TVETipedia Glossary

Knowledge is central to any discussion of learning and may be understood as the way in which individuals and societies apply meaning to experience. It can therefore be seen broadly as the information, understanding, skills, values and attitudes acquired through learning. As such, knowledge is linked inextricably to the cultural, social, environmental and institutional contexts in which it is created and reproduced.

Outcome of assimilation of information through learning. Knowledge is the body of facts, principles, theories and practices related to a field of study or work.

Comment

There are numerous definitions of knowledge. Nevertheless, modern conceptions of knowledge rest broadly on several basic distinctions:

- Aristotle distinguished between theoretical and practical logic. In line with this distinction, modern theoreticians (Alexander et al., 1991) distinguish declarative (theoretical) knowledge from procedural (practical) knowledge. Declarative knowledge includes assertions on specific events, facts and empirical generalisations, as well as deeper principles on the nature of reality. Procedural knowledge includes heuristics, methods, plans, practices, procedures, routines, strategies, tactics, techniques and tricks (Ohlsson, 1994);

- It is possible to differentiate between forms of knowledge which represent different ways of learning about the world. Various attempts have been made to compile such lists; the following categories seem to be frequently represented:

• objective (natural/scientific) knowledge, defined on the basis of certainty;
• subjective (literary/aesthetic) knowledge, defined on the basis of authenticity;
• moral (human/normative) knowledge, defined on the basis of collective acceptance (right/wrong);
• religious/divine knowledge, defined by reference to a divine authority (God). This basic understanding of knowledge underpins the questions we ask, the methods we use and the answers we give in our search for knowledge;