Western education explained

Western education is the form of education that mainly originated in or is characteristic of the Western world.

History

Modern era

Pre-contemporary history outside of the West

The introduction of Western education into the rest of the world occurred to a large degree through imperialism. This affected the way that Western education was absorbed and influenced by the world.^[1]

East Asia

See also: Eastward spread of Western learning.

In China, as reformers sought to grapple with the foreign domination of the late 19th century, they came to a conclusion of re-ordering Chinese society through a process of self-strengthening, which included taking ideas from the West.^[2]

Japan sought to modernise itself during the Meiji era by learning from the West. It sent scholars and diplomats to Western countries to learn from their education systems.^[3]

South Asia

The British colonised India starting in the late 18th century, and began to impose Western education by the early 19th century. They saw this as a highly positive step, and felt that it was a way to civilise the people.^[4]

Contemporary history outside of the West

Africa

See also: Boko Haram.

Comparison with other educational systems

Asian education

See also: East-west cultural debate. Chinese/Eastern education has been contrasted with Western education on the basis of aiming to encourage individuals to acquire the discipline necessary to learn and therefore provide honor to their families.^[5]

Islamic education

See also: Education in Islam. Since the colonial era, Muslim leaders have decried Western education as failing to instill moral values, with its secular nature also seen as problematic.^{[6] [7]}

See also

• English-medium education
• The History of Western Education
• Western values

Notes and References

1. Web site: Colonial Education and Anticolonial Struggles . 2024-09-04 . academic.oup.com.
2. Schulte . Barbara . 2012 . Between admiration and transformation : paths of Western education into early twentieth century China . COMPARATIV. Zeitschrift für Globalgeschichte und Vergleichende Gesellschaftsforschung . 22 . 1 . 49–75 . 0940-3566.
3. Mayo . Marlene J. . 1973 . The Western Education of Kume Kunitake, 1871-6 . Monumenta Nipponica . 28 . 1 . 3–67 . 10.2307/2383933 . 2383933 . 0027-0741.
4. Book: Seth, Sanjay . Subject Lessons: The Western Education of Colonial India . 2007-08-29 . Duke University Press . 978-0-8223-4105-5 . en.
5. Web site: Reports . Staff . 2017-10-10 . The Differences Between Eastern and Western Education . 2024-10-06 . BORGEN . en-US.
6. Cook . Bradley J. . 1999-05-01 . Islamic Versus Western Conceptions of Education: Reflections on Egypt . International Review of Education . en . 45 . 3 . 339–358 . 10.1023/A:1003808525407 . 1999IREdu..45..339C . 1573-0638.
7. Morgan . William R. . Armer . J. Michael . 1988 . Islamic and Western Educational Accommodation in a West African Society: A Cohort-Comparison Analysis . American Sociological Review . 53 . 4 . 634–639 . 10.2307/2095854 . 2095854 . 0003-1224.