Social Purposes of Education in the Society - Essay Example

? and Introduction The history of education s to as early as 1770. The value of education is definitely indispensable. Education has continued to be advocated for since the earliest of times, including the time of Plato and his student Aristotle (Bruner, 1996). It has been defined as, an enlightening experience, the process of learning and even as the process through which an individual acquires knowledge through being taught and being trained (Acar, 2011). Education therefore imparts general or specialized knowledge on an individual. It also helps develop reasoning powers, judgement and prepares one intellectually for mature life (Ornstein, 2013). The definitions demonstrate that there is learning involved, that education is a process centered towards making an individual’s life better. Education takes different forms, informal education, formal education and the now widely spreading e-learning. Irrespective of the form, the outcomes are more or less the same (Collier, 1998). The importance and value of education in many countries and governments is being emphasized, and as a result, some of the countries have their constitutions providing for ‘Right for education (Bruner, 1996). Education dictates a large part of what we do, how we think, the decisions we make and how we relate with others. Most countries have the same four levels of education, kindergarten /nursery level, primary education, secondary education and higher/tertiary education for the adolescent and teenage years (Cossin, 1997). Social purposes of education Research shows that education has a great role in shaping the person that one is, and the person that one will become (Goodland and MacMannon, 1997). It has many and important social purposes as seen herein. It helps in developing, enhancing and completing the socialization process. Parents and guardians now rely and expect the school to complete this process for their children. Young children spend most of their time with their teachers, and at the learning institution, the socialization process is enhanced. The child learns to relate with fellow people, learns basic respect actions like salutations, excusing themselves among others. Children learn how to live and relate with others in school (Nikollakoki 1997). Education helps get rid of negative attitudes and behaviors acquired during the early age. A child who comes from a family where parents raise their voices on each other, or where the father abuses the mother, or where honesty has not been instilled is most likely to have learned some of these behaviors. Education however, is a correction tool, it will help correct this wayward child and teach them the good values instead (Cossin, 1997). Education develops the personality of a person. Children with low self esteem are taught to believe in themselves and made aware that they have power to be who they want (Barnett, 1991). In addition, education has a social purpose of training in skills (Lewis, 2011). Schools that offer practical classes like cooking classes, carpentry, art and acting helps in growing the talents of students. These skills, when perfectly developed are important in building careers. Another social function of education is to pass on culture (Collier, 1998). Culture refers to peoples beliefs, way of life, practices, values and tradition. In whichever form of education adopted, the culture of a particular people is taught. This is done through music, art, literature, drama and oral recitations. Education strengthens and acts as a unifying factor. People are taught how to live with people who have different cultures and beliefs. This way, it promotes peaceful coexistence, which is one of the core values of any society (Acar, 2011). Education has a role of conferring status in different people. Usually, a person with higher education studies is treated different from a primary school person. The higher degree of learning commands more respect. Related to this is the aspect of job placement. The learned person has higher chances for a job, especially if his qualifications are as stated in the requirements (Giroux, 2001). Literacy is a product of education, and the literate people act as the voice of the people (Freire, 2008). The social purposes of education are so many, they have not been exhausted in this work, but education definitely is an enlightening experience, if a country is to develop, education must be reinforced. Education is a transformative tool. It is a great element for social change (Giroux, 2001).. The negative vices in the society are best gotten rid off through education. As discussed earlier, education, among its many social roles shapes the society. Take the case of a society that has does not attach values of respect for ones property, honesty, integrity or hard work. What kind of people is this kind of society gong to breed? The effects of these characters are best minimized through education. If children in this society are enrolled in schools, their behaviors are going to change; they will learn what they had no chance to learn in their homes (Markovich and Rapoport, 2013). Critical pedagogy Critical pedagogy is a detailed argument of what the purpose of teaching should be. It brings together the roles of the teacher and the student (Freire, 2008). There are many theorists to whom critical pedagogy can be attributed, but developing this concept has been a collection of efforts. One of the most known theorists of critical pedagogy is Paulo Reglus Freire. He was born in 1921 in the poor town of Recife. In class, he could not concentrate due to the many times he went to school hungry. He realized that most students who were from wealthy families performed well in class. Freire felt that the value of education offered in the then modern schools was not of enough value. The Brazilian educator and philosopher argued for the development of critical consciousness (Freire, 2008). In his case, he particularly argued and led in adult education for empowerment. During this time, oppression was very high. Freire argued that education should be a tool which the oppressed can use to liberate themselves. However, the oppressor also had to play his part. He criticized ‘banking’ in education where the tutor does everything for the student. The student is the bank account which has to be filled by the tutor. The two parties, the teacher and the student should share their experiences for a better society. That in doing this, the student would deliver themselves from oppression, that they would understand democracy and use their acquired education towards making better and freer individuals and society (McLaren and Kincheloe,2007). Paulo Freire died in 1997, and most development in critical pedagogy has been based on his work Henry Giroux is another known theorist of critical pedagogy. He says that critical pedagogy signals how questions of audience, voice, power and evaluation actively work to construct particular relations between teachers and students, institutions and society, and classrooms and communities. It illuminates the relationship among knowledge, authority and power (Giroux, 2001). Henry, born in 1943, is a critical writer in youth studies, cultural studies, critical pedagogy among others. He argues that education should unite the class and the society, that after learning, the student should be able to apply that to be better people, to apply it in the society, to deliver people from oppression. He emphasizes that critical pedagogy is an ongoing process aimed at showing students how to relate what they get in classroom to the societal environment, to political and leadership issues too (Cho, 2010). He advises that education should be an instrument of development for the teacher and the student (Giroux, 2001). Peter McLaren, also echoes the voices of other theorists of critical pedagogy, especially that of Freire. He argues that if there is to be change in the society, then critical pedagogy cannot be ignored (McLaren, 2010). There are many other theorists not discussed herein, but whose work cannot be ignored. Some of them include Shirley R. Steinberg, Michael Apple, Bell Hooks, and Matt Henn among others. Their work builds on the ideas of Freire (Shugurensky, 2011) As seen above, the theorists of critical pedagogy try to communicate the value of education as transformative. In the ‘banking model’ of education mentioned above, if the students just expect the teacher to deliver, and for them to be always on the receiving end, there will be no personal growth. The value of teachers and students sharing and learning from each other is definitely very important (Ross, 2006). As suggested by Freire, if the students are allowed to debate, analyze, argue out on concepts, they will be better people, with the ability to transform the society. Henry suggests that school curriculums should be designed in line with the societal environment. If critical pedagogy is adopted by learning institutions, transformation among people and the society at large will be evident (Giroux, 2001) Pedagogy is a good move for institutions. The propagators of this aspect have given their many reasons as to why it should be adopted. What these theorists suggest is that education demands much more than a classroom setting (Sternhouse and Jarnet, 2012). Pedagogy will make teaching as a profession more than just a job; teachers would have more fun delivering to their students. Pedagogy in learning ranges from the sitting position in a class, engagement in and during physical education, involvement between the students and teachers among other activities (Ross, 2006). Academic freedom is very vital to students and thus, pedagogy, which develops critical thinking, best describes this (Freire, 2008). However, pedagogy should not be a lee-way for students to argue with teachers, even when the topic under discussion does not warrant a debate (Giroux, 2001). Also, pedagogy should no be seen as a ground for breeding political radicals. As much as this type of learning allows one to apply what they learn to their political environment, it can be a misused platform by people with their own selfish interests (Shapiro and Leopold, 2012). When people attend learning institutions, their main aim is to learn. It is left upon the tutors and teachers to fill and feed the minds of students with knowledge (Egan, 2008). The purposes of education are many and vast, but teaching as a profession should ensure that the students achieve a lot to apply in their later life. The teachers should be well acquainted to give the student the best value in education, to make an all rounded individual who will contribute to the society. Education is a tool of enlightening people; it moves people from areas where they know nothing to where they get the light of knowledge, training and skills (Apple, 2000). Conclusion As seen above, there are many purposes and roles that education fulfils. It not only helps people get rid of ignorance, but is a way of molding leaders. Research shows that some of the most successful people have acquired high levels of education (Duckworth, 2008). Education breeds literacy, and with literacy comes more knowledge. Education should be emphasized and encouraged in all societies, if change is to be realized. But education, as shown by the above scholars is not just a student teacher classroom set-up, there is more to it, and pedagogy best tries to explain this. References Acar, E., 2011. Identifying the Purpose of Education. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Apple, M., 2000. Official Education: Democratic Education in a conservative age, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Barnett, R., 1997. The End of Knowledge in Higher Education. London: Cassell. Bruner, J.S, 1996. The Culture of Education. Harvard University Press. Collins, J,, 2001. Developing Pedagogy. London: Paul Chapman, London Cho, S., 2010. 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New York: Continuum. Shapiro, S., and Leopold, L., 2012. A critical role for role playing. Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies, 10(1), pp. 265-284. Sternhouse, V., and Jarrett, O., 2012. In the service of Learning and Activism: Service Learning, Critical Pedagogy and the Problem Solution Project. Teacher Quarterly, 39(1), pp. 51-76. Read More