Bunmi Lawson
Definition of Education
John Dewey, in his book “Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of Education” (1916, pp. 1–4.) states that Education in its broadest, general, sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. In its narrow, technical sense, education is the formal process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs, and values from one generation to another, e.g., instruction in schools
Importance of Education
There is no doubt as to the important role of Education in society. From the definition above, it can be deduced that without education a society cannot progress and may lose its culture and core values. It is almost a moot point to restate that education is the foundation for the development of society, and that it has the potential of creating economic wealth, social cohesion, and political stability. The main purpose of education is not just to prepare individuals for work in the economy but to facilitate their integration into society by teaching them the values and morals of society. Ministries, factories, hospitals and farms in developing countries often work inefficiently, not because the people working there are not capable but because they lack the right knowledge and skills.
Education in society prepares youngsters for adulthood so that they may form the next generation of leaders, yield strong families and communities. Studies have shown that people with formal education have a higher probability of attaining higher standards of living within society than those without.
Primary and secondary school education is the foundation that begins the process of learning during the formative years of a person. It builds the desire and interest for continuous learning without which higher levels of education cannot be attained. The early years of a person’s life are the years for the formation of character and values which usually sets the tone for the person’s role and contribution within their immediate communities.
Declining level of education in Nigeria
In Nigeria today the deterioration in the quality of education is obvious. Within the Nigerian society we can see evidence of the failure of education with the increase in decadence and crimes. Many aspects of our society appear to be literally falling apart without possibilities for redemption or restoration.
Formal measurements of academic performance such as WAEC and NECO indicate massive failures in the examinations. The Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs) adopted in September 2000 has one of the eight goals (goal 2) specifically devoted to achieving universal primary education. From the 2010 MDG Report, the net enrolment in primary education in Nigeria, has seen a slow, but steady increase over the years, however, the slow progress may not help to meet the target in 2015. In addition, the report also shows that the proportion of pupils enrolled in primary 1 in a given year, who reach primary 5 has been declining over the years. The dropout rate has increased leading to a decline in the overall numbers that achieve a primary 5 level of education. In the global campaign for education, Nigeria ranks as one of the worst countries in terms of the quality of education.
On this premise, there is an urgent need to (re)address the gap but time is running out. While Government does have responsibility for improving the level of education available to its citizens, the state of education in Nigeria calls for urgent interventions by all stakeholders. The call is to rescue the situation with cost-effective/innovative solutions.
Technology In Education
Technology has helped leapfrog the rate of development and progress in most nations. It has certainly changed the way we live today; it has and continues to play an important role in every sphere of our life. For instance, several mundane or manual tasks can be automated, thanks to technology. Globally, the use of technology in education has contributed significantly to improving both the rate of access to education and the quality of education. These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcast technologies (radio and television), gaming software and telephony. There is increasing interest in how technology can improve education at all levels, innovations such as open and distance learning have been used throughout the world. The process of learning in the classroom can become significantly richer as students have access to new and different types of information, can manipulate it on the computer through graphic displays or controlled experiments in ways never before possible, and can communicate their results and conclusions in a variety of media to their teacher, students in the next classroom, or students around the world.
However, the use of Technology in most schools in Nigeria is at its infancy, if ever used at all. This situation can be attributed to limited infrastructure, high costs of access and lack of technology skills amongst school administrators and teachers.
Technology can be used in all aspects of education. In the case of formal education; these could be loosely categorized into six main areas:
1. Administrative- which includes selection and admission of students; monitoring and tracking of students’ academic progress.
2. Teaching- focusing on the teachers, including teachings skills, Curriculum, teaching material development etc
3. Learning- which focuses on improving the ability of students to learn and make their learning process more engaging and interesting
4. Testing- which covers examinations, continuous testing, results, and performance assessments
5. Guidance and counseling- covering areas of career selection talent development and developing meaning to the selection of ones goals in life
6. Parenting and informal education: helping parents engage in the education of their children, mentoring by other parents, parent and school relationships and partnerships.
In each of these areas technology can be used to significantly improve education in Nigeria. An example of using technology to improve learning can be observed in the impact on learning some aspects of gaming technology has been shown to have on acquisition and cognition. For instance at the most basic levels; the addition of numbers to get to the next level or answering subject questions have been demonstrated to have impact on general learning.
Introduction of technology in schools is based on the strong belief that innovative solutions are required to improve knowledge production and dissemination during the formative years of young people. For these reasons our involvement with the Tech-in education initiative of the co creation hub is to ensure that low to medium-term goals are set and quickly implemented.
We are calling on all; parents, teachers, educationists, students, problem-solvers and technology experts and not excluding amateurs alike, to be a part of this initiative. Please click on or copy the link http://www.cchubnigeria.com/tech-in-education-meet-up for more information on how to be a part of this process.
We have to do something now…. come be a part of progressive change in education
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