Individuals advocate that the purpose of education should start from the nature of the educated, not from the society. They believe that the purpose of education is to cultivate the educated into adults, fully develop their personality and enhance their personal value.
In their view, personal value is higher than social value, and society is valuable only if it contributes to personal development. Evaluating the value of education should also be measured by its role in personal development. The representatives of this school mainly include Mencius, Rousseau, Pestalozzi and others.
On the contrary, the social standard advocates that the purpose of education should be determined according to the needs of society. The individual is only the raw material of education processing, and his development must obey the needs of society. In their view, the purpose of education is to train the educated into citizens who conform to social norms, socialize the educated and ensure the stability and continuity of social life.
In their view, social value is higher than personal value, and the existence and development of individuals depend on and belong to society. The value of education can only be measured by its benefits to society. The representatives of this school are Gou Zi, Plato, Kant and many modern educational sociologists.
The difference between individual-oriented theory and social-oriented theory;
Both views have a reasonable side and a one-sided and radical side. First of all, the individual-centered theory emphasizes the individualization of individuals and holds that education should focus on improving the value and initiative of individuals. Generally speaking, social vitality and social progress and prosperity depend on the initiative and creativity of every member of society, but we should also see the difference between initiative and randomness, creativity and destructiveness.
Personality may or may not be consistent with the overall interests of society and the trend of social progress. If people's individuality is advocated in an abstract and general way without restriction, it may drive people to pursue personal interests without restraint, make individuals lose their subjectivity and become slaves to personal needs and interests.