A PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

The philosophy of education for Papua New Guinea acknowledges the National Goals & Directive Principles in the National Constitution and is based on integral human development:

integral, in the sense that all aspects of the person are important;

human, in the sense that social relationships are basic; and

development, in the sense that every individual has the potential to grow in knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill and goodness.

This philosophy is for every person to be dynamically involved in the process of freeing himself or herself from every form of domination and oppression so that each individual will have the opportunity to develop as an integrated person in relationship with others. This means that education must aim for integrating and maximizing:

SOCIALISATION, PARTICIPATION, LIBERATION & EQUALITY

This philosophy is based on an awareness of human potential and the willingness to develop this potential so that each individual can solve his or her own problems, contributes to the common good of society and maintain, promote and improve learning and living.

This philosophy presumes the goodness and dignity of every person and so calls for the promotion of self and mutual respect, a sense of self-worth and self-discipline, and a sense of responsibility for oneself and others.

The ultimate goal of this philosophy is for every person to receive an education which results in integral human development.

The National Constitution pledges the nation to guard and pass on our noble traditions and Christian values, and identifies these in terms of the National Goals and Directive Principles which provide our nation with a philosophy of life and development.

The five National Goals expressed in the National Constitution recognize the importance of:

1. INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2. EQUALITY AND PARTICIPATION

3. NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND SELF-RELIANCE

4. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

5. PAPUA NEW GUINEA WAYS

For a child to achieve the goal of socialization the child must first be provided with an opportunity to become dynamically involved with others. Accordingly, another goal of education must be to maximise participation. Another goal of education is liberation from every form of domination and oppression and, as a consequence of liberation, the other important goal of education is equality.

In other words thought must be given respectively to the physical/economic, social, spiritual and political needs for existence, and this guides action. This is what is meant by integral human development. What is happening nowadays is that human development is being fragmented with more attention being paid to political and physical/economic needs and less to spiritual and social needs.

Fragmentation is also occurring in education because the agents of education – home, school, church, community and others – are not effectively integrated.

Within the school itself the curriculum content is fragmented and teachers teach subjects rather than educate the whole person. The curriculum lacks a value orientation and children are not trained to see more clearly the impact of accepting imported ideas. There is a lack of emphasis on problem-solving and decision-making skills. Students must be taught to appreciate the relationship between the body of knowledge they acquire, the practical use to which this knowledge can be put, and the relevant underlying values.

HDI PV SHOWS HOW

TRUE EDUCATION IS MIND DEVELOPMENT