Abstract:

Any educational system should identify specific aims to lead its activities. Nowadays, childhood education plays an important role in the educational process. Therefore, it is essential to set its aims with precision. In this paper, we concentrate on 'good life' as an ideal for the educational attempts and using conceptual analysis, try to infer the aims of childhood education from it. We identify 7 fields in which children can prepare themselves for realizing good life in other stages of their education. The first arena is body and its appropriate aim is health, cleanliness and reinforcement of the body. Teachers are more responsible in realizing this aim because of the child weakness. The second aim is related to religiosity. We aim to familiarize children with some humanistic messages and rules of religion in the specific way that does not restrain their freedom. The third field is related to the ethics. Our aims in this area can be handling and working on children’s desires and tendencies and increasing their tendencies towards good. In addition, we should take notice of further arenas like natural and human sciences. In these areas, our goals are acquaintance with natural and human phenomena, preparing children for observing them and imagining and thinking about them. Moreover, children are social civics and should have influential social contributions. For this reason, they have to learn about their identities (on individual, national and international levels) and can be held responsible for some simple social responsibilities according to social ethics and rules. The last aim is an aesthetic one, in which we try to familiarize children with beauty and elegance and increase their inclinations towards beauty (in the objective and subjective forms). All of these aims signify a holistic meaning of good life.