link: questioned
EDUCATION IN THE POST-INDUSTRIAL AGE: THE TRADITIONAL
PARADIGM IS QUESTIONED TODAY
"Surely an education designed for the nineteenth century industrial society does not address the needs of our time. Our schools do not speak to the confused, fearful condition of the young generation who must inherit this troubled culture and this threatened planet. Consequently, American education has entered a period of upheaval and conflict from which it cannot emerge unchanged. Corporate leaders call for 'excellence' and accountability, while mainstream politicians seek to educate for a gobally competitive economic system; teachers demand greater professional autonomy, and minority communities and progressives work to make education responsive to a diverse multicultural society. Religious conservatives desert the public schools for more disciplined Christian academies and homeschooling, while more child-centered parents and educators seek greater freedom and meaningful learning for young people, sometimes through homeschooling as well. Some factions advocte greater choice, through vouchers or magnet schools, while others warn against abandoning the vision of common schooling. This last group will ultimately be the most disappointed, for the conflicts over education today result from the bare fact that there is no longer a societal consensus supporting the nineteenth century model of common schooling. A radically different paradigm, not yet clearly defined, is emerging." ( Ron Miller, 1993. Renewal of Meaning in Education: Responses to the Cultural and Ecological Crisis of Our Times. Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press.)
Traditional paradigm of education: 'behavioural paradigm' In the nineteenth century, the 'traditional' paradigm of education was conceived and institutionalized within the framework of industrialism. The implicit understanding of the aim of education was the acquisition of objective 'knowledge' of textbook material through conditioned learning or 'conditioning'. Conditioning involves memorization or 'rote learning'. Rote learning is considered to be valid when the aim of education is to train for work in the factory. The hierarchical and assembly line approach to education is based on the assumption that acquisition of knowledge or 'learning' only takes place in 'school' and that education is the same as 'training' or 'schooling'. The aim of schooling is to impose academic requirements and inculcate those ethical codes which are considered important for the 'needs of society'. Justification for traditional pedagogical methods by the principles of 'behavioural science' or 'behaviourism' is the basis for the 'behavioural paradigm' of education. The behavioural paradigm promotes task-oriented education with a view to meeting requirements of predetermined outcomes of 'learning behaviour' or 'learning outcomes'. The degree of success in learning is evaluated and measured in terms of a reward and punishment system of points and 'grades'.
Teacher's function is to devise 'teaching techniques' In the behavioural paradigm of education the teacher's function is to devise the right 'teaching techniques' for motivating students to work towards completion of given tasks and achievement of good grades. Task-oriented learning is defined in terms of the acquisition and 'possession' of knowledge considered to be static and 'finite'. The curriculum is fragmented and emphasis is placed on factual data and isolated information of textbook knowledge. There is little connection between curriculum material and problem solving life experience. Procedures and strategies are formulated in terms of 'passive learning' and 'authoritarian teaching'. The teacher' is perceived as an authority who has the power to transmit the knowledge which they possess to the 'student' who does not possess is the same knowledge i.e. the 'student/teacher contradiction' of 'banking education'. Authoritarian teaching makes use of the lecture method in the formal setting of the classroom. Since teachers are authorities by virtue of their power of the transmission of knowledge, they unwittingly end up defending their status and protecting their institutions. They neglect student concerns for their own development - intellectual, emotional, psychological i.e. 'moral development'. Lack of concern for personal development is the probable cause for the so-called 'educational crisis'.
The educational crisis is ultimately due to the mistrust of human potential i.e. the 'human personality' or 'human nature'.
Open to serious question is the asssumption that the possession of knowledge brings with it the power to control the future. ( Norman Goble. The Function of Teaching 55)
Problem of motivation and so called 'student mediocrity' Task-oriented education implies a submissive approach to learning and depends on the non-developing passive role of the student. Student passivity leads to declining motivation and the 'problem of motivation'. It is the problem of motivation which puts into question the hierarchical and mechanical methodologies of the behavioural paradigm of education. Emphasis on the authoritarian approach ignores the human capacity for reflection and the natural development of 'conceptual understanding' and inductive reasoning or 'critical thinking'. Students learn to rely for their motivation on the external or 'exrinsic rewards' for learning i.e. ‘extrinsic motivation’.
Their dependence on extrinsic motivation is a likely cause for the declining educational standards which are attributed to so-called 'student mediocrity'.
Mistrust of human nature impedes development of responsible socialisation or 'social inteelligence' Pedagogical methods of traditional education neglect to cultivate the individual's natural capacities for adaptation to the complexities of rapidly changing social conditions i.e. 'social intelligence'. Social intelligence is a function of responsible socialization which depends on development of the human potential for moral and intellectual growth to maturity i.e. 'self-actualisation'. Self-actualisation engages the individual's personal capacity for decision-making, creativity and productiveness or 'work'. Work which is meaningful enhances the development of the capacity to see the connections between learning and life i.e.learning from experience or 'experiential learning'. Experiential learning is a function of the integration of learning with growth or 'growth through learning'.
Failure to integrate learning with growth results in a the individuals's sense of alienation and ultimately to a sense of incompetence and incapacitation i.e. 'adult immaturity'.
Traditional education is no longer appropriate for today's world
Institutionalized education with its emphasis on conditioning and behavioral outcomes is no longer relevant in the times of mass communications and the 'global village'....etc. As well as the sequential printed word, information is derived from multisensory sources of various forms and intensities. The complexity of information requires the brain to process simultaneously multitudinous stimuli - sights, sounds, images, ideas and others. For the purpose of survival, the brain must be able to derive meaning from a complex environment. The educational paradigm of industrialsism and behaviorism has become too limited. The educational experience for growing children is no longer a matter of simple preparation for a future working life. The educational experience must enable them to adapt to a changing environment and changing circumstances. It must prepare them for personal fulfillment and a life of change. It must engage their full capacity for learning, and for learning to learn. For a future of change and a global perspective in the global village, their subjective life must become of paramount concern in education. It is no longer possible to ignore their inner experience.
The behavioural paradigm of traditional education lacks vision and wisdom and is therefore limited and so inappropriate for the social needs of post-industrial society. It is no longer relevant for adaptability to the social demands of
the age of mass communications or 'information age'. It fails to meet the challenges of complex learning for meaningful living in the complex world of the 'global village'. It continues to promote the myths of capitalism, to teach the values of materialism and consumerism and to foster the illusions of so-called material 'happiness'. It obscures the real challenges of complex learning. It fails to prepare the young for the realities of what it takes to realize their hopes and dreams. It is irresponsible because it does not respect or even recognize the human potential for intellectual and moral development. It ignores the inner life and the inner experiencing of the developing individual and denies those learning experiences which are
meaningful and joyful because they encourage motivation which is intrinsic to
natural learning i.e. intrinsic motivation'.
Self-empowerment depends on experiential learning which leads to understanding of the positive aspects of the responsibilities of 'freedom'.
What is needed today is a new paradigm based on new educational theory... 'holistic education': teacher as 'facilitator of learning' Development of responsibility of freedom is the aim of education today. As a result of political, social and economic changes there is a general demand for the democratisation of education. There is a demand for respect for the right of every human being to be offered an education which provides for the development of self-empowerment required for adaptability