It is a widely accepted understanding that education leads to the wealth and prosperity of any nation. Of course, while that may be a simple truth it is far from easy to deliver. Firstly, one must ask what type of education is required. Obviously numeracy and literacy top the list. But once the basics ("the 3 Rs") are being delivered, what next? Typically, developing nations tend to rely on traditional teaching techniques where large numbers of students are taught using rote learning and memorisation techniques. However, extensive and exhaustive studies on how the brain works - and how humans effectively apply knowledge - show such methods are ineffective in delivering the real economic and social outcomes required by the people. Instead, an education system must emphasise creative, independent thinking in order to generate the confidence and innovation required by a modern information economy.
EDUCATION IS NOT LIKE PLUMBING SCHOOL: Firstly, we must recognise what an academic education is meant to do; it is not vocational training. Vocational training involves a learner being taught how to do a specific task or trade (e.g. weld a pipe or operate a machine) after which the person can then perform the skill for an income. No doubt, vocational training is an essential aspect of commercial and economic development. Academic learning, on the other hand, serves a different yet equally vital purpose. One does not study, say, history just to become a historian or biology just to become a biologist! Instead, the sciences are taught in schools and colleges so that a population is collectively able to resolve problems as various as global warming to adulterated foods. We study maths to understand the principles of logic and reason. We study the likes of history to have perspective and understanding of our past, and we study literature for an appreciation of the nation's soul and our collective character. We study commerce to allow us to make intelligent decisions about how to conduct our professional and business lives. In other words, we study academic subjects to develop the self confidence, national pride and the creativity needed to generate innovative new products and develop an aesthetically pleasing culture.
Academics teaches us how to process information, formulate our thoughts logically, express ourselves intelligently and convincingly - and to recognise what is right and wrong in life. It is also the root of good self-governance. This is the real purpose of education.
AN OBSESSION FOR A GRADES: High academic achievement is of course very desirable. However, extensive analysis of the education system in the west over the past few decades has exposed just how complex it is to measure real educational success. When we simply set targets of high grades, that system can be easily "gamed". It was recognised long ago in the west that schools seeking only to report high average grades simply refuse students who are not achieving top grades to sit for exams! If only top-performing students sit exams then a school can comfortably sit back and expect that top results will be produced. But what about all the other students society produces? What about all the otherwise talented, capable, hard-working, creative students who do not always have that gift to achieve the highest grades but who can contribute so richly to society in other ways? What about all the less-able or disadvantaged students who have tried exceedingly hard and have been taught by dedicated teachers for whom a C or even D grade in a rigorous subject is a worthy result? Are those schools low achieving? Are those students no good? Hardly. It is an old joke, but it is a surprisingly true one: "Often the C students go on to be the boss of the A students"! Many employers recognise this too as they select the confident, creative and outgoing candidates rather than just the ones with highest grades.            Â
VALUE ADDED: Knowing this, many observers in the west insist that schools and colleges should be gauged by a far more accurate measure of effective teaching and learning called "Value Added". This method compares the grades a student enters the school with to what they leave the school with when they have completed their studies. It is often a great deal more difficult to get a student with a D grade to improve to a C grade than it is to get a student with A grades to just keep getting A grades. What a good school should do is ensure that every student performs to the very best of their ability. Students must be taught to take responsibility for their own learning and develop a passion for creative, original thinking. They should learn to collaborate with others. Above all, they must recognise the strengths they are born with and develop a confidence in their abilities. This can - and often does - mean that they challenge consensus thinking, question some of the old ways of doing things and have the confidence to put their ideas forward - always politely and respectfully, of course. Although academic rigour and discipline are a vital part of education - this does not just mean passively swallowing and regurgitating old information.                            Â
YOU DO NOT FATTEN A CHICKEN BY CONSTANTLY WEIGHING IT: While proper, effective assessment is a key component of modern teaching, this does not simply mean testing students in exam conditions over and over again. Assessment for Learning (AfL) involves a wide variety of innovative techniques for gauging effective teaching and learning. Many of these methods can be engaging and enjoyable exercises that motivate learners while allowing the teacher to monitor the quality of learning taking place. Of course, there is a big role for examinations in education, but we also must be careful because a brutal regime of constant testing can damage self-confidence, lead to heightened anxiety, depression and even anti-social behaviour. It is also known to foster a culture of cheating among some test takers.
BANGLADESH'S FUTURE IS BRIGHT: The Bengali culture is intellectual and has a rich literary history. This background, combined with the powerful demographics and the nation's geographic location, makes for a potentially very positive economic future for Bangladesh. What is needed next is for the delivery of education to shift from the traditional method - which relies on rote memorisation and exam regurgitation - towards a more wide-ranging and creative one that incorporates the arts as well as the sciences. Parents must learn to assess institutions on more than just grades alone. They must assess how well their children's strengths and weaknesses are catered for, they must inquire about the school's "value added" results and see how much the teachers connect and engage with their students in order to truly inspire them. It is the schools' job to ensure that is occurring. Schools must also look to provide extracurricular support and activities to develop a "whole person" outcome - not just create test takers. As many readers will recognise themselves, success in life involves so much more than test-taking skills.
Bangladesh's future requires innovators, entrepreneurs, risk takers, motivators, designers, creative thinkers, managers and customer service providers. The education system must adapt to face that new reality.
The writer is Principal, Regent College, a British A-level college at Gulshan, Dhaka. wwestgate@gmail.com
Enhancing education in Bangladesh
William Westgate | Published: November 13, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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