Aims of Education

Aims give direction to activities. Aims of education are formulated keeping in view the needs of situation. Human nature is multisided with multiple needs, which are related to life. Educational aims are correlated to ideals of life. 

The goal of education should be the full flowering of the human on this earth. According to a UNESCO study, "the physical, intellectual, emotional and ethical integration of the individual into a complete man/woman is the fundamental aim of education." The goal of education is also to form children into human persons committed to work for the creation of human communities of love, fellowship, freedom, justice and harmony. Students are to be moulded only by making them experience the significance of these values in the school itself. Teachers could achieve this only by the lived example of their lives manifested in hundreds of small and big transactions with students in word and deed. 

Individual and Social Aims: 

Individual aims and social aims are the most important aims of education. They are opposed to each other individual aims give importance for the development of the individuality. Social aim gives importance to the development of society through individual not fulfilling his desire. But it will be seen that development of individuality assumes meaning only in a social environment. 

Individual Aims: 

Sir Percy Nunn observes, "Nothing goods enters into the human world except in and through the free activities of individual men and women and that educational practice must be shaped the individual. Education should give scope to develop the inborn potentialities through maximum freedom."

Because: 

(1) Biologists believe that every individual is different from others. Every child is a new and unique product and a new experiment with life. Thompson says, "Education is for the individual". Individual should be the centre of all educational efforts and activities. 

(2) Naturalists believe that central aim of education is the autonomous development of the individual. Rousseau said, "Everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Author of Nature, but everything degenerates in the hands of man." God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil. God creates everything good man makes it evil. So individual should be given maximum freedom for its own development. 

(3) Psychologists believe that education is an individual process because of individual differences. No two individuals are alike. So, education should be according to the interest of the individual. 

Criticism of Individual Aim: 

Individual aim is not desirable because man is a social animal. Society‘s interest should be protected. 

(1) Individual aim makes individual selfish. 

(2) Maximum freedom may go against the society. 

(3) Individuality cannot develop from a vacuum; it develops in a social atmosphere. 

(4) Unless society develops, individual cannot develop. 

(5) Who will recognize society- where individual is selfish? 

Social Aim: 

The supporters believe that society or state is supreme or real. The individual is only a means. The progress of the society is the aim of education. Education is for the society and of the society. The function of education is for the welfare of the state. The state will make the individual as it desires. It prepares the individual to play different roles in society. Individuality has no value, and personality is meaningless apart from society. If society will develop individual will develop automatically. Here society plays an important role. 

Criticism of Social Aim: 

(1) It makes individual only a tool of government. 

(2) It reduces individual to a mere non-entity. 

(3) Society ignores the legitimate needs, desires and interests of the individual. 

(4) It is against the development of individuality of the individual. 

Synthesis between individual and social aims of education: 

Individual aim and social aim of education go independently. Both are opposing to each other. It is not in reality. Neither the individual nor the society can exist. The individual is the product of the society while society finds its advancement in the development of its individual member. Individual cannot develop in vacuum. According to John Adams, "Individuality requires a social medium to grow." And T.P. Nunn says, "Individuality develops in social environment." 

Main Aims of Education 

1. Knowledge Aim of Education 

2. Vocational Aim of Education 

3. Character Aim of Education 

4. Cultural Aim of Education 

5. All-round Development Aim of Education 

6. Complete Living Aim of Education 

7. Spiritual Aim of Education 

8. Citizenship Aim of Education 

9. Democratic Aim of Education. 

1. Knowledge Aim of Education: 

According to this aim, the individual develops his individuality and fulfills his possibility by the help of knowledge. 

Knowledge is considered as power by which things are done. So, "Knowledge is power"  was said by Bacon. It is knowledge that has enabled humanity to make progress. Man becomes resourceful through knowledge. Socrates said that "one who had true knowledge could not be other than virtuous". Knowledge is sine qua non for every spheres of human life - physical, social, moral, spiritual and economic. Great philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, Dante, Comenim, Bacon have propounded knowledge as an important aim of education. 

In the narrow sense, knowledge aim implies "Knowledge for the sake of knowledge". In its wider sense, it means development of mental powers-thinking, reasoning, discrimination, judgement, memory, problem solving, imagination, intelligence etc. True knowledge consists in possessing ideas of universal validity and universal relevance. 

In other words, knowledge and wisdom must be for the good of the greatest number. Further, knowledge acquisition should not be considered as an end in itself. Rather it should be a means to other ends—individual development, civil efficiency, economic competency, living a richer and healthy life, welfare of the humanity, etc. 

Thus, reception and utilization of knowledge is essential element in knowledge aim of education. 

2. Vocational Aim of Education: 

In the modern times, it is felt that education should have its preparatory value to enable individuals to earn his livelihood or to make both ends meet in order to live happily and successfully. It is the economic self-sufficiency of a person which makes him a worthy and contributing citizen. 

The advocates of this aim say that all the knowledge that the child has gained, all the culture the child has acquired in the school will be of no use, if he cannot make both ends meet as an adult member of the community. Therefore, education should aim at imparting knowledge, skill, and information to the pupils in order to make them self-reliant; not to be a drag or parasite upon others. 

As such, vocational bias in education is absolutely necessary for enabling pupils to be productive members in the society. 

Education with the vocational aim will prepare each individual for an occupation which will suit to his needs, abilities, interests and attitudes. Vocational aim of education is also superscripted as 'Bread and Butter, aim', 'Blue Jacket Aim' and 'White collar Aim'. M. K. Gandhi says, "True education ought to be for the boys and girls a kind of insurance against unemployment". 

3. Character Aim of Education: 

Character is a mental quality and it should be built very cautiously by education. T. Raymond opines, "Education finds its real meaning and value when its aim is character-building". Bertrand Russel emphasizes that the formation of character is the chief aim of education. Herbart, the great educator of nineteenth century says, the whole work of education may be summing up the concept of "morality". 

M.K. Gandhi viewed, "Character building is the aim in education I would try to develop courage, strength, virtue, the ability to forget oneself in working towards great aims. I should feel that if we succeed in building the character of the individual, society will take care of itself". 

Swami Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati and all other philosophers of the east also emphasized the development of character as the aim of education. Character, essentially, includes all the best and noble qualities which can be better cultivated by education. Morality or moral qualities include tolerance, truthfulness, honesty, courtesy, loyalty, justice, sincerity, endurance, courage or fortitude, fellow feeling, freedom, self-control, non-violence, forgiveness, will power, conviction, temperance, etc. 

These should be fostered by a suitable programme of education. Therefore, S. Radhakrishnan says, "The troubles of the whole world including India are due to the fact that education has become a mere intellectual exercise and not the acquisition of moral and spiritual values". 

It is education for character which will enable a man to rise above narrow mindedness, self interest, anger, fear, miserliness and to utilize his knowledge for the betterment of humanity rather than for its destruction and dilapidation. As such, the aim of education should be the development of character or building of character for the larger interest of the community and humanity as a whole. 

4. Cultural Aim of Education: 

Culture is defined as complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, tradition, folk ways, religion, literature and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. M.K. Gandhi attaches his importance upon this cultural aspect more than the literary aspect when he said, "culture is the foundation, the primary thing. It should show itself in the smallest details of your conduct and personal behaviour, how you sit, how you walk, how you dress, etc. Inner culture must be reflected in your speech, the way in which you treat visitors and guests, and behave towards are another and towards your teachers and elders". 

Culture comprises vast array of inter-related knowledge, skills, values and goals. A cultured person is he whose personality is refined, whose aesthetic tastes are developed, who lives a socially Useful life, who is socially efficient, who appreciates ideas and values, who understands the best thought of the community and who not only assimilates the rich experiences of the race but also utilize these experiences in a meaningful way for the development of the society. 

Culture is essential for refinement of physical, intellectual, moral and aesthetic parts of personality of an individual. Culture also expands one‘s outlook, sharpens one‘s interest and fosters an acceptable behaviour of the individual. 

Therefore, the aim of education is to help the individuals to inherit rich cultural heritage of past, to preserve and enrich it through activities and transmit it to the rising generation in a fruitful and meaningful way. Moreover, education should cater to the development of all attributes essential for evolution of a cultured personality, for a cultured person is an invaluable asset in a society. 

5. All-round Development Aim of Education: 

It is also known as harmonious development aim of education. It refers to harmonious development of the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, moral and aesthetic sides of human personality. It is with this harmonious development of all aspects of human nature that he will be able to play his part well in life and achieve success in all fields of human life. 

This aim was first advocated by Rousseau who said education as "the process of development into an enjoyable, rational, harmoniously balanced, useful and hence natural life". Other important supporters of this aim are Pestalozzi, Ross and M.K. Gandhi. Pestalozzi regards, "Education is natural, harmonious and progressive development of man‘s innate powers". 

By harmonious development he means the education of 3 H‘s—Head, Heart and Hand. Ross views, "Harmonious development means the intellectual, religious, moral and aesthetic development of the child". 

M.K. Gandhi, the father of our nation says, "Man is neither mere intellect, nor the gross animal, nor the heart and soul alone. A proper and harmonious combination of all the three is required for making the whole man and constitutes the true economics of education". 

6. Complete Living Aim of Education: 

The eminent naturalistic philosopher, educationist and biologist of the nineteenth century Herbert Spencer expounded complete living aim of education. He said that education should bring about the whole-some development which enables an individual to face all problems of life in all spheres and solve them with great courage and conviction. 

He asserted that the chief task of education is to enable the individuals to prepare for life and the art of life consists of right ruling of conduct in all directions under all circumstances. In this connection he says that education must tell us "in what way to treat the body; in what way to manage out affairs; in what way to bring up our family; in what way to behave as a citizen; in what way to utilize those sources of happiness which nature supplies— how to use all facilities to the greatest advantage of ourselves and others". 

So, education should acquaint us with the laws and ways of complete living. He writes in his treatise "on Education", "To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge, and the only mode of judging any educational course is to judge in what degree it discharges such function". He identified certain activities which have bearing upon complete living according to their respective values in order of priority. 

1. Activities relating to self-preservation directly are those subjects like physiology, hygiene, physics, chemistry which help in self-preservation. Activities related to selfpreservation indirectly include subjects like Mathematics, Biology, Sociology and Physics. 

2. Activities pertaining to rearing and bearing of offspring are the subjects like physiology, domestic science, psychology which help in understanding the principles of child‘s growth and development. 

3. Activities relating to social and political duties include subjects like history, political science and economics which help the individuals to perform socio-political duties so that one can live properly. 

4. Activities relating to utilization of leisure time profitably include subjects like art, music, poetry, painting, literature, drama etc. which serve the end by satisfying leisure time needs. 

7. Spiritual Aim of Education: 

The idealistic philosophers contend that the chief aim of education is to develop the spiritual side of an individual. The sole aim of education should be the maximum development of spiritual potentialities of the individual. In turn, this development gives the real strength to human soul and mind. Regarding the importance of education for spiritual side of the individual. 

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan says, "The aim of education is neither national efficiency nor world solidarity, but making the individual feel that he has within himself something deeper than intellect, call it spirit if you like". 

Shri Aurobindo views, "The chief aim of education should be to help the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble cause". Thus, the central aim of education should be the development of spirituality in men. 

Inculcation of spiritual values in the minds of individuals by the programme of education is the need of the hour to save the humanity from plunging into the morass of hat redness, selfishness, corruption, aggression, violence, chaos, disorder, narrow-mindedness, malevolent spirit, tensions, fears, conflicts, brutality, suspicion, destruction and disaster. 

Pristine glory and pride of the nation can be brought back by education, by inculcating the spiritual values or truths in children and by propelling them to practice in their day to day lives. Because it is said that the taste of pudding lies in eating it In short, spiritual education will bring happiness, order and contentment in the world by cultivating spiritual faiths in the minds of the individuals. 

Therefore, it is through the aim of education that awakening of self can be done and development of spirituality should be the be-all and end-all of human life. 

8. Citizenship Aim of Education: 

It is admitted that a good citizen is an asset for the nation. The development of nation depends upon the nature of the citizens and in order to be a good citizen, certain qualities are essential ingredients—a sense of social responsibility and social duty, a love for freedom, power of independent thinking, a spirit of national service, a sense of sacrificing one‘s personal interest for the larger interests of the community and nation, courage to express freely, free from fear, and a knowledge of socio-political system i.e. sociopolitical consciousness. 

Therefore, these values should be fostered in the minds of children and individuals through the planned and organised system of education. Plato, the author of the treatise on the system of government, "The Republic‘ writes, "Education for citizenship is the only education which deserves the name; that other sort of training, which aims at the acquisition of wealth or bodily strength, or mere cleverness apart from intelligence and justice, is mean and illiberal and is not worth to be called education at all". 

9. Democratic Aim of Education: 

It is accepted that education should aim at the promotion of democratic values which are necessary for the success of a democracy. These values are the pre-requisites for the successful living in a democratic nation wedded to democratic cult and principles. 

The aim of education in the democratic countries in the world should be the cultivation of democratic values in the minds of the children and individuals—faith in democratic way of living, respect for dignity of other persons, freedom, equality of opportunity, justice, faith in tolerance, faith in change, and peaceful methods and faith in co-operative living and above all fellow-feelingless.