What are the functions of education

Functions of education refer to those services and actions that are performed by education for individual and society. Education is given so importance due to the functions performed by it. Some experts are of the opinion that the functions of educations and the objectives of education are the same things. But it is decided that functions of education are the positive changes that are the result of the educative process. Following are the significant functions of education near me.

Preaching of life ideology : 

Every nation has its ideology of life according to which it prepares its life plan. Life ideology is a sum total of such beliefs according to which a nation leads its life. Education is an effective tool of preaching the life ideology of a nation. It enables an individual to lead his life in the light of life ideology.

Personality development : 

Different people have different abilities. Some of the abilities of an individual are inborn and some of them are the result of environment in which he/she lives. The human faculties are like seeds that have the desire to expose themselves in the form of plants. As a seed cannot be turned into a plant without cultivation in the soil, likewise, human faculties cannot be developed without a systematic process of education. There are millions of people around us who have different abilities which can tum them into a doctor, scientist, engineer, intellectual, leader and philosopher. But these faculties could not be developed. and exposed due to the unavailability of the educative process. Education is the only source of developing the faculties of the individual and enabling them a-useful citizen of the society.

Character formation : 

Character refers to the actions, sayings. mental bent and approach of an individual. Character includes all of the affairs that are concerned with the mind and though of the individual. Character formation is the activity of
turning the attitudes, habits, actions and approach into the national ideology and Values. There are heavy effects of life ideology on the character and conduct of an individual. For instance, the Christian traditions can be found in the individuals grown up in the democratic states and democratic system of education. A system of education is mirrored in the character an individual. It is the responsibility of education to provide such opportunities that enable them to adjust themselves with the life ideology.

Civic sense : 

Every nation of the world preaches individual rights and national responsibilities. The individuals cannot be turned into balanced citizens with the awareness of civic rights and duties. Nobody can play his social role without the acquaintance with civic responsibilities. This training of the individuals is called civic training and education is the chief source of this training. Education provides the opportunities of developing the civic sense of the citizens. Acting upon the traffic rules, assisting the old people and maintaining the cleanliness of roads are the simple examples of civic Sense.

Social development : 

Society is a group of people organized because of common values and common interest. A harmony is found in the values and traditions of the members of a society. A nation is composed of individuals. An‘individual is a basic unit of a society. Peace, equality, justice and fair play and necessary for social stability and development. This social development cannot be processed without education. This s is the duty of education to unite together the individuals of the society and thereby paves .the way to. social development.

Social stability : 

A prosperous individual is a balanced citizen. The economically instable nations, in general, have to face moral downfall. On contrary, an economically stable nation enjoys a high moral status and has sound potentials for religious affairs. It is generally observed that bribery, theft, robbery, petty jealousies and falsehood are very common in the low-income societies as social crimes. The ratio of these social crimes is low in the economically developed countries than the economically underdeveloped countries. Education can make a national economically stable and developed. If there is no education, there is not economic stability

Promotion of human values : 

A value is one that is selected from many available options. A nation leads its life according to the values determined by the life ideology. For instance, truthfulness, equality, justice and brotherhood are the values.
When values are practiced in the society, they become traditions. Education is the chief source of promoting the values like trustworthiness, tolerance, affection, good behavior and honesty in the character of individuals. Education teaches men the values and its significance in their life.

Leadership : 

Every nation has the desire to lead the nations of the world. This desire of a nation Can only be fulfilled by the superiority over other nations in the fields of education, research and social development. A nation can become a role model for other nations due to the development in different fields of life. In this way, a nation will be in a position-to lead the nations of the world. This is the basic function of education to train the individual in a way that they can perform the duty of leading the globe.

International harmony : 

The scientific developments have facilitated the man of today. But side by side these facilities, man has prepared fatal war weapons for the destruction of mankind on earth. Wars of natural sources, disputes of borders and economic exploitation are the gifts of modern scientific age. The international harmony is not possible in the presence of these gifts. This is the duty of education to develop a program for promoting international harmony so that humanity can achieve its humanly objectives.

Scientific approach : 

Human life is full of challenges and problems. Education enables man to comprehend and solve these problems. Education develops a scientific approach towards life in the individuals. it is necessary to discriminate the scientific attitudes from'the nonscientific ones. The scientific attitudes are observable and verifiable. For instance, you are studying in the light of table lamp. Suddenly, he bulb stopped working. This is a problem that required scientific approach to site. Now you will trace out the causes of the breakdown of bulb. You will begin to think whether the bulb fuse has blown, or the electric current is run short or someone
has turned the main switch off. We can solve the problems of life by adopting the scientific approach.

Understanding the universe :

Understanding the universe refers to the knowledge of natural laws of nature and their application on human Well-being. Man cannot know the laws of nature without education. Scientific knowledge is necessary for the understanding of natural laws. Science does mean discoveries but it stands for the discovery and organization of the laws of nature. When we talk about understanding the universe, we, in fact, talk about the discovery of natural laws. We cannot comprehend the mysteries of the universe unless we absorb the scientific knowledge in the system of education. This is the function of education to develop scientific attitude in the students so that they can discover new worlds and galaxies.

Development of faculties : 

An individual is born with many faculties. Education prepares a plan for the development of these faculties, But the question arises, what does a faculty stand for? A faculty refers to those experiences, energy or force that decides the future line of action of a living organism. For instance, a seed has the faculty of turning into a plant. If it lacks this faculty, it will not be planted in the soil. Human faculties are like seeds and the educative process is like soil for the development of faculties.

Promotion of science & technology : 

Science has influenced human life very much. All the facilities in human life are the result of scientific development. The scientific development ranges from the discovery of bulb to human walk on moon. We are living in the age of science and technology. Highly developed fields of medicine, surgery, atomic energy, space, construction and environment protection are the products of science and technology. This is the function of education to make the human mind scientific and take the responsibility of the promotion of science and technology.

Safeguard of civilization & culture : 

A nation can survive with the survival of civilization and culture. Cultural heritage is the most valuable asset of a nation. That is why; a nation strives for the preservation of its cultural and civilizational heritage. This is considered one of the chief aims and functions of education.

Transmission of cultural heritage : 

Transmission refers to the shift of ideas or things from one place to another. When we talk about transmission of culture, we mean the transmission of cultural values from one generation to another. Education provides the opportunities which enable transmission of values and traditions.