ABSTRACT

Aims of the chapter

To analyse what the key concepts of the capability approach – capability, functioning and agency – imply for educational theory and practice.

To examine education as a human development dimension and in its role in promoting other valuable dimensions.

To understand the differences between the human capital and human development approach to education.

Key Points

Human capital theory sees the role of education as being instrumental to economic growth. Education provides people with the necessary productive skills that an industrialized economy requires. Education is an investment that yields economic returns.

In contrast, the human development and capability approach sees education as fulfilling three roles: it is instrumental, empowering and redistributive.

Education nurtures critical reflection and has crucial links with a healthy democracy.

Applying the capability approach to the field of education puts the emphasis on capabilities and not only on functionings. It stresses the importance of conversion factors and diverse institutional arrangements for educational inputs to be translated into valuable outputs.

Education has critical links to social justice.