ABSTRACT

              A SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY* INTO THE RATIONALE FOR HOLISTIC EDUCATION: EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY and ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY                                  

(*The word 'scientific' is meant to be used in the sense of 'holistic science' which focuses on an issue beyond the limits of a given field or 'discipline' i.e. 'transdisciplinary inquiry'. "Transdisciplinary inquiry involves multiple disciplines and the space  between them with the possibility of new perspectives beyond those disciplines." (Roger Stack... Holistic Education Network, Tasmania ) 

 "A scientific inquiry should be characterized by a faith in the truth of a rational vision; faith in the hypothesis as a likely and plausible proposition; faith in the final theory ...This faith is rooted in one's own experience, in the confidence in one's power of thought, observation and judgement...rational faith is rooted in an independent conviction based upon one's own productive observing and thinking." (Fromm, Man For Himself 205)       

          Is there some sense in which principles of pedagogy can be derived from our knowledge of man as a species - from knowledge of his characteristic growth and dependence, of the properties of his nervous system, of his modes of dealing with culture?" (Jerome Bruner, 1971, Relevance of Education New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. 118)

theme: The problem for education is the search for a rational framework on which to base a more integrative practice of education for responsible freedom i.e. education of the whole person or  'holistic education'

Ecological susainability is the ability to maintain the conditions which support life on earth through the appropriate management of ecosystems including those involving human beings.

The traditional teaching paradigm is seriously questioned today. A paradigm in education is a theoretical framework within which educational practice is designed. The so-called 'traditional' paradigm of education is based on the belief that knowledge is finite and learning is a matter of conditioning and is therefore passive. The teacher's role is perceived in terms of transferring knowledge from those who have it to those who don't. Motivation for passive learning depends on external rewards and is therefore extrinsic to the organism i.e. 'extrinsic motivation'.    

In view of recent findings in brain research or 'neuroscience'  learning is in fact a naturally active process of understanding the significance of environmental stimuli... a process which is rooted in the instinct for 'self-preservation' and the intrinsic need of the organism to adapt to its environment i.e. 'adaptability'. Human adaptability depends on the individual's intrinsic capacity for growth and development based on provision of the right conditions human motives for learning or 'human needs' i.e. 'intrinsic motivation'. Intrinsic motivation involves the response of the organism as a whole. Effective learning is 'holistic'. Education for adaptability is 'holistic education'.

  The paradigm of holistic education is described in terms of a philosophical framework based on the   fundamental principles of human growth and development i.e.'human nature The human organism is a social organism which depends for adaptation and survival on the full development of a social brain. The human brain is specialized for the functions of self-awareness and moral consciousness or  'conscience'. Conscience or 'soul' is a function of moral intelligence or  ‘social intelligence’. Social intelligence is a function of social responsibility and depends on intuition or 'wisdom' based on understanding and compassion i.e. ‘creative intelligence’. Creative intelligence is the result of holistic education in the context of freedom for development of human potential - spiritual growth and self-empowerment which derives from human creativity and productiveness or 'work'. Development of human potential depends on learning from experience i.e. 'experiential learning'. Experiential learning is active learning or 'brain-based learning'. Brain-based learning results in the cultivation of intelligence based on development of the human potential i.e. 'self-actualisation'.  The teacher's role is defined in terms of the facilitation of learning i.e. 'facilitator of learning'.

 

          top of page  /  homepage   /  introduction

 

on  method: 

 "The specialist concentrates on detail and disregards the wider structure which gives it context. The 'new' scientist concentrates on structure on all levels of magnitude and complexity, and fits detail into its general framework. He discerns relationships and situations...We ourselves are a part of the connected complexity with which we are surrounded in nature...To have an adequate grasp of reality, we must look at things in systems, with properties and structures of their own." (Laszlo, E., The Systems of the World: The Natural Philosophy of the New Developments in the Sciences. New York: George Brazillier.)

"The supreme task... is to arrive at those universal elementary laws from which the cosmos can be built up by pure deduction. There is no logical path to these laws; only intuition, resting on sympathetic understanding of experience, can reach them" (Carl Rogers Freedom To Learn)