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Education - Part 1
General Information

Content

What is Education?
Functions and Purposes of Education Why Get an Education?

Types of Education
Factors that Shape an Education System Formal Education Today

What is education?

Education is the process of learning

The way each society passes on the skills, knowledge, and values which are important for the next generation

Functions and Purposes of Education

Just to list a few:

Intellectual Social

Political
Economic

Activity 1

Qn: Why get an education?

Take 2 minutes to write down: 1. your reasons for getting an education 2. societys reasons for education its people. Share your thoughts with the class.

Why Get an Education?

Personal Reasons
To get a good job To improve material prospects To increase social status To get good qualifications To learn to be disciplined

Societys Reasons
To be inculcated with moral or shared values To raise awareness of social responsibility To learn how to develop interpersonal skills To learn how to respond to change To learn how to learn

Is this what makes an educated person?

Why Get an Education?

How do we define success in life?

Success is a relative term People commonly equate wealth, education qualifications, fame, and happiness with success

Why Get an Education?

Does success in school guarantee success in life?

Education can break the poverty cycle but it is a long-term solution and the poor must have their physiological needs met first.

The well-educated are normally in the upper strata of society because education gives them the means to achieve success in other areas.
Paper qualifications can help one obtain high paying jobs but with the changes in the global economy, there is no guarantee of employment and job security in todays world.

Mission of the Ministry of Education, Singapore

The mission of the Education Service is to mould
the future of the nation, by moulding the people who will determine the future of the nation. The Service will provide our children with a balanced and well-rounded education, develop them to their full potential, and nurture them into good citizens, conscious of their responsibilities to family, society and country.

Has the mission been fulfilled thus far?

Types of Education
Formal Education

Informal Education

Usually takes place in schools Emphasis on schooling in various subject areas (sciences, humanities, languages etc.)

Takes place through contact with family, community groups, and other institutions or organisations Emphasis on exposure to life skills eg. interpersonal skills

Factors that Shape an Education System

A successful education system takes into account the following conditions of a country when deciding on the aims of its educational programme:

1. Economic situation
2. Cultural background 3. Political situation

Formal Education Today

Formal education now attempts to incorporate the features of:

1. Mass education 2. Broad-based education

3. Holistic education

Mass Education

Every student is taught the same thing in the same way

Disadvantages: 1. stifles independent thought and actions 2. compromises individual needs

What are some of the advantages of mass education?

Broad-based Education

A more well-rounded education where students study a wide range of subjects

Discuss: Which subjects should be included in any educational system? Defend your choices. (2 minutes)

Holistic Education

Develops students academically, morally, socially, physically, and psychologically

To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society. Theodore Roosevelt

Watch This:

Video: Did you know? 2013 version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdvo5FlRqmM

A Need for Thinking Skills

What are thinking skills?

Creative thinking: considered to be involved with the creation or generation of ideas, process, experiences or objects Critical thinking: concerned with analysis and evaluation

The implications are on schools, teachers, and students are.

Implications of the Need for Thinking Skills

Schools

Encourage teamwork and risk-taking Encourage debate and discussion

Work with parents and members of the community and bring them on board

Implications of the Need for Thinking Skills

Teachers

Need to balance intervention with a hands-off approach Need to balance planning with improvisation Teachers are changing their roles from imparters of information to facilitators of learning Need to acknowledge the importance of summative assessment but understand that it should not become an end in itself

Teach less, learn more

Implications of the Need for Thinking Skills

Teachers

Need to balance intervention with a hands-off approach Need to balance planning with improvisation Teachers are changing their roles from imparters of information to facilitators of learning Need to acknowledge the importance of summative assessment but understand that it should not become an end in itself

Teach less, learn more

Implications of the Need for Thinking Skills

Teachers

Need to balance intervention with a hands-off approach Need to balance planning with improvisation Teachers are changing their roles from imparters of information to facilitators of learning Need to acknowledge the importance of summative assessment but understand that it should not become an end in itself

Teach less, learn more

Implications of the Need for Thinking Skills

Students

Have to change their attitude towards learning No longer passive learners and receivers of information

Have to source for information, question, create projects, and participate in lively discussions

Are you doing these things actively?

Homework: Group Activity

Research and compare the education systems of the USA, the UK, Singapore, China, Australia, Philippines, and Vietnam in terms of structure and the duration of compulsory education. How are education systems in developing countries different from those of developed countries? How are they different or similar?
Discuss your findings in class during the next lesson.

References

http://apexstudentsadvocatingpeace.org/images/aa_hands.jpg http://media.photobucket.com/image/eskimo/ready2draw/Web/EskimoDaveColor.jpg http://www.pde.state.pa.us/able/lib/able/distance/success_key.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GDhFFc6DP1U/RhBdOxVkgcI/AAAAAAAAAAM/AsLCbMQXMiA/s320/ money.jpg http://www.icubed.us/files/graduation1.jpg http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/happy.jpg http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads//2009/07/back-to-school.gif http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/Publications/Guardian/2005/images/playground.jpg http://www.cis.edu.sg/ont_prog/images/DSC_9135%20(Medium).jpg http://www.educatednation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/teacher-doris-day.jpg http://www.dealio.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/back_to_school_banner.jpg

Adapted from IJC Education Lecture 2009 created by Maxine Tan & Florence Su