Resumo

POLICARPO JUNIOR, José  e  RODRIGUES, Maria Lucicleide Falcão de Melo. Human development guidelines: normative dimension of education. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) [online]. 2010, vol.20, n.45, pp. 95-103. ISSN 0103-863X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2010000100012.

This study analyses some underpinning principles of the nature of education, although the educational field seldom considers them in their theoretical and scientific dimensions. These principles: equality, truth, usefulness, reasonableness, introspection, individuation and freedom are conceptualized as elements of the normative dimension of education. This normative dimension is considered an updated concept of arete, which guided the spiritual construction of the ideal of the Greek Paideia, the historical root of the concept of education. Although those principles do not constitute a complete list of the understanding of education, they are necessary to legitimate education as a field with its own knowledge and practice.

Palavras-chave : individual formation; truth; individuation; freedom.