Course Information

Introduction to the Course

 

This course is designed to provide you with foundational  knowledge in the history of education and society. The first part of the course looks at the fundamental aspects of the general history of education with particular emphasis upon the way in which it was related to the development of civilization. As such it focuses mainly on Western educational development, which form the basis for education in PNG, although reference is made to contributions from the East. It begins with the Greek and Roman empires and their contributions to educational thoughts and ideas before moving on to later developments such as Christianity, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. This first part of the semester concludes with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Internationalism   upon education.

 The second part of the course is intended to give you a detailed history of education from the PNG perspective. It begins by looking at traditional education, which most people believe to be informal though there is also some emphasis on the more formal aspects. It then compares some traditional and modern aspects of education before turning to the introduction of western education to PNG mainly through the work of the various missions, e.g. Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican. Following this it looks at the different Territories of Papua and New Guinea from an educational point of view and the introduction of administrative education. Later lectures deal with education between the wars and then focus on education betweenWorldWar2 and Independence when rapid development first began. Later topics relate to developments in education between Independence and the 1990s. The course concludes with the education reforms that have been going on since 1986 and are continuing today.