Where did the ideas we call “student-centered education”, “learning by doing” or “individual differences” in today's classrooms come from? In this episode we look at why historical knowledge matters for education, what the history of education does as a field of study, and how ideas about education changed in Europe from ancient Greece to the Industrial Age.

What will you learn in this episode?

• Explain the functions of history and the four main benefits of learning history
• Explain the definition of the history of education and its contributions to educators
• Compare the main features of education in ancient Greece and Rome
• Explain the difference between medieval and Renaissance approaches to education
• Explain the “age of method” in the 17th and 18th centuries and the contributions of Rousseau and Basedow to education
• Match Pestalozzi, Herbart, Fröbel, Montessori, Decroly, Claparède and Kerschensteiner with their main ideas

Summary of this episode

Why should education look at its history?

Education is as old as human history. This process, which at first took place within the family and the community through interaction, became institutionalized over time. Institutionalization first had a religious character, while education became scientific in the modern sense mainly from the early 20th century. Because educational problems are multidimensional, arising from the interaction of many fields, different disciplines are drawn on to solve them; history is one of them.

The source describes history as a discipline that studies the continuous formation of social reality and society. The functions of history include understanding the past and the present, establishing cause-and-effect relationships, helping to analyze society, and building awareness of national identity. The benefits of learning history are gathered under four headings:

• Grasping historical awareness and the process of sociocultural change
• Gaining knowledge of national history
• Gaining knowledge of human history
• Gaining the ability to think historically, that is, the capacity to interpret nature and society objectively, to research, and to think critically

The source also notes that history teaching helps individuals see themselves in continuity between past and future, recognize mistakes made in the past, understand the causes of today's social and economic problems, and develop critical thinking skills.

What does the history of education do?

The history of education is the field of study that evaluates the roots of educational tradition in light of the social conditions of the past and seeks to reflect them on the present. It explains what was done in the past in teaching, instruction and learning, how approaches and methods changed, and why. As education renews itself, it draws on the findings of the history of education: it tries to avoid the mistakes of the past and decides which parts of its cultural heritage to keep and which to change. Knowing which programs were set up for what reasons, and which of them succeeded, also sheds light on education policy. For teachers, this knowledge makes it possible to evaluate today's practices better and to approach educational problems more scientifically.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Ancient Greek civilization is regarded as the foundation and inspiration of Western civilization; the word “pedagogy” also comes from ancient Greek. People who looked after children, took them out and escorted them to school were called “pedagogues”. In ancient Greece, education was based on social class and was aimed mainly at the children of the upper classes. Its two basic elements were music and physical education, and its aim was to raise good citizens. The main feature of Roman education was the importance given to oratory, that is, rhetoric. In Rome, which was influenced by ancient Greece, the aim was also to raise good citizens; however, Roman thinkers placed more emphasis on individual development.

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance

In the Middle Ages, religious tendencies dominated education, as they did all areas of life. The aim of education shifted from raising good citizens to raising devout individuals. The source sums up the main feature of education in this period as rigidity and close attachment to religion. This way of thinking, which interpreted knowledge from a religious standpoint, is called scholasticism.

The Renaissance means “rebirth”. In this period, the culture and educational ideas of ancient Greece were revived, and literature, art, architecture and science flourished. The superiority of human reason was emphasized, and events began to be examined in more rational ways. The main feature of Renaissance education is its emphasis on the individual and individual development. The invention of the printing press accelerated the spread of this outlook. The humanist approach to education, pioneered by Erasmus, spread across Europe. Another contribution of the Renaissance to education was its emphasis on educating people in groups as a necessity. The source also notes that in this period the social and psychological aspects of education were still treated within philosophy, which delayed the development of education as a science.

The age of method and the discovery of the child

The 17th and 18th centuries are known as the “age of method”, when the natural sciences developed rapidly. Thinkers, Descartes above all, focused on method, and teaching became the main field in which method was applied.

Rousseau, one of the great educators of the 18th century, argued that children should be respected and raised freely, according to their interests and away from the pressures of society. Following in his footsteps, Basedow combined Rousseau's strongly individualistic view with the idea of raising individuals who adapt to society, seeking a balance between the individual and society. This emphasis on knowing and understanding the learner turned education towards its psychological foundations. The pioneers of this approach were Pestalozzi, Herbart and Fröbel. Educators of this period saw the child as a “blank slate” to be shaped by education, and believed that negative traits in a child stemmed from poor education or bad social conditions. Individual and social perspectives in education sometimes clashed and sometimes complemented each other. Education also came to be seen as a right and a service the state provides to its citizens, and a secular, national education system became a goal.

• Pestalozzi: He saw education as the natural and moral development of the child's abilities, and wanted teaching methods to be applied according to the child's developmental characteristics.
• Herbart: He saw the aim of education as the child's adaptation to the social order; by arguing that progress in education could be achieved through an experimental and scientific attitude, he contributed to making education scientific.
• Fröbel: He focused on developing personality through education and stressed the importance of learning by doing and experiencing.

The Industrial Age and education becoming a science

In the 19th century, Europe moved from agriculture-based to industry-based production. This transformation also brought far-reaching changes to education: mass education, organizing education according to the needs of working life, and the concepts of the nation-state and the liberal economy came to the fore. The educators of this period can be summarized as follows:

• Montessori: Children should develop in a free environment. She called the child's working alone without help from others “self-education” and wanted this activity to be supported with materials. Although her broad view of freedom has been criticized, she is considered important for showing the need to use methods suited to each learner's individual development.
• Decroly: Development is continuous; even children of the same age show different developmental characteristics, and each age has its own areas of interest.
• Claparède: He stressed that individual differences must be taken into account; arguing that education could gain the value it deserves only through a scientific approach, he proposed reform in education.
• Kerschensteiner: He stressed the importance of citizenship education and developed the idea of the “work school” or “activity school”, aimed at raising productive, creative individuals with a profession.

Findings in psychology made it possible to focus on students' interests and needs, and the use of experimental methods advanced the field of learning and teaching. All of these views form a synthesis in the transition from the pedagogy of earlier ages to modern education.

In short

The history of education evaluates the accumulated experience of the past in order to understand today's education and give direction to the future. In Europe, education turned towards raising good citizens in ancient Greece and Rome, towards religious aims in the Middle Ages, and towards the individual and reason in the Renaissance. In the age of method and after, understanding the child came to the fore; in the Industrial Age, mass education and the scientific approach gained weight. In this way, education became a field of science with its own conceptual structure that seeks to solve its problems with scientific methods.

Key concepts

• History: The discipline that studies the continuous formation of social reality and society.
• History of education: The field of study that evaluates the roots of educational tradition in light of the social conditions of the past and seeks to reflect them on the present.
• Pedagogy: A concept from ancient Greek referring to knowledge and practice related to the education of children.
• Scholasticism: The medieval way of thinking based on interpreting knowledge from a religious standpoint.
• Renaissance: A “rebirth” in culture and thought; the period in which reason and the individual came to the fore.
• Humanist education: An approach to education that values the human being and individual development.
• Age of method: The 17th and 18th centuries, when the natural sciences developed and method came to the fore, especially in teaching.
• Self-education: Montessori's concept describing the child working alone while understanding what they are doing.
• Work (activity) school: The idea of a school aimed at raising productive, creative individuals with a profession.

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Sources used:
Gültekin, M. (2008). Eğitimin tarihsel temelleri [Historical foundations of education]. In M. Gültekin (Ed.), Eğitim Bilimine Giriş [Introduction to Educational Science] (Unit 7). Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları.

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