The role of education within society especially in regard to the interests of pupils and the social life - Essay Example

? How important is it that education is immediately and obviously relevant to the interests of the pupils and to life in society Introduction Thepersonal development of children in modern societies is depended on a series of factors. Family environment highly affects the personality, the perceptions and the skills of children. However, school has also a significant role in the development of children not only as individuals, meaning their cognitive capabilities, but also as members of the society. Indeed, school has been often regarded as the first level of the pupils’ socialization, under the terms that it is in school that children first face the social rules and ethics (Antikainen 1996). The ability of children to respond to the challenges of school environment has been found to be differentiated in accordance with the conditions of the particular environment, as depended on the rules of education applied in the specific area, the support provided by teachers but also the personal perceptions and mode of behaviour, as being influenced by the family. Current paper focuses on the examination of the relationship between education and the interests of pupils; the potential relationship between education and social life is also reviewed, at the level that education is a critical part of each social framework. It is revealed that education can have a different role in different social conditions, meaning the social ethics and culture. Moreover, education is likely to be affected by the structure and the rules of each educational site, a fact that indicates the potential autonomy of educational institutes as of their priorities and principles. Also, it is verified that the interests of pupils are likely to be differently promoted in each school not only because of the existence of different social rules and ethics but also because of other factors, such as the infrastructure of each school (Heywood 2000), the perceptions of teachers (Chandra and Sharma), the local culture (Leclercq 2003) and the trends in local community (Nasr 1994), which may intervene more or less in the development of rules and principles of education. 2. The role of education within society especially in regard to the interests of pupils and the social life Education has been traditionally related to many aspects of human life. In fact, education has been proved as being able to influence not just the life of individuals but also the life of the society. From this point of view, particular emphasis has been given on the identification of the criteria under which education can affect the life of humans but also the characteristics of societies within specific political conditions. Of particular importance seems to be the use of education as a means for achieving personal targets, meaning the development of specific skills and competencies but also the acquisition of valuable knowledge. In accordance with Noddings (2011) the first elements of the philosophy of education can be identified in the views of Plato. It is explained that Plato aimed to answer the following question, which is critical for the philosophy of education: ‘who should be educated and how’ (Noddings 2011, p.14). The analysis of Plato on education is based on the following principle:’ the human talents are analyzed along with the society’s needs so that to identify the role of education within a particular society’ (Noddings 2011, p.14). The above view on education is characterized as rather Utopian, taking into consideration the continuous changes on social needs and beliefs. On the other hand, John Dewey set more realistic criteria for deciding the structure and the priorities of education within modern societies. In accordance with the above theorist the actual role of education in the development of social and private life can be identified through the following method: the study of ‘the consequences of our choices’ (Noddings 2011, p.14). At the next level, Bailey (2010) noted that the potential effects of education on social life and on pupils could be identified by answering a series of questions, such as ‘should schooling being compulsory’, or ‘what type of person should teachers aim to develop’ (Bailey 2010, p.2). It is made clear that the various issues of education could be effectively addressed by using either ‘psychology or sociology’ (Bailey 2010, p.2), meaning that any issue related to social life and education would be effectively addressed through philosophy of education (Bailey 2010). On the other hand, it seems that the forms of education, as aligned with the local social needs, can be better understood using the traditional concepts on education as philosophy (Bailey 2010). It is also noted, that different approaches for checking the quality and the trends of education within a particular society, as for example, the primary research, meaning a questionnaire, would not be accepted as a research method for verifying or allowing the research on a particular subject. However, education should not be related, at least not exclusively, with certain roles. Reference can be made for example, to the belief that education can be used in order to offer to the children the chance ‘to learn how they can survive within society as members of a group’ (Curren 2007, p.47). In other words, education is considered, as a tool of socialization but it is not explained under which terms the effects of education on a person’s socialization would be evaluated. When education is used as a tool for socialization, the following problem exists: the individuals involved can be socialized by participating in specific educational programs, as members of a group; however, ‘the quality of the individual’s socialization would be depended on the aims of the group’ (Curren 2007, p.47). At the next level, the above view is considered as being in opposition with existing social belief on education. Indeed, for most people, education is regarded as a tool for supporting the professional development of individuals, a view however that also narrows the role of education within society (Curren 2008). Moreover, the above view leads to the following assumption: the failure of individuals to achieve certain professional goals indicates a poor educational background, a fact that has not been verified by the research developed on this field. From a different point of view, Dewey (1930) noted that education should aim to support a balance between science and the interests of individuals. In this context, education would not be used for developing a gap between science, which is usually expressed as the research on nature, and the literature, which tends to reflect the interests of individuals (Dewey 1930, p.334), meaning that education would be used for equally promoting ‘the natural sciences and the human disciplines’ (Dewey 1930, p.334). From this point of view, the systems of education used in each country are depended on the beliefs of the legislators in regard to the value of social and political life, as compared with the scientific research. In this context, education would face pupils to understand the elements of natural facts that they have to face on a daily basis. In other words, education is a tool for making the natural and the social phenomena clear to pupils. In any case, education during childhood is critical for the development of pupils’ social skills. At the same time, educational methods addressing pupils have the following advantage: they prepare the pupils to respond to emergent and stressful social events, especially in regard to their family. From this point of view, education addresses the interests of pupils. However, the performance of education, as a tool for socialization and personal development can be threatened by the following fact: due to the continuous limitation of funds invested on education, teachers ‘have to face larger classes’ (Parsons 1999, p.46) not being given the necessary resources for covering the educational needs of all pupils. Reference can be made to the children with special needs but also those with difficult character (Parsons 1999). The potentials of education to address the interests of pupils seem to be affected by another fact: the National Curriculum promoted in countries worldwide is strict as of its content, meaning that teaches are not allowed to propose their ideas in regard to the potential forms of education promoted in a particular educational site (Parsons 1999). The development of National Curriculum worldwide has resulted to the limitation of the power of teachers to develop initiatives in regard to the material used, as such limitation set borders in the further development of education as a critical factor for the improvement of social and private life. Smart and Tierney (2000) also agree that the role of curriculum in the promotion of effective educational systems is crucial. At the same time it is explained that without a flexible Curriculum teaches are not able to support the interests of all pupils, meaning especially the pupils with special needs. In the study of Tilstone and Layton (2004), reference is made to a different aspect of education. In the above study, education is presented as a tool for ‘empowerment and autonomy’ (Tilstone and Layton 2004, p.4). It is explained that, in the context of the 21st century, the priorities of education have been changed (Tilstone and Layton 2004, p4). In modern societies, education aims to increase the self-esteem of pupils so that they are ready to face the various social, economic and political challenges, as reflected in social conflicts and inequality among social classes worldwide. Moreover, it is noted that education should focus on the empowerment of pupils so that they become an active member of social and political initiatives. In any case, it seems that the improvement of the quality of education provided internationally has led to the following result: pupils with special needs who could not have access to education, they can today participate in various educational projects. Indeed, in the past, pupils with special needs were excluded from education. Another perception of the role of education in social life is included in the study of Dewey (1998). In accordance with the above study, in its traditional form education aims to support the continuation of social ethics and culture. It is explained that the traditions of each society are likely to be promoted through education; also the preparation of children to take responsibilities as members of the society has been another key characteristic of traditional education (Dewey 1998). However, the above view on education has been, at least partially, differentiated in the context of the modern society. Indeed, today education focuses on the promotion of technology and science and the provision of support to children so that they can understand the advances of technology, as they are involved in all aspects of human life. In regard to the above trend Dewey (1998) notes that traditional education is differentiated from the modern education at the following point: the traditional education have being tried ‘to transmit the past to the new generation’ (Dewey 1998, p.2) while the modern education, which is characterized as progressive, is based on the ‘criticism of traditional education’ (Dewey 1998, p.4). Moreover, the traditional education is clearly distinguished by progressive education at the following point: the traditional education uses ‘the pattern of organization’ (Dewey 1998, p.2), meaning the modes of teaching, the time-schedule and the relationship between the pupil and the teacher (Dewey 1998, p.2), so that the terms of operation of school matches those of an organization, mostly in terms of hierarchy, a practice which is not accepted in progressive education where measures are taken so that pupils are urged to take initiatives and to participate actively in the development of critical decisions regarding their school life. In accordance with the above, the role of traditional education in the development of social life and the promotion of the rights of pupils is different compared to the relevant role of progressive education. However, it cannot be stated that traditional education promotes less the interests of pupils; rather, it could be noted that the different forms of education are based on different approaches in regard to the role of school, the support of interests of pupils and the development of social life. At the next level, Ireson and Hallam (2001) the different aspects of the relationship between the interests of pupils and education are reflected at the following fact: when participate in activities of different types of schools, pupils are likely to perform differently. This fact indicates that different types of schools offer different chances to pupils to develop their skills. In other words, the relationship between education and the interests of pupils is highly influenced from the characteristics of the educational site in which each pupil participates. For example, reference can be made to the research developed by Ireson and Hallam (2001). In the above research, the performance of pupils within specialized and non-specialized schools in UK was measured (Ireson and Hallam 2001, p.23). It was revealed that ‘reading scores were higher in grammar schools’ (Ireson and Hallam 2001, p.23), showing that specialized schools are likely to use more effective practices for preparing their pupils for examination – compared to the non-specialized schools. In regard particularly the relationship between the education and social life, the following issues need to be highlighted: even if the preparation of children for the labour market is a critical part of education, it should be not a priority (Sylvester 2010), meaning that education should be rather focus on the socialization of pupils as it would be supported by the acquisition of skills which can be used in the labour market. But the exclusive use of labour market as a criterion for the Curriculum or the modes of teaching should be avoided (Sylvester 2010). The relationship between education and social life is reflected at another fact: the financing of educational programs by the governments and various non-governmental institutes and organizations. In other words, education in a particular state cannot be developed without the financial support of citizens but this fact should not affect the scope of education, meaning that education should keep its primary role as a tool for promoting the socialization and the personal development of pupils; the transformation of education to a tool for increasing the competencies of pupils in the labour market should be avoided. 3. Conclusion Education is an important part of social life. In fact, schools tend to serve a series of social and personal needs, such as the incorporation of individuals in society and the alignment of personal beliefs with social ethics and culture, a requirement for the continuation of traditions within each state. At the same time, education is used in order to prepare the children to enter the labour market, even if this role of schools should be carefully checked, ensuring that it is not set as a priority. In any case, it has been proved that education is vital for the promotion of interests of children, either in the short or the long term, and the support of the ethics and the traditions of social life. From this point of view, education ensures the integrity of societies worldwide and the increase of socialization and practical skills of pupils so that they will able to face competition in society and survive in the labour market. However, it is clear that the potentials of education to serve the above needs is different within societies with different characteristics and different perceptions as to the role of education as a tool of socialization and progress. The priority of legislators worldwide would be the explanation of the value of education in the promotion of social values and the development of science, under the terms that measures are taken so that the practical needs of education, meaning especially the needs of education in terms of infrastructure, are also addressed. References Antikainen, A. 1996. Living in a learning society: life-histories, identities, and education. London: Routledge. Bailey, R. 2010. The philosophy of education: an introduction. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Chandra, S. and Sharma, K. 1996. Sociology Of Education. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Curren, R. 2008. A Companion to the Philosophy of Education. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Curren, R. 2007. Philosophy of education: an anthology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Dewey, J. 1998. Experience and education. Indianapolis: Kappa Delta Pi. Dewey, J. 1930. 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