Correct Option (A)
The passage explicitly states that education possesses an "important functional Instrumental and utilitarian dimension." This dimension is further elaborated by linking it to purposes such as acquiring qualifications for employment, achieving upward mobility, securing higher income opportunities, and meeting the national demand for trained human power across various sectors. Therefore, the instrumentalist view of education, as presented in the passage, is fundamentally about its functional and utilitarian applications.
Incorrect Options:
Option (B) is incorrect because while education does fulfill human needs, the passage defines the instrumentalist view more specifically. It connects instrumentalism to particular needs like employment, income generation, and national development, rather than a broad interpretation of "human needs."
Option (C) is incorrect. The passage does not define the instrumentalist view as the training of the human intellect. Instead, it describes instrumentalism through its external outcomes and practical utility, such as job acquisition and national development. The training of intellect is more aligned with the "inner process of moral-intellectual development" which the passage contrasts with the instrumentalist perspective.
Option (D) is incorrect. The passage clearly distinguishes moral development from the instrumentalist view. It states that education in its "deepest sense" is an "inner process of moral-intellectual development" and explicitly mentions that in this sense, education "is not instrumentalist." Moral development is presented as an intrinsic value of education, not an instrumental one.