International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 236 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development Online ISSN: 2349-4182, Print ISSN: 2349-5979, Impact Factor: RJIF 5.72 www.allsubjectjournal.com Volume 3; Issue 10; October 2016; Page No. 236-238 Education as a means to promote development in social & economic condition Rajesh Kumar Ph.D., Research Scholar, Department of Political Science, B.N.M. University, Madhepura, Bihar, India Abstract This paper is an exposition on the theoretical and practical relevance of educational philosophy to national development. It postulated that philosophical ideas have been responsible for shaping the development of societies through the channels of education. Accordingly the five indicators are health, empowerment, safety and security, ability to go about without shame, and meaning and value in one's own life. UNDP methodology with appropriate modifications is adapted to quantify development at individual level as well as aggregate social development. Results show that there exists high correlation between attainment of education and social dimension of development at individual level. This reflects on the importance of education in influencing the social and economic well-being of individuals. Keywords: education, social & economic condition, national development Introduction Education is the manifestation of perfection already in men. Swami Vivekanand According to some learned people, the word "Education" has been derived from the Latin term "Educatum" which means the act of teaching or training. A group of educationists say that it has come from another Latin word "Educare" which means "to bring up" or "to rise". According to a few others, the word "Education" has originated from another Latin term "Educere" which means "to lead forth" or "to come out". All these meanings indicate that education seeks to nourish the good qualities in man and draw out the best in every individual. Education seeks to develop the innate inner capacities of man. Definitions of Education The Concepts of Education as given by prominent Indian educationists are as follows: 1. Rigved: "Education is something which makes man self- reliant and selfless". 2. Upanishad: "Education is for liberation". 3. Bhagavad Gita: "Nothing is more purifying on earth than wisdom." 4. Shankaracharya: "Education is the realization of self”. 5. Kautilya: "Education means training of the country and love of the nation". 6. Panini: "Human education means the training which one gets from nature". 7. Vivekanand: “Education is the manifestation of the divine perfection, already existing in man." 8. Gandhi: "By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the Child and man body, mind and spirit." 9. Tagore: "The widest road leading to the solution of all our problems is education." 10. Sri Aurobindo: "Education which will offer the tools whereby one can live for the divine, for the country, for oneself and for others and this must be the ideal of every school which calls itself national". Education is believed to be the bedrock of any country’s development. It is considered as the cornerstone for meaningful and sustainable growth development and achievement in art, science and technology. Concepts of Education as defined by Western philosophers 1. Socrates: "Education means the bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of every man". 2. Plato: "Education is the capacity to feel pleasure and pain at the right moment. It develops in the body and in the soul of the pupil all the beauty and all the perfection which he is capable of." 3. Aristotle: "Education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body. It develops man's faculty, especially his mind so that he may be able to enjoy the contemplation of supreme truth, goodness and beauty of which perfect happiness essentially consists. 4. Rousseau: "Education of man commences at his birth; before he can speak, before he can understand he is already instructed. Experience is the forerunner of the perfect". 5. Herbert Spencer: "Education is complete living". 6. Heinrich Pestalozzi: "Education is natural harmonious and progressive development of man's innate powers". Education and society Education, if looked at beyond its conventional boundaries, forms the very essence of all our actions. What we do is what we know and have learned, either through instructions or through observation and assimilation. When we are not making an effort to learn, our mind is always processing new information or trying to analyze the similarities as well as the tiny nuances within the context which makes the topic stand out or seem different. If that is the case then the mind definitely holds the potential to learn more, however, it is us who stop ourselves from expanding the horizons of our knowledge with self-doubt or other social, emotional, or economic constraints.