educational institutions should ask for fewer regulations from the government
The United States higher education is believed to have borrowed its structure from both the German research university and the British undergraduate college. However, its feature is entirely influenced by three major philosophical myths that shape the United States’ public life. The myths are limited government and freedom of expression, capitalism and market rationality, and widespread commitment to equal opportunity and social mobility (Eckel & Jacqueline 1-25). Despite the expensiveness of college education, there has been an increase of students both in diversity and size. With recent studies showing the acquisition of a college degree as essential to a person’s success in today’s workforce, the purpose of college should be to prepare students for the job market (and assisting them to advance their earnings and career) and to thrive in their entire lives. The Gallup-Bates College Study report depicted that the current marketplace is a dominant external drive in shaping the United States College experience because the government support has not been fully reliable.
Therefore, educational institutions should ask for fewer regulations from the government. It will allow them to have the autonomy of working with various employers who can support in giving block-grants to enable students who are pursuing certain disciplines like engineering and applied sciences to acquire more skills and experiences, thus creating a competitive marketplace for students after graduating (Eckel & Jacqueline 1-25). The American colleges should not only focus on releasing potential employees after graduating, but also better world citizens who are capable of thinking critically and communicate succinctly. Since K-12 education does not entirely educate people on skills and experiences, the college education has aided not in weeding out people, but it has acted as a great democratizer by accommodating all students post-secondary to let them learn of various skills and experiences that are essential in the job market. Therefore, there should be a “higher” purpose to education other than just gearing towards specific programs for the workplace.
The reality in the current digital-first world is that colleges should embark on teaching the digital generation how to learn, unlearn, and relearn for them to be in a position to change the future of the workplace, instead of being transformed by it. There should be a higher purpose to education because in the report released by Burning Glass, not all people who graduate in a certain program end up in jobs that they are skillfully aligned to (Chamorro-Premuzic, and Frankiewicz). It reported that about 20 percent of graduates from the United State are not necessarily working in places aligned with what program they undertook while in school.
Although the college education is gearing individuals towards an employment opportunity, the higher purpose of education should also be to achieve personal development. As of UNESCO, education is a lifelong empowerment process, which should assist citizens both in their intra and interpersonal understanding, thus making them empathic citizens (ALOS MELCHOR). When education achieves personal development in an individual, it boosts their intellectual capacity. Regarding the recent Pew Research Center report, for any society to develop, there is a need for individuals who possess deep expertise in multiple disciplines. Such people are needed to carry out research, create policies, innovate, develop, and implement decisions that can possess an enormous and long-lasting effect.
As of an article from the Forbes.Com by Jacquelyn Smith, with proper personal development, the critical thinking of an individual will be boosted (Grandes). Education should be focused on teaching students not just to know things, but also to be better in processing ideas. An educated individual will be able to critically think in analyzing various issues. In this scenario, personal development as a purpose will enable colleges to release better innovators and graduates who can communicate effectively. Without these, students have found it rough in the marketplace as they don’t meet the key traits that most players look for (Harmon). The National Association of Colleges and Employment (NACE) reported that the hiring of employees who have the aptitude of innovation via critically thinking and communicating effectively is what most employers look for to stay competitive.
Besides, an article from the Six Sigma Online at Aveta Business Institute, the writer believes that learning institutions should also boost the personal development of a student as it will enable him or her to embrace teamwork (Grandes). According to the article listing NACE’s statistics, every business requires to recognize that they will have a productive workforce. Most of the time, graduates are believed to be in their potential employer’s eyes, more specifically to be skilled in group dynamics (Harmon). Therefore, colleges apart from gearing towards job opportunities should also focus on teaching about teamwork and what they are needed to do for them to progress towards a specific goal.
With Personal development as a purpose, the College Board’s report believes that students will not only be able to identify the deficits in their lives but also there will be an improvement in memory cognition and processing (Grandes). Fortunately, a good education system should enable learners to identify mental and emotional health concerns, and learning disabilities as this will enable them to identify proper work ethics before and after graduating (Harmon). According to NACE’s data, work ethic is ranked the third in the key traits employers look after when hiring, and it is believed that educational centers are the best in instilling that in students by first enabling them to know how to identify the deficit they have.
An improvement in memory cognition and processing is also one of the personal developments that education should look into as a purpose. As of scientists’ views, the brain is like a muscle has it contains some interesting solid science behind it. (Grandes) According to CRM and SEO in the innovation and communication section, education leads to stronger brain development. With effective brain development, students will be able to use recent technological innovations in the job market (Harmon). Most Employers have partnered with learning institutions in giving training of students in the current technologies as per their fields of learning to offer the students a better opportunity in the marketplace.
Finally, education through personal development should achieve a happy and healthy life for all students. Among the merits of education in the 21st century is to enable societies and communities to operate smoothly and improve personal lives (Harmon). Regarding the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), educated people do actively participate in societal activities like interpersonal trust, voting, and volunteering in various tasks of society. Education enables one to become aware of what he or she is capable of. Therefore, it enables an individual to improve his or her life by contributing to the world. According to the College Board, when a person spends one, two, and four or six years learning, and developing him or herself, he or she tends to feel happier and content as he or she leads an educated life.
In conclusion, the debate regarding the purpose of a college education should be regarded as both geared towards preparing students for jobs and to succeed in life after college by exercising flexibility. Teaching while focusing mainly on the workplace may not necessarily help a student as it will make students believe that they only wait for the jobs that align with the programs that they have learned in school, thus depicting a lack of critical thinking and innovation in them (Grandes). Finally, education should be embraced as it enhances the living standards, benefits societies, and even secure people from expectation and abuse. Therefore, as a nation, the government should improve access to quality education as it will result in better outcomes.
Works Cited
ALOS MELCHOR, Eva ALOS MELCHOR. “Education For Personal Development And Well-Being – EPALE – European Commission”. EPALE – European Commission, 2020, https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/resource-centre/content/education-personal-development-and-well-being. Accessed 14 May 2020.
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas, and Becky Frankiewicz. “6 Reasons Why Higher Education Needs To Be Disrupted”. Harvard Business Review, 2019, https://hbr.org/2019/11/6-reasons-why-higher-education-needs-to-be-disrupted. Accessed 14 May 2020.
Eckel, Peter D., and Jacqueline E. King. An overview of higher education in the United States: Diversity, access and the role of the marketplace. American Council on Education, 2004.
Grandes, Linda. “How Education Helps In Human Development | Sourcey”. Sourcey.Com, 2020, https://sourcey.com/articles/how-education-helps-in-human-development. Accessed 14 May 2020.
Harmon, Harper. “5 Reasons A College Degree Sets You Apart For Potential Employers | Diversity Jobs And Employment”. Workplacediversity.Com, 2020, https://workplacediversity.com/articles/5-Reasons-a-College-Degree-Sets-You-Apart-for-Potential-Employers. Accessed 14 May 2020.