5 Ways to Improve the Education System
The education system in the United States has been plagued with problems for years. From poor teaching to poor test scores, students have not been getting the education they need. Today, many students are unable to complete high school, even after working very hard. The lack of a good education can result in many negative consequences for a child. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve an education system. Here are some of them:
Developmental continuum
In order to foster students’ long-term success, the educational system should be a continuum, supporting their learning from early learning experiences through formal schooling. This continuum is commonly defined as the period from Pre-K to Grade 12, but it can also extend into post-secondary education. Aligning the education system to the needs of each group is crucial for enhancing learning across the continuum.
The early years of development are critical, because they lay the groundwork for later learning and academic success. Early childhood education programs are school-based, community-based, or a combination of both. In some cases, these programs are part of a single service delivery system. In other cases, they are separate.
Teachers can use the developmental continuum to analyze the progress of individual students and adapt their instruction to meet each child’s current needs and abilities. Most preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders are expected to function at different levels on the continuum. As they enter the third and fourth grades, they are expected to be functioning at a higher level. For example, they should be reading and writing in a manner consistent with their age group.
When children are regularly challenged beyond their current level of mastery, their learning continues to advance. As a result, children develop a range of skills that build upon one another over time. Learning advances when children are given plenty of opportunities to reflect on new skills. A developmentally appropriate educational system ensures that early deficiencies are identified and addressed promptly.
Institutionalization
The institutionalization of education system is a complex process that involves the dissemination of knowledge. Over time, the knowledge required for higher education has evolved, and the academic institutions that offer higher education are increasingly focusing on innovative teaching methods to keep pace with the times. As the knowledge needed for higher education grows, the curriculum also changes, and educators must adapt to these changes.
Although Kyrgyzstan has made progress in addressing institutionalization, the country still has a long way to go. It must take steps to provide quality, inclusive education for all children. As of now, the country’s current barriers to inclusion put children with disabilities at risk of being placed in ill-equipped environments.
Human Rights Watch had a difficult time collecting complete contact information of participating families in the deinstitutionalization program. We sought this information from the Ministry of Education and the nonprofit organizations that work with children with disabilities. The variety of experiences from families involved in the program speaks to the need for consistent support for all families. This is especially true given the difficulty that many children with disabilities face when trying to access education in their communities. Therefore, deinstitutionalization must be supported by families with children with disabilities, regardless of their ability to pay.
The role of school is also problematic. Politics and society often impose a set of expectations on schools. These demands include the introduction of commonly-used tests and longitudinal studies. As a result, the role of schools in society is often repressive, alienating, and dehumanizing. Reducing educational institutions allows individuals to regain their freedom in society and take control of their own institutions.
Coherence
Coherence of education systems is a critical element for delivering learning outcomes. It occurs when the design elements are aligned around a common learning objective and strong relationships of accountability emerge among those elements. The most effective education systems are those that achieve a high degree of vertical coherence. This type of coherence is necessary to ensure that students receive quality learning experiences. However, this type of coherence is not always possible in all education systems.
In order to evaluate coherence, districts must conduct surveys of teachers and examine the quality of assessment systems. The responses to surveys should be anonymous and reflect true opinions. Teachers should also be provided with curriculum-aligned instructional resources and take standards-aligned interim assessments. Moreover, districts should report whether there is coherence among schools and districts.
Lack of coherence within a system can cause inaction in the pursuit of learning objectives. For example, the executive authorities may delegate the focus on enrolment rates and learning outcomes to the education authorities, but ask the education authorities to provide only a measure of enrolment rates. This lack of coherence weakens the overall accountability relationship.
As the fragmentation of education systems increases, meaningful progress is slow. Fragmented communication, bureaucratic barriers, and competing or redundant efforts lead to frustration and inefficiency. To counter this problem, education leaders are turning to coherence as a way to transform their agencies and achieve the goals of the education system.
However, the lack of coherence in an education system can be difficult to diagnose. It is often the case that teachers and educational institutions fail to align standards and assessments, which makes the whole system less coherent.
Investing in education
Investing in education yields a positive economic return, according to studies. The returns are high for both tertiary and primary schooling, and both developing and developed countries have higher returns on education than on other types of long-term investments. For example, a year of schooling can add 8.9 per cent to a woman’s monthly wage compared with 6.6 per cent to a man’s. This increases female skill and reduces the gender wage gap.
Investment in education can be done through a variety of different methods, including debt. Public debt, for example, can finance education, allowing more capital to be deployed. Investment through intermediaries also spreads risks across a variety of models, and has lower transaction costs. Investing in education in developing countries could boost economic and social welfare, particularly if the education budget is limited.
A recent UNESCO report, Financing Education – Investments and Returns, analyses the relationship between education and economic growth. It shows that more educated people do better in the labour market, remain in employment longer, and earn more money. In Paraguay, for example, a man with a university degree earns 82 percent more than a man with only secondary education.
While some interventions have been successful in improving education, many others have failed. Governments have built schools, paid for school supplies, and offered scholarships to poor students. These programs are popular and cost-effective, but they don’t compare favorably to interventions that focus on teachers’ training. While building schools can improve attendance by as much as 20 percent, getting teachers to attend professional development programs is the most effective way to improve education quality and reduce costs.
India should focus on expanding its education focus to ensure that more people complete primary and secondary schooling. While returns to secondary school education are lower, the key to increasing the number of students in higher schooling is to incentivize enrolment until the higher secondary level. The study also focuses on the benefits of investing in education for women and lower-income quantiles. Investing in education can help equalize societies.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads throughout the world, school districts are faced with important decisions about interventions and strategies to combat the impact on children. The American Rescue Plan, a recent federal funding package, committed $200 billion to public school districts to address COVID-19-related needs. More than half of this funding is dedicated to addressing the pandemic’s impact on learning and access to quality education. This funding also includes evidence-based interventions for schools and addressing the disproportionate impact on children in under-resourced areas.
The financial crisis has widened educational inequities and made it even more difficult to provide students with the quality of instruction they need to succeed. As a result, students are less likely to succeed in school, experience interruptions in their learning, and suffer a host of other problems that may hamper their ability to thrive.
While most K-12 educators haven’t even thought about incorporating online instruction into their curriculum before the pandemic, they’ve had to implement a number of innovative online teaching strategies in order to keep students motivated and engaged in their learning. They’ve also created daily or weekly coursework assignments, conducted full classes over Zoom, and used a number of other online strategies to meet students’ needs.
The pandemic and school closures have increased the risk of child labor and domestic violence. These factors affect student learning, and some studies estimate that the proportion of children suffering from Learning Poverty could reach 70% in low and middle-income countries. These problems may persist even after school has re-opened, endangering children’s education and learning.