Western education

Western education is the form of education that mainly originated in or is characteristic of the Western world.

History

Ancient era

Medieval era

Modern era

Pre-contemporary history outside of the West

The introduction of Western education into the rest of the world occurred to a large degree through imperialism. This affected the way that Western education was absorbed and influenced by the world.

Africa

Asia

East Asia

In China, as reformers sought to grapple with the foreign domination of the late 19th century, they came to a conclusion of re-ordering Chinese society through a process of self-strengthening, which included taking ideas from the West.
Even before the Edo period, Japan had established significant contact with Western knowledge through Rangaku. While maintaining its isolationist sakoku policy, Japan permitted limited trade with the Dutch East India Company at Dejima, Nagasaki. This unique arrangement allowed Japanese scholars to study Western medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and other sciences through Dutch books and interactions with Dutch traders. Rangaku scholars like Sugita Genpaku and Maeno Ryōtaku made groundbreaking translations of Dutch medical texts, including the influential "Kaitai Shinsho", which introduced Western medical knowledge to Japan. This early exposure to Western learning through the Dutch connection laid an important foundation for Japan's later modernization efforts during the Meiji era, when Japan sought to further modernize itself by learning from the West. It sent scholars and diplomats to Western countries to learn from their education systems.

South Asia

The British colonised India starting in the late 18th century, and began to impose Western education by the early 19th century. They saw this as a highly positive step, and felt that it was a way to civilise the people. Native kingdoms also sometimes sought such education to understand how to deal with the British threat.

Contemporary history outside of the West

Africa

Comparison with other educational systems

Asian education

Chinese/Eastern education has been contrasted with Western education on the basis of aiming to encourage individuals to acquire the discipline necessary to learn and therefore provide honor to their families.

Islamic education

Since the colonial era, Muslim leaders have decried Western education as failing to instill moral values, with its secular nature also seen as problematic.