The Purpose of Education
Governments repeatedly hammer home the importance of qualifications. When discussing education policy, not only political ideologies, but also educational ones should be taken into account, including detailed concepts of the nature of the educational process. Balancing learning with doing and what it takes to live a long, happy and healthy life. Demographic data provide important information to consider when forming an education policy, because demographic developments are thought to be relatively unchanging and therefore useful for long-term planning. Education should awaken the capacity to be self-aware and not merely indulge in gratifying self-expression. Forced education for democratic citizenship is the opposite of respect and learning to live with the values of human rights, and even violates those values. The notion of education as a basic human right, which has acquired traction recently is implicit in the concept of the intrinsic value of education. Education should not encourage the individual to conform to society or to be negatively harmonious with it, but help him to discover the true values which come with unbiased investigation and self-awareness. The multiple paradigms of our society, and more specifically, of our education, are going through a relevant and irreversible transformation. Education is not merely a matter of training the mind. Training makes for efficiency, but it does not bring about completeness. Would not it be much better if further education institutes are able determine for themselves the requirements for the knowledge and skills of their prospective students? The primary concern is the individual interest of any student.
Formal education occurs in a structured environment whose explicit purpose is teaching students. In our present civilization we have divided life into so many departments that education has very little meaning, except in learning a particular technique or profession. Instead of awakening the integrated intelligence of the individual, education is encouraging him to conform to a pattern and so is hindering his comprehension of himself as a total process. The purpose of education is to prepare people for life, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to contribute to a thriving society. Children and young people are fascinated by new discoveries and technologies and become increasingly aware of, and passionate about, the impact of science on their own health and wellbeing, the health of society and the health of the environment. Different basic concepts have a direct connection to specific educational models. Even if we see education from its instrumental value perspective, a country can derive maximum benefit from education for development purposes only if all or the vast majority of its children, and not only a few who come from well-to-do families, have the opportunity of contributing to the human capital of the country. The purpose of education has evolved over time. The system also has, even without expanding the laws, substantial influence on the thoughts and actions of people. If we produce learners who can solve problems and be informed voters then education wins. Often educators enter the teaching field because they have a wish to educate others, but then their philosophies are transformed as they begin to pay particular attention to the network of personalities and ideas surrounding the particular schools in which they teach. What are the existing attitudes or perceptions? What is the nature of people’s experiences? What needs does the population have? What factors are present in the system?
Though there is a higher and wider significance to life, of what value is our education if we never discover it? Education has always served a pragmatic purpose. It is a tool to be used to bring about a specific outcome (or set of outcomes). Just for your information, research has shown that numerical aptitude correlates well with performance and job prospects. Research into the lives of former students show that they attended the higher education of their choice, found jobs that suited them and led a satisfactory social life. Some claim that public education systems today are in a deep crisis. This diagnosis plays a significant role in the perception that these systems need to change and in the sense of urgency associated it. Almost all developed countries, particularly the Scandinavian ones, other European countries like Germany and France, USA, Canada, Cuba, China and South Korea have achieved universalization of quality education with state-funded, regulated and operated common school system. Conventional education makes independent thinking extremely difficult. Those who claim that there is a crisis in public education point to insufficient achievements despite large economic investment and structural reforms. While the existence of schools and teachers at this level is not disputed, it is frequently ignored. The UK is a divided society and many current educational systems maintain inequality and rivalry. In the complex pluralistic society like ours it is very difficult, if not impossible, to choose a single vision of education that satisfies all our needs and aspirations. Since the start of mass education people have been experimenting with different forms of education. This makes sense because from the time children have been forced to follow mass education, changing that education has been the only option. Scholars have argued that ideologies must be understood beyond their implications for learning and organization, because all ideologies address human nature and relations within society. Academic knowledge and subject matter expertise are valued more highly than skills.
Students can discover a sense of purpose in their learning through questions that lead them to think about their interests. Learning in health and wellbeing ensures that children and young people develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes which they need for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing now and in the future. Children and young people encounter, enjoy and learn from the diversity of language used in their homes, their communities, by the media and by their peers. Pursuit of knowledge should be encouraged, but it needs a radical re-think if that knowledge is no longer giving businesses what they need. League tables pre-occupy all schools and most continue to push university as the ultimate post school destination. Education is presently seen primarily as the means of earning a livelihood and making students fit for the market where they can be sold and purchased.
