ASSIGNMENTS

MASTER OFARTS (EDUCATION)-1st YEAR

January 2019 & July 2019
MES-012: EDUCATION: NATURE AND PURPOSES

a) Define ‘Education’. Explain how it is distinguished from learning, teaching, training,

instruction, schooling and indoctrination with suitable examples. (500 words)

b) What is meant by knowledge? What are various components of the body of knowledge?
Discuss ‘Theory’ as an important component of knowledge with suitable examples. (500
Words)

c) Describe the tasks involved in the process of developing a curriculum with an example
from the subject of your choice. (500Words)

Answers

a) Define ‘Education’. Explain how it is distinguished from learning, teaching, training,

instruction, schooling and indoctrination with suitable examples.
Ans.: Education is a difficult concept to define because there are other concepts which are
related to it but not “education” in themselves. These include teaching, instruction,
indoctrination and learning. Also, different societies and cultures have different conceptions
of what education is and what it should aim to accomplish.
The term ‘education’ is a very common and a popular word that is uttered by many of us but
understood by a very few in its right perspective. It is in one way or the other appears to be as
old as the human race, though during the course of time, its meaning and objectives have
inevitably undergone certain changes. As a student of education course, and, as a future
teacher, it is essential for you to understand the meaning of education, its conceptual features
and different perspectives that have shaped its meaning from time to time.
The term ‘education’ has been interpreted by different people in different ways. Some people
refer to it as formal schooling or to lifelong learning. Some others refer to it as acquisition of
knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some say that education is nothing, but training of people’s
mind in a particular direction to bring about desired changes. If you ask a statesman, an
artisan, a teacher, a parent, a philosopher and a student about what education means to them,
you would be surprised to know the multiple interpretations and views people have about
education. This only shows that education doesn’t have one precise universally accepted
definition. It has various meanings with various functions. Analysis of these meanings would
help us to understand what education really is. To begin with, let us look into how the term
‘education’ has evolved and some of the views of great thinkers that exemplifies the concept
and meaning of education.
In the broader or wider sense, education is not limited to a classroom or a school only. It is
considered to be a life long process, where all the experiences, knowledge and wisdom that

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an individual acquires at different stages of one’s life through different channels (i.e.,
formally, informally and incidentally) are termed as education. The broader view considers
education as an act or experience that has formative or additive effect on the personality of an
individual. It is believed that education is not only an instrument of social change, but also an
investment in national development. Such a view of education encompasses all life
experiences, as there is a shift in emphasis from individual development to national
development. It is considered that education is a life long process that includes all
experiences that the child receives in the school or at home, in the community and society
through interactions of various sorts and activities. The broader meaning of education implies
the process of development, wherein the individual gradually adapts himself/herself to
various ways to his/her physical, social and spiritual environments.
Teaching is aimed at bringing about meaningful learning through a morally and
pedagogically acceptable method. It involves a teacher, a learner, and a content which could
be in a form of facts, knowledge, or skills to be imparted. There is a deliberate intention of
the teacher to teach and a learner to learn. Teaching requires recognition by both teacher and
pupil of a special relationship existing between them. It uses methods that respect the
learner’s cognitive integrity and freedom of choice.
Training has something to do with the acquisition of skills in a certain area of specialization.
It is through training professionals such as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and engineers to
acquire the “know-how” of their respective areas of specialization. It is limited to exercise,
constant repetition, and a definite end and purpose. In addition, it does not necessarily
accompanied by an understanding of the underlying principles or knowledge which is in
contrast with education.
In contrast to teaching, indoctrination does not give the learner the freedom to choose.
Instead, the learner is a passive recipient of the content. It has more to do with the matters of
religious dogmas, political ideologies, and economic doctrines. The content is presented as if
it is an absolute fact where no reactions or arguments are tolerated.
In literal sense, instruction is the act of telling a person (the trainee) what to do and what not
to do. The content of an instruction maybe worthwhile, the intention maybe noble; but the
method is undemocratic and violates the principle of willingness and voluntariness on the
part of the learner.
b) What is meant by knowledge? What are various components of the body of knowledge?
Discuss ‘Theory’ as an important component of knowledge with suitable examples.
Ans.: Knowledge helps us make informed decisions. Knowledge is not necessarily gleaned
from books in a classroom. It could come from experience, sometimes it can come from just
watching other people’s lives. Knowledge is essentially “information in context” which is
interpreted and acted upon by those who must perform a given function. Organisational
Knowledge, unlike individual or personal knowledge, is only of value if it is shared with
those who need it. By implication then, the popular statement that “Knowledge is Power” is
therefore only true, if it drives appropriate action.

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Philosophical debates in general start with Plato's formulation of knowledge as "justified true
belief". There is however no single agreed definition of knowledge presently, nor any
prospect of one, and there remain numerous competing theories, mainly because “Knowledge
Acquisition” involves the complex cognitive processes of perception, learning,
communication, association and reasoning.
The term knowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with the
ability to use it for a specific purpose, if appropriate.
Epistemology or theory of knowledge is a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature
and scope of knowledge. The term was introduced into English by the Scottish philosopher
James Frederick Ferrier (1808-1864). Much of the debate in this field has focused on
analysing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions such as truth, belief,
and justification. It also deals with the means of production of knowledge, as well as
skepticism about different knowledge claims.
In other words, epistemology primarily addresses the following questions: "What is
knowledge?", "How is knowledge acquired?", and "What do people know?“
Ontology on the other hand, is a study of conceptions of reality and the nature of being. It
seeks to describe or posit the basic categories and relationships of being or existence to define
entities and types of entities within its framework. It is the science of what is, of the kinds and
structures of the objects, properties and relations in every area of reality.
Aristotle, arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest chief knowledge architect of the
ancient world, defined knowledge as follows “ We suppose ourselves to possess unqualified
scientific knowledge of a thing, as opposed to knowing it in the accidental way in which the
sophist knows, when we think that we know the cause on which the fact depends, as the
cause of that fact and of no other, and, further, that the fact could not be other than it is. Now
that scientific knowing is something of this sort is evident — witness both those who falsely
claim it and those who actually possess it, since the former merely imagine themselves to be,
while the latter are also actually, in the condition described. Consequently the proper object
of unqualified scientific knowledge is something which cannot be other than it is”.
Read things that make good contributions to the body of knowledge. The purpose of
scientific research is to add to the body of knowledge. It is important that you understand
what we mean by this term. The planned or hoped for contributions to the body of knowledge
are usually found in the introduction to the report. They are commonly referred to as
“objectives of the research.” Authors use phrases like “This research will address…” Almost
never does someone say “I have three planned contributions to make to the body of
knowledge.” So – you have to figure it out for yourself.
The term content knowledge refers to the body of knowledge and information that teachers
teach and that students are expected to learn in a given subject or content area, such as
English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies. Content knowledge generally
refers to the facts, concepts, theories, and principles that are taught and learned in specific
academic courses, rather than to related skills—such as reading, writing, or researching—that
students also learn in school.

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While the term may be considered unnecessary jargon by some, the use of “content
knowledge” has grown significantly in recent decades, in large part because educators now
commonly use the term as a shorthand way to articulate a useful technical distinction between
“knowledge” and “skills”.
Theory explains how some aspect of human behavior or performance is organized. It thus
enables us to make predictions about that behavior. The components of theory are concepts
(ideally well defined) and principles. A concept is a symbolic representation of an actual
thing - tree, chair, table, computer, distance, etc. Construct is the word for concepts with no
physical referent - democracy, learning, freedom, etc. Language enables conceptualization. A
principle expresses the relationship between two or more concepts or constructs.
c) Describe the tasks involved in the process of developing a curriculum with an example
from the subject of your choice.
Ans.: In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that
occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of
instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's
instructional goals. In a 2003 study, Reys, Reys, Lapan, Holliday, and Wasman refer to
curriculum as a set of learning goals articulated across grades that outline the intended
mathematics content and process goals at particular points in time throughout the K–12
school program. Curriculum may incorporate the planned interaction of pupils with
instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of
educational objectives. Curriculum is split into several categories: the explicit, the implicit
(including the hidden), the excluded, and the extracurricular.
The curriculum development process systematically organizes what will be taught, who will
be taught, and how it will be taught. Each component affects and interacts with other
components. For example, what will be taught is affected by who is being taught (e.g., their
stage of development in age, maturity, and education). Methods of how content is taught are
affected by who is being taught, their characteristics, and the setting. In considering the above
three essential components, the following are widely held to be essential considerations in
experiential education in non-formal settings.
Curriculum Design refers to the manner in which the various elements of the curriculum are
stated. It is aspects like the structure, pattern or organization of the curriculum. In other
words, curriculum designs are more or less the structure or arrangements of the school
programme. The design identifies the elements of a curriculum, states what relationship they
have between each other and indicates the principles of organization and the requirements of
the organization. It also states the administrative conditions under which it is to operate.
Curriculum design is a proposal that indicates the basis for selection and organization of
knowledge concepts and skills (Stratemeyer, 1957). That whatever is stressed in the proposal
becomes the model. For example, Tyler (1949) stressed objectives hence his curriculum is
called the objectives model.

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Malusu (1997) states that, design is the way in which the curricular elements namely, the
objectives, learning experiences, teaching learning strategies, resources and evaluation
procedures have been selected and organized in order to facilitate learning.
Stratemeyer (1957) argues that any curriculum design stems from a set of values,
fundamental beliefs and cultural principles relating to the kind of person or citizen which the
society wants to produce and what the society wants to develop in the learner.
The design of a curriculum will depend on the countrys philosophy and probably the
philosophy of an individual. The designs are also known as patterns of curriculum
development. When planning and developing curriculum in any subject area, the first place to
start is state, local or Common Core standards. Standards vary from state to state, and
teachers are expected to know which standards to teach and how to teach them. Every lesson
and unit should be tied to standards, and every grade level standard should be addressed at
some point during the course of the school year. Standards should be presented sequentially,
so students can build on previously learned skills.
Each subject area has specifically defined standards, but many times multiple standards are
addressed within one project. For example, if a sixth grade student writes a research report on
Thomas Jefferson, that student could be addressing reading, writing, research and history
standards, all within the same assignment. Such opportunities are beneficial for students
because they demonstrate the overlap in various subject areas and give students the chance to
synthesize their learning. The example below shows how a history research report could hit
six or more standards at the same time.
Curriculum development commonly comprises
 analysis (i.e. need analysis, task analysis),
 design (i.e. objective design),
 selection (i.e choice of appropriate learning/teaching methods and materials, choice of
appropriate assessment method),
 formation ( i.e. formation of the curriculum implementation committee, curriculum
evaluation committee), and
 review ( i.e. curriculum review committee).
Developing a curriculum can be seen as a project, which needs a budget, commitment of
workforce and facilities to share. In this case, developers of curricula need an idea of how
much relative efforts are to spend on the five tasks listed above (if all tasks are summed up to
100%).