Foundations of Education

PREFACE

Education moulds the character and personality of an individual. While Aristotle felt that the purpose of education is to create a sound mind in a sound body. Aurobindo regarded education as a process of building the human mind and spirit.

We have come a long way since our country attained independence. While the role of the teacher and the purpose of education remain essentially the same in their spirit, the changing socioeconomic scenario is having profound impact not only on education but also on the role of the teacher and his attitude.

The educational system of a country depends upon different factors like the type of teacher-pupil relationship, the scope of freedom and discipline, besides the cultural factors in which it operates. An educational system of a country does not function in isolation or in a vacuum. It is influenced by several factors, the latest being Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization (LPG) and WTO.

Because of the tremendous changes that are taking place in the world and their impact on education, components like Economics of Education, Child Rights Education, Environmental Education, Peace Education etc. are becoming a part of the curriculum of teacher education. Education cannot remain immune to the changes that are taking place in the society, and the prospective teachers have to be familiar with the changes

that are influencing the education system. In fact, the planners of education need to make teacher-education future-oriented if it is to effectively meet the needs and challenges of the prospective teachers.

This book makes an attempt to introduce the different components ents of ‘Foundations of Education’, including the latest aspects mentioned above to the student-teachers in a user-friendly style. All topics pertaining to teacher and education in the current scenario are dealt with adequately tracing the growth of education from the ancient period. Every effort has been made to provide an adequate treatment of the topics in a coherent and lucid style, keeping the comprehension levels of the student-teachers in mind.

It is hoped that this book would meet the needs of both the student-teachers as well as the teacher educators.

Obviously, no book is perfect, and there is always scope for its improvement. This being so, the authors invite feedback on the book from both the faculty members as well as the student-teachers. Every attempt will be made to incorporate the accepted suggestions in its future editions.

– Authors