Blending East and West for holistic education

Abstract

Education is under pressure to respond to the changing modern world. Education system worldwide aims to develop students into well-rounded citizens and help them become creative problem-solvers. Several theories have been proposed in the research literature which emphasizes the importance of social and cultural context to creativity. Eastern and Western world are extremely complex and differentiated both politically and historically. Their educational systems are two fundamentally different approaches to teaching and learning. It is a common thinking that Eastern society is reserved and conservative whereas Western society is more creative and assertive. The holistic approach develops students to be critical, confident and independent (Patel, 2003). This article aims to compare and evaluate these differences, in view of achieving holistic education focusing on the fullest possible development of the individuals.