Education as a backbone for development and economic growth has several factors that affect it. These factors play a major role in building a person’s school life. Firstly, economic factors contribute to the method and content of the education system. There is low-quality education if the family or the nation is in poor economic condition. Secondly, education is a reflection of the culture held by a community. Humans tend to hold their culture valuably and strive to protect their traditions. However, there is a need to know that education is a human right. Thirdly, a country’s history shapes its activities, aims, destiny, and aspirations. These historical stories should be responsible for educational changes. Moreover, the education system is dictated by the political background of a nation. The government makes policies and laws to be implemented in the education sector. Lastly, language is a factor that influences how learners interact and communicate with one another. If there is a language barrier, there is no learning. Learners’ economic, social, political, and cultural backgrounds can positively or negatively influence their education (Altbatch et al., 2011). To comprehensively analyze how these factors drive educational changes, this essay demonstrates my personal educational experiences encompassing issues of race, gender, class, language, disability, and ethnicity and their roles in education.
Family is essential to building or breaking a person’s education life. Born and raised in a white English-speaking neighborhood, I had the privilege of a quality education. The middle and upper classes I attended were predominantly in a white neighborhood. My family provided safety, love, and security, which helped me at the school level because I became emotionally intelligent. Additionally, the church did play a part in my development as it taught love and respect for everyone. I used this skill at school because I could accept and respect different social norms and diversity. However, I still had challenges. First, I am a female, and education and women are a very controversial issue. Stereotypes were there as girls were discouraged from taking science subjects because those were men’s subjects. Additionally, I had a learning disability classified in second grade. This was quite challenging because interacting with others feels different. Despite these strengths and challenges, I still believe in quality education, regardless of race, language, academic background, ethnicity, class, and gender.
I strongly believe there ought to be a shift in the purpose of education. The new goal of education should be to promote learner achievement and prepare them for global competitiveness. The current world we are living in presents learners with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Moreover, it is worth appreciating that skilled personnel today have access to pertinent sources of information, can share knowledge, and have the ability to work together to solve these challenges. Given these factors, it is wise that schools shift to ensuring learners are aware of these challenges, equipping them with the right skills, and cultivating their ability and desire, thus creating meaningful solutions (Schleicher, 2012). However, despite the new shift in the purpose of education, it is worth noting that issues such as ethnicity, academic background, and class are a hindrance to the new shift. In a free world, people can have different opinions, beliefs, norms, and customs, all shaped by their ethnicity, academic backgrounds, and classes. A person’s ethnic background can determine their educational outcomes and beliefs. While some cultures believe that education should be made available to all children irrespective of gender, others believe that education is only good if it is administered to boys. In such a situation, achieving a common shift in the purpose of education becomes a major challenge. Moreover, learners’ social class shapes their understanding of the purpose of education. I believe most learners from low-class families do not heed the need for education as most from high-class families do. Additionally, most learners from low-class families are from immigrant communities. Their access to education is limited as their income level could be higher. Also, with the emotional and psychological torture these children face, achieving a common goal in education becomes a challenge.
A person’s academic experience can change their approach to the academic system they are introduced to. An individual’s attributes, such as language spoken, values, gender, cultural background, and abilities, determine a person’s approach to education. I vividly remember the portable classrooms, the chalk smell, and the teachers, some inspiring and others not. I remember interacting with children from different cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, races, abilities, and values. I remember how we shared our different opinions and perceptions about the world. Interacting with the “haves” and the “have-nots” has shaped my view of education today. I am a better person today because I understand the importance of inclusivity. Moreover, I significantly remember the classroom’s inadequate resources and science equipment. This equipment was only enough for some of the students, and we had to learn in shifts—no wonder I am so vibrant in advocating for the provision of adequate resources in classrooms. Today, I share the American belief that quality education leads to success. This quality education will only be possible if the government and other institutions are ready to fund public schools. Things have gone digital; it would be unwise and demeaning if we continued using analog equipment. Children need to be introduced to technology at a younger level in schools.
Additionally, I advocate for seminars and training of educators as they are responsible for guiding learners when it comes to the use of technology. If I had been introduced to technology earlier, I would have been better today. All in all, the current generation is going to change the world positively. With technology, students and teachers are introduced to several resources. With technology as a tool in education, teachers will learn the different methodologies to teach their subjects (Harris et al., 2009). Moreover, with technology, teachers and students can interact anytime. With the introduction of Google Classroom and Zoom, learners can seek assistance from their teachers outside the classroom. This keeps learners in check and involved even during the holidays.
Certainly, historical and educational issues have shaped the person I am today. To critically understand the future of education and the global intention to transform education, it is only right to acknowledge the traditions of education that predate modern education. To build the strengths of educational systems in different races, ethnicities, genders, and communities, there is a need to appreciate the rich mosaic of educational histories. Additionally, this will help create an inclusive education sector that advocates for equality and quality education. Indigenous systems, apprenticeship, civil service, and religious education have existed for over a thousand years. The primary purposes of these pre-existing systems were to enrich the community, self, and society. For example, civil servant schools focused on preparing all-rounded servants. As children, they were taught various subjects such as literature, history, archery, administrative documents, and religious texts—well, music, and grammar. Astronomy and geometry were taught to learners. It is from these pre-existing systems of education that modern education originated. Although these historical aspects of education have influenced the current way of education, there is a need to restructure several things (Matthews, 2014). Right from the classrooms, there is the need to have classroom resources such as chairs that cater to all children. As a student, I believe that learners with disabilities should have well-designed study tables that cater to their needs. Additionally, improving the quality of education in the United States will require a fundamental shift from one-size-fits-all to learner-centered education. The government must establish the right strategies with the collective responsibilities among policymakers, educators, students, and teachers. With all these institutions coming together, an education system that empowers all learners will be created.
Historically, education injustices emerged from the historical segregation and discrimination against African Americans. There were barriers and a gap between the blacks and the whites. These gaps resulted from the segregated schools that the blacks were forced to attend. These schools had limited resources such as classes and inadequate experienced personnel. Black students were forced to attend overcrowded and unfunded schools. The whites had the privilege of attending funded institutions that had ample resources. Additionally, the native Americans were forced to assimilation, and assimilation policies were implemented, which resulted in the establishment of boarding schools aimed to eradicate the native America’s language and culture (Chavez-Duenas, 2014). These institutions provided substandard education that perpetuated educational inequality. Moreover, immigrant communities whose native language was not English faced several educational injustices. As a result of the language barrier between the immigrants and the whites, the immigrants were not fully involved in the education system. This barrier hindered full participation and success in education, thus lowering the immigrants’ ability to achieve in education performance. Considering these historical injustices in the education sector, there is a need to address issues of racism in education. Although efforts have been made to address educational injustices, this has not been fully catered to. People of color are still being discriminated against in the education system. There is a need to establish policies that advocate for change in education. These anti-discrimination policies will call for equal distribution of resources such as experienced teachers, conducive classrooms, and funds. I believe that with this change, racial injustices in the education sector will be rendered impossible.
To sum up, changes in education are shaped by the world’s social, political, economic, and cultural factors. Education and these factors are intertwined, and changes in education can only be achieved if these factors are addressed. Social factors affecting education are such as differences in classes. Learners from high-class families have quality access to education. In contrast, those from low-class families do not have access to education, particularly because they are from immigrant families. Additionally, issues of race affect the changes in education as superior whites take over the inferior blacks. Moreover, political laws and policies must implement inclusive rules and regulations that dictate equal access to quality education. Some cultures still need to work on advocating for inclusivity of all genders in the education sector. However, quality education can still be achieved. Recently, there has been a call to curriculum implementers, teachers, learners, and parents to establish ways to improve education. If these institutions come together, the education experience for learners will be healthy. These new policies will establish the use of technology in education, the participation of all learners, even those with disabilities, new classroom structures, and school funding.
References
Altbach, P. G., Gumport, P. J., & Berdahl, R. O. (Eds.). (2011). American higher education in the twenty-first century: Social, political, and economic challenges. JHU Press.
Chavez-Duenas, N. Y., Adames, H. Y., & Organista, K. C. (2014). Skin-color prejudice and within-group racial discrimination: Historical and current impact on Latino/a populations. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 36(1), 3-26. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739986313511306
Harris, J., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2009). Teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed. Journal of research on technology in education, 41(4), 393-416. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15391523.2009.10782536
Matthews, M. R. (2014). Science teaching: The contribution of history and philosophy of science. Routledge.
Schleicher, A. (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century: Lessons from around the world. OECD Publishing. 2, rue Andre Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533757
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