Philosophical and Sociological Foundation of Education

Philosophical and Sociological Foundation of Education

Every educational system must have some goals, aims or objectives. These act as guides for the educator in educating the child. In fact, we cannot think of any process of education without specific aims and objectives. Bode says, “Unless we have some guiding philosophy in the determination of objectives, we get nowhere at all.” These aims of education, in different countries, are determined by the aims and ideals of life which the people of those countries have at that particular time. The aims and ideals of life, in their turn, are determined by the philosophy of the time. It is, therefore, that aims and ideals of education vary with the different philosophers. It is the philosophy of the time which determines whether the aim of education should be moral, vocational, intellectual, liberal or spiritual. In the words of Rusk, “Every system of education must have an aim and the aim of education is relative to the aim of life. Philosophy formulates what should be the end of life while education offers suggestions how this end is to be achieved.” The philosopher struggles hard with the mysteries of life and arrives at their solution after mature reflection and thinking. He then suggests ways and means of dealing with them. Thus, he lays down ultimate values and explains their significance to the community. In this way, he tries to convert people to his own beliefs and philosophy. These ultimate values, as formulated by the philosopher, become the aims of education for that community. The training of the younger generation, according to those aims and values, then lies on the shoulders of the educator in the field. He selects the material for instruction and determines the methods of procedure for the attainment of those aims. In this way, the entire educational programme proceeds with its foundations on sound philosophy. This book deals with the topics of Significance of Philosophy of Education: Philosophy of Education in Different Ages Philosophy of Idealism in Education; Philosophy of Realism in Education: Philosophy of Naturalism in Education; Philosophy of Pragmatism and Humanism in Education; Contribution of Indian Educational Thinkers; Contribution of Western Educational Thinkers; Socialisation and Social Change; Social System and Family: Social and Culture; Social and Mobility; Social Caste and Class System; Nature and Aims of Democratic Education; Religion in Education; Women Education in Society; etc