‘What is the purpose of education?’

Areas of Learning and Experience Blog post - Literacy

‘What is the purpose of education?’

‘Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world’ (Nelson Mandela). The purpose of education is something in which we cannot define, although there are many ideologies of what the idea of education is, it’s something which we are unable to define. Education is again something which people are unable to define and always sparks healthy debate. Although we all have an ideology that education is going to school to receive some form knowledge, that’s the general idea. Although there is no right or wrong idea of what education is it is one of the greatest resources in the world.

Most people are lucky enough to receive their education for free while others aren’t so fortunate and will go a lifetime wishing for an education. (Gibb, N 2015) said that ‘Education reform is the great social justice cause of our times. If we are to deliver a fairer society, in which opportunity is shared more widely, we must secure the highest standards of education for all young people, regardless of their background.’ The current purpose behind education is trying to provide a system for everyone, it is a human right to receive an education. ‘How many of our citizens could build a nuclear power station, judge a case in Chancery, read a grant of land in mediaeval Latin, conduct a Mozart concerto, solve an equation in aerodynamics, repair a railway engine?’ (Scruton, R. 2016) Many people have the ability to do incredible things but without education and understanding they can’t access their knowledge.  

Article 2, protocol 1 states that everyone should have the right to an effective education. Meanwhile there are organisations such as Sustainable Development Goals in place which aim to provide a qualitative education for all by 2030 (SDG 2018). This still doesn’t define the ‘purpose’ of education. It’s a good thing to be knowledgeable but it’s pointless if you do not have the education to support it. ‘Education ought to be time and money well spent on investing in the future for our children and, through them, for society as a whole. Instead, for a great many individuals it is a waste of resources, of opportunity, and of young people’s lives’ (Sadler, B. 2018) Many people do ‘waste’ their education and don’t put their knowledge and capabilities to good use and Sadler, B defines this as a waste of a resource as it is the most powerful resource on the planet. Education provides people with endless opportunities. The idea of a purposeful education is to eventually end up with a well paid job, but the idea of a purposeful education has changed massively as the curriculum has changed and will continue to change. As (Donaldson, 2015) proposed an Arts based curriculum which focuses on well being and creativity the idea behind the purpose of education has changed. Many people feel that education should provide people with the power to express themselves creatively, to understand, think cohesively and the performance of knowledge.

One question that many parents and even students ask is ‘why do we have to go to school?’ why do we send children to school for countless hours?(Khun, D Et al, 2005) What is that were trying to achieve by doing this? (Khun, D Et al, 2005) Due to the changing world of work these are questions that teachers are given on the daily, many people feel that a purposeful education equips children with the power to both think and learn and by combining these skills they have enhanced and used their knowledge to access a purposeful education. ‘Education is the passport for the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today’ (Malcolm X).

Different people have different perceptions of education and its purpose and (Gibb, N. 2015) described education as  ‘the engine of our economy, it is the foundation of our culture, and it’s an essential preparation for adult life.’ It seems that the most common factor of why education is purposeful is to prepare children and to help deliver a successful future, or to have a successful adult life. Although this is a good idea as the next generation is the future and we should prepare and build a sustainable economy for them to develop further, education shouldn’t just be based upon this. Education should be meaningful, creative, exploration, imaginative, cultural and expressive. Children should be able to harness their knowledge and apply it to all of these things for a successful adult life. The main motivation for education shouldn’t be for a successful adult life, children should have endless possibilities with the things they do with their knowledge and education, they have the power to change and develop the modern world and they’re the future. The skills and abilities develop in real world and not in artificial situations in class.  People need to go outdoors in order to develop the modern world. Taking into consideration the needs and tendencies of a modern society, we can assume that the purpose of education is to prepare students to be self-sufficient citizens.

Overall, there is no real definition of a purposeful education and what that is,  Although the change in the curriculum will have a massive impact on this and people opinions. There are just many ideologies of what the modern education system should consist of and how we should use the societal needs to develop children to maintain and develop the world. The overall purpose of education seems to have many different reasons the most consistent being that children should be set up for adult life.

References-

• Sadler, B (2018) RSA. ‘What’s the purpose of education?’. Available at: https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2018/01/whats-the-point-of-education (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Gibb, N (2015) Gov.uk. ‘The purpose of education’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-purpose-of-education (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Scruton, R (2016) Life Spectator. ‘What’s the point of education?’. Available at: https://life.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/whats-point-education/ (Accessed 11/4/19)
• United Nations - Sustainable Development Goals (2018) ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ Available at; https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Education for thinking project (2005) Khun, D et al. Available at: http://www.educationforthinking.org/what-should-education-accomplish.html (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Rebours, J (no date) The British Institute for Human Rights. ‘The Human Rights Act; Unwrapped the right to education’. Available at: https://www.bihr.org.uk/blog/the-human-rights-act-unwrapped-right-to-education (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Malcolm X (No date) Brainy Quote. ‘Top 10 education quotes’. Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/lists/topics/top_10_education_quotes# (Accessed 11/4/19)
• Mandela, N (no date) Brainy Quote. ‘Top 10 education quotes’. Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/lists/topics/top_10_education_quotes# (Accessed 11/4/19)

'How can teachers use technology effectively in the classroom?

Areas of Learning and Experience Blog - Digital Competency

‘How can teachers use technology in the classroom effectively?’

Technology has had an everlasting influence on education and has had a massive impact on decisions which have been made towards designing a new curriculum.  Technology has provided teachers with endless education platforms as it has given them a new dynamic way to teach which allows them to fluctuate their teaching dynamic to fit the needs of every pupil. Although technology has provided education with a digital platform and helped educate children there is speculation regarding its positivity and how much it actually supports children in the classroom. Does technology stand more as a distraction rather than a digital learning platform for children? In a primary classroom it can be hard to monitor every child when using technology and there are many precautions teachers must take before providing children with technology. For example ensuring children are safe with the software which they are using (e-safety), ensuring that there are certain websites and tabs blocked so they can’t access anything that puts them at risk.

There are generally more positives to teachers using technology in the classroom than there is negative. The only negatives really include;

1. children can become more easily distracted
2. too much screen time for children
3. Can foster / encourage cheating
4. Lack of human connection / communication
5. Technology can promote inequality in the classroom

All the points provided are very solid points which are all common and have been done using technology. (Fedena, 2018)

For professors in universities and colleges providing technology in the classroom is easier as although the risks are there when providing this platform it’s a lot less compared to primary education.

One of the most common pros to allowing technology in the classroom is that it provides teachers the ‘opportunity to experiment with new pedagogy and provide active learning’ (Himmelback, V. 2019). Using technology in the classroom also has positive effect on all students as it’s a way for teachers to engage all students, even those who may lack the confidence to speak during class, it provides a new way to participate for students who are shy. Another pro may be that technology in the classroom provides more resources to pupils that another other resource available. Although, there are books and files available some may be outdated and that’s where technology can provide new information and resources. (Himmelback, V 2019).  Meanwhile (Cox, J) has her own ideas of pros and cons of using technology in the classroom and one pro being that by using technology teachers can ‘customise learning to enable it to meet the needs of all students’.

There are many ways in which teachers  can use technology in the classroom;

1. To communicate with parents
2. To keep records
3. To assess students
4. Providing new resources
5. Communicating with other teachers and schools
6. Communicate with other schools and teachers on an international scale etc.

Technology has many benefits outside of the classroom also which then benefits pupils in the classroom, teachers can use technology to communicate with parents through email and social media, they can gain weekly feedback and also use this to their advantage to ask parents about how the feel their children are progressing in school. They can also use apps which they can set work and extra activities for pupils to complete at home and they can then track their progression and analyze what they may be struggling with and need extra cover in class. Technology has brought further collaborative work in schools all over, for example it provides students to communicate with other international schools for projects.

Although technology is a modern dynamic in the education system with provides countless opportunities to students, we must remember that it’s there as a tool and not a replacement. Technology serves as a support resource rather than a replacement for teachers or the quality of teaching. The two most important resources that come with providing technology in the classroom is money and time as technology is expensive and requires a lot of maintenance.

Technology is something that will have a huge impact on students in the future, it’ll pretty much be involved in their everyday routines and many jobs in the modern day involves some form of technology so it is important for teachers to introduce and include technology in the classroom. ‘It is important to acknowledge that students are already interested and engaged in using technology, this creates many amazing opportunities for schools and teachers to benefit from integrating some forms of technology in the classroom’ (Webanywhere, 2019) They encourage the use of technology in the classroom and describes the use of technology as making ‘learning more effective’ (Webanywhere, 2019).

‘Technology in education is the biggest change in teaching we will ever see’ (Himmelback, V. 2019). There are many ways in which teachers can include technology in education and it can have many positive effects on students and there are many ways to do this. Technology will be one of the biggest changes to the education system and there are many ways in which teachers can promote this positively in the classroom and use technology to its full potential. According to (Education Based Teachers Network) ‘Technology can enhance our teaching and support our students’ learning, but it has to be used properly for it to be effective.’

References -

• Himmelback, V (2019) Top Hat Blog. ‘6 Pros and cons of education in the classroom 2019.’ Available at: https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/ (Accessed 9/4/19)
• Cox, J (no date). TeachHub.com. ‘Pros, Cons of technology in the classroom’. Available at: https://www.teachhub.com/pros-cons-technology-classroom (Accessed 9/4/19)
• Webanywhere (2019). ‘Top 6 benefits of using technology in the classroom.’ Available at: https://www.webanywhere.co.uk/blog/2016/02/top-6-benefits-technology-classroom/ (Accessed 9/4/19)
• Fedena (2018) ‘Decoding the pros and cons of technology in the classroom’ Available at: https://fedena.com/blog/2018/06/technology-in-the-classroom-decoding-the-pros-and-cons.html (Accessed 10/4/19)
• Evidence based teachers network (no date) ‘Using technology effectively’. Available at: https://ebtn.org.uk/resources/using-technology-effectively/ (Accessed 10/4/19)

The Image displayed is from, Cox, J. Available at; https://www.teachhub.com/10-necessary-technology-classroom-skills

What can be done to improve attitudes towards Mathematics in Welsh primary classrooms?

'What can be done to improve attitudes towards Mathematics in Welsh primary classrooms?’

Negative attitudes towards maths is something the British government are trying to tackle in the classroom - specifically in primary classrooms. The number of pupils that have taken a disliking to mathematics has increased over the years. There are many causes of negative maths attitudes but the main three include; Bad maths experiences, lack of support for adults and maths anxiety. (National Numeracy). Specifically focusing on these three things, a bad maths experience can happen to anyone in the primary classroom it stems from students not having confidence when using basic maths so this knocks their confidence when learning maths, from this they begin to disregard the importance of everyday maths and how it can be used. 'Maths shouldn't be seen as just a tool, or a compulsory subject. It is an enriching mental experience.' (Shanker, S 2017). Lack of support for adults is a common factor of what affects children in the primary classroom ,for example, some parents lack basic Mathematical skills and there is no improvement support available to them so that they can support their children.

Many adults are embarrassed by their lack of numerical skills and feel that it is too late to change this as the support available for numeracy compared to literacy is very low. Maths is described to have taken a 'back seat' compared to literacy when supporting adults. (National Numeracy) By providing more support to adults and help them improve their numerical skills we will also be supporting children in the long run, as parents will be able to provide extra support at home.

Finally,  maths anxiety is described as the "panic, helplessness, paralysis, and mental disorganisation that arises among some people when they are required to solve a mathematical problem” (Tobias, S., & Weissbrod, C. 1980). Having maths anxiety will lead people to avoid situations involving maths, especially children, we begin to see a decline in their work and this alternately affect their attitude.

‘Before children can become interested in math, they have to be comfortable with it.’ (Wills, J. 2010). Adults cannot just expect to try different scenarios and children will immediately overcome their negative persona of maths, a lot of different techniques need to be adapted in interesting children. Fostering their imagination and what they like and using these as advantages to interest children in math.

Johnston-Wilder, 2015 Adapted 4 stages of overcoming maths anxiety in the classroom;

1. Belief that everyone can progress with mathematical learning (brain capacity can be grown)

2. Understanding of the personal relevance of mathematics/statistics

3. Understanding of how study mathematics effectively

4. Seeking and accepting help when needed

The purpose of adapting these stages are to help children and prevent children having an anxiety towards maths which in the long run will prevent negative attitudes towards maths. These 4 stages are just a proposal of how to prevent negative attitudes in the classroom.

'Negative attitudes, rather than a lack of innate talent, are at the root of our numeracy crisis.' (National Numeracy) Basically stating how children do not actually have a lack of numerical skills or ‘talent’ for maths they are just conveying a negative attitude and National Numeracy believes that this is the root of the problem. The negative attitude conveyed towards maths is evidently becoming more of an issue in the primary classroom, according to (The Guardian, 2012) children develop this negativity between ‘age seven and nine’ and having a ‘bad attitude toward math makes children switch off’. This does lead teachers to require support from parents as there isn’t enough time in a day for a teacher to individually asses every child with a negative attitude and try to help them overcome this, they require parental support. There are many ways which parents can step in and support their child and help them possess a positive attitude towards math.

‘England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the lowest rate of young people continuing with maths beyond 16.’ (The Guardian, 2012)

Being ‘good’ at math doesn’t depend on how quick you can solve a question or how many questions you solve correctly in a short amount of time. Maths varies for each person individually to be ‘good’ at maths just means that you have a relevant understanding of the subject and are able to answer questions correctly. - not every question has to be answered correctly. Also, being bad at math isn’t a genetic it’s not something which children inherit from their parents as some parents tell their children ‘I wasn’t good at maths so you probably got it from me’ these are the jokes and comments which enable children to believe they aren’t good at something as their parents weren’t. Parents have such a big impact on children and their ideologies, and majority of the time as the role model to children they do pass on negative attitude toward things, maths being one of them. There are things that parents can do to help children develop the negativity into positivity and make maths something they enjoy. (Psychology Today, 2016)  believes that parents can;

• Motivate memories to ignite resilience
• Bust math myths and stereotypes
• Capture their imagination and maths will follow - interest them in math by using their imagination
• Math games at home and beyond
• Math on the move - incorporating maths physically into everyday things.
• Encouraging that making mistakes leads to resilience

Although in most cases some parents don’t understand how important their role is to their children and their attitude and how much their actions influence children as they’re impressionable.

The truth is that each person develops a different skill which they may be more successful at than others, it may be maths and it may not be, but supporting children and helping them pursue a positive towards maths is important.

References -

• National Numeracy (no date) 'Attitudes towards Maths'. Available at: https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/sites/default/files/attitudes_towards_maths_-_updated_branding.pdf  (Accessed 1/04/19)
• Shanker, S (2017) 'Why does my child hate Math?'. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/self-reg/201711/why-does-my-child-hate-math-part-1 (Accessed 1/04/19)
• Tobias, S., & Weissbrod, C. (1980). Anxiety and mathematics: an update. Harvard Educational Review, 50(1), 63-70.
• The Guardian (2012) ‘Bad attitude towards maths makes children switch off’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/mar/07/world-maths-day-adult-innumeracy (Accessed 5/04/19)
• Johnston-Wilder, S., Lee, C., Garton, E., Brindley, J. (2014). Developing teaching for mathematical resilience in further education. 7th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, ICERI2014, Seville (SPAIN).
• Psychology Today (2016) ‘From math negative to math positive in your child’. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/radical-teaching/201603/math-negative-math-positive-attitudes-in-your-kids (Accessed 5/04/19)
• Wills, J (2010) ‘Learning to love math’. Available at: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108073/chapters/Reversing-Math-Negativity-with-an-Attitude-Makeover.aspx (Accessed 5/04/19)