Perfect Education Systems; Wishful Thinking
According to Prof. Dr. Gülden Ertugrul, Utopia is a word derived from the Greek Outopia meanings 'Nowhere' and Eutopia meanings 'Someplace Good'. It basically represents an imaginary place where all institutions and the actors in the society are perfect, a place that does not exist, but a place that one dreams of and can visualize as the ideal community, working in perfect harmony, free from all ills, injustices and discrimination. The concept of Utopia also serves as a contrast effect against which we can measure the inefficiencies and short-comings of the existing society and the corruption of the present day institutions. Education is a key tool to realize the ultimate goal of utopia.
Life-Long Learners
In an ideal world, there will be class difference, no socio-economic discrimination and no gender biases and education will be accessible by all. The learners will be life-long learners, not bounded by the routine school structures and learning will be for the love of learning alone instead for the meaningless grades on standardized tests. The learning will not be bounded by the school walls or limited cognitive capacities. The citizens will be free to choose and study whatever interests them, and will be free to explore all facets of knowledge. According to Thomas More, the learners in Utopia will be able to learn all through their life, till their death (More, T. 1989, Utopia).
Governance and Knowledge
The knowledge itself will be perfectly structured with the actors knowing exactly how to use it, where to use, for what means, and why they need to use that knowledge for better policy making. The actors will have unlimited cognitive capacity to be able to utilize all available knowledge in the most productive and efficient way possible. The government will be able to design education that meets the idiosyncratic requirements of the job markets and the curriculum will address the unique skill requirements for the citizens, thereby creating a skilled labor market that is matched exactly to the jobs created in the present and the future, with no unemployment. The institutions themselves will have change-agents to bring about the required reforms in the education, accept the changes themselves and create a new society with the help of the new education systems.
The government will need to focus on three key areas;
1. Education Policy that is all-inclusive and compulsive; Creation of Knowledge Economy
2. Involve teachers and learners in creating a policy that is unique to the needs of the society
3. Policy that focuses on a curriculum that leads to holistic development of the individual free from political agendas and power struggles; Creating a responsible, functional citizen
The Perfect Schools
In an ideal world, the schools will not be profit making businesses, instead they will be run by the state, with state of the art facilities, autonomous educational leadership and a dynamic personalized curriculum that adapts itself according to the unique capacities and learning abilities of each citizen. In an ideal world, there will be no cost for learning, instead learning and continuing the journey will be rewarded. The focus and the investment on each individual child, will help them realize their full potential, improve their set of skills and mental faculties and each child will have an equal chance at realizing their dreams and reaching their happiness goals. The learning process itself will be one to look forward to, with moments of joy and euphoria. The curriculum will be co-authored with the students; incorporating their interests and guiding their curiosities and sense of wonder to achieve greatness.
The Perfect Curriculum
The perfect curriculum will bring learning to life. It will organize knowledge in a way that it is most meaningful to the actors. It will teach the learners how to use that knowledge, how to exist with others in the most peaceful manner, and teach them high morals and values leading to the creation of a responsible global citizen. It will enable the students to connect the learning with real life and future, and see how it fits in the bigger picture. The perfect curriculum in utopia will be authored by individual pupil; following their interests, dreams and passion.
The Pedagogues
Teachers in utopia will be true depictions of 'Pedagogues'; one who is responsible for the holistic development of the child including the intellectual, academic, moral and ethical development. They will be in touch with the interests and the unique abilities of each of their pupil and will be the perfect expert crafts person with a charismatic personality. The teachers themselves will be life-long learners, improving their craft, mentor-ship and coaching abilities. They will be able to be more than didactics; more interactive and will not be authoritarian in their discourse. They will be the ones bringing learning to life.
Accountability
In the perfect world, there will ideally be no need for accountability because all the agents in the supply chain will know exactly what their job entails and will deliver their end with utmost honesty and hardwork. However, till we reach that ideal, it is important for the Government to create autonomous auditing authorities that do not judge the schools on the basis of student performance i.e., standardized testing results, instead create quantitative and qualitative KPIs to find areas of improvements for the teaching staff as well as the school administration.
The focus needs to shift from the test results and grades; the onus of school performance should not be on the learners but the school themselves. Incorporating qualitative measures like diversity in student base, pedagogy of the staff, dynamics and delivery of the curriculum, infrastructure and facilities, investment in teacher training, research on interests and interactive mode of delivery in a classroom etc., need to be incorporated in order to ensure that the schools are kept in check and are pressured into a constant state of flux and improvement.
Disclaimer; This article has been authored as a journal entry for the course 'What Future For Education' by UCL.
Life-Long Learners
In an ideal world, there will be class difference, no socio-economic discrimination and no gender biases and education will be accessible by all. The learners will be life-long learners, not bounded by the routine school structures and learning will be for the love of learning alone instead for the meaningless grades on standardized tests. The learning will not be bounded by the school walls or limited cognitive capacities. The citizens will be free to choose and study whatever interests them, and will be free to explore all facets of knowledge. According to Thomas More, the learners in Utopia will be able to learn all through their life, till their death (More, T. 1989, Utopia).
Governance and Knowledge
The knowledge itself will be perfectly structured with the actors knowing exactly how to use it, where to use, for what means, and why they need to use that knowledge for better policy making. The actors will have unlimited cognitive capacity to be able to utilize all available knowledge in the most productive and efficient way possible. The government will be able to design education that meets the idiosyncratic requirements of the job markets and the curriculum will address the unique skill requirements for the citizens, thereby creating a skilled labor market that is matched exactly to the jobs created in the present and the future, with no unemployment. The institutions themselves will have change-agents to bring about the required reforms in the education, accept the changes themselves and create a new society with the help of the new education systems.
The government will need to focus on three key areas;
1. Education Policy that is all-inclusive and compulsive; Creation of Knowledge Economy
2. Involve teachers and learners in creating a policy that is unique to the needs of the society
3. Policy that focuses on a curriculum that leads to holistic development of the individual free from political agendas and power struggles; Creating a responsible, functional citizen
The Perfect Schools
In an ideal world, the schools will not be profit making businesses, instead they will be run by the state, with state of the art facilities, autonomous educational leadership and a dynamic personalized curriculum that adapts itself according to the unique capacities and learning abilities of each citizen. In an ideal world, there will be no cost for learning, instead learning and continuing the journey will be rewarded. The focus and the investment on each individual child, will help them realize their full potential, improve their set of skills and mental faculties and each child will have an equal chance at realizing their dreams and reaching their happiness goals. The learning process itself will be one to look forward to, with moments of joy and euphoria. The curriculum will be co-authored with the students; incorporating their interests and guiding their curiosities and sense of wonder to achieve greatness.
The Perfect Curriculum
The perfect curriculum will bring learning to life. It will organize knowledge in a way that it is most meaningful to the actors. It will teach the learners how to use that knowledge, how to exist with others in the most peaceful manner, and teach them high morals and values leading to the creation of a responsible global citizen. It will enable the students to connect the learning with real life and future, and see how it fits in the bigger picture. The perfect curriculum in utopia will be authored by individual pupil; following their interests, dreams and passion.
The Pedagogues
Teachers in utopia will be true depictions of 'Pedagogues'; one who is responsible for the holistic development of the child including the intellectual, academic, moral and ethical development. They will be in touch with the interests and the unique abilities of each of their pupil and will be the perfect expert crafts person with a charismatic personality. The teachers themselves will be life-long learners, improving their craft, mentor-ship and coaching abilities. They will be able to be more than didactics; more interactive and will not be authoritarian in their discourse. They will be the ones bringing learning to life.
Accountability
In the perfect world, there will ideally be no need for accountability because all the agents in the supply chain will know exactly what their job entails and will deliver their end with utmost honesty and hardwork. However, till we reach that ideal, it is important for the Government to create autonomous auditing authorities that do not judge the schools on the basis of student performance i.e., standardized testing results, instead create quantitative and qualitative KPIs to find areas of improvements for the teaching staff as well as the school administration.
The focus needs to shift from the test results and grades; the onus of school performance should not be on the learners but the school themselves. Incorporating qualitative measures like diversity in student base, pedagogy of the staff, dynamics and delivery of the curriculum, infrastructure and facilities, investment in teacher training, research on interests and interactive mode of delivery in a classroom etc., need to be incorporated in order to ensure that the schools are kept in check and are pressured into a constant state of flux and improvement.
Disclaimer; This article has been authored as a journal entry for the course 'What Future For Education' by UCL.
Comments
Post a Comment