The aim of this paper is to offer a timely theory of education that abstains as much as feasibly possible from 'taking sides' in current ideological disputes. It begins by presenting a basic definition demarcating the concept of 'education' from other processes of human learning and formation, yet in a way that allows circumventing various features that have been the source of literary debates. The paper then presents education's bi-dimensional structure and connects this structure to Schwartz's theory of universal values. To further explicate the merits of the theory, the paper presents four generic types of education and connects each of them to Schwartz's value scale (SVS). It is argued that the conception of education offered may serve as a commonly shared framework for educational theorists and practitioners alike to think about and research education.