U N I T 1 PEDAGOGY, EDUCATION AND SCHOOL In this Unit, pedagogy is explored through the thinking and practice of the educators accompanying learners and bringing learning into life. Teaching is only one aspect of the practice. We will see that playing, too, has an important role in the development of children, and we will also look at certain issues connected with learning. A. PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION Pedagogy is the science and art of education. Its aims range from full development of the human being to skills acquisition. The word comes from the Greek (paidagogeo) which literally means to lead the child . Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism. Generally, education occurs through any experience with a formative effect on the way a person thinks, feels or acts. The word itself comes from the Latin educatio (breeding, bringing up) and educo (I educate, train). During the very early years of its life, a child spends most of its time within the family and with its parents, who are the first natural pedagogues, and play will be School in the 1960 s 42