Rabindranath Tagore's Educational Thought: A Fusion of Culture, Nature, and Innovation

Abstract

Rabindranath Tagore was a prolific Indian who excelled in literature, philosophy, and education. This paper attempts to explore Tagore's educational philosophy, which does not focus on a shallow curriculum but follows a holistic learning that is closer to nature, personality and cultural interrelatedness. Tagore's educational experiments, which he primarily pursued at Santiniketan, challenged colonial concepts of education, instead proposing a system that nurtured children's spiritual, emotional, and natural needs. It also discusses Tagore's views on teaching methods that included nature-based learning, the importance of activities, debates, and the heuristic method. Tagore's philosophy of education focused on flexibility, experiential learning, and fostering independence and critical thinking. And this driving value underpinned his educational model, a blend of Eastern traditions and Western ideas that set the foundation for a radical approach to education in India and beyond. This research uses secondary sources of data to examine Tagore educational thoughts and detail his influence on the development of modern education.

Keywords: Rabindranath Tagore, Educational Philosophy, Santiniketan, Holistic Education, Nature-Based Learning, Spiritual Education, Experiential Learning, Heuristic Method, Critical Thinking