UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Education
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
EDS3701: Education Studies
Assignment 02 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
EDS3701
Module Code:
Education Studies
Module Name:
Student Name:
Student Surname:
Assignment 02
Assignment Number:
185541
Unique Number:
Primary Lecturer:
08 May 2026
Due Date:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for EDS3701 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | EDS3701 Assignment 02 — Education Studies
2.1 What is Learning?
Learning is one of the most fundamental processes shaping human existence. At its core, it
refers to a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviour that re-
sults from experience, study, or instruction (Coombs, Prosser and Ahmed, 1973). This change
is not confined to the classroom; it happens whenever a person interacts with the world in a
way that leaves a durable mental trace. What makes learning such a rich concept in educa-
tional studies is that it spans every stage of life, every social context, and every conceivable
purpose, from mastering a trade to developing personal values.
Several theorists have approached learning from different angles. Behaviourists such as Skin-
ner (1953) located learning in observable changes in behaviour triggered by environmental
stimuli. Cognitive theorists like Piaget (1970) shifted focus to the internal mental structures
through which individuals make sense of new information. Constructivists, following Vygot-
sky (1978), argued that learning is fundamentally social, shaped by interaction with more
knowledgeable others within a cultural context. Each of these perspectives captures some-
thing real about what learning is, and together they suggest that no single definition is fully
adequate on its own (Mocker and Spear, 1982).
What most definitions share is the idea that learning involves change. A person who has
learned something is in some way different afterwards, whether they can do something they
could not do before, understand something they previously misunderstood, or hold a belief
they did not previously hold. This change must also be relatively stable: temporary shifts
caused by fatigue, drugs, or simple reflexes are not considered learning in the educational
sense (Coombs et al., 1973).
Key Distinction
Learning must be distinguished from maturation, which is a biological process of
growth and development that unfolds naturally over time regardless of experience. A
child learning to speak by interacting with caregivers is learning; the physical develop-
ment of the larynx that makes speech possible is maturation. Both processes often
work together, but they are not the same thing (Vygotsky, 1978).
Beyond the individual, learning is also a social and political act. In the South African context,
the post-1994 education system was redesigned around the idea that learning should be
emancipatory, breaking with the Bantu Education model that had deliberately limited what
Page 2 of 14
College of Education
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
EDS3701: Education Studies
Assignment 02 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
EDS3701
Module Code:
Education Studies
Module Name:
Student Name:
Student Surname:
Assignment 02
Assignment Number:
185541
Unique Number:
Primary Lecturer:
08 May 2026
Due Date:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for EDS3701 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | EDS3701 Assignment 02 — Education Studies
2.1 What is Learning?
Learning is one of the most fundamental processes shaping human existence. At its core, it
refers to a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviour that re-
sults from experience, study, or instruction (Coombs, Prosser and Ahmed, 1973). This change
is not confined to the classroom; it happens whenever a person interacts with the world in a
way that leaves a durable mental trace. What makes learning such a rich concept in educa-
tional studies is that it spans every stage of life, every social context, and every conceivable
purpose, from mastering a trade to developing personal values.
Several theorists have approached learning from different angles. Behaviourists such as Skin-
ner (1953) located learning in observable changes in behaviour triggered by environmental
stimuli. Cognitive theorists like Piaget (1970) shifted focus to the internal mental structures
through which individuals make sense of new information. Constructivists, following Vygot-
sky (1978), argued that learning is fundamentally social, shaped by interaction with more
knowledgeable others within a cultural context. Each of these perspectives captures some-
thing real about what learning is, and together they suggest that no single definition is fully
adequate on its own (Mocker and Spear, 1982).
What most definitions share is the idea that learning involves change. A person who has
learned something is in some way different afterwards, whether they can do something they
could not do before, understand something they previously misunderstood, or hold a belief
they did not previously hold. This change must also be relatively stable: temporary shifts
caused by fatigue, drugs, or simple reflexes are not considered learning in the educational
sense (Coombs et al., 1973).
Key Distinction
Learning must be distinguished from maturation, which is a biological process of
growth and development that unfolds naturally over time regardless of experience. A
child learning to speak by interacting with caregivers is learning; the physical develop-
ment of the larynx that makes speech possible is maturation. Both processes often
work together, but they are not the same thing (Vygotsky, 1978).
Beyond the individual, learning is also a social and political act. In the South African context,
the post-1994 education system was redesigned around the idea that learning should be
emancipatory, breaking with the Bantu Education model that had deliberately limited what
Page 2 of 14
