DIMITRIOS S. PATELIS, Assistant Professor,

Department of Sciences. Technical University of Crete.

“Education as a component of culture’s structure and history”

In: Boudouris K. & Knezevic M. (Eds.), Paideia: Education in the Global Era. IONIA PUBLICATIONS, ATHENS 2008, pp. 224-237. http://www.hri.org/iagp/books/vol56.html

The position and role of educational process in the structure and history of humanity’s culture is examined according to the methodology of the “History’s Logic”. Particular emphasis is appointed to the biological presumptions of education, as well as to its labour – productive component, in its position and role in the division of labour over the modes of production and the relations of production. The relation of education to the forms of social consciousness is also examined, as well as its institution, as an element of society’s superstructure.

An historic revue of education is included, in accordance to the changes that evolve in human’s attitude to nature and the social relations. In every definite level of development of social distribution of labour, in addition to basic branches of production (production of goods for consumption and means and instruments of production) the reproduction and training of the human being (as a subject of labour) is distinguished through the production, reproduction and distribution of knowledge, abilities and skills.

This labour-productive component of education, that is the production and reproduction of the basic productive force – the man of labour– is the main and of strategic importance dimension of the educational phenomenon, out of which all of the relevant functions derive and mainly, the function of production and reproduction of the subject of the relations of production and the whole network of social relations. The emancipation perspective of education – as spherical cultural formation of the creative skills of personality and as a term for the formation of an authentic collectiveness – is presented.