intrinsic aims of education

The intrinsic aim of education – lecture notes

Definition of intrinsic education

• Education is important in itself, and is not done because of external reasons

• It is better for the individual to be educated than not

• ‘liberal education’

• “the initiation of people into worthwhile forms of life” ( R S Peters)

Education as initiation

• Initiation – to draw children from a state of ignorance into a state of enlightenment, this is a transformative process

• It follows a developmental process

o 1. A baby has no recognisable states

o 2. Later, the child develops awareness, but this is not yet differentiated into beliefs, wants and specific emotions

o 3. Children acquire a richer mode of awareness through the acquisition of plans, rules, reasons associated with goals, information and casual connections

o 4. A fully developed person has a perspective on many things, has regard for and cares about truth standards, and has underlying reasons and causes

Worthwhile knowledge

• Worthwhile knowledge has been deliberately chosen for you to learn (by tradition, academics, teachers)

• Subjects like mathematics, science, history, music, art, language and literature form the basis of such an education.

• Depth of knowledge – you can see how facts are connected and the broader conceptual scheme

• Breadth of knowledge – wide rage of issues, sees patterns, connections between things. A sense of wholeness in education – not merely a narrow focus on some specialised subject.

Principles of Peters’ definition of education

• It is an intrinsic aim of education

o Politicians and economists mat want education to be useful in some way – but for Peters’, education is valuable for its own sake and in itself

o Education is the development of mind, of rationality. It promotes critical thinking, reason, and impartiality.

 “is there a conceivable end beyond the development as a person” (Hamm)

o “to be educated is not to have arrives at a destination; it is to travel with a different view. What is required is not feverish preparation for something that lies ahead, but to work with precision, passion, and taste at worthwhile things that lie in hand” (Peters)

• Education is a deliberate process. What you learn informally – in the streets for at home – is rarely defined as ‘education’

• At the same time, education is not the same as schooling, only if what happens in school is an initiation into worthwhile knowledge, can we say that there is education in schools

• Education has norms built into it about what is worthwhile and desirable. One can be trained to be a thief – but not educated to be a thief.

• Not everything that is valuable is educational – soccer, socialising, dancing add value to our lives, but education also has cognitive requirements

• Liberal education teaches you to think. Facts come and go – liberal education teaches you to think.

• Instead of succumbing to a particular ideological view of the world, education is concerned with critical inquiry, reason and impartiality.

Implications for how we teach

 The means of education must be consistent with the ends. Indoctrinating and brain washing are ruled out because they infringe upon the voluntariness of the learner.

 Can’t always use extrinsic rewards, marks or prizes – otherwise children will learn thar something is only worth the effort is there is a reward attached.

 Respect for evidence, permit objections, hear all arguments and don’t disrespect people because of who they are. “Emphasis can be given to the independent, inquiring attitude rather than the actual acquisition of knowledge”

Criticisms of Peters’ definition

 Worthwhile knowledge does seem to be centred on western knowledge

 The idea of knowledge for knowledge sake seems a bit elitist

 Seems education is focused on the intellect / the mind – while ignoring emotional, character building, physical activities.

The intrinsic aim of education is defined as the importance of education itself, without reliance on external motivations. It emphasizes that being educated is more beneficial for individuals than remaining uneducated, encapsulated in the concept of 'liberal education' which initiates individuals into meaningful ways of living. Education is seen as a transformative process where individuals progress from ignorance to enlightenment through a series of developmental stages, acquiring both depth and breadth of knowledge. Peters posits that education should be valued for its own sake, promoting critical thinking and reason, rather than merely serving utilitarian purposes. Finally, it highlights that education must align with its intrinsic goals, avoiding indoctrination while respecting evidence and encouraging independent inquiry.