Directed seaman to obtain education (8)
I believe the answer is:
targeted
'directed' is the definition.
('target' can be a synonym of 'direct')
'seaman to obtain education' is the wordplay.
'seaman' becomes 'tar' ('tar' can be a synonym of 'seaman').
'to obtain' becomes 'get' ('get' can be a synonym of 'obtain').
'education' becomes 'ed' (abbreviation - e.g. sex ed).
'tar'+'get'+'ed'='TARGETED'
(Other definitions for targeted that I've seen before include "Aimed at, or set as objective" , "Selected as an object to aim at" , "Took aim at (8)" .)