ED4001:Education for Change An introduction to the module: What is ‘an education’ for? What does...

ED4001:Education for Change

An introduction to the module:

What is ‘an education’ for?

What does ‘to be educated’ mean?

Thoughts for the day

Attending a lecture is like going to the gym rather than McDonalds.

Education studies is about asking questions

1. Why is maths such an important part of education? 2. Is attending a lecture a good way to learn?3. Why do most people not go to university?4. Why do ‘thick rich kids’ do better than ‘poor clever

kids’?5. Should we be worrying about girls education in other

countries?6. What does it mean to be well educated?7. What is education for?

Are you ‘well- educated’?

How many ‘A’ level ‘points’ do you have? How good are you at solving problems? How would you save a boy from

drowning? How would you go about starting a

business? Вы можете выяснить, почему

динозавры вымерли?

Thinking philosophically…

‘Philosophers want to know more than true beliefs. They want to know what is the case. And if [they] cannot know for certain…then [they] want to know why that is so and what is the next best alternative…(Creel 2001)

Philosophical questions: How do you know that? How should we decide what is right, wrong,

good and best ? What are the possible answers and solutions?

Q: What is education for?Possible answers

To ensure we have a trained workforce for the future?

To keep people in their place in society? To promote personal development To teach us to think more critically and

shape our own future? To create greater equality in life?

A1: Education is to enable people to get work

Because a student’s main aim is to get a job

Because the country needs particular jobs to be filled

Because state schools should help to produce a competitive economy

If education is for work

This affects the curriculum we have, the skills we teach, whether we make subjects

compulsory or not, the attitudes we hope to instil in

children.

A2: Education is for our personal development

Because every human has the right to fulfil their potential

Because everyone is different

Because we will need to know how to find things out for ourselves

If education is for our personal development

It should seem relevant and enjoyable We may want to chose the subjects we

study We need the teacher to understand where

we are starting from We need, with help, to devise our own

study pathway

A3: Education should help us to think more critically

Because it should enable citizens to be active, not passive

Because our democratic society demands the ability to make informed decisions

Because if you can’t take part in society, you are at a disadvantage

If education should help us to think critically

It has implications for the way we learn and teach

It has implications for the curriculum

Universities and schools should play a key role in furthering this

A4: Education should help to create greater equality in life

Because our society is unfair

It should help people to succeed whatever their background

It should compensate for disadvantages

It should help teach people about the inequalities in society

If education is to reduce inequalities

It should be inclusive, open to all Schools and universities need to change

to become more democratic structures Pupils and students need to take more

responsibility for themselves and their learning

We need to look at where power resides in education

What do these people think?

Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veyIZUqoGRk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrzFEyt8MvE

Their views are informed by their ideology: their way of looking at things, and their view of how the world should be…

An introduction to later topics…

2. What functions does schooling perform?

Socialization?

Social Control?

Social transformation?

Socialization

We are not born social people. We learn how to live with others

Process begins at home and continues at school

We learn the roles we will have in later life

Is this socialisation process necessary?

Yes, but… Do schools shuts down opportunities for

individuals? Are school teachers the best people to

socialise children? Can socialisation go too far?

Social Control

Schools were instituted to control the young and mould them in a certain way

Schools, asylums and prisons can form a similar function

Education may aim to keep us in our place

Social Transformation

Many believe education is a force for transformation and growth

It is a major player in the formation of people’s beliefs and values and therefore can create change

3. How do people learn? Different theories

Through being taught. They are like empty vessels that school can fill up with knowledge

Individuals only learn when they choose to learn. Teachers have to start from where pupils are

4. Who should receive the best education?

The brightest people The young Those who can pay Males Females The developed world everyone

A final thought…A final thought…

Should the teacher beShould the teacher be a passive transmitter?a passive transmitter? an active developer of ideology?an active developer of ideology?

Is it a teacher’s role to put others’ Is it a teacher’s role to put others’

ideologies into practice?ideologies into practice?