Question 1

What is integral education?

Accepted Answer

Integral education is education for the whole person.

Integral (adj.): necessary to make a whole complete; essential or fundamental

Education (n.): the process of receiving or giving instruction, especially at a school or university; an enlightening experience

Our life's potential is a learning potential. And it should not be limited to "one size fits all" models of being and becoming or restricted horizons of consciousness and transformation.

Integral education allows for the realization of our potential to manifest fully and freely throughout the natural and cultural course of our lives, even as it may return to itself through each of us as individuals in community.

Question 2

So 'integral' isn't about learning calculus?

Accepted Answer

No, not in this case. But math will always be really cool!

Integral here comes from the Sanskrit word purnah meaning “fullness”, while education comes from the Latin educere “to lead out (from)”.

Integral education involves leading out from within the fullness of who we are. And traditional approaches generally support this process through recognizing four basic interconnections.

With respect to the subject matter of life, these include:  1) what is being taught; 2) for whom is the instruction intended; 3) what is the method of teaching; and 4) what is it that is to be gained.

Question 3

How does integral education work?

Accepted Answer

Integral education embraces traditional sources of knowledge and approaches to learning.

It also recognizes that the modern search for truth has, somewhat paradoxically, put humans at the center of life's cycles of existence while decentering our connection to life's knowledge base.

Thus, integral education maintains the value of technical, practical and theoretical understanding for achieving life's goals, and the importance of rationality and reason herein.

At the same time, it remembers that our natural, practical and ultimate aims in life cannot be reduced to this, and adopts approaches that are holistic, pragmatic, developmental and aspirational as well.

Question 4

Is 'integral' a philosophy then?

Accepted Answer

If by philosophy we mean a "love of wisdom", then, yes, integral education includes a philosophical dimension to embracing the world in which we live, both for ourselves and in relation to others.

As traditional structures of authority have been breaking down, a seismic reaction to modernity's own authoritative self-assurance has emerged.

Reckoning with this ‘post-modern’ condition asks us to recognize that the distinctions we maintain in our cultural worldviews, personal identities and societal institutions are significant in their own right.

It also suggests the individual and collective ability to claim our life's potential as our own, fully and freely as authors of success, satisfaction and happiness in our everyday lives.

Question 5

What is IEF’s role and how can we participate?

Accepted Answer

The Integral Education Foundation (IEF) is committed to a non-ideological and non-dogmatic approach to supporting integral education in the United States and around the world.

Education itself is such a vast and complex ecosystem, it can be hard to hear and learn about the remarkable and diverse approaches to integral education that already exist.

That's why IEF has focused its strategic vision on three core components -- theory, practice and viability -- to create a platform that is sustainable over the long-run for people like you.

Soon, we will be applying for federal non-profit 501(c)(3) status. If you would like to be on our mailing list to keep abreast of updates and opportunities, please let us know.

We look forward to building a foundation for integral education from the ground up together.

What is integral education?

So 'integral' isn't about learning calculus?

How does integral education work?

Is 'integral' a philosophy then?

What is IEF’s role and how can we participate?

Frequently Asked Questions

Join our newsletter