Education under the Nationalist government
Elementary-school pupils were taught to read and write individual letters first, then syllables, and finally short texts, often passages from thePsalms. They probably also learned simple arithmetic at this stage. Teachers had a humblesocial statusand depended on the fees paid by parents for their livelihood. They usually held classes in their own homes or on church porches but were sometimes employed as private tutors by wealthy households. They had no assistants and used no textbooks. Teaching methods emphasized memorization and copying exercises, reinforced by rewards and punishments.
The background and influence of Pietism
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
The humanistic tradition of northern and western Europe
Our editors will review what youve submitted, and if it meets our criteria, well add it to the article.
Inindustrial relations: Assessing workers interests
The channels of development in Renaissance education
Social consequences of education in developing countries
Influences of the Carolingian renaissance abroad
The development of the universities
European Renaissance and Reformation
Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions.
Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed.
Incognitive science: Nature and significance
Please select which sections you would like to print:
Education in Portuguese colonies and former colonies
Federal involvement in local education
National education under enlightened rulers
Education in the earliest civilizations
Froebel and the kindergarten movement
Early Russian education: Kiev and Muscovy
Establishment of nationalistic education systems
Strangely, there is little sign of systematic teaching of theology, apart from that given by the professors of biblical studies in the 12th-century patriarchal school. Studious reading of works by theChurch Fatherswas the principal path to theological knowledge in Byzantium, both for clergy and for laymen. Nonetheless, religiousorthodoxyor faithwas Byzantiums greatest strength. It held the empire together for more than 1,000 years against eastern invaders. Faith was also the Byzantine cultures chief limitation, choking originality in the sciences and the practical arts. But within this limitation it preserved the literature,science, and philosophy of Classical Greece in recopied texts, some of which escaped the plunders of the Crusaders and were carried to southern Italy, restoring Greeklearningthere. Combined with the treasures of Classical learning that reached Europe through the Muslims, this Byzantine heritage helped to initiate the beginnings of the EuropeanRenaissance.
If you prefer to suggest your own revision of the article, you cango to edit mode(requires login).
The administration of public education
The second half of the 20th century
You have successfully emailed this.
The postindependence period in Bangladesh
The foundations of Muslim education
11 Fascinating Nile River Plants and Animals
Roman adoption of Hellenistic education
Elementary education was widely available throughout most of the empires existence, not only in towns but occasionally in the countryside as well. Literacy was therefore much more widespread than in westernEurope, at least until the 12th century. Secondary education was confined to the larger cities. Pupils desiring higher education almost always had to go toConstantinople, which became the cultural centre of the empire after the loss to the MuslimArabsof Syria, Palestine, and Egypt in the 7th century.Monasteriessometimes had schools in which young novices were educated, but they did not teach lay pupils. Girls did not normally attend schools, but the daughters of the upper classes were often educated by private tutors. Many women were literate, and somesuch as the hymnographer Kasia (9th century) and the historian-princessAnna Comnena(1083c.1153)were recognized as writers of distinction.
Teaching of such professional subjects asmedicine, law, andarchitecturewas largely a matter ofapprenticeship, although at various times there was some imperially supported or institutionalized teaching.
Aims and purposes of Muslim education
The development and growth of national education systems
Error when sending the email. Try again later.
©2018 Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.
Education changes during World War II
The cultural revival under Charlemagne and his successors
Implications for socioeconomic status
Newfoundland and the Maritime Provinces.
The postindependence period in Pakistan
Inhistory of the blind: Education and the blind
Lay education and the lower schools
Education in the later Roman Empire
Education of the laity in the 9th and 10th centuries
The Old World civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North China
The Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation
There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later.
Establishment of a national system of education
Revolutionary patterns of education
European offshoots in the New World
Global enrollment trends since the mid-20th century
Education in French colonies and former colonies
76 references found in Britannica articles
The secondary-school teacher taught thegrammarand vocabulary of Classical andecclesiasticalGreek literature from the Hellenistic and Roman periods and explained the elements of Classical mythology andhistorythat were necessary for the study of a limited selection of ancient Greek texts, mainlypoetry, beginning withHomer. The most commonly used textbook was the brief grammar by Dionysius Thrax; numerous and repetitive later commentaries on the book were also frequently used. From the 9th century on, these books were sometimes supplemented with theCanonsofTheognostos, a collection of brief rules of orthography and grammar. Thegrammatikosmight also make use of anonymous texts dating from late antiquity, which offered word-by-word grammatical explanations of HomersIliad,or of similar texts on the Psalms by Georgius Choiroboscos (early 9th century). Pupils would not normally possess copies of these textbooks, since handwritten books were very expensive, but would learn the rules by rote from their teachers dictation. Beginning in the 11th century, much use was made insecondary educationofsched(literally, sketches or improvisations), short prose texts that often ended in a few lines of verse. These were specially written by a teacher to illustrate points of grammar or style. From the early 14th century on, much use was also made oferotemata,systematic collections of questions and answers on grammar that the pupil learned by heart.
Education in the Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Inlabour economics: Quality of labour
Education at the beginning of the century
Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article!
Influences on Muslim education and culture
General influences and policies of the colonial powers
Development of national systems of education
The Meiji Restoration and the assimilation of Western civilization
TheByzantine Empirewas a continuation of theRoman Empirein the eastern Mediterranean area after the loss of the western provinces to Germanic kingdoms in the 5th century. Although it lost some of its eastern lands to the Muslims in the 7th century, it lasted until Constantinoplethe new capital founded by the Roman emperorConstantinethe Great in 330fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The empire was seriously weakened in 1204 when, as a result of the Fourth Crusade, its lands were partitioned and Constantinople captured, but until then it had remained a powerful centralized state, with a common Christian faith, an efficient administration, and a shared Greekculture. This culture, already Christianized in the 4th and 5th centuries, was maintained and transmitted by an educational system that was inherited from the Greco-Roman past and based on the study andimitationof ClassicalGreek literature.
The ancient period to the 12th century
The spread of Western educational practices to Asian countries
Giambattista Vico, critic of Cartesianism
The rhetoricians textbooks included systematic handbooks of the art ofrhetoric, model texts with detailed commentaries, and specimens of oratory by Classical or post-Classical Greek writers and by Church Fathers, in particularGregory of Nazianzus. ManyByzantinehandbooks of rhetoric survive from all periods. They are often anonymous and always derivative, mostly based directly or indirectly on thetreatisesof Hermogenes of Tarsus (late 2nd centuryce). There is littleinnovationin the theory of rhetoric they expound. After studying models, pupils went on to compose and deliver speeches on various general topics.
Central European theories and practices
We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind.
At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.)
The condition of the schools and universities
United States: Education and the role of women
Inwage and salary: Human-capital theory
Early Russian education: Kiev and Muscovy
The introduction of Buddhist influences
Western education in the 19th century
Changes in the schools and philosophies
Secondary schools often had more than one teacher, and the older pupils were often expected to help teach their juniors. Schools of this kind had little institutionalcontinuity, however. The most lasting schools were those conducted in churches.
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Other developments in formal education
700 to the eve of Western influence
Patterns of education in non-Western or developing countries
The Carolingian renaissance and its aftermath
The psychology and pedagogy of Herbart
Can Eating Poppy Seeds Make You Fail a Drug Test?
Encyclopdia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience.
Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources.
The Protestant demand for universal elementary education
Education in primitive and early civilized cultures
Education in British colonies and former colonies
The background of early Christian education
In contrast to Tertullians anti-intellectual attitude, a positive approach to intellectual activities has also made itself heard from the beginning of the Christian church. It was perhaps best expressed in the 11th century by St.
Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
The background and influence of naturalism
Problems and tasks of African education in the late 20th century
China: from Confucianism to communism
Education in Belgian colonies and former colonies
Influence of psychology and other fields on education
Between the so-called barbarian invasions and the Protestant Reformation, education in Europe, except in the Arabic and Jewish centres of learning, was conducted by representatives of the church. Learning during the early Middle Ages was preserved by the monasteries. Monks copied the books of
Until the early 6th century there was a flourishing school of Neoplatonic philosophy in Athens, but it was repressed or abolished in 529 because of the active paganism of its professors. A similar but Christian school inAlexandriasurvived until the Arab conquest of Egypt in 640. For the next five centuries, philosophicalteachingseems to have been limited to simple surveys of Aristotleslogic. In the 11th century, however, there was a renewal of interest in the Greek philosophical tradition, and many commentaries on works of Aristotle were composed, evidently for use in teaching. In the early 15th century the philosopherGeorge Gemistos Plethonrevived interest in Plato, who until then had been neglected for Aristotle. All philosophical teaching in the Byzantine world was concerned with the explanation of texts rather than with the analysis of problems.
Did Nero Really Fiddle as Rome Burned?
German educational policy in Africa
European education in the 17th and 18th centuries
St. Pauls Contributions to the New Testament
You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered.
Influence of Islamic learning on the West
The postindependence period in India
The postindependence period in Sri Lanka
Ineconomic development: Education and human capital in development
There were three stages of education. The basic skills of reading andwritingwere taught by the, orgrammatistes,whose pupils generally ranged from 6 or 7 to 10 years of age. Thesecondary-schoolmaster, orgrammatikos,supervised the study and appreciation ofClassical literatureand of literaryGreekfrom which the spoken Greek of everyday life differed more and more in the course of timeandLatin(until the 6th century). His pupils ranged in age from 10 to 15 or 16. Next, the rhetorician, orrhtor,taught pupils how to express themselves with clarity, elegance, and persuasiveness, in imitation of Classical models. Speaking style was deemed more important than content or original thinking. An optional fourth stage was provided by the teacher ofphilosophy, who introduced pupils to some of the topics of ancient philosophy, often by reading and discussing works ofPlatoorAristotleRhetoricand philosophy formed the main content of higher education.
Cities were also centres of educational and intellectual progress. The emergence of a relatively well-financed public educational system, free of the stigma of pauper or charity schools, and the emergence of a lively penny press, made possible by a
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
Contact our editors with your feedback.
The New World civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas
in these related Britannica articles:
Education under the East India Company
The early reform movement: the new educational philosophers
John Lockes empiricism and education as conduct
Occupation authorities, convinced that democracy and equality were best inculcated through education, revised the Japanese educational system. A Fundamental Law of
From the beginnings to the 4th century
Education in the later Roman Empire
Because higher education provided learned andarticulatepersonnel for the sophisticatedbureaucraciesof state and church, it was often supported and controlled officially, although private education always existed as well. There were officially appointed teachers in Constantinople in the 4th century, and in 425 the emperorTheodosius IIestablished professorships of Greek and Latin grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. However, these probably did not survive the great crisis of the Arab and Slav invasions of the 7th century. In the 9th century, the School of Magnauraan institution of higher learningwas founded by imperial decree. In the 11th century,Constantine IXestablished new schools of philosophy andlawat the Capitol School in Constantinople. Both survived until the 12th century, when the school under the control of the patriarch of Constantinoplewith teachers of grammar, rhetoric, andbiblicalstudiesgained predominance. After the interval of Western rule in Constantinople (120461), both emperors and patriarchs gave sporadic support to higher education in the capital. As the power, wealth, and territory of the empire were eroded in the 14th and 15th centuries, the church became the principal and ultimately the only patron of higher education.
Global commitments to education and equality of opportunity
history of publishing: Spread of education and literacy
General characteristics of medieval universities
was passed in 1947, which guaranteed academic freedom, extended the length of compulsory education from six to nine years, and provided
InChinese literature: General characteristics
The great increase in available reading matter after about 1650 both resulted from and promoted the spread of education to the middle classes, especially to women. The wider readership is reflected among the middle classes by the rich development of the prose
Major periods of Muslim education and learning
Education in Persian, Byzantine, early Russian, and Islamic civilizations