The details are as follows:
(1). Theory of biological origin
According to the biological origin theorists, human education originated from the survival instinct activities of various animals in the animal kingdom, and the main representatives are Torno, Spencer, Percy Neng and so on.
The French sociologist Little Noel holds that education is a social phenomenon that occurs outside the scope of human society and long before human beings appear. The love and care of big animals for small animals is an educational act, and there are also teachers and students in the insect world. Survival competition and natural instinct are the basis of education. It is based on the natural instinct of survival and reproduction that animals impart "knowledge" and "skills" to young animals, and it is the original form and origin of education. Later, human education only inherited the existing education form in the animal kingdom and made it acquire new attributes.
(2). Theory of psychological origin
Psychogenic theorists believe that education originated from children's unconscious imitation of adults, and the main representative is American educator Monroe.
From the perspective of psychology, Meng Lu judged that education originated from children's unconscious imitation of adults according to the primitive historical facts that there were no schools, teachers and textbooks in primitive society. In the textbook History of Education, he wrote that education in primitive society "generally adopts simple and unconscious imitation", and that "primitive society has only the simplest form of education, however, in the early days, the educational process has all the basic characteristics of the highest stage of education development", that is, it recognizes that children's unconscious imitation of adults is the initial education.
(3). The origin of labor theory
According to the viewpoint of labor origin theorists, education originated from labor, which is the dialectical unity of social production needs and human development needs in the process of labor. Its representatives are mainly educational historians and educators such as Midinsky and Kailov of the former Soviet Union.
In the book History of World Education, Midinsky pointed out that the origin of education can only be understood from Engels' famous principle of "labor creates people by itself". Education originated from the unique productive labor of human beings.
While criticizing the bourgeois educational thought, they tried to clarify the origin of education from the viewpoint of historical materialism, especially using Engels' viewpoint of expounding the origin of man and human society in the process of labor from ape to man, and put forward that education originated from labor. They believe that education begins with the means of production and means of production, and education is a conscious and purposeful social activity unique to human beings. Many scholars hold this view, mainly in the Soviet Union and China.