ASSIGNMENT
Concept of Education of Imam Ghazali
The great educator of Islam, imam Ghazali was born in a time, when doubts were raised from various sides about Islam.
1.
I will not go to the court of any king
2.
I will not get any king of money from rulers
3.
I will not indulge in any type of discussion will scholars.
2.
Rulers
3.
Philosophers/scholars
4.
Preachers
1. Prophetic:
2.
Ruler:
3.
Philosophers/scholars
4.
Preachers;
2.
Useless or undesirable knowledge
1.
Useful knowledge:
It is further divided into two
i.
Farz-i-Ain: (Compulsory)
This knowledge is obligatory
for all and contains the knowledge of Islam
ii.
Farz-i-Kafaya: (Optional)
This knowledge is optional
and depends on the will of the individual. It is further divided into two;
a.
Worldly knowledge
b.
Religious knowledge
2.
Useless Knowledge:
Although no knowledge is useless, it is not
desirable if it can create an undesirable effect such as
i.
If it harms somebody like magic etc
ii.
If the chance factor is involved like astrology etc
iii.
If it leads to thinking about God. Ghazali says that these matters
should be left only to prophets and saints.
Aims of
Education:
Ghazali based his aims of education on Islamic ideology. According to him, the major aim of education is that it is useful. The knowledge gained as a result of education should be useful both for individual and the society. It means that the aim of education is character building of individual so that it could differentiate between good and evil and avoids following the evil path.
Johnn Herbart proposed the same ideas about 700 year
after the demise of Ghazali.
Psychological
concepts of Ghazali:
Ghazali raises the basic question whether the human
instinct is based on good or evil. He has presented his ideas in the light of
Quran and Hadith. According to him good or evil are not physical and is not
instinctual. Humans can be transformed by education and training. Rousseau
expressed similar idea in 18th century.
Ghazali seems impressed by the Greek philosophers.
According to Aristotle there are two types of creations in the world. i.e.
1.
Perfect creation: These are perfected like moon , sun etc
2.
Imperfect creations like seed of tree, which is imperfect in the sense
that it has the ability to become a tree.
According to Ghazali, human beings are imperfect
creatures and are similar to the seed. They have the ability and capacity to
become perfect, only the suitable conditions are required. According to him,
good character means good deeds.
Ghazali has given the following four ways in which
deficiencies can be identified and removed.
1.
Perfect teacher
Such teachers that have spiritual insight and
knowledge and has the ability to analyze deficiencies I others
2.
Close fiends:
We can identify our deficiencies with the help of
our close friends
3.
Foes:
We can know more about our deficiencies from our
foes.
4.
Self analysis:
Ghazali also stresses self-analysis from time to
time.
Curriculum:
Ghazali strongly criticizes the curriculum of his
time. He raises the basic question of criteria for selection of subject matter
for curriculum. He studied the various curriculums his times and reached the
following conclusions:
1.
More time is spent on religious education and worldly education is
completely ignores
2.
Worldly education is equally important
3.
While teaching religious education , a great number of differences
arise among the teachers, which result in mud slinging on each other
4.
There is no. Prioritization and it is only left to the interest and
opinions of the teachers to concentrate on certain subjects, while ignore
others.
5.
No place for character building in curriculum
Ghazali recommended that curriculum should be
composed of obligatory ( ) And
optional ( ) knowledge. It
should be a combination of religion and worldly education.
Ghazali included industrial education, textile,
agriculture, tailoring and hair cutting in the curriculum
This indicates that Ghazali ’s educational ideas are
progressive.
Ghazali also stresses the acquisition of philosophy
and logic
Methods of
Teaching and Techniques:
Ghazali has recommended the following teaching
methods and techniques, which are based on psychological principles. These
methods and techniques are widely used and educators all over the world agrees
with their usefulness.
1.
Teaching of lessons to be based on previous knowledge and experience of
the students.
This helps to know the ability, knowledge and
aptitude of the learner and helps to motivate students towards the lesson which
is very important for the educational process. Johnn Herbart and Pestollozi
recommended the same principle about 700 year after Ghazali
2.
Simplifying the lesson:
Teachers should simplify the difficult concepts by
stories, tales etc other wise his teaching will not be effective
3.
Move from simple to complex.
This is a very important principle. Some teachers
try to teach everything in the very start. This is very dangerous and can
create very dull students.
Ghazali stresses that teachers should first teach
simpler concepts and when the students are motivated towards lesson, then he
can introduce complex concepts.
Western educators have also mentioned this
principle.
4.
Proper planning
Ghazali stresses the importance of planning and
advises that teachers should do his preparation before teaching to make it
effective
5.
affection:
The teachers should avoid the use of force . He
should be like a father to his students and should use love and affection
instead of corporal punishment. Use of force can lead to bad habits among
students
Teacher and students should also have good social
relationship
6.
avoid double standards:
Teacher is like a guide to students. He should not
be a hypocrite and should breed good qualities like, honesty, good etiquette,
good moral character etc
7.
abilities of students:
Ghazali stresses that while teaching the abilities
of students should be kept in mind. Concepts, which are above the mental level
of the students will not make the teaching effective.
8.
Female education:
Ghazali ’s ideas about female education are
different from modern day. He is only in favor of elementary education for
women so that they could play their due role in society. He is not in favour of
higher education for females. Rousseau has similar ideas.
Ghazali also stresses acquisition of home-related
knowledge for women.
9.
Physical education:
Ghazali has greatly stressed the physical education
for children. He believes in old Greek axiom “ sound mind in sound body”
He suggests proper clothing for children so that
they could develop and grow properly. He suggests avoid tight and fit clothing.
He also stresses the importance of good and simple,
diet for good physical growth.
In short we can say that the contribution of Ghazali
to education, what he said later reflected by western educators. That was
actually originated in the times of Ghazali.