The Purpose of Education

Abstract

All of the students who go through the program I direct at Harvard Divinity School, the Program in Religion and Secondary Education, are required to articulate and periodically review their own answer to the following question: What is the purpose of education? My hope is that they will continue to do so throughout their teaching careers as one way to remind them why they were drawn to education in the first place and to inspire them to help create environments where their beliefs are aligned with their practices. There are, of course, a variety of often competing answers to this question and this has always been the case. Another reason I urge students in the Program and educators in general to articulate these fundamental assumptions is to encourage more transparency regarding the values that underlie policies and priorities in all educational arenas. In keeping with this call for transparency, it is only fitting that I begin by answering the question myself so that readers will understand the underlying values and beliefs that inform this project.