Evolution of Education: From Sparta to Universities
Historical Overview of Education
Spartan Education
Spartan education was unique and bore no resemblance to Athenian education. The primary purpose was the formation of a Spartan warrior. The qualities of a Spartan included obedience to the law, respect for elders, and empowerment through sacrifice.
Athenian Education
Athenian education had two specific goals:
- The development of citizens loyal to the state.
- The training of individuals who achieved full harmony and mastery of their own abilities.
Roman Education
Roman culture developed later, meaning there was an original and genuine type of education. Roman civilization was not simply an imitation of Greek states.
The Greek Influence: In the first century AD, the Roman people, including its youth, had lost many of the virtues that had brought them to prominence.
Christianity
In the second century, a new doctrine began to take importance, replacing the “wise man” and the “practical man” with the “holy man.” Every man was responsible for his own salvation and actions. Christian educational content was structured around three institutions:
- The Church: Responsible for doctrine and sacraments.
- The Family: Attained the role of the Jews, considered fundamental.
- The School: Maintained and fostered by the church, with a first and second level. High school content included apologetics, dogma, and morality.
The Church Fathers
- With the death of the last apostle, Christian education depended on the Church Fathers. This changed the transmission of knowledge, as there were no longer eyewitnesses.
- The central ideas and spirit remained, but there was a marked difference between East and West.
The Middle Ages
The beginning of the Middle Ages coincided with the resurgence of schools attached to the founding of monastic orders. Monasteries became centers of refuge for educational culture. The Middle Ages would be a time of new perspectives.
Educational Framework
Christian perfection was the general objective of education. Changes were sought, such as the perfection of the individual through education. Medieval man’s main aims were religious and ethical, contrasting with the classical desire for learning for its own sake.
Education was divided into two areas:
- Internal Schools: Where people received a classical education.
- External Monastic Schools: These were free. Teaching included the first letters, calculation, and singing. Some students were allowed to enter internal schools afterward. Physical education was removed.
Second Stage
Charlemagne’s influence led to three types of schools:
- Palatine School: Focused on the education of the aristocracy.
- Parochial Schools: Provided religious education.
- Cathedral Schools: Differentiated between religious and secular education.
Teaching focused on the trivium and quadrivium.
Third Stage: The Universities
The origins of universities varied, but can be categorized into three forms:
- Born out of habit.
- Born by privilege.
- Born out of the succession of another university.
Universities emerged as legally and ideologically organized estates.