Introduction to Educational Theory
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Introduction to Educational Theory
Introduction: A timeline of my education and key learning points in my life
This essay is about a reflection of my own learning journey in relation to underpinning educational theory. However, before I reflect, narrate and relate this journey, I seek to provide a brief overview of the educational timeline or system in my country. There are five key stages of education: Early Years Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) (Parkay et al., 2014). The beginning of formal education is Early Years Education; this takes places in various places such as state nursery schools, private nursery schools, nursery classes and reception classes within state or private primary schools. The Early Years education is entitled to children aged three and/or four years. Basically, the Early Education or nursery education is sometimes considered to be part of Primary Education. However, it is not a key stage. Primary Education has two key stages with different age ranges. The first stage, also known as "infant” or Key Stage 1 enrolls 5 to 7 year olds. The second stage which is referred to as "junior" or Key Stage 2 admits the 7 year olds who have successfully completed their Key Stage 1. Key Stage 1 roughly takes 4 years long and completes the Primary Education. The third of stage of education is Secondary Education. It generally takes 5 years from 11 year olds up to 16 year olds. Upon successful completion, students are awarded General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). At this point, it is important to note that the Early Years Education, Primary Education and Secondary Education form the basic education and therefore compulsory to children of ages 4-16 years.
From Secondary Education, a child may choose to proceed to Further Education which is the fourth stage of education. Further Education is post compulsory education that is distinct from the education offered in Higher Education. It takes only two years and it is sometimes referred to as "A Level" education. Usually, FE involves learners who are 16 years and above. FE is taught in FE colleges, adult and community learning institutions as well as work-based learning. According to O'Connor (2016), upon completion of two-year further education, the prospective granduands have three available options: apply to universities, apply for employment or join apprenticeship. This leads us to the fifth and final stage of education, Higher Education (HE). This education is for people of about 18 years or older who are at the University level. The courses offered at this level are higher than GCE and Advanced level (Gould and Taylor, 2017). The HE has two major courses: the undergraduate courses leading to first degree attainment and Postgraduate courses leading to higher degrees such as Masters and Doctorates as well as Postgraduate diplomas and certificates.
Having given a brief background of the education system in the country, I now shift focus to the key learning points in my life. Among the five stages of education discussed above, I find four of the stages as critical learning points in my life: the Primary Education, Secondary Education, Further Education, and Higher Education. In this essay, I seek to reflect and narrate my learning and teaching experiences as I moved through these stages while relating these experiences to the underlying educational theory. In this analysis, I incorporate specific areas such as motivation theory, others influence over my decision making, learning styles, principles of adult learning and theories of learning. It is also important to note that in doing this analysis; I have chosen to give it two major headings that cover pedagogical learning and teaching experiences and andragogical experiences. Under pedagogical, I take a look at my childhood experiences in Primary and Secondary education. At the andragogical level, I reflect on learning experiences as an adult with focus on Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE).
Primary and Secondary Education
Like many other education systems in the world, the major goals of primary education in my country are achieving basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils as well as establishing foundations in science, mathematics, and other subjects. Primary education was the most exciting period of my educational life. I would describe myself during this time, as a pupil who was "ready to learn". Like many children, I was curious and eager to know reading and writing and doing basic numeric. I was eager to learn new concept and understand what science, history, geography were all about. However, this curiosity did not apply to all the subjects. Nevertheless, reflecting back on my desire to learn during my primary education, I am now able to understand that I had internal motivation to learn. In the context of motivational learning theory, motivation is defined as 'internal drive that activates behavior and gives it direction'. My learning experience in primary education was characterized by the desire to achieve and a feeling of satisfaction. Accordingly, I was an active pupil in class and performed excellently.
But again, reflecting back, I realize not all of us had this kind of internal motivation. Others and majority for that matter, were driven by external motivation. This category of students was good but needed reinforcement to succeed. These were pupils who were purely operating under B.F. Skinner's Behaviorist theory of learning. External or extrinsic motivation drives positive behavior which is offered in the form of a system that reinforces the desired behavior and negates undesirable action (Pearson, 2016). So, while some of my colleagues at that level relied on physical rewards (such as a sticker on the completed paper, excellent remarks in good performance on exercises or assessments, presents like books, pens) and on punishments (such as a call home to parents and poor remarks on tests and assessments) to work hard and succeed, I was never driven by such external factors. As much these external influences from the teachers (the rewards and presents and praises) were there for participation in class and outstanding performance, I realized that this had very little effect on my success.
Teaching and Learning at the primary stage of education combined visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles (McLaren, 2015). This means that teaching and learning was by seeing (visual), hearing (auditory) and learning by doing (kinesthetic). These are the three main learning styles suggested by learning theorists. I found the approach of integrating the three teaching and learning styles pretty interesting and motivating since it accommodated our individual differences (O'Connor, 2016). Although at this level, as young learners as we were, we had not made a self-discovery of which learning style was best to ourselves. Besides meeting our individual differences, the integration of these learning strategies was well placed in meeting the overall goal of primary education thus-achieving basic literacy and numeracy and establishing foundations in the various subjects taught (Phillips and Schweisfurth, 2014).
Teaching and learning at primary level when placed between educational/learning theories, an emphasis was on mastery of the content. Perhaps, most principles of teaching and learning were drawn from Behaviorist theory. As young dependant pupils with limited life experiences, we were treated and seen as passive recipients of "knowledge" from the teachers who regarded themselves as "omniscients" of knowledge. In other words, our heads were literary “empty” to be filled with knowledge. Teaching and learning also followed Bloom's educational theory which focuses on the mastery of the content. Teaching and learning is characterized by drilling, imitation and memorization (which was most challenging to me and dislikes it till today). All these methods were employed as a means of ensuring learners mastered the content.
Different from primary education, my learning and teaching experience at Secondary Education level was the most frustrating and intimidating across all stages. According to Kiraly (2014), the goals of Secondary Education include acquiring necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge which are vital in contributing to the development of the nation; development of life aspects in the areas of mental, social, moral, physical and spiritual dimensions; enhancing of understanding and respect of own and other people’s culture; and enhancing understanding and appreciation of the relationships among countries. Furthermore, secondary level education promotes positive health and environmental practices; building of a firm foundation for purposes of furthering training and education; development of ability for enquiring various life issues and rational judgment.
Following these goals or long term objectives of Secondary Education, I had a lot of expectations. I expected vast changes from my experiences at Primary level. I anticipated change in teaching and learning methods and techniques as we were prepared to achieve the mentioned goals; and as we were prepared to transition from childhood to adulthood. But to my dismay, an emphasis in teaching and learning process was still much placed within Behaviorist theory focusing on mastery of content (Meltzer, 2018). Teaching strategies were very less different from the ones at Primary level with much focus given to lecturing other than such methods as discussion, demonstration, presentations and so on. Learning styles mostly incorporated visual and auditory with little emphasis placed on learning by doing (which by the way, at this time I had discovered that I learn best by doing) (Northouse, 2018). At this stage of my education, learners were still treated as inexperienced and passive “young” beings to be filled with information from their teachers. I found this quiet displeasing because I did not see myself as an inexperienced young child but a growing child who has moved from Key stage 2 to Key Stage 3 with her own account of experiences, however limited.
Bloom's taxonomy was well incorporated into teaching, learning and even assessment processes. However, much attention was given to low-level skills of the taxonomy with the higher skills levels receiving very little attention (Bloom et al., 1956). As learners, we were seen as passive recipient of information with the teacher being the centre of teaching and learning process. Memorization characterized the learning process with a strong focus put on academic achievement. Yet, I lacked internal motivation with my success being driven by extrinsic motivation/factors-rewards and punishments (being punished for the inability to remember). And when I failed, I see teachers, class rooms, classmates or any other external forces the reason for my failure. I moved slowly from external motivation to lack of motivation with feelings of annoyance and frustration. Majority of us highly depended on the external factors of motivation with very few learners having intrinsically motivated.
My own values and beliefs on teaching and learning at least at Secondary Education level, is that first and foremost, should be student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Student-centered means that learners should be actively engaged in the teachings learning processes and not seen as passive recipients of information. Teachers should employ teaching methods and strategies which actively engage the learners in the learning processes (Popkewitz, 2018). Such methods and strategies include: group discussions, demonstrations, debates, dialogues, and class presentations. Secondly, teaching and learning at Secondary Education level should focus on problem-solving rather than mastery of content. In other words, there is a need to move away from Behaviorist theories of learning to theories of learning that emphasize on problem-solving. Such theory is Dewey's progressive or social learning theory. According to Dewey (1938), teaching and learning should focus on problem-solving. Thirdly, Secondary Education should focus on real life situation and learning should be by experiences. My experience in Secondary education is that learning is largely taken out of real life situations. Learners are exposed to very abstract concepts and learning content that many lack ideas about. Social learning theory and with which I totally agree with, learning content should fall in the context of children's social life (Dewey, 1938). Lastly, it is my belief and view that learners learn best by doing. According to Dewey, education should socially engage students by including learning experiences that help children to develop appropriately (Dewey, 1938). He further states that education should be a process of living and not a preparation for future living (Flinders and Thornton, 2013). If all these are considered in Secondary Education then, there stands a chance for achieving the goals of this education. There stands a chance to influence learners positively and prevent demotivation from occurring.
Further Education and Higher Education
Further Education and Higher Education can simply be described as andragogical learning. This is in other words refers to adult learning, different from pedagogical-children learning. Further and Higher Education is for adults of ages 16-20 or more years hence the name andragogical. Andragogy is a theory of adult learning posited by Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1968). According to Knowles (1968), there are many differences in the ways in which adult and children learn. He argued that adults unlike children have peculiar learning styles derived from their self-direction, internal motivation, and readiness to learn. Following his beliefs on adult learning, Knowles (1968), provided assumptions teachers should make about adult learners as follows: Self-concept- The maturity of adults provides them with a more secure self-concept than children; Past learning experiences- Contrary to children, adults have a multitude of experiences to draw from and express during their learning processes; Readiness to Learn- Different from children who sometimes not seem to see the importance of education, adults understand the value of education and makes them ready to learn; Practical reasons to learn- Adults choose to further their studies for practical reasons such as new employment, promotion on salary increment; Internal motivation- Knowles assumes that to a large extend, adults motivation for learning is internally driven.
From the above assumptions Knowles (1968) formulated basic principles of adult learning which educators should put into consideration when teaching adults. The principles are as follows: adults are autonomous and self-directed. On this, Knowles (1968) argues that since adults are autonomous and self-directed, they should have a say in the content and process of their learning; adults have accumulated an extensive foundation of life experiences and knowledge. In this regard, Knowles (1968) argues that because adults have so much experience to draw from, their learning should focus on adding to what they have already learnt in the past; adults are practical and therefore need practical reasons to learn. Here, Knowles (1968) argues that adult learning content should focus on issues related to their work and personal life to meet their practical needs; adults are goal-oriented and relevancy-oriented. On this principle Knowles (1968) argues that adults learning content should focus on solving problems rather than memorization and the last principle is that adults need to be treated with respect.
My learning experience as an adult at Further Education and Higher Education levels was and still is a perfect match to Knowles (1968) beliefs about adult. It is characterized by readiness to learn and internal motivation. The cognitive interest-the need for personal achievement and/or self-esteem is what drives my learning at this level. However, external motivators such as the need to achieve higher status, promotion and competitors also influence my learning (Gould and Taylor, 2017). Both the internal and external factors are in my view responsible for adults' readiness to learn.
The learning and teaching style are well multifaceted combining visual (for example use of projectors), auditory (for instance use of loud speakers), and hands-on. The learning styles also include a variety of modes such as active and reflective; big picture and steps; practical and theory; and solitary and groups. As adult learners, we are given opportunities to contribute to the knowledge and skills from our own experiences. We are actively engaged in the lectures through dialogue, small group discussions and presentations, student-led teaching and so on. This kind of engagement fulfills principles 1 in part and 2 discussed above. I find this quite interesting. Nevertheless, principle 1 is not fully fulfilled in the sense that adults are not given opportunities to contribute in the content development. Most time, adult learners like myself follow an existing curriculum and content. In other words, learning content is imposed on us. The curriculum and content does not consider new adult students' practical needs. Yet again, as an adult learner both at FE level and HE level, I find principle 3 and 4 stated above failed. Principle 3 states that adult learning content should focus on issues related to their work and personal life to meet their practical needs. Principle 4 on the other hand requires that adult learning content should focus on problem-solving rather memorization. These principles are less realized at FE and HE levels as very little attention is given to the relationship between learning content and work and personal life situations (Collins, 2004). In respect to the fourth principle, an emphasis on the learning content is placed on mastery of content (memorization) and not solving real life problems.
In my own view therefore, I argue that education at FE and HE levels as much as it is characterized by Knowles beliefs of adults' self-direction in the learning process, internal motivation and readiness to learn (characteristics which any adult learner is likely to show), educators have not completely considered such characteristics and resulting principles when teaching adult learners. Instead, most teaching and learning at adult level, are still informed by the principles of behaviorists theory of learning with much focus on content-centered rather than problem-centered. The engagement of adult learners in lectures through dialogue, small group discussions and presentations, and student-led teaching is commendable and sometimes motivating as it gives the adult learner to relate their own experiences to the learning content (Flinders and Thornton, 2013). Nevertheless, such experiences need to be appreciated and respected and not demeaned as most adult tutors usually do. It is important for tutors to understand that adults always need to be treated with respect. This increases their motivation to learn.
Conclusion
Generally, my learning journey has been full of both positive and negative experiences. The most challenging stage of this journey is the Secondary Education where I found the teaching content, methods and learning styles quite disengaging the learner and placed completely outside the learner’s real life context. The approaches taken in teaching and learning at Secondary School Education are unlikely to meet the overall goals and objectives of Secondary Education. Secondary Education is key to learners as it prepares them to transition from childhood to adulthood and prepares them for life. In this regard, there are drastic changes needed in terms of learning theories, learning content, teaching methods, teaching and learning styles for these and other roles of Secondary Education to be effectively realized. There is also a need for adjustment in teaching and learning methods at Primary Education, Further Education, and Higher Education to complement the needs of learners. At FE and HE levels in particular, I suggest Educators fully adopt Knowles’ Andragogy theory of adult learning.