Principles, frameworks and challenges underpinning holistic education in the 21st century

Holistic education is an educational paradigm that is gaining increasing attention in educational circles due to it being eclectic and inclusive in nature. It attempts to embed a wholesome approach to life including spiritual and philosophical ideals in its pedagogical elements to foster a more fulsome development of the individual. In this paper, research literature is parsed through and content analysed to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and curricular underpinnings of the holistic education movement through a theoretical interpretive lens. The beginnings and evolution of the holistic education movement are examined in conjunction with the broad definitions of holistic education as viewed by educational experts. The diverse broad strands and underlying principles of holistic education are next scrutinized in-depth to appreciate the rationale and purposes of positioning holistic education as one amongst the many responses to educational reform efforts. In juxtaposition to the benefits of a holistic education system, the challenges encountered in implementing such an approach and remedial strategies that need to be taken to counter this are lastly explored in this discussion.