A humanistic and integrated vision
of education
Published in the mid-1990s, the Delors Report offered a
different vision for education from the dominant utilitarian,
economic tone prevalent at that time. Burnett (2008), for
instance, reminds us that the Delors Report was based on a
vision of “education as a public good with a fundamental role
to play in personal and social development”, thus providing a
guide for education systems to “make them more meaningful,
flexible, and fair, based on the four pillars of education.” Draxler
(2010) further elaborates on the contrasting vision proposed by
the report at that time:
“The context in which the report was written was one
of important changes in thinking about education and
in education development policy. The humanistic and
optimistic view dominant in the sixties and seventies of a
holistic education aimed at both individual and societal
progress had ceded predominance to a more utilitarian
view based on policymakers” desires to build human
capital. The value of education was widely expressed in
“rates of return” on investment (public and private) and
helped reinforce a strongly capitalistic and productivistic
view of the value of education […]. It proclaimed a deeply
humanistic vision of education as a holistic process, linking
the acquisition of knowledge to practice, and balancing
individual with collective competence. It posited the
fundamental and idealistic view of education as much
broader than economics.”