Confucius: Contributions to education

Introduction

As the new millennium there is growing concern on whether the

education we are offering our younger generation is adequately preparing them

to face the new era. There are good reasons for educators to be concerned, since

the present time has every sign of failure in our education. In seeking

breakthrough and possible solutions for to turn to old cultural values to see

whether they would throw light on some of the problems we are facing.

Eminent teacher, philosopher and political theorist, and founder of its

feudal system of education, Confucius (551-479 BC), is one of Ancient China’s

most famous figures, a man whose practical experience and deep thinking on the

subject have left their mark on educational development in his own country and

elsewhere. Revered in antiquity as the ‘Supreme Sage’ and the ‘Model for Ten

Thousand Generations’, Confucius now enjoys universal acclaim; his remarkable

and lasting contribution to teaching and education has ensured him a place in

history, as well as in culture, in China and beyond. The influence of his pedagogy

remains perceptible today. Recent years have seen a renewal of interest in

Confucius, as scholars ask themselves whether his ideas have withstood the test

of time.

Confucius took lifelong delight in learning as well as teaching, and lived

to see his reputation as an accomplished polymath spread far and wide. Before

his time, under the Zhou Dynasty, schooling took place within government offices

and was dispensed by public officials. General education, the prerogative of the

nobility, was denied to the common people, and there was no such thing as a full-

time teaching profession. Young aristocrats received a civil and military education

based on the ‘six arts’: rites, music, archery, chariot driving, calligraphy and

mathematics. The end of the so-called Spring and Autumn Period, with which

Confucius’ life coincided, was marked by violent upheavals as Chinese society

based on slave-ownership was transformed into a feudal society; the political and

economic underpinning of ‘education for and by the administration’ was

collapsing and culture was acquiring a more popular base. In breaking the

aristocratic monopoly of learning and setting up a private academy that was

accessible to rich and poor alike, Confucius was moving with his times. ‘My

teaching’, he declared, ‘is open to everyone, without distinction.’ He was in his

30s when he first accepted disciples; he took in 3,000 in all, seventy-two of whom

progressed to complete mastery of the ‘six arts’.

His views on education

In the course of this half century, Confucius, not content to give

excellent training to a large number of students, constantly distilled his own

teaching experience, thus developing his own educational doctrine. The teacher’s

first task is to identify his audience. In this connection, Confucius stated that his

lessons were destined for all men, without exception (Analects, Wei Ling gong).

His pupils came from the lowest as well as the highest levels of society, and access

to education was thereby broadened considerably. Opening the doors of learning

more widely, he hastened the development of general education in Ancient

China, thus contributing both to political reform and to the dissemination of

culture.

At the same time he helped to reveal the humanist character of

Confucian teaching, which was to have an unquestionable influence on the

private schools and academies of feudal society. This approach also helped to

create the conditions whereby the emergent land-owner class could accede to

the authority conferred by learning and produce talented men from its midst.

Confucius's Educational Theory

According to my view in the course of his lengthy career as a teacher,

Confucius steadily put together a system of principles which had a distinctly

materialistic slant. Many of them correspond to the general laws of pedagogic.

His essential concerns were: to provide students with an education that matched

their aptitudes; to inspire and guide them; to lead them by stages; to instruct

oneself while teaching others; to explain the present in the light of the past; to

devote oneself conscientiously to study and to take delight in it; to combine

theory with practice and applied study with abstract meditation; to ensure that

personal behavior was in conformity with the principles examined; to encourage

independent thought; to take account of the age of the learners; to practice self-

control and self-analysis; to set a good example; to correct one’s errors and

improve oneself; to curb evil and exalt the good; to welcome criticism; to accept

correction; to forget past affronts, etc. For Confucius, all these principles were the

product of a profound intuition frequently confirmed by practice.

Idea about “Teachers”

Confucius had a great deal to say on this subject. Considered to be a

remarkable teacher himself, he was revered throughout feudal society and served

as a model for countless generations of his successors.

He believed that a good teacher should first and foremost be

passionately and conscientiously committed to his work. His own knowledge must

be broad in scope and fully mastered if his pupil was to benefit from exposure to

it. Confucius further believed that in order to elicit good results, the teacher must

love his pupils, know them well, understand their psychological particularities,

give thought to ways and means of facilitating their access to knowledge and, to

that end, develop an effective methodology. The hallmark of a teacher’s virtue, in

Confucius’ eyes, was tireless commitment through his lessons to his pupils’

development. He must also possess firm political convictions; show modesty and

discretion.

According to my idea Confucius was not unduly concerned with the

links between education and economics, but he nevertheless maintained that

prosperity should take precedence over education. An educated, vigorous and

prosperous population was, to his mind, the sign of sound administration; in

other words, not only was education important, but its development must be

materially based on development of the economy. A State can be well

administered only if its population is in good heart and if its prosperity permits

steadily increasing access to education. This concept of educational economics

reflects an embryonic materialism.

In this domain, Confucius, wittingly or unwittingly, applied some of the

basic tenets of psychology to the solution of concrete problems with which he

was confronted, and he formulated a number of observations in the domains of

what we now refer to as differential psychology, learning psychology, moral

psychology and teaching psychology. As regards the educational process itself, his

remarks concerning the differences between his disciples— differences of

intelligence, aptitude, character, aspiration, interest and taste—reflected an

attentive attitude that led him to put forward a number of pedagogical principles

concerning, for example, adapting teaching to the aptitudes of the pupil and the

effectiveness of clarifying and encouraging pupils’ questions.

But Confucius’ thought on educational matters was not confined to

these domains, and scholars who have recently examined other aspects of his

thinking, notably in the fields of philosophy and sociology, consider that they

deserve attention, especially for their rational qualities.

Conclusion

From the perspective of pedagogy, Confucius/Confucian Analects

conveys sophisticated logic and integrated system of education philosophy, which

is based on the theory of humanism. Confucius promotes the awareness of

"provide education of all" and firmly holds the view of "equal schooling right",

which fully represent his theory of "education receiver". His education system

abounds in the humanity-oriented teaching content consisting of "six

classics"、"performance", "faithfulness" and "truthfulness", etc. The

methodology of Confucius' education system carries on the skillful teaching art,

such as, teaching students in accordance of their aptitude combination of learning

and reflection and highlight on enlightening and practicing personally."Learning

and teaching with tireless zeal"—the belief of pursuing the lofty realm of teaching

perfectly interprets Confucius' view of teacher's ethics.

It will be seen from the foregoing that Confucius had elaborated a

conceptual framework that was in keeping with the interests of the land-owning

class in the China of his day, and he began to put his ideas into practice. His

pioneering work, occurring as it did at a time when the old slave-owning system

was being replaced by a feudal one, obviously had a revolutionary impact, and

assured for Confucius a key place in the history of education in China, without

which its development could not be properly understood.

But still as a result of his outstanding qualities as a teacher, Confucius is

regarded in many countries as a model for members of the profession.