Confucius : contributions to education

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.