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The Purpose of Education

Explore the historical, social, cultural and economic arguments for the role of education and schools.

423 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    2 weeks

  • Weekly study

    8 hours
Overview
Requirements

Delve into the historical perspectives on the purpose of education

You will have the opportunity to explore and evaluate the historical, social, cultural and economic arguments for the role of education, and then use this to formulate your own view about the existential purpose of education and schools.

You will also focus upon the psychological needs of human beings, and apply these ideas to the development of a personal set of educational values. We will explore how these can then help inform organisational decisions, such as curriculum design.

What topics will you cover?

  • What is the purpose of education and schools?
  • What can we learn from the historical context of education?
  • What role do schools play as facilitators of: a common culture, social justice, economic efficiency and liberal education?
  • What does Evolutionary Psychology offer to our understanding of Human Nature?
  • What are the psychological needs of human beings?
  • What are the considerations leaders need to have of: peoples’ well-being, the human mind’s working and operational preferences, needs of your followers, peoples’ weaknesses and potential?

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe and evaluate the historical context of education
  • Explain and evaluate the importance of the role schools play as a facilitator of society, culture and the economy
  • Evaluate critically and synthesise arguments for the function of education, to form a personal view about the purpose of education and schools
  • Identify the role education plays in meeting the psychological needs of human beings
  • Apply, describe and evaluate the different cultural values held by schools, and design your own personal set of values through analysis and discussion
  • Evaluate how the curriculum of schools meets the real-life needs of pupils

Who is the course for?

This course is for students of the MA Educational Leadership.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992

  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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