HOLISTIC VIEW 1 A Holistic View of Education and Schooling: Guiding Students to Develop Capacities, Acquire Virtues, and Provide Service

Abstract

This paper considers the development of the whole person from the perspective of developing capacities in nine domains: (1) temperament, personality, and self-views, (2) cognition/thinking, (3) affect/emotion, (4) conation/volition (or self-regulation), (5) physical/bodily-kinesthetic, (6) social/interpersonal; (7) spiritual / transpersonal, (8) moral character, and (9) citizenship. Basic research is considered as well as how interested adults, especially educators, can facilitate development in these areas. Parents, educators, and concerned citizens around the world are asking questions about how best to prepare children and youth for successful adulthood in the twenty-first century. The question takes on added importance because humanity is immersed in a social and cultural environment that is changing at an accelerating rate (Kurzwiel, 2001). Simultaneously, there is exponential growth in an understanding of human capacities and the potential for human development (Damon, 2004). Though every human society has dealt with issues of preparing children and youth for adulthood, the potential benefits have never been greater for providing the proper learning experiences so that young people can flourish as adults. While it is acknowledged that schools are not the only social institutions responsible fo