Education | Definition, Development, History, Types, & Facts

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[{"p":68,"t":179408},{"p":6,"t":334034},{"p":1,"t":179562},{"p":2,"t":475107},{"p":2,"t":265464},{"p":1,"t":618254},{"p":1,"t":270081},{"p":1,"t":1516158},{"p":4,"t":481700},{"p":22,"t":1350805}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="179408"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/education">education</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/education">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref47438"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education#ref47438">Education in primitive and early civilized cultures</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47439"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education#ref47439">Prehistoric and primitive cultures</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47440"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations">Education in the earliest civilizations</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47441" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47441">The Old World civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47442"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47442">Egypt</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47443"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47443">Mesopotamia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47444"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47444">North China</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47445" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47445">The New World civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47446"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47446">The Maya</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47447"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47447">The Aztecs</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47448"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations#ref47448">The Incas</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47449"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-classical-cultures">Education in classical cultures</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47450"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-classical-cultures#ref47450">Ancient India</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47451"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-classical-cultures#ref47451">The Hindu tradition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47452"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-classical-cultures#ref47452">The introduction of Buddhist influences</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47453"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-classical-cultures#ref47453">Classical India</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47454"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia">Indian influences on Asia</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47455"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47455">Ancient China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47456" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47456">The Zhou period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47457"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47457">Xi (Western) Zhou (1046–771 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47458"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47458">Dong (Eastern) Zhou (770–256 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47459" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47459">The Qin–Han period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47460"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47460">Qin autocracy (221–206 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47461"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Indian-influences-on-Asia#ref47461">Scholarship under the Han (206 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>–220 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47462"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Introduction-of-Buddhism">Introduction of Buddhism</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47463"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Introduction-of-Buddhism#ref47463">Ancient Hebrews</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47464"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Introduction-of-Buddhism#ref47464">Ancient Greeks</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47465"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Introduction-of-Buddhism#ref47465">Origins</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47466"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Introduction-of-Buddhism#ref47466">Sparta</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47467" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Athens">Athens</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47468"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Athens#ref47468">Education of youth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47469"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Athens#ref47469">Higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47470" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Hellenistic-Age">The Hellenistic Age</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47471"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Hellenistic-Age#ref47471">The institutions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47472"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Hellenistic-Age#ref47472">Physical education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47473"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-primary-school">The primary school</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47474"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-primary-school#ref47474">Secondary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47475"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-primary-school#ref47475">Higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47476"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-primary-school#ref47476">Ancient Romans</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47477"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-primary-school#ref47477">Early Roman education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47478" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Roman-adoption-of-Hellenistic-education">Roman adoption of Hellenistic education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47479"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Roman-adoption-of-Hellenistic-education#ref47479">Roman modifications</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47480"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Roman-adoption-of-Hellenistic-education#ref47480">Education of youth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47481"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Roman-adoption-of-Hellenistic-education#ref47481">Higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47482"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-later-Roman-Empire">Education in the later Roman Empire</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47483"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-later-Roman-Empire#ref47483">Education in Persian, Byzantine, early Russian, and Islamic civilizations</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47484"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-later-Roman-Empire#ref47484">Ancient Persia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47485"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire">The Byzantine Empire</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47486" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire#ref47486">Stages of education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47487"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire#ref47487">Elementary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47488"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire#ref47488">Secondary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47489"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire#ref47489">Higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47490"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Byzantine-Empire#ref47490">Professional education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47491"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Early-Russian-education-Kiev-and-Muscovy">Early Russian education: Kiev and Muscovy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47492"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Early-Russian-education-Kiev-and-Muscovy#ref47492">The Islamic Era</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47493"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Early-Russian-education-Kiev-and-Muscovy#ref47493">Influences on Muslim education and culture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47494"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Aims-and-purposes-of-Muslim-education">Aims and purposes of Muslim education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47495"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Aims-and-purposes-of-Muslim-education#ref47495">Organization of education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47496"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Aims-and-purposes-of-Muslim-education#ref47496">Major periods of Muslim education and learning</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47497"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Aims-and-purposes-of-Muslim-education#ref47497">Influence of Islamic learning on the West</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47498"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Europe-in-the-Middle-Ages">Europe in the Middle Ages</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47499"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Europe-in-the-Middle-Ages#ref47499">The background of early Christian education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47500"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Europe-in-the-Middle-Ages#ref47500">From the beginnings to the 4th century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47501"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Europe-in-the-Middle-Ages#ref47501">From the 5th to the 8th century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47502"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Europe-in-the-Middle-Ages#ref47502">The Irish and English revivals</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47503"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath">The Carolingian renaissance and its aftermath</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47504"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47504">The cultural revival under Charlemagne and his successors</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47505"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47505">Influences of the Carolingian renaissance abroad</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47506"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47506">Education of the laity in the 9th and 10th centuries</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47507"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47507">The medieval renaissance</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47508" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47508">Changes in the schools and philosophies</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47509"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47509">Monastic schools</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47510"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47510">Urban schools</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47511"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Carolingian-renaissance-and-its-aftermath#ref47511">New curricula and philosophies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47512"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Thomist-philosophy">Thomist philosophy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47513" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Thomist-philosophy#ref47513">The development of the universities</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47514"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Thomist-philosophy#ref47514">The Italian universities</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47515"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Thomist-philosophy#ref47515">The French universities</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47516"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-English-universities">The English universities</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47517"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-English-universities#ref47517">Universities elsewhere in Europe</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47518"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-English-universities#ref47518">General characteristics of medieval universities</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47519"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Lay-education-and-the-lower-schools">Lay education and the lower schools</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47520"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Lay-education-and-the-lower-schools#ref47520">Education in Asian civilizations: <em>c.</em> 700 to the eve of Western influence</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47521"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Lay-education-and-the-lower-schools#ref47521">India</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47522"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Lay-education-and-the-lower-schools#ref47522">The foundations of Muslim education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47523"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mughal-period">The Mughal period</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47524"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mughal-period#ref47524">China</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47525"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mughal-period#ref47525">The Tang dynasty (618–907 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47526"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mughal-period#ref47526">The Song (960–1279)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47527"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368">The Mongol period (1206–1368)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47528"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47528">The Ming period (1368–1644)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47529"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47529">The Manchu period (1644–1911/12)</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47530"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47530">Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47531"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47531">The ancient period to the 12th century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47532" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47532">The feudal period (1192–1867)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47533"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Mongol-period-1206-1368#ref47533">Education of the warriors</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47534"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era">Education in the Tokugawa era</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47535"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era#ref47535">Effect of early Western contacts</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47536"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era#ref47536">European Renaissance and Reformation</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47537"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era#ref47537">The channels of development in Renaissance education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47538"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era#ref47538">The Muslim influence</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47539"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-Tokugawa-era#ref47539">The secular influence</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47540"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-humanistic-tradition-in-Italy">The humanistic tradition in Italy</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47541"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-humanistic-tradition-in-Italy#ref47541">Early influences</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47542"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-humanistic-tradition-in-Italy#ref47542">Emergence of the new gymnasium</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47543"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nonscholastic-traditions">Nonscholastic traditions</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47544"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nonscholastic-traditions#ref47544">The humanistic tradition of northern and western Europe</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47545"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nonscholastic-traditions#ref47545">Dutch humanism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47546"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nonscholastic-traditions#ref47546">Juan Luis Vives</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47547"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-early-English-humanists">The early English humanists</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47548"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-early-English-humanists#ref47548">Education in the Reformation and Counter-Reformation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47549"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Luther-and-the-German-Reformation">Luther and the German Reformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47550"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Luther-and-the-German-Reformation#ref47550">The English Reformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47551"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Luther-and-the-German-Reformation#ref47551">The French Reformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47552"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Calvinist-Reformation">The Calvinist Reformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47553"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Calvinist-Reformation#ref47553">The Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47554"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Calvinist-Reformation#ref47554">The legacy of the Reformation</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47555"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Calvinist-Reformation#ref47555">European education in the 17th and 18th centuries</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47556"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-Calvinist-Reformation#ref47556">The social and historical setting</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47557"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism">The new scientism and rationalism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47558"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47558">The Protestant demand for universal elementary education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47559"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47559">Education in 17th-century Europe</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47560" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47560">Central European theories and practices</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47561"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47561">The pedagogy of Ratke</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47562"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47562">The pedagogy of Comenius</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47563"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47563">The schools of Gotha</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47564" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-scientism-and-rationalism#ref47564">French theories and practices</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47565"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education">Courtly education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47566"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47566">The teaching congregations</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47567"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47567">Female education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47568" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47568">English theories and practices</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47569"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47569">The Puritan reformers</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47570"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47570">Royalist education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47571"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47571">The academies</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47572"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Courtly-education#ref47572">Education in 18th-century Europe</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47573" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-during-the-Enlightenment">Education during the Enlightenment</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47574"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-during-the-Enlightenment#ref47574">John Locke’s empiricism and education as conduct</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47575"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-during-the-Enlightenment#ref47575">Giambattista Vico, critic of Cartesianism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47576"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-during-the-Enlightenment#ref47576">The condition of the schools and universities</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47577" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-Pietism">The background and influence of Pietism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47578"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-Pietism#ref47578">August Hermann Francke</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47579"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-Pietism#ref47579">Johann Julius Hecker</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47580" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-naturalism">The background and influence of naturalism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47581"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-naturalism#ref47581">The Sensationists</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47582"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-naturalism#ref47582">The Rousseauists</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47583" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-naturalism#ref47583">The influence of nationalism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47584"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-background-and-influence-of-naturalism#ref47584">France</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47585"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/National-education-under-enlightened-rulers">National education under enlightened rulers</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47586"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/National-education-under-enlightened-rulers#ref47586">England</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47587"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/National-education-under-enlightened-rulers#ref47587">European offshoots in the New World</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47588"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/National-education-under-enlightened-rulers#ref47588">Spanish and Portuguese America</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47589"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/French-Quebec">French Québec</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47590" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/French-Quebec#ref47590">British America</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47591"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/French-Quebec#ref47591">New England</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47592"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-academies">The new academies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47593"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-academies#ref47593">The middle colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47594"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-academies#ref47594">The Southern colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47595"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-new-academies#ref47595">Newfoundland and the Maritime Provinces.</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47596"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century">Western education in the 19th century</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47597"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century#ref47597">The social and historical setting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47598"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century#ref47598">The early reform movement: the new educational philosophers</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47599" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century#ref47599">Pestalozzi</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47600"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century#ref47600">The pedagogy of Pestalozzi</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47601"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Western-education-in-the-19th-century#ref47601">The influence of Pestalozzi</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47602" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement">Froebel and the kindergarten movement</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47603"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47603">The pedagogy of Froebel</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47604"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47604">The kindergarten movement</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47605" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47605">Herbart</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47606"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47606">The psychology and pedagogy of Herbart</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47607"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47607">The Herbartians</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47608"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47608">Other German theorists</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47609"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Froebel-and-the-kindergarten-movement#ref47609">French theorists</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47610"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism">Spencer’s scientism</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47611"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47611">Development of national systems of education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47612" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47612">Germany</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47613"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47613">Humboldt’s reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47614"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47614">Developments after 1815</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47615"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47615">Girls’ schools</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47616"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47616">The new German universities</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47617" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Spencers-scientism#ref47617">France</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47618"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education">Development of state education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47619"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47619">Secondary education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47620" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47620">England</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47621"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47621">Elementary Education Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47622"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47622">Secondary and higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47623"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47623">Russia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47624" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Development-of-state-education#ref47624">The United States</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47625"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-educational-awakening">The educational awakening</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47626"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-educational-awakening#ref47626">Secondary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47627"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-educational-awakening#ref47627">Education for females</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47628"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-educational-awakening#ref47628">Higher education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47629" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-British-dominions">The British dominions</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47630"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-British-dominions#ref47630">Canada</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47631"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-British-dominions#ref47631">Australia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47632"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-British-dominions#ref47632">New Zealand</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47633"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-spread-of-Western-educational-practices-to-Asian-countries">The spread of Western educational practices to Asian countries</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47634" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-spread-of-Western-educational-practices-to-Asian-countries#ref47634">India</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47635"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-spread-of-Western-educational-practices-to-Asian-countries#ref47635">Education under the East India Company</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47636"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-spread-of-Western-educational-practices-to-Asian-countries#ref47636">Indian universities</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47637" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan">Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47638"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan#ref47638">The Meiji Restoration and the assimilation of Western civilization</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47639"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan#ref47639">Establishment of a national system of education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47640"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan#ref47640">The conservative reaction</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47641"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan#ref47641">Establishment of nationalistic education systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47642"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Japan#ref47642">Promotion of industrial education</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47643"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century">Education in the 20th century</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47644"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century#ref47644">Social and historical background</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47645"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century#ref47645">Major intellectual movements</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47646"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century#ref47646">Influence of psychology and other fields on education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47647"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century#ref47647">Traditional movements</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47648" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-the-20th-century#ref47648">New foundations</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47649"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Progressive-education">Progressive education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47650"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Progressive-education#ref47650">Child-centred education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47651"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Progressive-education#ref47651">Scientific-realist education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47652"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education">Social-reconstructionist education</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47653"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education#ref47653">Major trends and problems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47654"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education#ref47654">Western patterns of education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47655" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education#ref47655">The United Kingdom</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47656"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education#ref47656">Early 19th to early 20th century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47657"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-Act-of-1944">Education Act of 1944</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47658"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-Act-of-1944#ref47658">The comprehensive movement</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47659"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Further-education">Further education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47660" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Further-education#ref47660">Germany</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47661"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Further-education#ref47661">Imperial Germany</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47662"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Further-education#ref47662">Weimar Republic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47663"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nazi-Germany">Nazi Germany</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47664"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nazi-Germany#ref47664">Changes after World War II</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47665" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nazi-Germany#ref47665">France</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47666"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nazi-Germany#ref47666">The Third Republic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47667"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Nazi-Germany#ref47667">Changes after World War II</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47668" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries">Other European countries</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47669"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries#ref47669">Italy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47670"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries#ref47670">The Netherlands</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47671"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries#ref47671">Switzerland</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47672"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries#ref47672">Sweden</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47673" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Other-European-countries#ref47673">The United States</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47674"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Expansion-of-American-education">Expansion of American education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47675"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Expansion-of-American-education#ref47675">Curriculum reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47676"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Expansion-of-American-education#ref47676">Federal involvement in local education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47677"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Changes-in-higher-education">Changes in higher education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47678"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Changes-in-higher-education#ref47678">Professional organizations</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47679" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Changes-in-higher-education#ref47679">Canada</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47680"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Changes-in-higher-education#ref47680">Canadian educational reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47681"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-administration-of-public-education">The administration of public education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47682" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-administration-of-public-education#ref47682">Australia and New Zealand</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47683"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-administration-of-public-education#ref47683">Australia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref47684"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-administration-of-public-education#ref47684">New Zealand</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47685"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education">Revolutionary patterns of education</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47686"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47686">Russia: from tsarism to communism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47687"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47687">Before 1917</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47688"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47688">1917–30</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47689"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47689">The Stalinist years, 1931–53</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47690"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47690">The Khrushchev reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47691"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education#ref47691">From Brezhnev to Gorbachev</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47692"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Perestroika-and-education">Perestroika and education</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47693"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Perestroika-and-education#ref47693">China: from Confucianism to communism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47694"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Perestroika-and-education#ref47694">The modernization movement</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47695"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Perestroika-and-education#ref47695">Education in the republic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47696"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Perestroika-and-education#ref47696">Education under the Nationalist government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47697"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-under-communism">Education under communism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47698"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-under-communism#ref47698">Post-Mao education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47699"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-under-communism#ref47699">Communism and the intellectuals</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref47700"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Patterns-of-education-in-non-Western-or-developing-countries">Patterns of education in non-Western or developing countries</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47701"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Patterns-of-education-in-non-Western-or-developing-countries#ref47701">Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47702"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Patterns-of-education-in-non-Western-or-developing-countries#ref47702">Education at the beginning of the century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47703"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Patterns-of-education-in-non-Western-or-developing-countries#ref47703">Education to 1940</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47704"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Patterns-of-education-in-non-Western-or-developing-countries#ref47704">Education changes during World War II</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47705"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-after-World-War-II">Education after World War II</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47706"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-after-World-War-II#ref47706">South Asia</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47707"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-after-World-War-II#ref47707">Pre-independence period</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47708"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India">The postindependence period in India</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47709"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47709">The postindependence period in Pakistan</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47710"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47710">The postindependence period in Bangladesh</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47711"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47711">The postindependence period in Sri Lanka</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47712"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47712">Africa</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47713"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47713">Ethiopia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47714"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/The-postindependence-period-in-India#ref47714">Liberia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47715"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/South-Africa">South Africa</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47716"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/South-Africa#ref47716">General influences and policies of the colonial powers</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47717"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/South-Africa#ref47717">Education in Portuguese colonies and former colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47718"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/South-Africa#ref47718">German educational policy in Africa</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47719"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-British-colonies-and-former-colonies">Education in British colonies and former colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47720"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-British-colonies-and-former-colonies#ref47720">Education in French colonies and former colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47721"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-Belgian-colonies-and-former-colonies">Education in Belgian colonies and former colonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47722"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-Belgian-colonies-and-former-colonies#ref47722">Problems and tasks of African education in the late 20th century</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47723"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-in-Belgian-colonies-and-former-colonies#ref47723">The Middle East</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47724"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Colonialism-and-its-consequences">Colonialism and its consequences</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47725"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Colonialism-and-its-consequences#ref47725">The second half of the 20th century</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47726"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Colonialism-and-its-consequences#ref47726">The Islamic revival</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47727"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain">Migration and the brain drain</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47728"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47728">Latin America</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47729"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47729">The heritage of independence</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47730"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47730">Administration</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47731"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47731">Primary education and literacy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47732"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47732">Secondary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47733"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Migration-and-the-brain-drain#ref47733">Higher education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47734"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends">Reform trends</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref47735"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47735">Southeast Asia</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47736"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47736">Myanmar</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47737"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47737">Malaysia and Singapore</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47738"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47738">Indonesia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47739"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47739">Philippines</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47740"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47740">Thailand</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47741"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47741">Cambodia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47742"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47742">Laos</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref47743"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Reform-trends#ref47743">Vietnam</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref281675"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education">Global trends in education</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref281676"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education#ref281676">The development and growth of national education systems</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281677"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education#ref281677">Education and social cohesion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281678"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education#ref281678">Education and social conflict</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281679"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education#ref281679">Education and personal growth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281680"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Global-trends-in-education#ref281680">Education and civil society</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281681"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development">Education and economic development</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref281682"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development#ref281682">Global enrollment trends since the mid-20th century</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281683"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development#ref281683">Primary-level school enrollments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281684"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development#ref281684">Secondary-level school enrollments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281685"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development#ref281685">Tertiary-level school enrollments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281686"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Education-and-economic-development#ref281686">Other developments in formal education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281687"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Literacy-as-a-measure-of-success">Literacy as a measure of success</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref281688"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Literacy-as-a-measure-of-success#ref281688">Global commitments to education and equality of opportunity</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281689"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Literacy-as-a-measure-of-success#ref281689">Access to education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281690"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/education/Literacy-as-a-measure-of-success#ref281690">Implications for socioeconomic status</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref281691"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" 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Author of <i>Nacionalismo y educación en México.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Josefina Zoraida Vázquez</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Theodore-Hsi-en-Chen/536" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Theodore Hsi-en Chen</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Professor of Education and Asian Studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1938–74. Author of <i>The Maoist Educational Revolution.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Theodore Hsi-en Chen</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-18T00:00:00CST" >Feb 18, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Mamie-Till-Mobley" topicid="2216178">Mamie Till-Mobley</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Jill-Biden" topicid="1481681">Jill Biden</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Bob-Jones-Sr" topicid="2253516">Bob Jones, Sr.</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Joseph-Acaba" topicid="2245783">Joseph Acaba</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Paula-Fox" topicid="1385968">Paula Fox</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/teaching" topicid="585183">teaching</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/medical-education" topicid="372218">medical education</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/distance-learning" topicid="1482174">distance learning</a></dd> <dd><a href="/money/cost-of-attendance" topicid="2235070">cost of attendance (COA)</a></dd> <dd><a href="/money/expected-family-contribution" topicid="2235067">expected family contribution (EFC)</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/education"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What does education mean?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Education refers to the discipline that is concerned with methods of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/teaching\">teaching<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/learning\">learning<\/a> in schools or school-like environments, as opposed to various nonformal and informal means of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/socialization\">socialization<\/a>. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What was education like in ancient Athens?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Beginning approximately at the end of the 7th or during the 6th century, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Athens\">Athens<\/a> became the first city-state in ancient Greece to renounce education that was oriented toward the future duties of soldiers. The evolution of Athenian education reflected that of the city itself, which was moving toward increasing democratization. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How does social class affect education attainment?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Research has found that education is the strongest determinant of individuals\u2019 occupational status and chances of success in adult life. However, the correlation between family socioeconomic status and school success or failure appears to have increased worldwide. Long-term trends suggest that as societies industrialize and modernize, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/social-class\">social class<\/a> becomes increasingly important in determining educational outcomes and occupational attainment. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>When did education become compulsory?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "While education is not compulsory in practice everywhere in the world, the right of individuals to an educational program that respects their personality, talents, abilities, and cultural heritage has been upheld in various international agreements, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights\">Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/a> of 1948; the Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What are alternative forms of education?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Alternative forms of education have developed since the late 20th century, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/distance-learning\">distance learning<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/homeschooling\">homeschooling<\/a>, and many parallel or supplementary systems of education often designated as \u201Cnonformal\u201D and \u201Cpopular.\u201D Religious institutions also instruct the young and old alike in sacred knowledge as well as in the values and skills required for participation in local, national, and transnational societies." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What does education mean?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Education refers to the discipline that is concerned with methods of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/teaching" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">teaching</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/learning" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">learning</a> in schools or school-like environments, as opposed to various nonformal and informal means of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/socialization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">socialization</a>. </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What was education like in ancient Athens?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Beginning approximately at the end of the 7th or during the 6th century, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Athens</a> became the first city-state in ancient Greece to renounce education that was oriented toward the future duties of soldiers. The evolution of Athenian education reflected that of the city itself, which was moving toward increasing democratization. </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How does social class affect education attainment?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Research has found that education is the strongest determinant of individuals’ occupational status and chances of success in adult life. However, the correlation between family socioeconomic status and school success or failure appears to have increased worldwide. Long-term trends suggest that as societies industrialize and modernize, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-class" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">social class</a> becomes increasingly important in determining educational outcomes and occupational attainment. </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>When did education become compulsory?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>While education is not compulsory in practice everywhere in the world, the right of individuals to an educational program that respects their personality, talents, abilities, and cultural heritage has been upheld in various international agreements, including the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> of 1948; the Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="5"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What are alternative forms of education?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Alternative forms of education have developed since the late 20th century, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/distance-learning" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">distance learning</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/homeschooling" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">homeschooling</a>, and many parallel or supplementary systems of education often designated as “nonformal” and “popular.” Religious institutions also instruct the young and old alike in sacred knowledge as well as in the values and skills required for participation in local, national, and transnational societies.</p></div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/porn-found-on-social-media-disguised-as-educational-content-parents-role-key-to-protect-kids" rel="nofollow">Porn on social media disguised as educational content; parents’ role key in protecting kids: Experts</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 9, 2025, 12:55 AM ET (Straits Times) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elon-musk-doge-team-education-department-rcna191244" rel="nofollow">Elon Musk’s DOGE team takes over the Education Department</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Feb. 8, 2025, 6:53 AM ET (NBC) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref88913"></span>education</strong>, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="discipline" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline" data-type="MW">discipline</a> that is concerned with methods of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/teaching" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">teaching</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/learning" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">learning</a> in schools or school-like <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="environments" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environments" data-type="MW">environments</a> as opposed to various nonformal and informal means of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/socialization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">socialization</a> (e.g., rural development projects and education through parent-child relationships).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Education-The-Great-Equalizer-2119678" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">(Read Arne Duncan’s Britannica essay on “Education: The Great Equalizer.”)</a></em></p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In this sense, it is equivalent to what social scientists term <span id="ref88914"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/socialization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">socialization</a> or enculturation. Children—whether conceived among <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Guinea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New Guinea</a> tribespeople, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Renaissance</a> Florentines, or the middle classes of Manhattan—are born without <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/culture" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">culture</a>. Education is designed to guide them in learning a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a>, molding their behaviour in the ways of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/adulthood" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">adulthood</a>, and directing them toward their eventual role in society. In the most primitive <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultures" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultures" data-type="MW">cultures</a>, there is often little formal learning—little of what one would ordinarily call school or classes or <span id="ref88915"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/teaching" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">teachers</a>. Instead, the entire <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="environment" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environment" data-type="MW">environment</a> and all activities are frequently viewed as school and classes, and many or all adults act as teachers. As societies grow more complex, however, the quantity of knowledge to be passed on from one generation to the next becomes more than any one person can know, and, hence, there must evolve more selective and efficient means of cultural transmission. The outcome is formal education—the school and the specialist called the teacher.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">As society becomes ever more complex and schools become ever more institutionalized, educational experience becomes less directly related to daily life, less a matter of showing and learning in the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="context" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context" data-type="MW">context</a> of the workaday world, and more abstracted from practice, more a matter of distilling, telling, and learning things out of context. This concentration of learning in a formal atmosphere allows children to learn far more of their culture than they are able to do by merely observing and imitating. As society gradually attaches more and more importance to education, it also tries to formulate the overall objectives, content, organization, and strategies of education. Literature becomes laden with advice on the rearing of the younger generation. In short, there develop philosophies and theories of education.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">This article discusses the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">history</a> of education, tracing the evolution of the formal teaching of knowledge and skills from prehistoric and ancient times to the present, and considering the various philosophies that have inspired the resulting systems. Other aspects of education are treated in a number of articles. For a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="treatment" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/treatment" data-type="EB">treatment</a> of education as a discipline, including educational organization, teaching methods, and the functions and training of teachers, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/teaching" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">teaching</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/pedagogy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pedagogy</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/teacher-education" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">teacher education</a>. For a description of education in various specialized fields, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/historiography" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">historiography</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/legal-education" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">legal education</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/medical-education" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">medical education</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/history-of-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">science, history of</a>. For an analysis of educational <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">philosophy</a>, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy-of-education" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">education, philosophy of</a>. For an examination of some of the more important aids in education and the dissemination of knowledge, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/dictionary" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">dictionary</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/encyclopaedia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">encyclopaedia</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/library" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">library</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/museum-cultural-institution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">museum</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/printing-publishing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">printing</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/publishing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">publishing, history of</a>. Some restrictions on educational freedom are discussed in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/censorship" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">censorship</a>. For an analysis of pupil attributes, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/human-intelligence-psychology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">intelligence, human</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/learning-theory" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">learning theory</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/psychological-testing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">psychological testing</a>.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref47438"> <h2 class="h1">Education in primitive and early civilized cultures</h2> <section data-level="2" id="ref47439"> <h2 class="h2">Prehistoric and <span id="ref88916"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/primitive-culture" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">primitive cultures</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The term <em>education</em> can be applied to primitive cultures only in the sense of <span id="ref88917"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/enculturation" class="md-crosslink ">enculturation</a>, which is the process of cultural transmission. A primitive person, whose culture is the totality of his universe, has a relatively fixed sense of cultural <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="continuity" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/continuity" data-type="MW">continuity</a> and timelessness. The model of life is relatively static and absolute, and it is transmitted from one generation to another with little deviation. As for prehistoric education, it can only be inferred from educational practices in surviving primitive cultures.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The purpose of primitive education is thus to guide children to becoming good members of their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/tribe-anthropology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tribe</a> or band. There is a marked emphasis upon training for <span id="ref88918"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/citizenship" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">citizenship</a>, because primitive people are highly concerned with the growth of individuals as tribal members and the thorough comprehension of their way of life during passage from prepuberty to postpuberty.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="39338" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/46767-004-3258AD5A/Margaret-Mead.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/179408/39338"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/46767-004-3258AD5A/Margaret-Mead.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/46767-004-3258AD5A/Margaret-Mead.jpg?w=300" alt="Margaret Mead" data-width="402" data-height="450" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/46767-004-3258AD5A/Margaret-Mead.jpg" data-href="/media/1/179408/39338">Margaret Mead</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Because of the variety in the countless thousands of primitive cultures, it is difficult to describe any standard and uniform characteristics of prepuberty education. Nevertheless, certain things are practiced commonly within cultures. Children actually participate in the social processes of adult activities, and their participatory learning is based upon what the American anthropologist <span id="ref88919"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Mead" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Margaret Mead</a> called <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="empathy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy" data-type="MW">empathy</a>, identification, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/imitation-behavior" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">imitation</a>. Primitive children, before reaching puberty, learn by doing and observing basic technical practices. Their teachers are not strangers but rather their immediate <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In contrast to the spontaneous and rather unregulated imitations in prepuberty education, postpuberty education in some cultures is strictly standardized and regulated. The teaching personnel may consist of fully initiated men, often unknown to the initiate though they are his relatives in other clans. The <span id="ref88920"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/initiation-rite" class="md-crosslink ">initiation</a> may begin with the initiate being abruptly separated from his familial group and sent to a secluded camp where he joins other initiates. The purpose of this separation is to deflect the initiate’s deep attachment away from his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/family-kinship" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">family</a> and to establish his emotional and social anchorage in the wider web of his culture.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The initiation “curriculum” does not usually include practical subjects. Instead, it consists of a whole set of cultural values, tribal religion, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="myths" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myths" data-type="MW">myths</a>, philosophy, history, rituals, and other knowledge. Primitive people in some cultures regard the body of knowledge <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituting" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituting" data-type="MW">constituting</a> the initiation curriculum as most essential to their tribal membership. 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Education | Definition, Development, History, Types, & Facts | Britannica