Schooling Origins examines the history of education, tracing its path from informal knowledge transmission to formal educational systems. It highlights the cultural, social, and political forces that have shaped how we learn. The book explores how ancient societies approached learning, noting that before formal schools, knowledge was passed down through families, apprenticeships, and religious institutions. Early philosophical ideas, particularly from ancient Greece and Rome, laid the foundation for later educational theories. The book emphasizes that formal education is not static but evolves with societal values and needs. As societies grew complex, the need for standardized knowledge led to formal schooling.
Schooling Origins explores the development of structured curricula, analyzing the emergence of subjects like mathematics, rhetoric, and literature, and how they were standardized. The book also examines how social and political changes, such as the rise of nation-states and industrialization, have shaped educational goals and practices. The book begins by exploring pre-formal education and then progresses into the development of structured curricula and the influence of social and political changes, providing a comprehensive historical overview and making it valuable for students of education, history, and sociology, as well as educators and policymakers.
