Education: Its nature, Definitions

Definitions of Educations

The Indian views on education are as follows:-

 ‘Education is something which makes a man self-reliant and self less’ Rig Veda

 That education is real which aims at ’ Mukti’

 ‘Self-contentment –Kanad

 ‘Self-realization’ Sankaracharya

 Human education means the training which one gets from nature-Panini

 ‘Education means training for the country and love for the nation’—Kautilya

 ‘The highest education is that which makes our lives in harmony with all existence’

R. Tagore

 ‘It is a second birth –’ Dwitiya Janam

. • Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man. Like fire in a piece of flint,

knowledge exists in the mind. The suggestion is the friction; which brings it out. Swami by Vivekananda

• By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man’s body, mind

and spirit by Mahatma Gandhi

• The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our

life in harmony with all existence by Rabindranath Tagore

• Education is something, which makes a man self-reliant and self-less by  Rigveda

• Education according to Indian tradition is not merely a means of earning a living, nor it is

only a nursery of thought or a school for citizenship. It is an initiation into the life of spirit and

training of human souls in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue by  Radhakrishnan

Western views on Education:-

• Education develops in the body and soul of the pupil all the beauty and all the perfection

he is capable of. Plato

• Education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body. It develops man’s faculty

especially his mind so that he may be able to enjoy the contemplation of supreme truth,

goodness and beauty. Aristotle

• Education is the child’s development from within. Rousseau

• Education is the enfoldment of what is already enfolded in the germ. It is the process through

which the child makes the internal-external. Froebel

• Education is the harmonious and progressive development of all the innate powers and

faculties of man- physical, intellectual and moral. Pestalozzi

• Education is the development of good moral character. J.F.Herbert

• Education is not a preparation for life, rather it is the living. Education is the process of

living through a continuous reconstruction of experiences. It is the development of all those

capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfil his

possibilities. John Dewey.

• Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child so that he can

make an original contribution to human life according to the best of his capacity. T.P.Nunn

It is now clear that from the times of Plato to the modern times of John Dewey and Gandhi,
various educationists have defined education in various ways.

 The field of education is so vast and varied that it is very difficult to give a specific definition of education about which all educationists agree. 

We see that some educationists have defined only one aspect of education whereas the others emphasize its other phases and the reason for this difference of opinions is that philosophers have different views about the aim of life.

 According to Idealists, the aim of life is spiritual development.
To them, education as a spiritual process aims at bringing together the soul and the creator leading to self-realization.
 Pragmatists think about education as a process of social progress. The fact is that the real concept of
education is not related solely to any of the above-mentioned views. 

In a real sense,
education is a sort of synthesis of all the above viewpoints.

 Education may be defined as a purposive, conscious or unconscious, psychological, sociological, scientific and philosophical process, which brings about the development of the individual to the fullest
extent and also the maximum development of society in such a way that both enjoy maximum happiness and prosperity.

In brief, education is the development of an individual according to his needs and demands of

society, of which he is an integral part. 

The above definition of different educators highlight the following special features of education:

• Education is both unilateral as well as bi-polar in nature.

• It is a continuous process.

• It is knowledge or experience.

• It is the development of particular aspects of human personality or a harmoniously integrated

growth.

• It is conducive for the good of the individual or the welfare of society.

• It is a liberal discipline or a vocational course.

• It is a stabilizer of social order, conservator of culture, an instrument of change and social

reconstruction.