dealt in a sound and effective manner.

Al-Ghazali emphasized on early childhood education. He stressed that parents should observe
their children’s education since birth. According to Al-Ghazali, children are the responsibilities
of their parents. If they brought up of children is in a good manners and in a good environment,
they will become good human beings. On the other hand, if children are exposed to bad
behaviour and their education is overlooked, they would grow up as bad people and their sins
would be borne by their parents and their care takers. AlGhazali advised parents to send their
children to schools so that they could learn the recitation of Quran, understand Hadith, and listen
to the stories and life history of pious people so that children could take them as examples.

Al-Ghazali emphasized to reward children. He explained that when children demonstrate good
manners, they should be rewarded and praised so that they would become happy. Moreover,
when children accidentally commit mistakes, parents should pretend as if they have not notice
the mistake and do not ever embarrass them by telling other people about the mistakes done.
However, if children repeat the same mistake for the second time, parents should talk to them
discreetly and tell them that they should not do such things. At elementary stage, children must
be trained to be obedient to their parents, teachers, and elders. They must also behave well
towards their fellow students. They should be prohibited from boasting to their peers about their
clothes, the economic status of their parents the food they eat, and accessories they have. Rather,
they should be taught generosity, modesty, and civility. Attention must also be paid on their
company as it affects their character. Therefore, they must advise to have intelligent and truthful
friends.

Al-Ghazali stressed that education is not limited to train or fill the mind, instead it involves all
aspects of learner such as religious, intellectual, physical and moral. True learning affects
behaviour of learner. It enables learner to apply practical use of his/her knowledge. Teachers
must concentrate on the religious education. children must also be taught everything they need to
know about the precepts of religious law, and must learn not eat forbidden food, steal some one
others things, act disloyally or do anything which is not appropriate for them. Al Ghazali said
that teachers should consider the differences in ability and character among students, and deal
with everyone appropriately. The teachers should not force the students beyond their capability,
nor try to bring them to a level of knowledge that they cannot absorb.

Al-Ghazali divides the philosophical sciences into six categories:

 i. logic
ii. ii. Mathematics,
iii. Natural sciences,
iv. Politics
v. Metaphysics, and
vi. Ethics.

Al-Ghazali's emphasized that education is not only a process whereby the teacher imparts
knowledge. Rather, it is an ‘interaction' affecting and promoting teacher and student equally, the
former gains merit for giving instruction and the latter cultivates himself/herself through the
acquisition of knowledge. Al-Ghazali also emphasized the great significance of climate in which
teaching takes place, and to the kind of relations that are required in doing so. For Al-Ghazali,
the teacher should be an example and a model. The teacher is not limited to the teaching of a
particular subject matter; rather, it should incorporate all aspects of the personality and life of the
student. The student, in turn, has a duty to consider the teacher as a father, to whom he owes
obedience and respect. Al-Ghazali stresses that learning is only effective when it is put into
practice, and is aimed at inculcating the right habits rather than simply memorizing information.
Al Ghazali recommended that the teacher before moving to next subject matter, teacher must
ensure that the students have mastered the first subject matter. Teacher should consider the
interconnectedness of knowledge and the relations between its various branches.

For religious education, Al-Ghazali recommended an early introduction to the fundamentals of

religion through memorization, inculcation, and repetition. In the subsequent stage,
understanding, explanation, and conscious practice must be carried out.

At the age of fifty five, Al-Ghazali died. Surely, he is considered to be one of the most
significant and profound Islamic thinkers. He had introduced many principles of philosophy and
logic into the disciplines of fiqh and kalam. His famous works are alMunqidh min a-alal ,Ihya'
‘Ulum ad-Din, and Tahafut al-Falasifa.