Ideally, education should be concerned with developing the individual and social potential of all people, over the whole human lifespan. It should be holistic by covering as many aspects of life and fields of knowledge and know-how as possible in an integrated way, and it should bring together theory and practice. At the individual level, it should find, then develop the talents of each person and help that person to learn how to learn, think independently, and find a purpose in life. Each individual should obtain basic information, knowledge, and understanding about various subjects, and be taught various skills, especially those needed at work and in everyday life. Education at the social level should include moral education, education for citizenship, education for work, and education for everyday life. New curricula need to be introduced to help provide such education, and valuable pioneering work in this direction has already been done by Robert Muller. To broaden education fulfill these aims and purposes, the education profession very urgently needs new thinking; many of the relevant principles and paradigms are already in being, and others are emerging. At the same time, it is not enough to help gifted children to achieve their full potential; schools and colleges also need to develop the elements of talents and giftedness present in all students.
Although it may take a long time for fully holistic education to become mainstream, and although as yet there seem to be few books about it, there is already quite a strong holistic education movement in the USA, and a periodical Holistic Education Review. Many holistic practices are already in effect in a minority of American schools, and in several major public schools in the Canadian Province of Ontario. There are also important, even though isolated, attempts to introduce more holistic education in the UK. They focus on human relationships, creativity, culture, and on preparing people for work and lifelong learning, within a wider local context bringing together local schools, businesses, and communities.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, H. G. Wells introduced the idea of a World Brain/World Mind, which would dramatically improve the quality of thinking and problem solving of humanity as a whole. Around 1990, Richard Kirby and Steven Rosen added to it the concept of a World Heart, whereby some of the impulses activating the emerging World Brain/World Mind, as a learning and teaching system, will be love and the quest for wholeness. The implementation of these ideas will require will require new, holistic educational paradigms and ideas for the new global curricula and educational networks which are now beginning to be developed.
Alan Mayne is a self-employed author, editor, personal computer specialist and researcher. Latest books: 'Into the 21st Century: A Handbook for a Sustainable Future' (co-author), 'Resources for the Future: An International Annotated Bibliography for the 21st Century' . editor of 'New Paradigms Newsletter'.
Flake, C. (Ed.) (1993) Holistic Education: Principles, Perspectives, and Practices. Brandon, VT, USA: Holistic Education Press.
Collection of readings which is a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of holistic education. Shows how holistic education focuses on relationshps between thinking and intuition, mind and body, different fields of knowledge, individual and community, and self and cosmic Self.
Miller, R. (Ed.) The Renewal of Meaning in Education. Brandon, VT, USA: Holistic Education Press.
Collection of contributions by leading theorists on holistic education and on how to develop a holistic educational paradigm.
Woodhouse, M. B., "Honoring the Magical Child: A Manifesto for Holistic Education", pp 411-424 of Woodhouse, M. B. (1996) Paradigm Wars. Berkeley, CA, USA: Frog. ISBN 1-883319-42-0.
Calls for less limited and more holistic responses to the challenges currently facing American education, especially in schools. Makes 19 proposals for deep structural changes on this basis. Explores the farther reaches of empowerment that education could provide, and indicates a possible holistic paradigm for schools.
Gang, Philip S., Meyerhof, Nina, Mayer Lynn and Dorothy. Conscious Education: The Bridge to Freedom, by Dagaz Press, Atlanta, 1992. ISBN 0 9623783 2 1.
Offers as concise view of a new paradigm in education, with spirituality at the core. Proposes a shift from information-centred learning to soul-centred learning. Conscious education is predicated on conscious evolution, the realisation that we are part of the larger wholeness of life. The book integrates process with form, and contains many practical suggestions for turning schemes into reality and for living the insights in daily life. An inspiring vision.
Gang, P. "Educating the Whole Person", pp. 274-285 of Di Carlo, R. E. (Ed.) (1996) Towards a World View: Conversations at the Leading Edge. Edinburgh: Floris Books, ISBN 0-86315-240-6, and , PA, USA: Epic Publishing.
Views the main purposes of education as allowing young people to fulfil their greater potential, help them to understand their greater role in life, and how they fit into the larger universe as individuals. Education should draw out the innate gifts of each human being, touch the imagination of children, and make them so enthusiastic that they want to learn. Suggests how to prevent the further collapse of education in the USA, and outlines what we can learn from the holistic approaches of Montessori and Steiner.
Muller, R. (1992) "A World Core Curriculum", International Journal of Community Education, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp 2-4. This proposed curriculum is based on the author's lifetime international experience, largely in the United Nations; all teachers and educators worldwide have immense responsibilities. Education should be based on good physical, mental, moral, and spiritual lives. A balanced curriculum should adequately cover all aspects of life in a unified way, providing both basic and practical knowledge, helping to lay moral foundations, and preparing each child for the requirements of everyday life.
Lorimer. D. et al. (Eds.) (1999) Wider Horizons: Explorations in Science and Human Experience. Leven, Fife, Scotland: Scientific & Medical Network. ISBN 0-9535333-0-1. Contains a representative selection of contributions by Network members to a wide range of subjects on all aspects of life, so that it contributes to the holistic education of its readers. Specific references to holistic education are made on pp 292 -305, including LeRose, B. "The Next Step" and Mayne, A. J. "My Ideas About a National Curriculum for the 21st Century", and p 337 with a brief outline of Muller, R. on world education.
Seltzer, K. and Bentley, T. (1999) The Creative Age: Knowledge and Skills for the New Economy. London: Demos. 1-898309-70-1.
Argues that creativity can be learned, and presents pioneering examples from education, community, and business of how to do this. Offers a radically different vision of education, which would place learners in various settings and require them to draw on their skills in practical and innovative ways. Proposes a ten-year programme of reform for British education, which could help to transform into practical reality the immense possibilities presented by the knowledge economy.
Hargreaves, D. (1994) The Mosaic of Learning: Schools and Teachers for the Next Century. London: Demos. 1-898309-45-0.
Presents a radical but achievable agenda for changes in British education, especially in schools. Proposes a wider variety of schools, better use of interactive information technology, reshaping teachers' roles, and greater openness to business and local communities. To make this programme effective, it will be essential that schools again become sources of satisfaction for those who teach and learn.
Wells, H. G. (Mayne, A. J., Ed.) (1995) World Brain: H. G. Wells on the Future of World Education. London: Adamantine Press. ISBN 0-7749-0114-6. New edition of Wells, H. G. (1938) World Brain. London: Methuen and New York: Doubleday Doran.
Also includes a long Critical Introduction and an Annotated Bibliography by Mayne, A. J. Note especially Wells, H. G. "The Informative Content of Education" (pp 125-143) (originally his Presidential Address to the Education Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1937) and "A World Brain as an Education System" in the Critical Introduction (pp 34-47), which covers many aspects of holistic education, including the purposes and functions of education, a unified global curriculum, and the work of some leading educational thinkers. For brief references to the World Heart idea, see pp 63 and 166.
Rossman, P. (2nd Ed. 1993) The Emerging Worldwide Electronic University: Information Age Global Higher Education. Westport, CT, USA & London: Praeger.
The creation of a global university system, sharing resources between different higher education institutions and applying modern information technology, is important, and could be the best way of raising the standards of higher education in the developing countries. Some examples of pioneering projects of this type are discussed in detail. Shows several ways in which the emerging worldwide electronic university can contribute to the goals of lifelong education, and presents a vision of education for the 21st century.
Robinson, K. et al. (1999) All our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education, London: Department for Education & Employment (DfEE). ISBN 1-89185-034-9.
Report of the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE), which draws on the views of people in science, the arts, and business. Emphasises the need for a new balance between cognitive, measurable skills, more creative skills, and human relationships. Sees education as poised on the edge of a new phase. As its authors say, "No education system can be world class without valuing and integrating creative teaching and living."
Brighouse, T. and Woods, T. (1999) How to Improve Your School. London & New York: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-19494-X.
Looks at practical ways in which process and relationship come to be valued in schools, thereby making sense of the fragmented National Curriculum. Aimed at mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Beare, H. and Slaughter, R. Education for the Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge, 1993. ISBN - 0 415 11523X.
Advocates a change of focus from past to future and analyses some of the major changes currently under way. Argues that global consciousness requires an integrated world-view and that other categories of knowing beyond scientific materialism should be acknowledged. Then suggests techniques and practical approaches that can be applied in an educational setting. An excellent overview.