Dr Shahbaj Riad :
The concept of education has become multidimensional due to differences in educational thought, research methods, and strategies and also in decision-making. There has never been a consensus among academics about what education means. Just as there are differences between societies and times, there are also differences of views within the same societies and times. Education is a process involved in human life and society. It can be said that this evolution is the result of the education process. On the other hand, the nature of education is a product of social evolution.
Education has been regarded as a special social process through which various social functions are achieved. Different types of education have been identified in terms of learning methods. Formal education, non-formal education and non-formal education are considered as the major forms of education in modern times. Along with the inventions and development of science and technology, the spread of liberal socio-economic and state philosophies also led to the spread of education.
In connecting sociology and psychological concepts and theories in education, prominent Western educationists Johann Heinrich Pestaltsi, Friedrich Froebel, John Frederick Herbert, and Maria Montessori etc. have made special contributions. As a result ‘education’ became the subject of social psychology. In this context, ‘education’ refers to the desired change in the behavior of the individual. The change in behaviour of a person through experience and practice is called learning. It manifests through changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes. A change in behaviour manifested through changes in acquired knowledge, skills, attitudes that are positive and acceptable, beneficial and relatively permanent to individuals and society. ‘Education’ has been able to gain the status of an important topic in modern sociology as well. In this regard, the contribution of French sociologist Emile Durkheim is very significant. He termed ‘education’ as a social object and a ‘social phenomenon’. At the same time, he considered education as a vehicle for socialisation.
American sociologist John Dewey developed an integrated concept of education from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, political science, economics and sociology. According to himeducation is not a preparation of life, rather it is living. He saw learning as a lifelong process and considered experience as the natural strategy for learning. As human society moves from the past to the future, education becomes more socio-centric. The concept of education and thus getting more involved with people’s real life preparation and living process.
The United Nations has also prioritised human life in its concept of education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines education as a means of human development and the development of universal human qualities through the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits. At the same time, UNESCO also considers education as a guide to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding necessary for all activities of life.The International Commission on Education for the 21st Century published in 1997, also known as the Delor Commission, described education as a continuous process involving human life. The commission report laid special emphasis on lifelong learning of the individual. Four pillars of education have been identified as the main strategies of 21st century education. These are – learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.
According to a prominent educationist of Bangladesh Professor Shamsul Haque, human civilisation, its knowledge, science, literature, philosophy, social system, taste, environment, and even daily life style are all the result of human education, its aspiration and perseverance. Moreover, the education system of a society acts as a reflection of the overall way of life and ideals of that society and the goals, structure and standards of education are determined according to the needs of the individual and the society. Education is the main tool for building a better life and society.So the main goal of education should be to create skilled human resources required for economic development using the country’s own resources.
Education is considered as a tool for development of human universal qualities and human resource development. The developed countries of the world are rapidly achieving success in all fields including literature, arts, agriculture, industry and trade along with the development of science and technology by developing a standard and balanced education system. Bangladesh has also continued efforts to improve the quality of education for this purpose.
The importance and status of education as a separate discipline is increasing in most countries of the world. In today’s world, there is extensive practice and research focusing on the theoretical and practical areas of education. Because the closeness of the causal relationship of education with various aspects of human life and society is gradually becoming deeper. Due to these reasons, education has expanded in the academic arena in every country. Education policy makers, students, social workers and common people are getting more and more interested in education science. They are considering education as a special part or branch of human knowledge that describes, explains, analyzes and tests various ideas, theories and facts about education and its processes.
Today in all developed countries and many developing countries ‘education’ has gained important status in the academic arena as a branch of independent knowledge. In some countries independent full-fledged universities have been established under the name of ‘Education University’. Different universities in many countries have separate faculties of education. In some countries separate educational institutes have been established. Again, many countries have ‘Education Departments’ belonging to different faculties.
These institutes offer bachelors and master’s degrees and MPhil and PhD degrees in education.
The major areas of education as a discipline are history of education, philosophy of education, psychology of education, sociology of education, economics of education, educational policy, curriculum planning and development, teaching-learning methods and techniques, educational administration and management, educational guidance and counseling, educational technology, educational measurement and Assessment, Comparative Education, Language Education, Science Education, Social Science Education, Agriculture Education, Art Education, Music and Dance Education, Business Education, Religion Education, Peace Education, Population Education, Values Education, Sex and Gender Education, Integrated Education, Women Education, Environmental Education, Physical Education and Educational Research.
Although ‘education’ is expanding day by day as a field of knowledge in all countries of the world, its speed is not so intense in our country because of some specific reasons.The importance of education as a field of knowledge is relatively low for the policy makers, sociologists, planners in various fields including education administration in Bangladesh. It is sad but true that for most them education is nothing more than a professional training of secondary school teachers. But hopefully everyone is starting to come out of this idea. Hopefully, the study of ‘education’ is expanding day by day in Bangladesh. Various programs are being conducted in the study of ‘Education’ in different universities of Bangladesh. In this regard Dhaka University has taken the role of pioneer. Institute of Education and Research (IER) was established in this university in 1960. Since then, the institution has started post-graduation, MPhil and PhD programs in education. Since 1995, Bachelor (Honours) and Post Graduate programs are being conducted in Education. Later the National University took up Bachelor (Honours), Post Graduate programs in Education. Education and Research Institute of Rajshahi University conducts Bachelor’s, Master’s, MPhil and PhD degrees in Education. The University is also actively considering conducting Bachelor (Honours) program in Education. Education departments and institutes have also been started in some private universities in Bangladesh. Besides, renowned teacher training colleges in Bangladesh have been conducting undergraduate, graduate (honors) and postgraduate programs in education for several years.
Considering this vast range of education or pedagogy, it is also important to establish an educational university in Bangladesh. Several science and technology universities have been established in Bangladesh in recent years. As many disciplines have been opened in all those universities, if there is a university of education, it will be possible to open separate departments on different fields of education. For example Department of Curriculum, Department of Pedagogy and Andrology, Department of Educational Management, Department of Pre-Primary and Primary Education, Department of Secondary Education, Department of Higher Education, Department of Teacher Education, Department of Special and Integrated Education, Department of Non-formal and Continuing Education, Department of Education and Development, Department of Citizenship Education, Department of peace and conflict etc. can be named. At the same time, it has become necessary to introduce 200 marks pedagogy or education for 1st and 2nd paper at the higher secondary level and 300 marks pedagogy or educationfor 1st, 2nd and 3rd paper at the graduate level like other subjects in all public and private colleges of the country. It will create employment opportunities for post graduate (Honours) and post graduate degree holders in education.
We should keep in mind that the education system of Bangladesh is one of the oldest and largest in the world where nearly five crore teachers-students-teacher administrators are directly and indirectly involved. To manage highly large and entire education system efficiently, to bring all types of professional training in the country under one umbrella, to ensure quality training and to create a wide range of research opportunities, and to bring the talented generation back to the glorious history of education, in the near future, we feel strongly to establish an educational university.
(Writer is an Associate Professor of Education at Teachers’ Training College, Dhaka).