RELEVANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BYEBUTA, ERASMUS EYANGSCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CROSS RIVER STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATIONAWI-AKAMKPA

08139266787EMAIL: ebutaerasmus@gmail.com

ABSTRACTThis paper “Relevance of Philosophy of Education to National Development” central's focus is the contribution of this discipline, this component of education – philosophy of education to a country's national development. To achieve this feat, it explicates concepts such as education, philosophy of education and development. It posits in its conclusion that, a sound philosophy of education contributes immensely to a country's national development.

KEY TERMS: PHILOSOPHY, EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONALDEVELOPMENT

IntroductionThere is a growing interest in philosophy of education amongst students of philosophy as well as among those who are more specifically and practically concerned with educational problems in Nigeria. Philosophers, of course, from the time of Plato onwards have taken interest in education and have dealt with education in the context of wider concern about knowledge and the good life. But it is only quite recently in this country that philosophy of education has come to be conceived of as a specific branch of philosophy like philosophy of science, law, religion, political philosophy and so on.A close study of philosophers' theories on education have contributed to our curriculum formulation and implementation, especially their teaching methods, which in turn have contributed to national development by dwelling more on its relevance as a component of education in its synoptic role of how different parts of the educational system hang together: For it act as a synthesizer.

Meaning of Education

The word 'education' is essentially a contested concept due to the fact that it marks out features of life that are deemed desirable. In other words, the concept education does not have one standard usage that can be taken as a model of correctness, acceptability and universality. Different groups or scholars compete endlessly for their particular interpretation which is merely 'persuasive'. To all intent and purpose, selected conditions are linked with a recommending type of word which is given as a stamp of approval. The concept education is used valuatively but vaguely with lack of precision regarding its area of application. All that

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need to be done, therefore, is to pick out certain criteria that seem central to one's understanding of the concept education.The concept education at one time was more or less synonymous with the learning which involve upbringing. However, when the concept is used to denote upbringing or schooling of children in a non committal way, it is used with more specific suggestions. One can say that a person has been to school but is not educated or that his upbringing was not particularly educative.

Accordingly, Fafunwa (1974) views education "as the aggregate of all the processes in which a child or young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behavior which are of positive values to the society in which he lives".

In this paper, the process of education, the characteristics of the activities, and what criteria could be formulated to guide such activities and make them educational will be the stand point of, what ^education is. Thus, the classical meaning of education given by R.S. Peters (1964) is both normative and epistemological. According to him "Education implies the transmission of what is worthwhile to those who become committed to it. What the author implies here is that it should have morally acceptable criteria. Peters elaborates on the definition of education by stating thus; "it involves the possession of know-how or know-that, or knack, some body of knowledge and some kind of conceptual scheme as well as some understanding of principles for the understanding of facts”

This classical meaning of education above at-test to its achievement status of which schooling is not. Instead, education carries with it the notion of achievement "a man who is educated is a man who has succeeded in relation to certain tasks in which he and his teacher have been engaged for a considerable period of time.

The conclusion of the meaning of education hinges on education as knowledge and understanding, such that the knowledge is not inert in that it characterizes a person's way of looking at things and he is committed to the positive use of that knowledge.

Conceptions of Philosophy of EducationThe term "philosophy of education is both vague and ambiguous, vague in the sense that it has no clear-cut or precise boundaries of correct usage, and ambiguous in the sense that it lacks univocality. The term philosophy of education according to Scheffler, (1965) is currently employed to mean practically anything from "a well-articulated metaphysics of knowledge to the vaguest expression of attitude towards, the public school system". Akinpelu (2005) conceives philosophy of education as "some policies of education either consciously or unconsciously formulated and pursued". In other words, it is based on some theoretical and general conceptual basis after current educational practice.

In sharp contrast to the above is the idea which views philosophy of education as essentially a projection of the social economic, political and cultural life of the community to education. That is, it is a policy consciously formulated after taking into consideration the ideal society that we would prefer to have. According to this conception, the educational system is to all intents and purposes, an instrument, a means, for achieving our ideals and aspirations,

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Akinpelu (2005) remarks that pressed to its logical conclusion, the implication is that education has no value in and of itself except in so far as it is able to accomplish those aims and objectives of the individual and the society. O'Corner (1975) explained philosophy of education as "a profession of practical activity". Philosophy of education in this sense is a synoptic view of how the different parts of education system hang together. That is how the different stages of the school system are synchronized and structured so as to avoid overlapping, repetition and wastages. This approach to philosophy building involves constant examination of the purposes of education, given our current knowledge about the nature of the child and about the nature of the society for which, the child is being educated.

John Dewey (1944) however explains that philosophy and philosophy of education are obverse and reverse of the same coin and hence his cryptic statement that, philosophy is a general theory of education. Thus this view sees philosophy of education as a study of educational theories such as Idealism, Realism, Naturalism, pragmatism, existentialism, perenialism, and so on as spun out by professional philosophers, psychologists and educators. This study of philosophy of education as a course will be incomplete if the views of some philosophers about education are not considered. For instance, philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, St Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Kant Nietzsche, whitehead, Dewey, Betrand Russell .Their theories are often times an extension of their brands of philosophy. There are of course the educationists and psychologists whose works on education have become classics Pestalozzi, Herbart, Froebel, Spencer, Freud, Montesorri, Piaget and so on. A casual glance at what goes on in many departments of education reveals that this is what generally passes for philosophy of education or sometimes called history of educational ideas.

Hrist (1974) remarks that, to call philosophy of education a specific branch of education is not, however, to suggest that, it is a distinct branch in the sense that it could exist a part from established branches of philosophy such as epistemology, ethics and philosophy of mind. He remarked that; "it would be more appropriate to conceive of it as drawing on established branches of philosophy and bringing them together in ways which are relevant to educational issues". Now if our well meaning critic should demand from us a philosophy of education, and should at the same time clamour for the exercise of philosophy of education course from our curriculum, it could be apparent that he is at least the victim of some conceptual confusion, for which he needs the help of philosophy, or at worst, the victim of a delusion. What goes on in the philosophy of education course is minimally an indispensable prolegomenon to the actual formulation of a philosophy of education.

DevelopmentDevelopment is a multi-dimensional concept which involves physical and mental

aspects of human existence, Akinkuotu (2010) remarks that, "various disciplines seem to see the term development from different perspective". The economists view development in terms of economic growth, as seen in the production of goods and services as well as its distribution, the sociologist perceives development as a better integration among the diverse ethnic groups while the political scientist sees it in relation to a rise in populace.A classical explanation or meaning of development is that given by Rodney (2005) from two levels, the individual level and the social group level. At the individual level, development

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implies increase skills and capacity, greater freedom in creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well-being, while at the level of social groups, development implies an increasing capacity to regulate both internal and external relationship. Babarinde and Farayola (2005) view development as "involving increase in the quality and quantity of life of a people. It includes gradual removal of poverty, unemployment, social inequality, bad leadership, monopolization of opinion by the government and the negative practice which have unfortunately become major characteristics for our country today". This view presents development as being both qualitative and quantitative.

Similarly, Ogundowole (2004) describes development as self realization which implies the use of the resources of geospheres, imagination and unprecedented ingenuity to achieve overall societal objectives. It entails the increasing expansion of what a purposeful self reliant mind, poised at full self-realization and recovery can do with simple objects of his immediate geographical and historical environment. He further concludes his meaning of development in the following words:

Development is not much a matter of what we have, but of what we do with what we have; how we do it and how well development, thus is the desire and ability to use what is available to continuously improve the quality of life, liberate people from hazardous poorer and influence of natural geographical, socio-historical and world environment

Development for the author is a thing that cannot be borrowed or received as a gift from others in a readymade form. It has to be evolved in the process of the interaction with the environment, it has to be encouraged, nurtured and strengthened in oneself. Development therefore begins with the desire to improve our lot through our own efforts.

Akinkuotu (2010) opines that, "it might be inadequate to see development purely as an economic affair" the author went further to stress that, rather it should be viewed as an overall social process which is dependent upon the outcome of man's effort to manipulate his natural environment. Development could be described in general terms as improvements in living conditions, for which economic growth and industrialization are essential. While National Development here refers to the sum total of the results of the functional relationship between manual and intellectual labour of a nation in the struggle for self-sustenance. It involves everything that is done within a nation with a view to uplifting standard of men and materials.

Philosophy of Education and National DevelopmentPhilosophy of education can, and does influence national development of the Nigerian

society in at least two ways as identified by Osita (2009) and Kalusi (2010) as follows:

- In the formulation of ideals of the national objectives

- By persistently clarifying and accumulating strategies on the implementation o f the national objectives.

The Nigerian national policy on education (NPE 2004) section I (13) outlines five national goals of Nigeria, endorsed as the necessary foundation for the Nigerian Educational policy. These national goals summarized the world-view which education should follow as:

- A free and democratic society

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- A just and egalitarian society- A united, strong and self-reliant nation- A great and dynamic economy- A land full of bright opportunities for all citizens

Kalusi (2010) remarked that "as national goals the nation should aspire vigorously to attain these ideas". As a guide, these ideas norms and values ought to define our conception of the knowledge of social realities and valuable social institutions. Accordingly, Osita (2009), said that, "national development is evaluated on the basis of how well we approximate the attainment of our national objective. "Thus for philosophy of education to be in harmony with Nigeria's national goals, education has to be geared towards "self realization, better human relationship, individual and national efficiency, effective citizenship, national consciousness, national unity as well as towards, social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and technological progress.

Philosophy of education gives us a broad based approach to the understanding of educational issues and problems. As prerequisite for the pursuit of Nigeria's national goals, the quality of instruction at all levels should be oriented towards inculcating the following values;

- Respect for the worth and- Dignity of the individual- Faith in man's ability to make rational decisions- Moral and spiritual principle in interpersonal and human relations- Shared responsibility for the common good of society- Promotion of the physical, emotional and psychological development of all

children and- Acquisition of competencies necessary for self reliance.

Education exposes us to the barrage of divergent opinions about issues but philosophy of education teaches us to maintain open and critical minds in the midst of diversity of ideas. Philosophy of education makes it possible for education to be channeled towards the realization of national goals as a result of the thinking through activities. The attainment of such goals and objectives translates to national development.

Philosophy of education plays a synoptic role of how different parts of the educational system hang together. It act as a synthesizer and so he is a generalist who co-ordinates the different realms of knowledge, survey the relative importance of the different field, weighs and adjudicates their claims and finally tries to produce a synthesis. Similarly, Osita (2009) opines that, "philosophy of education serving as a compass to general theory of education, facilitates the realization of the motion of progress to which the national ideology is committed". It provides us the opportunity of seeing more clearly what is obtained in the field of education. In doing this education provides the necessary guide towards the attainment of the desired national goals and objectives. Philosophy of education provides us with a potent tool to confront reality by employing logical rigour and criticism in diffusing knowledge claims from the pool of opinions thus using the analytic approach, concepts and theories of development, are given the necessary clarifications to enable policy implementation to be economical, accurate, coherent and systematic. By clarifying and justifying educational statements and

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arguments, philosophy of education contributes to a crucial aspect of national development.

Philosophy of education in its contribution to national development endeavours to ensure that education for national development is not only mass oriented but also individual oriented. It tries to bridge the gap between the nation's man-power needs and its actual manpower demands. Therefore, an educational system must not lose the reflective ability to see itself clearly. Philosophy of education must be able to rationalize methods aimed at deploying available educated manpower in ways conducive to national development.

ConclusionBeing in a critical era of transition, we need to philosophically study education. Change is occurring at a very accelerated pace, especially as we are in the new age a post modern era. Philosophers of education regardless of their particular theory suggest that solutions to problems of development can be achieved best through critical and reflective approach. Philosophy of education becomes relevant only when educators and policy makers recognize the need to think clearly about what is required of a society to progress. Man and education are central elements of development, if philosophy of education is to be relevant to development of any form.

A sound philosophy of education would provide for a careful interaction between education and the economy. As a synthesizer philosophy of education should coordinates the different realms of knowledge for development. In other words its umpire role in the education industry should accelerate national development.

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Akinpelu, J.A. (2005). Essays in philosophy and education, Ibadan, sterling-Horden publishers Nig. Ltd. P.120

Babarinde, K. and Farayola, J.A. (2005) “Kantian moral test for deregulating education on developing societies” Nigerian Journal of educational philosophy Vol.12(1)2.

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