The Role of Education in the Development Process

Abstract

While the concept of development generally refers to the attempt of political powers to change the social structure by following certain economic and social policies in order to increase the welfare level of individuals, education refers to the process of systematically providing individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for their lives and acquiring social and moral values. Education brings about changes in an individual's knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors; It can be thought of as the process of transferring cultural inheritance from generation to generation. Development refers to the development of the social and economic structure and reaching the level of modernity, which is also related to the sovereignty of countries. Education and development appear as two fundamental concepts that are inseparable from each other, affect and are related to each other, and are important for all countries. When the goal is to train and develop the manpower required to ensure development and to make individuals productive, the most effective tool to be used to achieve this goal will undoubtedly be "education". The education process includes the aim of raising the necessary number and quality of people for economic and social development. For this reason, one of the most important criteria evaluated when looking at the development criteria of a country is education. Within the scope of this study, the education-development relationship, and the direct and indirect effects of education on development were examined, and the basic principles used in education as a tool of development were tried to be examined by evaluating the basic studies in the literature. This study aims to reveal the role of education in the development process. For this purpose, firstly, the basic concepts related to education were tried to be explained in detail, and the importance and purposes of education were emphasized. Afterward, the concept of development was discussed. While discussing the concept of development, the concepts of growth and underdevelopment are also mentioned. Finally, the concepts of education and development were discussed together and comparisons and evaluations were made. In the conclusion section of the study, various suggestions are included.