What Is Education

What is education?

What are the challenges facing those who provide it?

Education is a crucial part of life, it influences the way people think, speak, talk, write and react to the world around them. However, education is much more than just an influence, it is a part of life itself. Throughout the past century, education has dramatically called upon change and variation, with new technology, science, and both ethical and cultural values making way. Hence, education can really only be defined by its time and place. This means that as educators, we need to continually update our qualifications and skills to be in equilibrium with the constant changes that are happening around us, which is a challenge all educators face (Dusseldorp 1998).

Functionalism is the idea that there should be an even balance in society, which is achieved through the various roles played by the different parts of society (Walker & Loughland 2001). This idea is based on the ideals that everyone in society has a role to play, and everyone also has an equal chance to play each role. But instead, it can clearly be seen that education has otherwise been used as a sorting mechanism, ever since education became compulsory in 1880. McBurney-Fry (2002:6) states that one of the purposes of education is "to sort and distribute people into appropriate roles such as occupational hierarchies, employment and life chances." It can easily be seen that this way of sorting is not always fair, but instead children are sorted into various groups, such as race, gender, cultural background, ethnicity, religion and academic ability, rather then providing equal opportunities for everyone. Therefore, educators need to teach a group of individuals rather than teaching a class of children. By not treating each child as an individual with different learning capabilities, the challenge of creating a fair chance for each child will never be met. Educational institutions should try their hardest to restore this balance, and provide an equal opportunity for each child for their futures to come.

Kalantzis (1998) argued that one of the main objectives of education is to prepare young people for the world of employment, but through the continuous development of postFordism this objective can be an extremely hard job for educators. No longer can your expect a stable career path with perhaps the slightest of job changes, instead, the average person passes through at least 7 very different careers during their life. Moreover, with new fields of work constantly being created, there is a large demand for people with the right qualifications and skills (Kalantzis 1998). Finding the right people with such skills can be a hard task, unless educational institutions such as schools, tafes and universities are continually updating the subjects they teach and their teaching methods (Dusseldorp 1998).

Along with changing careers is technology, the most rapidly developing resource on the planet. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, 66% of Australian households have access to at least one computer at home and over 72% of households have access to mobile phones. Quality Education Data have also surveyed that just over 90% of school teachers feel "unprepared" to effectively use technology. This statistic really concretes a point; educators are not keeping up with technology, and in consequence are slowing down the ability for children to gain experience with technology. Today we live in a world that solely relies on technology, and not being able to effectively use this technology can be a real problem. As technology changes more and more, educators will only find it harder to keep their skills up-to-date unless they are consistent in keeping up with the move.

Education also strives to imitate and 'mirror' the ways society works, through both structure and organisation (McBurney-Fry 2002). It slowly prepares children to face the reality of adult life where there will be winners and losers, consequences for wrong actions, responsibility, reliability and also independence. Education also provides a place where students can participate in the various processes of the government, which helps to develop the children's confidence and familiarity with how an organized society works (Kalantzis 1998).

Kelly (1996 p.1) stats that:

If our society didn't have schooling, we would invent it. Without our teachers and schools, there would be no process whereby all of Australia's citizens could participate in a common experience based on common values.

We can see through this that schooling, as a part of education, provides the process whereby all Australians are taught the same common values, in order that together, we function properly as a society.

There is a large number of children in society today, that lack 'cultural capital', due to their parents unsuccessful school experiences and/or careers paths. It has been believed that through these experiences, parents shape their children's education and life chances (Burnett, Tait & Meadmore 2004). This means that some children come to school without the resources, understandings, knowledge and skills that many other children already have. These children may not feel comfortable in a school situation and may only find it threatening, in addition these students may even feel alienated and confused in the classroom, which exposes a huge challenge to us as educators. Teachers must