Fundamental Pedagogy Jana Doležalová

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Education as a Specific Human Activity 
Objectives 
After studying this chapter: 

You will be able to provide reasons why people need education. 

You will be able to analyse education with respect to its specifics. 
Terms to Remember (Key Words) 

education 

essence 
of 
education 
Introductory Questions and Assignments 
1. Think back to the time of your childhood and try to recollect who and 
when brought you up. Does education still continue in your life? Is it 
different from what you know from the past? If it is, in what respect? 
2. What does education mean? How would you briefly explain this 
phenomenon? Why do people need education? Write down your 
answers. 
3. Read Appendix 2: The Essence of Education. What is the author’s 
answer to question No. 2? Compare your answers. In what respect 
are they different or the same? 
4. Which idea in this text (The Essence of Education) has drawn your 
attention? What do you think of it? 
Education has accompanied humanity throughout its historical evolution 
since the ancient times and is part of everyone’s entire life. Education is a 
versatile phenomenon, depending on the changes of people’s conditions of 
life. When human intellectual abilities reached a certain degree during the 
initial stage of human development, the behaviour of people ceased to be 
governed just by instincts, and deliberate conduct and actions became more 
important. It was at this moment when people broke free from the animal 
kingdom. This is proven e.g. by education, meaning the care for offspring, 
as a targeted and anticipative activity. Education is a specifically human 

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activity provided by parents to their children. It is based on the stimulation 
of intentional positive changes to one’s personality (see Skalková, 2004, 
Holoušová, Grecmanová and Urbanovská, 1998 and others).
As human living conditions and requirements developed and 
modified, knowledge expanded and relationships in human society became 
more complex (in European conditions), it was necessary to involve other 
institutions into education besides family in order to provide more extensive 
and deeper education to young members of the society. 
Today it is especially apparent that people cannot do for their whole 
lives with what they learned in childhood and youth. The general social 
conditions of life are changing; science and technology are developing 
rapidly and are applied in practice. People thus have to adapt to the new 
conditions and educate themselves for their entire life.
Despite the amount and variability of knowledge and skills that we 
have to adapt, parents, teachers and the whole society still aim to educate 
children to permanent values protecting mankind from extinction (Kyrášek 
In Pařízek, 1996). People use various names for the intention. For instance, 
they want to bring their child up to be a ‘decent person’ or a ‘well-behaved 
person’. These words refer to values and valued qualities, such as morals, 
considerateness, selflessness, pro-social attitudes and strong emotional links 
to the family. The task is not simple now, amid globalisation of the world 
and crisis of values. Many people feel that they need these values in their 
lives. Without the desire and willingness to seek and strive for the human 
ideal, without the belief in universal values, their lives would not be happy 
or satisfied.
Even though societies differ in terms of geography, history, society, 
culture, religion and economy, and the overtly technological era and 
economy have a negative impact on human relationships and many values 
are doubted, universal values such as love, truth, family and goodness 
continue to lead mankind’s value rankings.
By educating their children, parents should give them something to 
rely on and a feeling of safety in their lives as well as emotional experience 
related to love that would assure them that they do matter. Parents also 
instil rules of behaviour in their children and build their value system (what 
is valuable, what to respect). Teachers develop the young generation’s 
knowledge, but address the children and youth also with requirements 
related to behaviour.
Not only individuals and small groups (parents, teachers and other 
educators, institutions) stipulate their requirements on the education and 
upbringing of the new generation. The whole society contributes to the 
process’ goals and quality significantly. The society has an indirect 

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(mediated) effect through economic, social and political conditions. These 
conditions influence (or determine) the human ideal. The approach to school 
systems, i.e. the objectives, content and resources for education and the 
structure of educational facilities, are adapted to suit the current conditions.
For many years since the beginning of history, the principles of how 
children should be brought up were passed from parents onto their children. 
Scholars were contemplating about education, its targets and ideals, but the 
ideas were not tested in practice. In the Middle Ages, education was 
strongly influenced by religious philosophy, by Christianity. Enlightenment 
brought new ideas about humans and the creation of the first theoretical 
systems focusing on educational systems. The thinking, however, still 
predominantly dealt with specific procedures. By the 19
th 
century, sufficient 
know-how about education was collected, allowing scholars to draw 
generalisations, use scientific terminology and form an independent 
discipline. The scientific discipline focusing on education and humans in 
educational situations was called pedagogy.
Each individual has his/her idea about education, upbringing and 
instruction, based primarily on the experience with education within family 
and at school. Pedagogy as a science is different, as it describes the 
phenomenon on the basis of scientific findings. It is based on the results of 
the verification of theories, hypotheses and empirical findings. (A separate 
chapter will later deal with pedagogy in detail).
The presented text offers the readers a general and complex view of 
education. It will also indicate answers to the following questions: What 
ideals should be pursued within education? Why is educating not an easy 
task? How does pedagogy, the science that deals with education, explain 
these and other questions? The text will also offer links to other sources of 
information for the readers to get a more detailed and deeper insight into 
the basic topics of education, upbringing and instruction.