Higher Education and Society

Institutions of education, and the system of which they are a part, face a host of unprecedented challenges from forces in society that affect and are influenced by these very institutions and their communities of learners and educators. Among these forces are sweeping demographic changes, shrinking provincial budgets, revolutionary advances in information and telecommunication technologies, globalization, competition from new educational providers, market pressures to shape educational and scholarly practices toward profit-driven ends, and increasing demands and pressures for fundamental changes in public policy and public accountability relative to the role of higher education in addressing pressing issues of communities and the society at large. Anyone of these challenges would be significant on their own, but collectively they increase the complexity and difficulty for education to sustain or advance the fundamental work of serving the public good.

Through a forum on education, we can agree to: Strengthening the relationship between higher education and society will require a broad-based effort that encompasses all of education, not just individual institutions, departments and associations.

Piecemeal solutions can only go so far; strategies for change must be informed by a shared vision and a set of common objectives. A “movement” approach for change holds greater promise for transforming academic culture than the prevailing “organizational” approach.

Mobilizing change will require strategic alliances, networks, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders within and beyond education.

The Common Agenda is specifically designed to support a “movement” approach to change by encouraging the emergence of strategic alliances among individuals and organizations who care about the role of higher education in advancing the ideals of a diverse democratic system through education practices, relationships and service to society. Read the rest of this entry »

Implications for Inclusive Education

Inclusion is ‘the right of every child to an appropriate and efficient education in his or her local mainstream school.’ The implication here is that there are to be no exceptions in regards to a child’s culture, gender, ethnicity, and religion, issues of disability, age or sexual orientation. An inclusive classroom is one in which learning happens in small groups with peer helping and supporting each other, it is also ‘student centred with a high sense of respect and community. Students structure the rules and are expected to follow them.They are aware others are doing different things but fairness does not come into question because ‘that’s just the way it is’. (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the United States, states that all children will be educated in regular classroom unless the nature of their disability is such that education in such a classroom cannot be achieved satisfactorily. All ‘schools have a duty to try’ to be inclusive. It further went on to highlight that the ‘least restrictive environment is one that provide the greatest exposure to an interaction with general education students and persons without disabilities’.

Implications of these statements can be looked at from the perspective of different groups within the school community. These are mainly, parents, teachers /support staff, general student population, and students with special needs.

Mixed gender schools for example may not be the first choice of parents of certain religious faiths because of implications for their religion. For those parents who subscribe to a particular religion, faith school offer the sort of religious grounding they want their children to emulate. While there are religious assemblies and devotions in faith schools and students are expected to conform to the particular ethos of the school, this is not the case for mainstream non -faith schools. Read the rest of this entry »

The Fracture of American Education

A “fracture” is defined as the separation of an object into two or more parts because of being under stress. Today, the American education system is under extreme stress, as it is attacked from the right for being too expensive, from the left as not holding teachers accountable, and from the business community, as not providing the graduate students industry needs. This stress is splitting education into two groups of students and educators; haves and have nots.

After World War Two, the United States recognized the need to educate all its citizens. The technological advances of the war made it clear that the future would require massive numbers of well- educated and technologically sophisticated workers. Finding such as these were also supported by reports from the American Society of Engineering Education which was appointed in May 1952 to study this problem and produced the groundbreaking report, “Summary of the Report on Evaluation of Engineering Education” known as the Grinter report. The age of atomic energy would require larger numbers of trained employees in engineering sciences.

The result of reports such as this was the opening of university doors to increasing number of Americans. The United States in nineteen fifties and sixties became the shining beacon of educational success to the world. Yet, today as the country enters the 21st century and a new era of technological advancement, we begin to see those doors closing. In the name of fiscal responsibility, conservative administrations around the country are balancing budgets by drastically reducing, or in many cases eliminating areas of education and technology. This year, the state of Florida will take $1.75 billion from its educational budget for grades K through 12, and additional significant amounts from its colleges. In states all across the country educational systems are under extreme stress, not to do more with less, but to do something with nothing. Read the rest of this entry »