CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

"The education has been oldest of the art and youngest of the professions".

Introduction

Human life is the best creation of God, has got two aspects: the biological and the socio-cultural. Biological aspect is found in plant and animal life. But the socio-cultural aspect is the rare distinction of human life alone. It is only man who is capable of being educated. Through education, he tries to seek new ideas and new ways of life. It is again through education that he promotes his intelligence and adds his knowledge with which he can move the world for good or for evil, according to his wishes. Thus, he attempts to understand himself in relation to the world about him and to transmit that knowledge succeeding generations.

Our life in the complex world is governed not only by the biological process, but also by a social process. While the functioning of the organism is the biological heredity, education is his social heredity. With biological heredity alone, he would be nothing better than an animal. But he has social heredity that makes him a man who is now capable of governing this world.

Education is vital process of social life. Without education we are not able to have a normal and prosperous life, and human race would be no better than animal race. Eating, drinking, sleeping and sexual life are common to both animals and men. It is only knowledge and education, where they different. Education not only comes from the books and school teachers, but also from knowledge and experience by socialization.

"From the dawn of civilization, evidence prevails to support the premise, that nurturing has been essential to the preservation of life. Survival of human race, therefore, is inextricably intertwined with the development of education"

 

Meaning of education

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.

Etymologically, the word "education" is traced to different sources of derivation. According to the one view the word education is derived from Latin word "educo" means 'I lead out' here E means 'out of' while 'duco' means 'I lead' in other words it means 'I lead out of darkness into light' and here 'I' denotes the teacher.

There is another view that the word 'education' is derived from the word 'educare', meaning 'to rear' 'to bring up' 'to nourish'. This meaning implies that the child is lacking and she is to be brought up with certain preconceived ideas. for which, she is to be fed with knowledge in proper way so that, child or student can utilize his innate power to achieve his ends in other words, it means that the child is to be brought up according to certain aims and ends in view.

There is also another view that education is originated from the word 'educere' meaning 'to lead out'. This implies 'growth from within'. The child already possesses some innate powers and capacities. Education is the process of developing these powers, nothing from without is to be imposed on child.

There is yet another view, that in the term "Education" comes from the word 'Educatum' which means the act of "teaching or training".

According to the above stated Latin words, Educare and Educatum, education is something external, which is imposed from outside. But according to the word 'Educere' it is growth from within. The modern educationalists are of the opinion that the word "Educere" is more acceptable as it allows more freedom to a child. Accordingly, the child is not to accept imposition, but has to observe, think and draw conclusions for himself. Therefore, education means 'to lead out', 'to lead forth', or 'to unfold the hidden talents of man'. It is very much the art of developing and cultivation the various powers of mind, physical, mental and moral. However, it should be noted clearly that nothing can be drawn, unless something is put before hand, means the growth of the child will not take automatically, it needs certain knowledge and experience, so we have to give him knowledge and experience before we expect to draw out the best in the child.

Hence, education can be looked upon a process of providing desirable knowledge and experience to the child so as to develop his inner powers to the maximum possible extent. In other words, 'education' means both the acquisition of knowledge and experience as well as the development of skills, habits, and an attitude which helps a person to lead a full and worthwhile life in this universe. It is in fact, a process of training the individual through various experiences of life, so as to draw out the best in him.

Concepts of education

Education as a process

Education is a process here process means continuous changes that takes place through which a child attains knowledge, skills, attitudes, and other abilities required for leading a productive life in the society, as a product, education is the aggregate of what is acquired through learning, i.e. the knowledge skills, ideas, and values. Educative process teacher can bring out the hidden talents in the child by the way of creating a conductive environment. Based on factors involved in the educative process it can be viewed as a bi-polar, tri-polar, or multi-polar process.

Education as a bipolar process

Education as a bipolar process believes that education is an end result of the interaction between the educator or teacher and the student. Teacher imparts knowledge to the students with an intension to change latter's behavior. Educationalists like Adams and Ross believe that education is essentially a bipolar process and recommends close co-operation and better understanding between the teachers and students for achieving the aims of education. Teacher should always consider the level of students. Even though teacher-student interaction is a vital component of the educative process, we cannot ignore the influence of social environment and technological advancement on the education system. In this sense, it is difficult to view education as a bi polar process.

Education as tri-polar process

A considerable proportion of educationalists believe that education is a tri-polar process involving the interaction between the student, the teacher and the social environment, John Dewey believed that education is essentially a tri polar process. This view motivated educationalist to consider the societal change and social environment while constructing the curriculum. Tri-polar process justifies the bilateral relationship between the society and education. Without undermining the contributions of the tri-polar approach for the progress of education in the past, we have to say that it is incompetent to address the current issues in the educative process as of ignores the role of media and technology in the field of education.

Education as a multi-polar process

In order to cope with the fast changing and competitive nature of the world, one has to wake up the responsibility for his or her own education. This new self-learning concept of education is influenced by several factors along with the teacher, student and the social environment. Easy access to knowledge due to the technological advancement and the increased acceptance of non-formal and informal types of education has reduced the importance of teacher and school when compared to past. Different from the past, present day education is flexible; more students centered, focused on creativity then mere spoon feeding by the teacher and depend heavily on technological advancements. In the present context, it is difficult to predict precisely what all factors will influence the education in what all ways. From the above said points, it is evident that the educative process is neither a bi-polar process nor a tri-polar process but a multi-polar process only.

Education as a lifelong process

Education is now interpreted not as referring to an initial period of training of youth, but to a continual and lifelong process. It is not something that concerns itself with certain aims or philosophies nor does its responsibility end with devising some classroom technique for the teacher. Education today aims at elevating itself to the level of a complex and comprehensive science with border objectives. It now attempts to relate itself not merely to pedagogy but is conceived as Andragogy, which according to Pierre further, is the science of training man throughout his life span.

INDIAN CONCEPTS OF EDUCATION

There are number of synonyms of the word 'education'. The most common Indian word 'siksha' is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root 'shas' which means 'to discipline', 'to control', 'to instruct', or 'to teach'. Similarly, the word 'vidya', is derived from Sanskrit verbal root 'vid', which means 'to know'. 'Vidya' is thus the subject matter of knowledge. This show disciplining, the mind and imparting knowledge were the foremost consideration in India. Education is a social concept, philosophically evolved, psychologically developed and socially, based. It is concerned with the growing man in an ever-growing society.

There are so many concepts given by various personalities they are -

• Education is something, which makes a man self-reliant and self-less. - Rigveda
• Education is that whose end product is salvation. – Upanishada
• Education is that which makes a man of good character and useful to the society. -Yajnavalkya
• Education means training for the country and love for the nation. -Chanakya
• Human Education means the training, which one gets from the nature. -Panini
• Education means development of self-contentment. -Kannada
• Education is the realization of self [Aathmasanskara] - Shankaracharya
• Education is the manifestation of divine perfection already existing in man. -Vivekananda
• Education means enabling the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of the dust and gives us wealth, nor of things but of inner light, nor of power but of love, making this truth its own and giving expression to it. -RN Tagore
• Education according to Indian tradition is not merely a means of earning a living; nor it is only a nursery of thought or a school for citizenship. It is initiation into the life of spirit and training of human souls in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue. - Radhakrishnan
• Education is the process which helping the growing soul to draw out that is in itself. -Aurobind ghosh
• Education is "an all-round drawing out of the beat in child and man-body, mind and spirit," - MK Gandhi
• Education is the process of the individual mind getting to its full possible development… it is a long school, which lasts a life time. -Zakir hussain

WESTERN CONCEPTS OF EDUCATION

Education has been in various ways by thinkers and philosophers of the western world as follows:

• Education is ''Creation of a sound mind in a sound body". Aristotle
• Education is natural, harmonious, and progressive development of man's innate powers. -Pestalozzi
• Education is unfoldment of what is already enfolded in the germ. It is the process which the child makes internal external. -Froebel
• Education is complete living. -Spencer
• Education consciously controlled process where by changes in behavior are produced in the person and through the person within the group. - -Brown
• Education is the capacity to feel pleasure and plan at the right moment. It develops in the body and in the soul of the pupil all the beauty and all the perfection which he is capable of. - Plato
• Education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body. It develops man's faculty, especially his mind, so that he may be able to enjoy the contemplation of supreme truth, goodness and beauty of which perfect happiness essentially consists. -Vanton
• Education is a conscious and deliberate process in which one personality acts upon another in order to modify the development of that others by communication and manipulation of knowledge. -Adams
• Education is the influence of the environment on the individual with a view to producing a permanent change in his habit, behavior of thought and of attitude. -Thompson
• Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child. So that he/she can make an original contribution to human life according to the best of his capacity. -TP Nunn
• Education is a process of development from infancy to maturity, the process by which he /she adopts himself or herself gradually in various ways of him/her physical, social, and spiritual environment. -T Raymont
• Education is the process of living through the continuous reconstruction of experiences. It is the development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities. –John Dewey

Redden'S CONCEPT of education

"Education is the deliberate and systematic influence exerted by the mature person upon the immature through instruction, discipline and harmonious development of physical, intellectual, aesthetic, social and spiritual powers of human being according to individual and social need directed towards the union of the educand and his Creator as the final end."

Redden's definition is considered to be most precise and most widely accepted. According to this definition, the human child quite immature and undeveloped at birth, is subjected to systematic course of instructional and disciplinary influence by a mature and experienced person called 'educator'. The child after undergoing this course of planned training becomes fit for satisfying the need of society as also of his own life in such a manner that the higher goal of life. Redden's definition elucidate the idea of education as follows:

1. Deliberate and systematic influence means the exercise of the systematic control over the actions of the educand. It involves utmost care and guidance. Such planned influence takes the form of:

• Inculcating good habits
• Training senses and memory
• Proper development of imagination and powers of mind and
• Strengthening of the will

1. Mature person should influence the immature, means that the child, who is immature, should be influenced by parents, the elders in the society and the teachers who are more experienced.
2. Harmonious development means that all elements of the man's nature, viz., the physical, the intellectual, the aesthetic, the moral, the social and the spiritual must be developed in a balanced manner.
3. Power means all the capacities and interests in the child, viz. the cognitive, the reflective, the affective and the co-native.
4. Towards the union of the educand with his creator on the final end, means the ultimate aim in the union of the individual self with absolute. Here it synchronizes with the Indian idealistic aim of education, i.e. ultimate aim of education is the same as the ultimate aim of life. Accordingly, ultimate goal of life is the merger of the individual self with the universal self which designated by a number of term like liberation (mukthi) self-realization (Aathmasakshatkar), beatitude attainment of supreme bless, (spiritualalism of education).

Education may be defined as the process by which behavioral changes take place in an individual as a result of experiences, which he has undergone. In other words, "education is the process of bringing out desirable change into the behavior of human beings." It can also be defined as the process of imparting or acquiring knowledge and habits through instructor or study. When learning is progressing towards goals that have been established in accordance with a philosophy which has been defined for and is understood by learner, it is called "education".

If education to be effective it should result in changes in the entire behavioral component:-

The behavior changes must be directed towards a desirable end. They should be acceptable socially, culturally, economically and result in a change in knowledge, skill, attitude and understanding. Thus in education, the greatest emphasis should be placed on the behavioral component of an individual.

Gandhiji CONCEPT of education

According To Gandhiji, "By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man- Body, mind and spirit. It is one of the means whereby man and women can be educated. Literacy in itself is no education." This definition elucidate the idea of education as follows:

Drawing and pouring in – Gandhiji wrote, "We have up to now concentrate on stuffing a child's mind with all kind of information without even stimulating or developing them." He fully realized that nature has endowed children and youth with tremendous vitality. They have within them the springs of youth, joy and vigor. They have the God given curiosity to wish to know things for themselves. The task of education is to use these powers. It would be wrong to suppress them. This energy should be utilized and harnessed properly.

All-round means, Man is neither mere intellect nor the gross animal body, nor the gross animal body, nor the heart or soul alone. A proper and harmonious combination of all these is required for the making of the whole man.

"True education says Gandhiji," is that which draws out and stimulates the spiritual, intellectual and physical faculties of children. Any program of education that puts exclusive emphasis on one of these aspects of the human personality is against the basic principle of education.

Meaning of them best in man – the best in man is related to three aspects; body, mind and spirit. No field should remain neglected. The best in man will include the harmonious development of all the three aspects or faculties of the child.

Gandhiji further explained the concept of education in his book basis education as, "I hold that true education of the intellect can only come through a proper exercise and training of the bodily organs, e.g. hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc. in other words, an intelligent use of the organs in a child provides the best and quickest way of developing his intellect. But unless the development of the mind goes hand in hand with a corresponding awakening of the soul, the former alone would prove to be poor lop-sided affair. By spiritual training I mean education of the heart. A proper and an all-round development of the mind, therefore, can take place only when it proceeds 'pari passu' with education of the physical and spiritual faculties of the child. They constitute an indivisible whole."

SUMMARY OF CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

From the above definitions, it is now clear that since the ancient times to the modern times of John Dewey, Redden and Gandhi, various educationists have defined education in various ways. Speaking frankly, the field of education is so vast and varied that to give a specific definition of education about which all educationists agree is very difficult. We see that some educationists have defined only one aspect of education whereas the others emphasize its other phases. The reason of this difference of opinions is that different educationsts, most of whom are philosophers, have different views about the aim of life. According to Idealists, the aim of life is spiritual development. As such, they regard education as a spiritual process, which aims at bringing together the soul and the creator leading to self-realization. Pragmatists think about education as a process of social progress. Because of this difference in the philosophy of life, different educationists define education differently. The fact is that the real concept of education is not related solely to any of the above-mentioned views. It is more than either of them. In a real sense, education is a sort of synthesis of all the above viewpoints. In this sense, education includes the individuals, the society, the environment, the social fabric and the prevailing traditions. Hence, the definition of education ought to be a very comprehensive and all-inclusive one.

The different meanings and definitions of education as given above lead us to the conclusion that education should have a comprehensive definition. Thus, education may be defined as a purposive, conscious or unconscious, psychological, sociological, scientific and philosophical process, which brings about the development of the individual to the fullest extent and also the maximum development of society in such a way that both enjoy maximum happiness and prosperity. In Short, education is the development of individual according to his needs and demands of society, of which he is an integral part. The above remarks of different educators highlight the following special features of education:

• Education is both unilateral as well as bi-polar in nature.
• It is a continuous process.
• It is knowledge or experience.
• It is development of particular aspects of human personality or a harmonious integrated growth.
• It is conducive for the good of the individual or the welfare of the society.
• It is a liberal discipline or a vocational course.
• It is stabilizer of social order, conservator of culture, an instrument of change and social reconstruction.

Narrower and Broader Meaning of Education

Education in the Narrower Sense

In its narrow sense, school instruction is called education. In this process, the elders of society strive to attain predetermined aims during a specified time by providing pre-structured knowledge to children through set methods of teaching. The purpose is to achieve mental development of children entering school. To make of narrow meaning of education more clear, the following opinions of some other educationists are being given-

• The culture which each generation purposefully gives to those who are to be its successors, in order to qualify them for at least keeping up, and if possible for raising the level of improvement which has been attained. - John Stuart Mill
• In narrow sense, education may be taken to mean any consciously directed effort to develop and cultivate our powers. - S. S. Mackenzie
• Education is a process in which and by which knowledge, character and behaviour of the young are shaped and moulded. - Prof. Drever
• The influence of the environment of the individual with a view to producing a permanent change in his habits of behaviour, or thought and attitude. - G. H. Thompson

Education, in the narrower sense, is regarded as equivalent to instruction. It consists of the "specific influences" consciously designed in a school or in a college or in an institution to bring in the development and growth of the child. The word school includes the whole machinery of education from Kindergarten to the University. The education of the child begins with his admission in the school and ends with his departure from the University. The amount of education received by the child is measured in terms of degrees and diplomas awarded to him. The school represents formal education as it imparts education directly and systematically. There is deliberate effort on the part of the educator to inculcate certain habits, skills, attitudes or influences in the learner, which are considered to be essential and useful to him. According to John Dewey: "The school exists to provide a special environment for the formative period of human life. School is a consciously designed institution, the sole concern of which is to educate the child. This special environment is essential to explain our complex society and civilization".

The influences or modes of influences in the school are deliberately planned, chosen and employed by the community for the welfare of the members of the rising generation. The purpose of these influences is to modify the behaviour of the child in such a way that he may become different from what he would have been without education. It makes possible a better adjustment of human nature to surroundings. According to Mackenzie, education, in the narrower sense, is conscious effort to develop and cultivate our innate powers.

Education, in the narrow sense, is also regarded as acquisition of knowledge. According to it education is a process by which knowledge or information on a subject is acquired. But many sensible educationists have criticized this view. They argue that emphasis on the knowledge is likely to reduce all schools to mere knowledge-shops. The acquisition of knowledge is not the only or supreme aim of education, yet it is one of the important aims of education.

Education in the Broader Sense

In its wider sense, education is the total development of the personality. In this sense. Education consists of all those experiences, which affect the individual from birth till death. Thus, education is that process by which an individual freely develops his self-according to his nature in a free and uncontrolled environment. In this way, education is a lifelong process of growth environment.

• In the wider sense, it is a process that goes on throughout life, and is promoted by almost every experience in life. - S. S. Mackenzie
• By education, I mean the all-round drawing out of the best in child and man's body, mind and soul. - M. K. Gandhi
• Education in its widest sense includes all the influences, which at upon an individual during his passage from cradle to the grave. - Dumvile
• Education, in its broadest sense, is the means of the social continuity. - John Dewey

Education in the wider sense is a life-long process. It begins with the birth of a child and ends with his death. It is a continuous process. Continuity is the law of life. Education is not limited to the classroom only; it is also not limited to a particular period of life. Education is a life-long process and goes on from birth to death. Throughout life one goes on learning to adjust oneself to the changing patterns of life. Change it's the fundamental law of human existence. Life is a continuous process of growth and development and so education is also a continuous process.

An individual learns through his experiences, which are acquired throughout his life. Education is not merely collection of some information. It is acquisition of experiences through life in the social and natural environment. It includes all the knowledge and experiences, acquired during infancy, childhood, boyhood, adolescence, youth, manhood or old age through any agency of education- the press, the travels, the club, the nature- formally and informally. Thus, education becomes the sum-total of all experiences that the child receives either in the school or outside. In this wider sense, life is education and education is life. Whatever broadens our horizon, deepens our insight, refines our reactions and stimulates thought and feeling, educates us." In other words, education is the process whereby a human being gradually adopts himself in various ways to his physical, social, and spiritual environments. It is the development of all those capacities in the individual, which will enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities. Education, in the broader sense, is transmission of life by the living, to the living, through living and for living". Education is a means for the development of balanced all- round harmonious development of personality. Personality includes not only body and mind but also spirit.

TYPES/FORMS OF EDUCATION

There are three types of education –Formal, Informal and Non-Formal.

Formal Education

Formal education is consciously and deliberately pre-planned, organized and given for the modification of behavior with a particular end in view. Formal education is undertaken in institutions, specifically established and maintained for the purpose such as schools and colleges. It is limited to a specific period and it has well-defined curriculum. It is given by qualified and trained teachers, Formal education observes strict discipline. Formal education can be primary, middle, Secondary, higher secondary level in the school and undergraduate, graduate and post graduate level in the colleges and university which can be in Art, Science, Technical and professional area. With growth of civilization and with the advances in the field of science and technology, the accumulated fund or knowledge and skills has become more and more complex and with it the need for formal education has also become more pressing and widespread..

Informal Education

Informal education is not pre planned. It is quite incidental. It is type of education which the child gets while moving and living in the community with other persons; he/she picks up the way and habits of the adult members of his community and tries to adopt them. Such an education is not imparted by any organized agency; it is casual and gained through daily experiences and activities. Thus education starts from the very birth of a child and continues till death. Death the primitive times, children were initiated into ways of the group, quite informally. They learnt the trade of their parents by actual living in the community and participating in activities. Informal education, therefore, is "that modification of behavior which comes about necessary and spontaneously, without any conscious effort for it." It has the following characteristics -

• It is not pre-planned
• It is indirect, incidental and spontaneous
• No specific agencies or institutions are there like schools to impart this type of education
• No formal ends or goals or objectives are there
• Takes place from the day to day activities, experiences and living in the family or community or even in the school and colleges incidentally either through informal interaction or by observation of various things.
• No prescribed time-table or curriculum is there
• No qualified or trained teachers are there
• No examinations or awarding of certificates take place
• Is provided by informal agencies such as home or family or community

Non Formal Education

A new concept which has developed recently after the publication of report of the international commission on the development of education, entitled Learning to be is the non-formal education. The commission feels that in-spite of vast financial resources being spent on education, vast majority of people do not get the desired education. They may find it difficult, due to their preoccupation in earning, to join formal education, to join formal educational institutions during specific working hours. The commission therefore suggests that alternative arrangements should be made for those who cannot attend formal institutions. For them we may have postal courses or correspondence courses. People desirous of learning should have an opportunity of studying privately in their leisure hours getting guidance through postal tuition, contact programs, vacation programs, summer institutes, broadcasting programs television programs, satellite instructional programs, teaching machines, programmed lessons and like. Open universities could be started with country wide enrolment of working class, who can study at leisure and appear at examination of the university. It falls within the formal and informal types of education. It is a flexible system. The characteristics are -

• It is intentional, incidental and given outside the formal system, i.e., school.
• It is consciously and deliberately planned, organized and systematically implemented.
• It is an open system of education without rigid rules, regulations and fixed stages or time schedule.
• It is a life-long process, integrated with life and work. It is life oriented and environment based.
• It is intended for all ages.
• It is programmed to serve the needs of identified groups of different categories If and when they need.
• It necessitates flexibility in designing the curriculum and the scheme of evaluation.
• Social or adult education, distance education are the examples of non-formal education.

FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION

• To complete the socialization process: the main social objective of education is to complete the socialization process. With the emergence of nuclear families, the role of school and other institutions in the socialization process has increased considerably. The school trains the child to develop honesty, consideration for other and ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Socialization process also enables the child to co-operate with others and to grow as a good citizen by respecting the laws framed by the society. Socialization is achieved through textbooks and learning experiences intended to develop social skills.
• To transmit the cultural heritage: all societies are proud to uphold or highlight their cultural heritage and ascertain that the culture is preserved and transmitted through social organization to future generation. All types of education and all agencies of education have to carry out the function of cultural transmission in an earnest way by teaching the elements of culture like literature, history, art, philosophy, etc…
• Formation of social personality: personality of individual members in a society shares some common features of the culture. Along with the process of transmitting culture, education also contributes to the formation of social personality. Formation of social personality helps man to adjust with his environment and flourish himself in co-operation with others.
• Reformation of attitude: in the developmental process, child may have incorporated some undesirable attitudes, beliefs and disbeliefs, localities, prejudices, jealousy, hatred, etc. It is the duty of the education to reform the undesirable attitudes and other negative aspects by means of removing the wrong beliefs, illogical prejudices and unreasoned localities from the child's mind. A collective effort by the school and home will bring out spectacular results in the matter of reforming attitudes.
• Education for occupational placement-an instrument of livelihood: Now a day, this is regarded as the first and foremost function of education by a large section of people. This function is related to the practical aim of education and receiving more attention due to the diversified needs of the society. Education should prepare students not only to foresee the future occupational position but also enable them to attain it in an impressive way. The relevance of this function is evident from the importance we are giving to vocational training.
• Conferring of status: it is understood that an individual's status in the society is determined by the amount and type or kind of education he has received. In the current situation, the kind of knowledge one is gaining is important than the amount. For example, a graduate nurse or a diploma nurse can flourish anywhere in the world compared to a person holding Ph.D in a traditional subject.
• Education encourages the spirit of competition: healthy competition is essential for the growth of a democratic society. Healthy competition can be manifested in the form of quality products and services. From the school level itself students should realize the need for engaging in healthy competition in order to lead a better life. Unfortunately, our present education system is fostering unhealthy competition.
• Education trains in skills that are required by the economy: economy and education always enjoy a bilateral relationship for example. The number of well-functioning hospitals is directly related to the number of qualified and competent nurses passing out from the nursing institutes. More patients will be admitted to a hospital which is providing quality nursing care. This will lead to more money transactions and ultimately results in the economical development of the nearby areas of the hospital.
• Foster participant democracy: in participant democracy, ordinary citizen is aware about his rights and duties and participates activity in the democratic process. Literacy is essential to nurture participant democracy and literature is the product of education. Thus, education fosters participant democracy.
• Education imparts values: education help the students to realize the role of values in leading a good life as a social being. Through various activities education imparts values such as co-operation, team spirit, obedience, etc.
• Education act as an integrative force: education act as an integrative force in society by communicating values that unite different sections of society. By and large students learn social skills from the educational institutions. In India, through education we are teaching the concept of 'unity in diversity' as a part of developing this integrative force.
• Values and orientation which are specific to certain professions are also provided by education: this function deals mainly with the professional education. For example, in nursing institutes, nursing students are educated in a particular way to meet the health needs of the society.

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