EDUCATION

Meaning.-Education is the touchstone of the civilization and culture of a

country. It is an integral part and basis of human life. In its broad sense,
“education refers to any act or experience that has formative effect on the
mind, character, or physical ability of an individual .In its technical sense,
education is
the process by which society, through schools, colleges, universities, and other i
nstitutions,deliberately transmits its cultural heritage - its accumulated
knowledge, values, and skills – from one generation to another”

Education is a systematic process through which a child or an adult acquire

knowledge, experience, skills, and sound attitude.

It makes an individual civilised, refined, cultured, educated. For a civilised and

socialised society, education is only mean.

Education is mainly responsible for man’s intelligence, workmanship, all round

development and progress. Similarly, education is the main source for man’s
progressive aspects and positive development.

True education is the harmonious development of the physical, mental, moral

(spiritual) and social faculties, the four dimensions of life, for a life of dedicated
service.

ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

Etymologically, the word ‘Education’ has been derived from different Latin
words.

a) ‘educare’ which means ‘to bring out’ or ‘to nourish’.

b) ‘educere’ which means ‘to lead out’ or ‘to draw out’.
c) ‘educatum’ which means ‘act of teaching’ or ‘training’.

Morphologically the word ‘education’ is derived from two ‘e” and ‘duco’. ‘e’
means from inside and ‘duco’ means to develop. The two words combined
together give the meaning - to make something grow or develop from within.

DEFINITIONS
Since time immemorial, education is estimated as the right road to progress and
prosperity. Different Educationists, philosophers, scientists, political thinkers,
idealists,from both eastern and western sides have expressed their own views
regarding education based on their experience, understanding and situations.
Some of the definitions of ‘education’ are as follows:

Mahatma Gandhi “By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in
man – body, mind and spirit.”

Swami Vivekananda. “The manifestation of divine perfection already existing in

man

Dr. Zakir Hussain “Education is the process of the individual mind getting to its
full possible development.

Aristotle  “Education is the creation of sound mind in a sound body.”

Rousseau “Education is the child’s development from within.”

Herbert Spencer “Education is complete living.”

Plato  “Education is the capacity to feel pleasure and pain at the

right moment.”

Froebel Education is leading out of hidden power in man”.

Pestalozzi “Education is the natural, harmonious and progressive

development of man’s innate powers”

John Dewey Education is the development of all those capabilities in the

individual which enables it to control its environment and
fulfil it desires

Nature and Characteristics of Education

Education as a Process

Process is a deliberate and purposeful activity, which is carried to attain the

desired outcome or objective. Activities related to education are educative
process. It is a way of learning to the learner and instruction or guidance to the
teacher. It is an activity carried out to develop the child physically, intellectually,
morally and socially.

1. Education is a bipolar process:

Acoording to John Adam, in this process two poles are involved. One is
the educator and the other is the educand, learner with a learned, and the
teacher with a taught. The resultant of this process between these two is
education. Here one will teach and another will learn, one will talk and
another will listen. The activities are inter-related and dependent.

2. Education is a Tri-polar process.

John Dewey advocates that education is not a bi-polar process. Besides the
teacher and the taught, there is another element, which is significant, i.e.
curriculum. The society will provide the curriculum for the children’s
growth and development. The teacher, the taught and the curriculum are
equally important. Hence, education is a Tri-polar process.

3. Education is a multi-polar process.

The modern concept of education emphasizes self-learning and lifelong

education. Neither school nor the teacher gives the education; there are
many informal as well as non-formal agencies, and multiple media working
along with the teacher, the taught and the curriculum. Hence, modern
education process cannot be a bi-polar or tri-polar but a multi-polar process.

4. Education is a life-long process- 

Education is a continuous and lifelong process. Education keeps on happening in

the society. Soon after birth, human being start receiving education and keeps going on
 till his last. If we see in detail, then member of society (individual) peril, but system of
education keeps moving forward generations after generations. It never takes rest.
Hence, continuity is it’s another characteristic.

Education – purposeful process.

Education is a purposeful process. Both the pupil and the teacher make efforts for
achieving purpose or destination.

5. Education is a Social Process—

Process—sociologists have clarified that when there is social interaction

between two or more people, then they get influenced by each other’s
language, thought process and behavior. This process is called learning and
when this is done with certain predefined objectives, then it is called
education. Entire civilization and culture of humans is the result of social
process only.

6. Education – a dynamic process. Education is a dynamic and progressive process. It

reconstructs a new and better social pattern according to the changing needs of time,
place and society

7. Education – a process of individual development. By individual development we

mean physical, intellectual, aesthetic, moral, social and spiritual development of
individual

8. Education – a process of individual adjustment. . Education helps the individual in

making adjustment with his own self, with parents, relatives, friends, teachers or
members of the society at large.

9. Education – theoretical as well as practical in nature.

Theoretical and practical knowledge of education broadens the intellectual horizons of

the child, deepens his insight, enhances his efficiency and helps him in solving
educational problems. 8. Education – a science as well as an art.

10.Education is both a science as well as an art.

It is a science because of the following reasons:

i) It undertakes systematic and methodical study of certain facts.

ii) It employs the scientific methods of observation and experimentation.

 iii) It discovers, establishes and formulates a number of generalizations about its
methodology, learning, memory, attention, interest, motivation, curriculum,
construction, methods of teaching and evaluation.

Education is an art because of the following reasons.

iv) Educationist is just like an artist who moulds the raw material of the child into a
better, pure and noble person

v) Educationist is inspired by practical end. It has practical end to attain, i.e., to help
the child in acquisition of knowledge, integrated growth, social and vocational
efficiency, and continuous reconstruction and reorganization of experiences.

Education as Development

Education is responsible for physical, mental and emotional development of a person. The main
function of the education is to give such training. Through education individual develops the
innate powers and capacities. It also brings knowledge and experience and in turn develops the
man.

Meaning of social change

Any alteration, difference or modification that takes place in a situation or in an object through time can be called
change. The term ‘social change’ is used to indicate the changes that take place in human interactions and
interrelations. Society is a web of relationships and social change means a change in the system of social
relationships. Thus the term social change is used to desirable variations in social interaction, social processes and
social organization.  It includes alterations in like structure and functions of the society.

Change is the law of nature and it is inevitable in the life of an individual as well as of society

Social situation undergoes changes with the changes of time that result in social progress

Koening, S.: Social change refers to the modifications which occur in the life-patterns of people.

Smelser, Neil J.: Social change is the alterations of the way societies are organized.

Jenson: Social change may be defined as the modifications in the way of doing and thinking of
people.”

Fairchild: Social change means variation in any aspects of social process, pattern or forms.

Ginsberg, M.: By social change, I understand a change in social structure e.g. the size of
society, the composition or balance of its parts or the type of its organization.

Dawson and Gettys,: “ Cultural change us a social change, since culture is social in its origin.
 Merrill and Eldredge: Social change means that a large number of persons are engaging in
activities that differ from those which they or their immediate forefathers engaged in sometime
before.

Types of Social change

 Progressive/ Positive
    The change from social evils to scientific thoughts              e.g (women edu.)                        

   Digressive / Negative
   In a well going society new evils emerge.

 Revolution (sudden change in the process of society)

 Reform (changing what already exists mostly for the better)
 Institutional changes (nuclear familess, inter_caste marriages)

NATURE OF SOCIAL CHANGE

1. A Universal Phenomenon
2.  The spreading of social change is not uniform
3.  Variations in the Speed of social change
4. Unpredictable
5.  Results in interaction of number of factors
6. Modifications or replacements.

The PROCESS OF SOCIAL CHANGE

According to Ottaway, the culture of a society during a given period is determined by the interaction of two
classes of factors

(a) The stage of technical invention and scientific discovery it has reached

(b) The dominant aims and values of the society

Thus it can be said that culture is determined by the interaction of techniques and values.
Social needs and cultural change

All human beings are primarily driven to action by the desire to satisfy their needs, and this is
the power behind social as well as individual action. It is the process of satisfying social needs
that cultural adaptation takes place. As the culture changes, new needs are met, new techniques
arise, values may change, and so a continuously interacting cycle is at work.

Aspects of Social Change

Social
Economic
Political
Religious
Scientific and Technological
FACTORS OF SOCIAL CHANGE
 Cultural Factor
 Geographic Factors
 Environmental Factors
 Economic Factors •
 Technological Factors
 Factor of Population
 Psychological Factor
 Ideological Factors
 Factor of war
 Miscellaneous


There are various factors of social change. Some important factors are discussed
below:

1) Geographical factors (physical environment). These factors are seen to bring

about sudden change or set a limit on social change Climatic conditions,
natural recourses, physical location of country, natural disasters can be
important sources of change. Floods, earthquakes, famine, epidemics,
fires, excessive rains, drought, (lack of rainfall), hot or cold climate
transform the life style of people. Floods may hasten the birth of model
cities.
2. Biological factors. Biological factors like heredity prepare the way for social
change. The biological heredity determines the general and glandular constitution
of the offspring, which is closely related to temperament, intelligence, physique,
activity level and other potentialities of individuals. Biological factors result into
better-equipped or less equipped persons, strong or weak persons and several
other changes in social set-up.

3. Demographic factors (population factor). Population plays a vital role in social

change. Due to increase or
decrease in population the possibility of social change is also influenced.
Population is governed by death and
birth rate, immigration etc. Migration due to over population, food storage, political
reasons (e.g., partition of
India) also brings about social change.

4. Technological and scientific factors.

Technology is a by-product of civilization. Technology is a systematic knowledge which is put into practice that is to
use tools and run machines to serve human purpose. In utilizing the products of technology man brings social
change.

Technological and scientific inventions i.e., various types of machines and

implements etc, are potent factors in social change. They break regional barriers
by providing easy and fast means of communication as well as of conveyance.
The press, radio, and airplanes together have brought
the world closer and provided for inter-cultural impacts. Scientific inventions in the
field of medicine, public health, community organization, the means of
transportation, the means of knowledge, dissemination and
interaction, and physical environment are regarded as significant factors in social
change.

5. Ideological factors. Social change is caused by ideological factors. Ideas rule

the world.Political, social and religious ideologies can bring forth radical changes
in social structure and social relationships.
6. Cultural factor. Human culture is a process of change. Any change in cultural
order is accompanied by a corresponding change in the whole social order.

7. Psychological factors. Psychological factors are important elements in social

change. Man by nature is a lover of change. He is always trying to discover new
things in every sphere of his life and is always anxious for a new experience. As a
result of this tendency the mores, traditions, customs etc. of every human society
are undergoing perpetual change.

8. War. War is also a cause of social change because if influences the

population, the economic situation and ratio of males to females etc.

9. Legislation. Legislation plays an important role in bringing about planned

social change.

10. Education. Education is the most powerful factor of social change.

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ROLE OF EDUCATION IN SOCIAL CHANGE:

Education is the most powerful instrument of social change. It is through
education that the society can bring desirable changes and modernize
itself. Education can transform society by providing opportunities and
experiences
through which the individual can cultivate himself for adjustment with the
emerging needs and philosophy of the changing society. A sound social
progress needs careful planning in every aspect of life – social, cultural,
economic and political. Education must be planned in a manner, which is in
keeping with the needs and aspirations of the people as a whole.

Thus, the relationship between education system and society is mutual; sometimes the society influences changes in
the educational system and sometimes the educational system influences changes in society (new generation)

The relationship between education and social change takes a dual form-education as an
instrument and education as a product. This implies that education as an instrument is used
as a means for bringing about desired changes in the society and in the later case changes
in the educational structure follows as a consequence of changes which have already taken
place in the society.
Types of relation between education and social change

There are three ways in which the relationship between education and social change can be studied

1. Education may ignore social change and serve as a conserver of traditions

2. It may act as a co-operative force in social change; or

3. It may act as an agent of social change

Education as a conserver of traditions

According to this view, the function of educational institution is to train the intellect, transmit what is permanently
worthwhile in the cultural heritage and adjust the young to society as it is. It regards it only as an institution of
learning and is against turning it into an agency of reform.

Education as a co-operative force in social change

According to Moore, changes that occur in them “are frequent, occur in sequential chains and affect a wider range of
individual experience and functional aspects of societies.”

education is conceived as an effect of change. Social changes come first and consequently society needs to recast
education as a social institution. In India, for example, after independence, we have introduced big changes in polity,
economy and in religious, social and technological fields. We have adopted new values and goals such as democracy,
freedom of individual, secularism, equality, social justice, industrial development with the help of science, socialistic
pattern of society, evaluation of the status of the individual on the basis of his individual abilities and achievements,
and so on. In order that the educational system may become useful in internalizing all these new values in the new
generation, we have introduced the necessary changes in it and are still attempting to introduce newer changes

Education as an agent of social change

Education can engage itself in much more positive action and can perform the function of a starter of social change;
it can inculcate in the younger generation whatever social changes it considers proper and can rebuild society
through a programme of social reform.

in modern complex national societies, education can neither be regarded as a controlling force conserving the
cultural heritage, nor could it be viewed as an agent of social change. It can only be regarded as a co-operative force
in bringing about social changes decided by the forces possessing more pervasive power in society.
It would not be wrong to say that instead of initiating and leading social changes, education today follows social
change. In other words when changes occur in needs, technology and values, education also adapts to these
changes.

Education and modernization of Indian society

Modernization is a multidimensional process. It is a political, social and cultural process as well. It is a complex
process which touches the entire life of the members of a given society. It emphasizes change as a value and
encourages individuals to have faith in efficacy of human effort for bringing about desirable social changes.

As Lerner says, “Literacy, once acquired, becomes a prime mover in the modernization of every aspect of life……..”

The functions of education in the sphere of social change are outlines as under:

1. Assistance in changing attitudes. Education helps to change the attitudes of people in favor of modern
ways of life and develops attitudes, which can fight prejudice, superstitions and traditional beliefs.

2. Assistance in creating desire for change. Education creates a desire for change in a society, which is
pre-
requisite for any kind of change to come.

3. Assistance in adopting social change. Whenever some social change occurs, it is easily adopted by
some people while others find it difficult to adjust themselves to this change. It is the function of education to assist
people in adopting good changes.

4. Overcoming resistance to change. Certain factors create resistance in the way of accepting social
change. Education helps in overcoming resistance. The importance of social change is convincingly explained to the
people through the process of education. Education helps people in removing blind faith and prejudice and accepting
something new.

5. Analysis in change. Education invests the individuals with the capacity to use his intelligence, to distinguish
between the right and wrong and to establish certain ideals.

6. Emergence of new changes. Education initiates, guides and controls movements for social reform. The
flood of social reform movements that was witnessed at the turn of the century was due to modern education.

7. Leadership in social change. Education in India must be able to create appropriate leadership at every
level if social changes conducive to democracy are to be introduced. Able leaders can be produced only through
education.

8. National integration. Education can prove very useful in bringing about national integration, which is the
basis for unity among people, social change and ultimately the basis for strong and united country.

9. National development. Education is the fundamental basis of national development. National development
is the all-round development of the different facets of the nation, i.e., economic, political, scientific, and social as well
as of the individuals. Therefore, education is the powerful instrument of economic, political, cultural, scientific and
social change.

10. Economic prosperity. Education is the most important factor in achieving rapid economic development
and technological progress and in creating a social order founded on the value of freedom, social justice and equal
opportunity. It develops physical and human resources for all sectors of economy and ultimately brings a desired
change in the society.

Conclusion. To conclude, social change may be brought about by economic situation, political situation,
scientific or technological development, and development in philosophical thinking. By whatever means the change
 may be
brought about, education always plays an important part in its propagation.

Role of education in Social Change

      Education perpetuates eternal values
)      Promotes capacity to welcome social change
)      Evaluation of social change
)      Transmission of culture
)      Removal of obstacles
)      Increasing the areas of knowledge
      Leadership role
)      Mother of new changes
)      Spreading knowledge
0)   Stabilizing democratic values
)   Control channelizes and modifies thoughts of new generation
2)   School as a workshop for citizenship training
3)   Awareness against social evils
4)   National and international understanding
5)   Equality among masses
6)   Social Awakening
7)   National Development