http://signaturepedagogies.org.

uk/core-beliefs/what-is-education-for

What is education for?

We have used the 'four pillars' of the UNESCO Delors report as a way to frame case studies of artists at work.
The four pillars are learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. When we saw
artists working, we saw that the four pillars captured the wholistic way in which they approached their work
with students.
The four pillars address the purposes of education. They go beyond everyday discussions about test results,
getting a job and helping the nation do well in the knowledge economy. They offer a way to think about the
complex and interrelated tasks that educators and schools must achieve. They encompass more than the
transmission of knowledge and extend to social values and behaviours that are important.
We have used the four pillars to tell stories of artists at work. Of course, each story encompasses more than
one pillar, and someone else might interpret these stories differently. Our aim however is to show how artists
work was not simply a matter of technique, but was also profoundly about purposes and values.

Learning to know

In the Delors Report ‘learning to know’ is defined as ‘combining a sufficiently broad general
knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth on a small number of subjects’ (p37); it involves
learning to learn and it offers a ‘passport to lifelong education’ and ‘foundations’ on which to build
(p21). It is therefore about both breadth and specialisation and has quite a strong orientation towards
the future. It is more about the mastery of learning tools than the acquisition of bodies of knowledge;
it is about stimulating intellectual curiosity, sharpening critical faculties and the capacity to reason,
developing concentration and memory. Underpinning these capacities is ‘the pleasure that can be
derived from understanding knowledge and discovery’.
Learning to do

‘Learning to do’ relates to formal and informal, social and work experiences; it is defined broadly as
acquiring ‘the competence to deal with many situations and work in teams’ (p37). The Delors Report
considers it to be ‘closely associated with occupational training’ but the emphasis is also on
developing competence, through personal commitment and individual initiative
(http://www.unesco.org/delors). It is therefore fundamentally about the individual’s skills and
dispositions and engagement with the social and economic.

Learning to live together

The Delors Report puts greater emphasis on learning to live together than the other three pillars of
education, proposing that it is the ‘foundation of education’ (p21) upon which the three other pillars
stand. The means of learning to live together are identified as ‘developing an understanding of
others and their history, traditions and spiritual values’ and appreciating interdependence in order to
create ‘a new spirit’ that leads to common projects and the peaceful and intelligent management of
conflict (p37). It recommends that education should adopt a two-pronged approach: ‘From early
childhood, it should focus on the discovery of other people... In the second stage of education and in
lifelong education, it should encourage involvement in common projects’
(http://www.unesco.org/delors). The emphases in the first stage are on teaching about human diversity,
respecting pluralism, recognising the rights of others, encouraging empathy, debate, curiosity and
healthy criticism. The second, project, prong involves ‘unaccustomed forms of action’ that enable
people to ‘transcend the routines of their personal lives and attach value to what they have in
common’ and so build solidarity and friendship.

Learning to be

The fourth pillar, ‘learning to be’, is about ‘every person's complete development - mind and body,
intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic appreciation and spirituality’ (http://www.unesco.org/delors/fourpil). It
is concerned with self-knowledge, independence, judgement, personal responsibility, developing
personality and using talents. This means that education ‘must not disregard any aspect of a
person’s potential: memory, reasoning, aesthetic sense, physical capacities and communication
skills’ (p37).

http://bednotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/four-pillars-of-education-as.html

sday, October 9, 2012

FOUR PILLARS OF EDUCATION AS

RECOMMENDED BY UNESCO
FOUR PILLARS OF EDUCATION AS RECOMMENDED BY UNESCO

Shakespeare states

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be”
Indian Society needs reconstruction .This can be accomplished with the help of educator who
are to transmit the best of Indian culture to younger generation by linking it with western
knowledge.

The Indian society needs positive social change .The teacher can develop the Forward Looking
outlook among pupils .For this purpose ,they must develop in themselves ‘occupational
personality’ which is liberal in outlook & progressive its beliefs & ideas.

Dr. P. N. Kirpal in his article named “Towards an education in 21stcentury ” mentioned

Issues Explosions Gaps

3-ISSUES :

WAR AND PEACE

MAN AND ENVIRONMENT

CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

3-EXPLOSIONS

POPULATION

KNOWLEDGE

EXPECTATIONS

3-GAPS

BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM

 DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

BETWEEN LOVE AND POWER

(Power—the single-minded desire to achieve one’s solitary purpose, Love—the drive towards
unity)

Jaques Delors While presenting his report titled “LEARNING: THE TREASURE WITHIN” to
UNESCO in 1996 in which he puts emphasis on the need of VALUE EDUCATION

Functional Learning ----------------- Teaching as training

Learning--------

Deep Personal Meaning ----------------Teaching as Educating

FOUR PILLARS AS RECOMMENDED BY UNESCO

1. LEARNING TO KNOW

Learning to know implies learning how to learn by developing one's concentration, memory
skills and ability to think.

Every individual has hidden talents such as

1. Memory

2. Reasoning

3. Imagination

4. Physical ability

5. Aesthetic sense

6. Aptitude to communicate
 From infancy, young people must learn how to concentrate - on objects and on other people.
This process of improving concentration skills can take different forms and can be aided by the
many different learning opportunities that arise in the course of people's lives (games, work
experience programmes, travel, practical science activities, etc.)

The development of memory skills is an excellent tool for countering the overpowering stream
of instant information put out by the media. It would be dangerous to conclude that there is no
point in people's improving their memory skills because of the vast amount of information
storage and distribution capacity available. While some selectivity is undoubtedly required when
choosing facts to be "learned by heart", there are numerous examples of the human memory's
ability to outperform computers when it comes to establishing connections between memorized
facts that apparently have very little to do with each other. The specifically human ability of
associative memorization is not something that can be reduced to an automatic process; it has to
be carefully cultivated. Furthermore, specialists in this field agree that memory skills have to be
developed from infancy and that it is dangerous to discontinue various traditional exercises in
schools simply because they are considered to be boring.

Thinking is something children learn first from their parents and then from their teachers. The
process should encompass both practical problem-solving and abstract thought. Both education
and research should therefore combine deductive and inductive reasoning, which are often
claimed to be opposing processes. While one form of reasoning may be more appropriate than
the other, depending on the subjects being taught, it is generally impossible to pursue a logical
train of thought without combining the two.

Suggestions : -

Varied Curriculum: Subject matter , library activities , laboratory activities, playground

activities, co-curricular activities

Different methods of teaching

• Inductive-Deductive

• Problem Solving

• Laboratory Work
LEARNING TO DO

This question is closely associated with the issue of occupational training: how do we adapt
education so that it can equip people to do the types of work needed in the future?

Learning must transform certified skills into personal competence. It is assessed by looking at a
mix of skills and talents, social behaviour, personal initiative and a willingness to work. These
are often referred to as interpersonal skills or peoples’ skills by employers. Knowledge along
with other qualities like communication, teambuilding and problem solving skills is most
demanded by the service sector these days. Personal Competence includes life skills like :

1. Social behavior

2. Personal initiatives

3. Willingness to take risk

4. Communication skills

5. Problem solving skills

5. Adaptability

6. Social responsibility

7. Leadership skills

LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER

Education should help in inculcating a spirit of empathy in students so that it can have a positive
effect on their social behaviour throughout their lives. Understanding each other, resolving
conflicts through dialogue and discussion should be the essential tools of present day education.

People of the world should accept their differences but start working on the basis of their
commonalties for the survival of humankind.
 Values to be developed amongst students

a) Non Violence

b) Cooperation

c) Selfless attitude

d) Developing values

e) Accepting human diversity

f) Instill an awareness of the similarities and interdependence of all people

Learning to be

The aim of development is the complete fulfillment of man and his development in a holistic
way as an individual, member of a family and community and as a responsible citizen.

According to Alvin Toffler

“ The illiterate of 21st century will not be those who can not read or write but those who can
not learn ,unlearn and relearn”

Person's complete development - mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic appreciation
and spirituality. All people should receive in their childhood and youth an education that equips
them to develop their own independent, critical way of thinking and judgement so that they can
make up their own minds on the best courses of action in the different circumstances in their
lives.

Individual – Family member, Community member, Citizen, Professional, Innovator, Creative

dreamer
Educational Experiences : Aesthetic, Social , Moral, Spiritual, Logic and reasoning