Education in Society
The development of a full-fledged
education system has the power to reconstruct the society (Apple, 2013). There
are different forms of education system in various communities and the cultural
and economic factors influence the educational practices. However, there is a
gap in the current education system to meet the education requirements of many
minority communities. Educational institutions are currently focusing on
developing an education system that meets the international labour demands by
ignoring the other aspects of education which is necessary for the development
and maintenance of culture and needs of that particular community. This is one
main reason why many minority practices are becoming extinct all over the
world.
Meaning of the concept ‘education in
society’ in relation to my understanding of culture and society
Communities priorities the educational
needs of students’ educational requirements which is based on how each society
organization themselves. For example, when some countries prioritize the
development of a critical mind, some countries think it as absurd (Wursten and
Jacobs, nd.). The education system in many countries have been affected by the
colonialism due to its influence on the culture and society (Marker, 2003). For
example, In New Zealand, the influence of colonialism on the education system is
at the cost of the cultural education system. Ako is the educative process of
the Maori while schools are education centers in the colonial system of
education (Pihama et al, 2004). The whare wananga is the formal places of
higher learning in the Maori system while the Universities are for higher
learning in the colonial system. Maori educative process the students are not
limited by age, gender or social status but even the tough education is free in
NZ the socio economic status and the age of the person determine the quality of
education they receive in the colonial system. The current colonial educative
system in NZ does not take into account the different needs of the Maori learners
and the non-Maori learners in terms of culture, learning styles and learning
needs. The lack of educational achievement of the Maori learners in the
colonial education system is issue that can be solved only if Maori learning
needs are fulfilled by the authorities.
In many instances the Maori students
are treated differently in the colonial type of schools in a negative way. The
standards of these schools are based on the European schooling systems as when
the people from Europe immigrated to New Zealand they thought their culture to
be superior than that of the Maoris. The educational disparities affect the
community from the view of outsiders. Including a maori curriculum content will
help achieve a balance in the survival of the culture and fulfilling the
educational needs of the community. Culturally responsive teaching brings motivation
for the students and increases the achievement of the student as the teacher
emphasizes on the history, literature and cultural heritage of the students of
the community. The Maori culture allows for education from the elders. The
parents and grandparents are the first teachers and children learned through folk-lore,
prayers, traditions, legends, whakapapa (genealogical connections) and their
relationship nature such as land, sea, rivers, mountains, forests and birds
(Pihama et al, 2004) while the colonial system of education is dependent on
books and assessments.
The relation of the theme ‘education’ on the social and
cultural diversity and change in today’s society
Education systems are moving towards
universalistic orientation where the cultural minority values are pressed
against the mainstream cultural patterns (Barnhardt, 1981). This has resulted
in an education system with reduced cultural and social diversity. One main
reason is the difficulty of indigenous communities all over the world to adapt
to the new changes in the social system with far less cultural diversity. In
countries such as Australia and New Zealand there is a huge disparity between
the life expectancy, health, rates of employment and imprisonment of the
Indigenous and non-indigenous people (Malin & Maidment, 2003). There is a
need to design an educational curriculum that is linguistically and culturally
appropriate to the learning needs of the Indigenous people. In the Maori
community, art has been used to conceive ideas and it is an invaluable
component of the culture. The colonial system of education uses the English
language to convey and conceive ideas in the school system it has led to the
decline of the Maori language and the Maori arts (Teareo, 2002).
The medium of instruction is the
dominant language which is English. The Maoris learn English at the cost of
their mother tongue. The process of learning a dominant language at the cost of
the mother tongue is called subtractive education (Magga et al, 2004). This
makes the youth shift to the dominant group linguistically and culturally. The
use of the mother tongue along with the majority language is essential. When
the mother tongue is given importance the linguistic diversity of the world
will not disappear as many spoken languages are likely to extinct or endangered
(Magga et al, 2004). The centrality of the cash economy along with the formal
education provision of the states causes the gradual sideline of the arts and
culture of the society.
Importance of the theme ‘education’ in relation to my
values, beliefs and identity and the issues that need to addressed by today’s
society
Learning is an essential process in the
life of the individual but each person learns in a different way, at a
different time and at a different pace. Knowledge is vital in economic,
political as well as spiritual sustainability of a person. Knowledge benefits
the individual, community, country and the economy but the teaching should be
informal, open and inclusive of the values and cultures of the individual. I
understand that many children learn by doing rather than reading and they
require adults to pass on ideas and spend time teaching them with materials and
resources. I believe the current colonial system of education gives enough book
knowledge but when the students take it to the field they face many practical
difficulties.
Children learn through observing and
according to Maori tradition that learning from the surroundings include
learning from formal social gatherings and ‘adult conversations’. Formal speeches, discussions, meeting places
and homes were all ways to learn for the Maori children. But this system of
education I believe encourages children who are keenly interested on the
subject whereas the colonial system of education or the compulsory learning
provides a chance for everyone to learn in the classrooms. It is important to
me that every child is given a chance to complete formal education as this will
help them refine their thoughts and help them understand science and
mathematics better. Education does not stop at school and it is a lifelong
process and everyone keeps learning.
The dominant culture is usually the
culture of the state schooling system but efforts have been taken by the
government to include Maori aspects of education in the school system. Students
who leave early are likely to face hardship in finding and retaining jobs and
do not have the chances of learning opportunities later in life. I think the
trend in Maori students leaving will reduce if the system meets the needs of
Maori students. I believe that high quality teaching is required for successful
outcome of Maori student presence, engagement and achievement.
The theme of education applied in International Studies and
the differences in the application of the theme education in other disciplines
International studies is a discipline
that examines different political, economic, social and cultural issues in an
international context. The theme of education in society in international
studies is examined in relation to the intercultural competence that students
need to learn in the modern globalized society. Education in international
studies discipline is about making schools to incorporate different cultural
traditions in countries so that student gains the skills, knowledge and
attitude to work in an integrated global environment without miscommunication
and misunderstanding. ‘Education in society’ in international studies is about understanding
the education needs and issues in the international context. Developing a
system that enable students to develop the skills to live and work in the
integrated, intercultural global environment is the current demand of
education.
The theme of education can be examined
differently in other disciplines such as social sciences and economics. Social
science is another discipline that examines education as the human aspects of
the world especially human behavior (Backhouse and Fontaine, 2010). In social
sciences the theme of education encompasses the teaching and learning of
specific skills to develop human behavior and is examined in relation to the
passing of cultural values from one generation to another. Education in social
sciences not only relate to the education provided in school but also the
education people gain from their family and peers. In economic, education in
society may be examined in relation to its influence on the monthly income of
family and the relation of education to the migration opportunities for skilled
professionals.
Conclusion
The current lack of education of the
Maoris is blamed on the students, families, socioeconomic status and government
policies (Sheriff, 2010). The colonial system of education promotes the
individualistic aspect with individual competition and individual attainment
but the collectivistic Maori community performs well in sharing, co-operating,
supporting and team work. Incorporation the Maori aspects of education along
with group learning activities in the schools will have a positive impact on
the educational experiences and life of Maori students. This discussion on
education in society narrows down to considering the cultural and minority
values which were one used for education along with the modern mainstream
education system. Ignoring the cultural and social values of a community allows
to improve the educational performance of indigenous communities.
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