In the first section of this paper, an analysis of three education reforms in the international, national, and state levels will be provided. The second section will assess the reforms with respect to unanticipated results related to sustaining change. Every Student Succeeds Act, Common Core States Standards, and Interim List of Eligible Programs are the three reforms that will form the basis of discussion.
Reforms are enacted to change public education by making it more accessible, of high quality, and that meets job market standards. Though agencies involved in instituting reforms vary in agenda and motivation, in the last decades, USA and other countries emphasize on reforms that improve student achievements rather than the traditional basis of inputs.
Section 1: Education Reforms
National reforms
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is one of the nationally oriented education reforms that were enacted into public law in 2015 (NCES 2015). As a replacement of No Child Left Behind Act, the reform intends to make the national government get deeply involved in education. ESSA reduced the Department of Education’s mandate over state education programs such that states and districts can set their testing standards, assessments, and involvement procedures.
Though testing standards are not to change, states were given the authority of determining them. Moreover, students are to be examined in math and languages on a yearly basis from grade three to eight, but for grades nine to twelve they are tested only once. The Act mandates schools to assess students at least once in grades three to five, six to 10, and 10 to 12.
The tests may be done to assess thinking skill and understanding through portfolios and projects, by using a single exam, or through numerous assessments. On accountability, states are to provide ESSA plans to U.S.A Department of Education after thorough consultations with various stakeholders. States have the powers to offer input on expected ratings for exam standardization and graduation fees (Ballotedia 2014). Lastly, states are to determine schools that require government interventions to attain the required measurable progress.
State reforms
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was instituted in 2010, and it’s supposed to feature the required knowledge that K-12 students should acquire in Mathematics and English Language Arts through the 12 grades (DFA 2015). The standards are supposed to establish common education standards in all the states and ensure that the students are adequately prepared for future jobs.
Since it’s difficult to achieve consistent standards in all the states, the government tends to deny funding under Top Program and Federal Race for states that didn’t adopt the common standard. Through the standards, students are to delve into in-depth analysis and understanding with fewer topics being covered.
International education reforms
Interim List of Eligible Programs (ILEP) was established in 2014 under Regulatory Reform of the International Education Sector and the Student Immigration Regime policy. The rules intend to eliminate abuse on student immigration, offer protection to international students, and support education providers that maintain high-quality standards. After the closure of more than ten low-quality providers, the reforms were initiated so that only colleges and universities that offered quality education attracted global students.
The number of courses that were visa eligible significantly reduced and education programs was scrapped from the system (Times 2013). Moreover, schools offering English language courses are supposed to meet certain quality and immigration criteria if they were to be listed on ILEP second edition, GNIB cards including renewals are to be offered for 8 months; learner protection initiated for all programs, advance fees to be secured by schools so as to achieve comprehensive escrow processing, and complete time tables offered to English language students for sessions that the colleges will be on holidays.
Section 2: Unanticipated Results Related to Sustaining Change
National reforms
Unanticipated result: By giving states the authority to determine their testing standards, assessments, and engagement processes, there is a high probability of getting variations of standards across the states to the extent that graduates will possess distinct levels of knowledge and skills.
Analysis: Even though the standards remain the same in all the states, it is not possible for the states to set consistent measures since teachers and education officers are different, funding is different, and school attendance and performance rates differ. Instead of the government getting more involved in establishing standard evaluation and testing measures, the result may be variations education quality and accountability across the states.
Causes of the unanticipated result: The unanticipated variation in knowledge and education development is caused by micro issues including differences in performance and attendance rates, differences in motivation rate, and power control issues. Moreover, the results may be politically influenced plus government funding may differ across the states.
Impact on the sustainability of education reform: The results are negative with respect to the sustainability of education reforms since they lead to variations in the quality of education offered across states and it becomes difficult to rate effectively rate the performance of schools when measurements standards centralized. On the other hand, centralization of measurement standards may lead to sustainability of education reforms since they give the government more mandate over education and through its intensive involvement, implementation of reforms for positive change is highly likely.
State reforms
Unanticipated result: Implementation may only happen in a few states, and it will not be done over the same period.
Analysis: Implementation of the common standards may not materialize over the same period owing to the fact that the process is slow and politicized, costly, requires extensive teacher training and new textbooks. The government did not stipulate how it would offer complete funding of the project and being that states are many, the standards may not be implemented in all the schools.
Causes of the unanticipated result: Micro issues leading to the unintended result are the lack of adequate teacher training and resources including textbooks and computers needed to take the new tests, and exams are to be conducted based on the different standard measures applied in schools. Moreover, the process is politically impacted since legislators are involved, and also state funding is not assured since the government hasn’t identified the sourcing platforms.
Impact on the sustainability of education reforms: The result does not lead to sustained reforms since the implementation is the main aspect of reforms. If the reforms are not implemented at all, or not implemented over the same period, coming up with new reforms would be futile thus it does not lead to sustainability of the reforms.
Global reforms
Unanticipated result: The stringent measures may lead to fewer colleges admitting students with the result being a decrease in education opportunities for international students.
Analysis: When schools are many, majority of students from different backgrounds can access the visa eligible courses but barring some courses, and restricting admissions in the few schools would lead to a reduction in the number of applicants. The majority of people avoid studying abroad due to bureaucracies and a lot of requirements, and since the new reforms intend to raise the admission standards, students will lose opportunities to study their preferred courses.
Causes of the result: Reduction in opportunity levels for international students is macro influenced since standards for determining the quality effectiveness of education providers is done on an international level. The standards determine the type and number of causes that a school can offer, plus requirements for students which are macro managed.
Impact on the sustainability of education reforms: The reform is essential in sustaining education reforms which intend to support the quality provision of education. When admission and education provision measures are stringent, the certified providers compete on the basis of quality leading to improvement of education. Improved education quality is elemental in sustaining education reforms.
Analysis of the unanticipated results
Reforms are mostly instituted to improve education quality by stipulating the core education aspects necessary to equip learners with skills and knowledge relevant to the job market. Moreover, the reforms are also formulated to increase education opportunities for students from different sectors and income backgrounds. However, if the reforms are not followed up with the resources necessary for effective implementation, the expected results may not be forthcoming.
Additionally, unanticipated results happen when all factors necessitating the reforms are not considered. Since it’s not possible to satisfy all stakeholders involved in the process, the government puts in place measures that must be followed by all states and education providers so that the degree of variance is not high.
Education reforms are instituted to improve the quality of education and making it more accessible to students from poor backgrounds. Moreover, international bodies are involved in ensuring that international students are protected and that they get high returns from pursuing the education in foreign nations. Comprehensive analysis of the reforms that ensures all stakeholders are satisfied and efficient implementation are essential in sustaining education reforms.
Reforming India’s Higher Education to Make India Globally Competitive
Abstract
Higher education contributes to the development of every country. Education is a vital part of human resource development and empowerment in a country. In all education system, the higher education plays a critical role in equipping people with knowledge, skills, and values that in return enhance the growth and productivity of a country. Therefore, investments in education contribute the economic prosperity of a country. Since independence Indian Governments has addressed key challenges facing the education system.
The successive governments have improved access to education, expanded education infrastructure, and increased education funding. The government efforts have all contribute to a rise in literacy rates in India. The Indian education system has made progress in the last few decades. However, the system still faces significant challenges. There is a high student-teacher ratio that lowers the quality of education. There is a wide skill gap between industries and fresh graduates forcing companies to incur high cost in training and development of employees.
Additionally, there are high levels of inequality with students from poor background facing difficulties in accessing high education. The importance of the high education system in the nation cannot be ignored. Previous studies have focused on determining how government funding impacts on higher education. This study will shift focus to improving the quality of education to enhance the global position of India.
To compete globally, India must have an effective high education system. The study examines the current state of higher education in India. It highlights the challenges that the system is facing. The main aim of the study is to come up with comprehensive recommendations to deal improve higher learning in India.
Key Words
Globally competitive
Higher learning
Inequality
Skills
Introduction
In the last decades, India has made significant progress in improving the education system, but dropout rates and low levels of learning continue to challenge the country. The India Education system has become a major concern to the leaders of the country. In 2016, Indian Parliament tabled a report that looked at the various challenges that the education system is facing. India education is facing significant challenges that are impacting on the quality of education. There is a high shortage of teachers and a rise in demand for education.
The report indicated that one teacher can handle a class of over 1000 students (Klemencic & Fried, 2015). India is a young nation, and according to the census, 600 million Indians are under 25 years (Klemencic & Fried, 2015). With the current status of the education system, these young people may not access quality education. The dropout levels are relatively high in India. Lack of infrastructure and inadequate higher education facilities causes some of the students to drop out. Additionally, there is a significant gap between education and skills.
The education system has failed to equip students with the right skills to use in the job market. According to Kaur (2015), only one out of every four graduates is employable. The vision of the higher education system in India is to realize India’s human resource potential to its fullest, but if the education system fails to equip students with the right skills, then this aim is not being achieved. The government is supposed to provide citizens with the quality education. The study will assess the challenges that higher education system is facing in India and identify the measures that the government should put in place to provide all citizens with the quality education.
Research Questions
What is the current status of higher education in India?
What challenges is higher education facing in India?
How is higher education lowering India economic prosperity and increasing inequality rates?
How can higher education be improved to make India globally competitive?
Literature Review
Higher education is an important part of developing nations. Higher education is supposed to increase human development and provide the country with skilled and innovative graduates (Coleman, 2015). Since Independence, the higher education in India has shown tremendous progress. India higher education has so far produced doctors, engineers, managers and teachers who not only in demand in India but across the world. However, the higher education system is facing certain challenges that are limiting the ability to deliver its main objective of providing India with employable graduates.
The Indian Education System
The education system is under the Human Resource Development which consists of two departments the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Higher Education (Kaur, 2015). The Department of Higher Education is responsible for higher education, technical education, and minority education. India Was colonized hence most of the education activities are in line with British education system.
The India education system previously followed the British model, but it has been improved over the years. The Indians use the 10 +2+3 system. Students spend 10 years in basic education, 2 years in senior general secondary education and 3 years in higher education (Mehrotra, 2014). For children between the age of 6 to 14 school attendance is compulsory. Adult education focuses on increasing literacy. Higher education is provided by the public and private sector (Kaur, 2015). The private sector falls under the jurisdiction of the government and rules that apply to government schools concerning curriculum also apply private education.
English is the language of instruction in India’s higher education system. The challenge is that at lower levels the language of instruction is the language of the region and it includes the following common languages Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati, and Bengali. English is introduced as a second language in Standard VI and in the last classes Standard XI and Standard XII the language of instruction is both English and Hindu (Pilkington, 2014). In higher learning, English is the main language of instructions, and some of the students who fail to acquire the right English skills have difficulties in higher education (Bhalla, 2015).
India has one of the largest education systems in the world. India has expanded infrastructure over the last few decades. Currently, the country has 35,000 colleges and 600 universities. Higher learning education in India is composed of Universities which offer Bachelors, Masters and Doctor’s Degree. Polytechnics and colleges provide certificate and diploma education (Kapur & Perry, 2015).
Universities in India are divided into two main categories the affiliating and unitary universities. The affiliating universities bring small colleges and institutions together. India has around 15,000 affiliating universities, and most of these affiliating institutions are private (Kapur & Perry, 2015). The unitary universities have no affiliated institutions, and they provide undergraduate and graduate education.
There are deemed universities in India. Deemed universities are considered to be of national importance. Some of the deemed universities were private institutions specializing in specific areas such as technology. Deemed universities specialize in a limited number of fields, but they have the same rights and rules as the ordinary universities.
India has 13 deemed universities mainly specializing in the field of technology and medicine. India has developed open universities. The first Open University was established in 1985 in Hyderabad. Other states such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat have also established open universities (Kaur, 2015).
Challenges Facing Higher Education
The Teacher-Student Ratio
A study compared India Education system to other developed nations indicated that the student ratio is relatively high in India. The study concluded that in developed countries the average student-teacher ratio is 11.4 (Kapur & Perry, 2015). India student teacher ratio is double, and it currently stands at 22.0 (Klemencic & Fried, 2015). Research on Asian education system indicated that China stands ahead in the education system in Asia.
India and China have a large education system, but China has managed to improve the quality of education (Kapur & Perry, 2015). India education system was placed ahead of countries like Bangladesh. However, the study indicated that India is facing an acute shortage of teachers. Though India education system comes ahead of some of the underdeveloped countries, the teacher-student ratio was a major issue in India as opposed to other countries in Asia. In Western Asia,
For instance, the student teacher ratio was 15.3, and this is still better that India’s high student-teacher ratio (Rizvi & Gorur, 2014). The high student-teacher is causing serious impacts on education quality. The teachers have to handle many students, and this is increasing demotivation levels among teachers due to overworking.
Quality of Education
A survey conducted on engineering students indicated that only 25% of engineering graduates are employable (Mehrotra, 2014). Out five engineer graduates only 2 are qualified for jobs in the Indian market. This survey indicates the seriousness in the quality of education offered in higher learning. The main objective if higher learning in India is yet to be achieved.
The quality of education delivered in most higher learning institutions is poor. The students produced by the education system do not have the right skills at the job market. Industries face a problem of finding suitable employees, and they have to incur high costs in training and development of employees.
Poor education quality is the lack of teachers is contributing to poor education quality. Teaching is not an attractive course in India. In India, attractive courses are engineering and medicine. Families are putting a lot of pressure on children to become doctors and engineers.
Those who decide to take courses such as teaching are not held in high regard in the families making it a less attractive course. Teaching has been identified as the last choice of career. The number of teachers produced is low (Tomar, 2014). In higher learning institutions, the number of Ph.Ds that are required is very low. Some institutions are being forced to hire fresh graduates to teach in universities leading to poor quality of classroom instructions.
Inequality
The Indian government is facing a major challenge of providing access to quality education to students from poor families. Students from poor backgrounds are disadvantaged in India. India education system has been politicized (Coleman, 2015). Some of the private institutions are owned by politicians and use government influence to forward person interest. The Indian education is expensive, and some of the students from a poor background cannot afford higher learning education (Tomar, 2014). Additionally, students are further disadvantaged since they are not academically prepared to sit for a competitive entrance examination. The urban elite and rich students are prepared for exams since they can access private tuition and coaching.
Reforming Higher Education
India has a young population unlike some developed countries such as China, Japan, and the USA are dealing with challenges of an aging population. India must take advantage of young population to improve the economic prosperity of India and global position. India can draw various lessons from China in reforming the education system.
China faced a shortage of higher learning institutions, and the government established a massive support for Chinese Nations in oversee schools (Kapur & Perry, 2015). The benefit of using this strategy is Indian Nationals will get education India hence they are more likely to bring new ideas. Educating students abroad will enhance the position of India globally because it will prepare students for the global market.
Elearning has been used in developed countries such as USA, France, Australia, and the UK (Pilkington, 2014). Elearning will enhance access to education and reduce the congestion of existing facilities.
Aims and Objectives
The study seeks to establish the current scenario in higher learning education in India. It is important to understand the current status of the higher learning education before coming up with strategies to deal with the issues that higher learning is facing. The Indian education system has faced various challenges in the past, and every government has come up with various strategies to deal with challenges. The efforts of the government have contributed to the improvements of the current education system.
For instance, in 1995, India only had 25 higher learning institutions, but today it has over 600 higher learning institutions (Jain, Kadri, Ramanathan, & Ahmed, 2015). India has improved education infrastructure to become one of the largest education systems in the world. Statistics indicate that India is the third largest higher education system and comes behind the China and the United States (Jain, Kadri, Ramanathan, & Ahmed, 2015). Understanding the current status of the education system will be useful in identifying various areas in the education system that is yet to be developed.
Going through past studies in India education system indicates that there is a gap between skills developed in higher learning education and those required in the marketplace. This form a good basis to evaluate the quality of high learning education and assessing certain factors that contribute to poor quality education. Additionally, understating the current status will create a good foundation to come up with suitable recommendations to improve the quality of higher learning education.
The second objective is to examine the challenges and opportunities faced by Indian Higher Learning Education. Higher learning institutions are facing diverse challenges impacting on the quality of education. Inequality has been cited as a major challenge in higher learning. States that are relatively rich have higher learning institutions as opposed to states that are relatively poor.
Additionally, the student-teacher ratio has become a major concern. The shortage in teachers is a nationwide problem that is not affecting higher learning but other levels of education. Examining the challenges that higher learning is an important objective of the research as it will show the need to improve the higher learning institutions. Most studies in India focus on government spending and infrastructure as the main challenge it is important to give other challenges additional attention in order to come up with comprehensive suggestions to transform education sector in India.
The third objective is to find out the role of higher learning education in making India globally competitive. Higher learning education is an important factor in every country. Every country is investing in higher learning education to improve the global competitiveness of the country.in the global market knowledge determines the level of empowerment.
Research conducted by the University Grants Commission indicated that the India must increase universities by 1500 to compete in the globally (Pilkington, 2014). India is missing out on the opportunities offered by the global market. The gross enrolment of India in higher learning education is 11% which is small compared to China 20%, South Korea 91% and USA 83% (Coleman, 2015). Previous studies have focused on showing the impact of low enrolment levels in higher education on the economic performance of the country.
This study will look at impact at the global level and show how countries that have invested in higher learning are ahead of India in the global market. This study can draw ideas from past studies in countries such as China, and South Korea which is in Asia but they have managed to improve the higher learning education. The ideas will be used to identify various measures of transforming higher learning education in India to make India globally competitive.
The fourth objective is to come up with suggestions to improve higher learning education in India. By assessing the current status of Indian education system, it is possible to come up with various strategies improve the quality of higher learning education, and lower inequality (Pilkington, 2014). The study will draw suggestion from developed nations that can be implemented in India.
One of the suggestions is establishing e-learning in India higher learning education to increase accessibility. India can also establish massive programs to fund oversee education for Indians to provide people from the disadvantaged background with an opportunity to study abroad. The study will recommend an increase in government funding in higher learning education. Government funding will be used to reduce inequality and increase research and development in higher learning institutions.
Methodology
Research methodology describes the methods and procedures used to conduct a study. The effectiveness of a study is determined by choice of methodology for both collection and evaluation of data. The research methodology will develop the research design, procedures, and data collection analysis method that will be useful in understanding the higher education in India.
Type of Research
The topic of the research is to study the higher learning education system in India. The study is focused on understanding the current status of India education, highlighting challenges and opportunities, evaluating the role of higher learning education in global competition and coming with suggestions to improve higher learning education (Altbach, 2015). The type of research that that is suitable for the study is descriptive research. Data will be collected from the higher learning institutions to assess the current performance and come up with strategies hence the descriptive research will be suitable for this study.
Research Design
The research will mainly make use of secondary data and primary data. Secondary data will be the main source of data for the study secondary data will be easier to access, and it will save on time and money to conduct the research.
Secondary Sources
Secondary data involves data collected from another source. There are wide sources of secondary data for this study. The main secondary sources of data that will be used include annual reports of UGC, and Education Department, Economic Surveys, journals, websites, books, and Planning Commissions publications (Mehrotra, 2014). This study will make use of government publication on higher learning institutions.
Government publications will be useful in identifying government funding in higher learning institutions. Additionally, it will be used to determine the measure that government has already put in place to improve higher learning education. The Ministry of Human development in India will be a good source of information to be used in this study.
The ministry publication and website will be used to provide information on the scenario of high learning education. From this ministry, it is possible to understand the Indian Education system and infrastructure levels. Statistics collected by the Higher Learning Department will be incorporated in this study to assess the enrollment levels, dropout rates and a number of graduates.
Industry data will further be used to assess the quality of higher learning education. The study will focus on engineering industry in India and determine if the graduates that are produced by higher learning institutions are ready to work in engineering industry (Rizvi & Gorur, 2014). Industry data will be used to determine the amount of money that is spent on training and development of employees due to the skills gap in the marketplace and higher learning institutions.
It is important to examine the inequality levels in higher learning. To assess the inequality levels, the study will focus on two states, a rich and poor state. The rich state that will be used is Delhi, and poor state is Manipur. The two states were chosen on the basis that Delhi has a low poverty rate of 9.91 whereas Manipur has a high poverty rate of 36.89.
Secondary data sources will be used to determine the number of students who access quality high education in the state of Delhi compared to the state of Manipur. The comparison will also be made in terms of the number of higher learning institutions in Delhi and Manipur.
To ensure that credibility of the study is not compromised, only reliable sources will be used. The study will make use peer-reviewed journals, government websites, and higher learning institutions publications and websites. Only credible journals, books, and newspapers will be used to collect secondary data.
Primary Sources
Given that respondents are located at a long distance, the only primary data collection method is mail questionnaire. The study will make use of mail questionnaire to collect primary data. The research will focus on getting mail contact address and request individuals to respond to questionnaires. The mailed questionnaire will cover certain aspects which include general information on India education system, infrastructure, and facilities in higher learning institutions, student teacher ratio, and accessibility of high learning institutions.
The mailed questionnaire will target 100 students in the University of Delhi. The study will be focusing on a large number because the rate response in mail questionnaire is relatively low. By sending many mailed questionnaires, the study is likely to get more responses.
Data Analysis
Data analysis will make use of various statically methods to evaluate the data. Collected data from secondary sources and primary sources will be used to test various hypotheses that the study focuses on. The government collected from the government, department of higher learning and higher learning institutions will be used to develop tables to indicate the growth in higher learning enrolment.
Tables on the expenditure of government on higher learning will be developed. To further enhance the analysis, the researcher can develop tables that compare the % of government funding in higher learning between India, and other countries. Graphs can also be developed to show how education facilities are distributed in the states of India. Based on data collected, past data will be used to determine the future needs of higher learning and show that the student-teacher ratio will continue to persist if it is not addressed today.
Limitations of Study
Relying on secondary sources will have various limitations on the study. There will be sampling issues since sample used in the previous studies may not adequately represent the whole population. Accessing certain secondary data will be difficult such as getting accurate data on the student-teacher ratio in certain universities.
Use of mail questionnaire causes certain limitations. Respondents can fill the questionnaire at own convenience hence may fail to provide the right information. The response rate is relatively low.
It is important to overcome the limitations and maintain the effectiveness of research. The study will minimize the limitations by using credible and reliable secondary sources. The study will send many mail questionnaire to ensure that they get a large number of respondents.
Conclusion
Higher learning is instrumental to the development of a country. It provides the country with the right people to drive innovation and improve the economic status of a country. India high learning education is facing various challenges that are reducing ability to achieve its vision and objectives. There is a high student-teacher ratio. As a result, teachers are handling many students lowering the quality of education.
Inequality levels are relatively high in higher learning. The poor students are disadvantaged when it comes to handling exams and accessing higher learning institutions. The high cost of high learning institutions is causing a high rate of drop-out among the poor students. The current status of India education indicates the need to transform high learning education. The study aims at finding effective measures that India can take to deal with higher learning education.
The study will recommend the use of e-learning to increase access. The government will have to increase expenditure on higher learning to upgrade higher education in India and move towards e-learning. The government can also establish massive abroad programs for Indian nationals. It can provide students from poor backgrounds to study abroad to lower the congestion at the existing universities. There is a need to establish industry and academia connection to ensure that students acquire skills required for the marketplace.
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Mehrotra, S. (2014). India’s Skills Challenge: Reforming Vocational Education and Training to Harness the Demographic Dividend. New York: Oxford University Press.
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One thing I have learned is that nursing student life is chaotic. Juggling between personal life, school responsibilities and other essential physiological needs are challenging. Therefore, time management skills a vital component of every great nurse.
This is because effective time management and task ease the transition process. In the time management assessment, my score was 28, which indicates that I have above average time management skills. This implies that there is still room for improvement (Ghiasvand et al., 2017).
The roles and responsibilities of a nurse practitioner are limitless. One has to be proficient in all healthcare aspects including financial management, interpersonal effectiveness, and leadership. To effectively manage all these responsibilities, it is important to have excellent time management skills. To start with, I will have to learn on ways to set priorities. Learning how to prioritize my tasks has been my greatest challenges.
This includes thinking through the situations using the following the following questions: which task is important? What is the consequence of not acting now? What is important? Although this feels like one is just dawdling, the process helps one learn how to prioritize activities through questioning, dialogue, and reflection. Through critical thinking process, one can break down the demands of the situation efficiently and quickly (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014).
However, it is also important to exercise some flexibility and patient. This is because part of the nursing profession is to confront the unknown. I have also learned that it is important to create a mental space so as to create a good tone for the rest of the day as it allows one to calmly assess the environment which helps one to prepare and plan. Lastly, it is important to take a break. I always find it difficult to take a break as I consider it time wasted. However, after this course, I have practiced taking 5 minutes breaks whenever necessary which greatly improves productivity and mental concentration (Ghiasvand et al., 2017).
Leadership theory that describes the leadership style
Nursing leadership plays an integral role in the healthcare institution. The leadership styles affect their productivity and patient outcomes. It is important to understand the various types of leadership styles found in the workplace as it influences nurse’s ability to work as a team and to deliver quality care. Nurse leadership goes beyond care planning, organizing and care coordination of the patients. It entails leading the nurse team and subordinates and facilitates smooth flow of healthcare processes (Vesterinen et al., 2013).
Many leadership theories have evolved including trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories and the recently contemporary theories. My leadership style is informed by transformational theories. These are theories that focus on the relationship between leaders and group.
I feel more obliged to help the team members to fulfill their potential. As a leader, I understand that my roles and responsibilities include promoting teamwork between team members, encouraging positive self-esteem and empowering the team members to become more involved in the development and implementation of policies and procedures (Porter-O’Grady, 2016).
Comparison between management and leadership
Leadership and management terms are often used interchangeably in many disciplines; however, there is a big difference between two terms. According to my perception, nursing is a calling to leadership. Across the continuum, nurses are looked as leaders because we inspire, empower and motivate others. Nurses possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and are risk takers.
These are the core responsibilities of a leader. Nurses do not need to be in a managerial position to deliver these responsibilities; they are energetic and devote their entire life to serve the society. Therefore, nurses are inherently leaders and are a mandatory role in healthcare (Nancarrow et al., 2013).
However, there are various types of leadership. Authoritarian leadership is dictatorial whereas democratic leadership involves democracy where team members are included in the decision-making process. The other types of leadership are delegated where the leader allows everyone to make independent decisions. From my assessment, I am a democratic leader.
This is because I listen to other people ideas and incorporate them during the decision-making process. On the other hand, nurse management focuses mainly in fields that deal with the management of staff and the service users. In this capacity, nurse managers are expected to fulfill the assigned tasks and projects. However, nurse managers and nurse leaders do complement each other (Porter-O’Grady, 2016).
Application of leadership concepts in work environment
Throughout this course, the concept of health-promoting leadership in workplace focuses on the interaction between the leadership behavior and the working environment. From my research, I have learnt that successful leaders are those who create healthy workplace. This is achieved by promoting positive climate among employees such as gratitude, compassion, and forgiveness. The main aim is to create an environment that respects each and brings out a sense of responsibility and integrity. This, in turn, creates a sense of commitment, peace, and the creation of healthy environments that are a representation of our life and values (Al-Sawai, 2013).
References
Al-Sawai, A. (2013). The leadership of Healthcare Professionals: Where Do We Stand? Oman Medical Journal, 28(4), 285–287. http://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2013.79
Ghiasvand, A. M., Naderi, M., Tafreshi, M. Z., Ahmadi, F., & Hosseini, M. (2017). The relationship between time management skills and anxiety and academic motivation of nursing students in Tehran. Electronic Physician, 9(1), 3678–3684. http://doi.org/10.19082/3678
Nancarrow, S. A., Booth, A., Ariss, S., Smith, T., Enderby, P., & Roots, A. (2013). Ten principles of good interdisciplinary teamwork. Human Resources for Health, 11, 19. http://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-11-19
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Vesterinen, S., Suhonen, M., Isola, A., Paasivaara, L., & Laukkala, H. (2013). Nurse Managers’ Perceptions Related to Their Leadership Styles, Knowledge, and Skills in These Areas—A Viewpoint: Case of Health Centre Wards in Finland. ISRN Nursing, 2013, 951456. http://doi.org/10.1155/2013/951456
The Nursing Fundamentals course will be guided by competency statements which are based on contemporary professional nursing standards and guidelines. The four competency statements that are unique to the Nursing Fundamentals course include;
The Nursing Fundamentals course must prepare graduates to make clinical decisions using current best evidence.
The course must train graduates to demonstrate the ability to work efficiently with inter-professional and nursing teams and to make clinical decisions that are aimed at achieving quality patient care.
The Nursing Fundamentals course must prepare graduates to maximize benefits and minimize risks for patients through improved individual performance and system effectiveness.
The course must teach graduates to use information and technology to support clinical decisions and to minimize medical errors.
A1. Nursing Fundamentals: Explanation of Four Competencies
The four competencies listed in part A above are aligned with the national nursing standards and guidelines documented by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN). Competences i, ii, iii, and iv are aligned with QSEN standards related to evidence-based practice, teamwork and collaboration, safety, and informatics respectively. First, the nurse educator for the Nursing Fundamentals course will have to teach learners how to use current best evidence to make clinical decisions.
This will help the institution to maintain compliance with QSEN’s evidence-based practice standards. Moreover, nurse educator for the course will have to ensure that graduate nurses are competent enough to function with inter-professional and nursing teams to share knowledge that is aimed at achieving quality patient care. This way, the institution will have observed QSEN’s standard related to teamwork and collaboration (Rosenblum and Sprague-McRae, 2014)
Additionally, the nurse educator for the Nursing Fundamentals course will be compelled to teach graduates to maximize benefits and minimize risks for patients through improved individual performance and system effectiveness.
This will help the academic institution to comply with the safety standards set by QSEN. Furthermore, the nurse educator will ensure that graduate nurses are competent in using information and technology to mitigate medical errors and to promote improved care delivery. This will enable the institution to demonstrate adherence to QSEN’s standard related to informatics (Lewis, Stephens and Ciak, 2016).
A2. Three Learning Objectives
Clear learning objectives must be developed for the Nursing Fundamentals course to help students to master the four competencies listed above. The three learning objectives for course competency number ‘iv’ which is related to informatics are outlined below;
At the end of the course;
The learner must be able to explain the importance of information and technology skills in promoting safe and quality patient care.
Also, the student must be able to identify crucial health information that should be kept in electronic systems to support patient care
the learner must have the capacity to describe the relationship between patient safety and effective management of electronic health information
A2a. Discussion of Criterion
The criterion that will be used to select appropriate learning resources to achieve the learning objectives listed in part A2 is consistency. The chosen learning resources must be consistent with educational standards set by national, state, and local agencies. According to Burns, Noonan, Jenkins, and Bernardo (2017), an effective learning resource for a nursing course must be coherent and consistent with the standards set by national, states, and local agencies in the nursing education sector.
Furthermore, the content of these learning resources must match the needs of learners irrespective of the program level in which they are to be used. By focusing on consistency when selecting learning materials for the Nursing Fundamentals Course, the nurse educator will choose only those resources that highlight the specific contexts in which they are to be used, and that explicitly explain nursing concepts that are to be covered in the course.
Furthermore, the nurse educator will be sure to select learning resources that specify the types of learners who can utilize those resources. Also, the nurse educator should consider the appropriate method of instruction that must be used in the classroom to ensure compliance with educational standards set by national, state, and local agencies (Burns et. al., 2017).
A3. Approaches to Course Design
The Nursing Fundamentals course will be developed based on the principles of the contemporary approach to course design. The contemporary approach to course design that will be used to develop the course is the learning-centered approach. According to Ihm, Choi, and Roh (2017), a learning-centered approach is based on the principle that the ability of a student to efficiently acquire new knowledge is mainly dependent on the teaching process utilized by the instructor.
Here, the learner uses the information provided by the instructor to build upon a given concept based on the knowledge that had been acquired previously. Learning-centered approach to course design is appropriate for learners who are being taught to achieve certain competencies which have been set by relevant accreditation bodies (Ihm, Choi, and Roh, 2017).
In the Nursing Fundamentals Course, nursing students are expected to achieve the competencies outlined by QSEN. As a contemporary approach to course design, the learning-centered approach will help learners in the Nursing Fundamentals Course to acquire the competencies listed in part A of this paper.
B.Strategies to Evaluate Learning Outcomes Role playing, as well as papers and essays, will be used to evaluate whether students have achieved the intended learning outcomes in the Nursing Fundamentals Course. Papers and essays is an evaluation strategy that involves the issuance of exam topics to students and asking them to write their answers on papers in essay form.
It is a form of summative assessment because it often conducted at the end of a course and it covers all topics covered in the course. Using papers and essays evaluation strategy, the nurse educator will judge student performance in the Nursing Fundamentals Course based on documented standards (Harrison, Konings, Schuwirtg, Wass & Vleuten, 2017).
C1. Criterion-Referenced Tests
Criterion-referenced tests will be used in the Nursing Fundamentals Course to evaluate student outcomes. When using criterion-referenced tests, the nurse educator will document learning standards which students will be expected to meet for them to be considered competent. Only students who meet the set standards after answering given tests will be deemed proficient (Lock, McNaught and Young, 2015).
C2. Norm-Referenced Tests
Apart from criterion-referenced tests, norm-referenced tests will be used to assess student outcomes in the Nursing Fundamentals Course. When using norm-referenced tests, the nurse educator will compare student performance with that of an imaginary average student who will be selected from a group of learners who had completed similar tests before. Students who manage to perform better that the imaginary average student will have passed their exams. Conversely, learners who score grades below that of the imaginary average student will have failed the test (Lock, McNaught and Young, 2015).
D1. Advantages of True-False Test Items
Advantages of true-false test items will influence their use in the Nursing Fundamentals Course. The nurse educator may choose to use true-false test items because individual test items are easy to compose and organize. Also, true-false test items are easy to tally because they display students’ answers very clearly. Moreover, true-false test items will enable the nurse educator to examine students on some concepts because they allow sampling of information from several topics (Javid, 2014).
D3. Advantages of Multiple-Choice Test Items
One of the advantages of using multiple-choice test items of the course is that they will allow the nurse educator to assess many learning objectives in a single examination. Also, when multiple choice test items are used, the nurse educator will easily evaluate results of a large population of learners. Moreover, using multiple-choice tests in the Nursing Fundamentals Course will help to improve student performance in subsequent tests (Sutherland, Schwartz and Dickison, 2012).
F. Cultural and Societal Factors
The ability of students to effectively learn the Nursing Fundamentals Course in the classroom can be impacted by both cultural and societal factors. In this regard, a student’s learning ability may either improve or decline as a result of influence from factors inherent in their cultures (Shawwa, Abulaban, and Balkhoyor, 2015). For example, the level of concentration of a female student who comes from a community that does not support girl-child education may negatively be affected because such student will face rejection from the community.
G2. Learning Activity Meeting Learning Styles
The learning activity described in part G1 effectively meets kinesthetic learning style of students in the Nursing Fundamentals Course. According to Kharb, Samanta, and Singh (2013), students who apply kinesthetic learning style enjoy learning through movement and making contact. These students always want to engage in activities that make them move their hands during the lesson as this helps to break teaching boredom. The activity in part G1 will get learners moving and will help them to break from teaching monotony.
H. Importance of Learning Activity Promoting Critical Thinking Skills
When teaching Nursing Fundamentals Course, the nurse educator will create learning activities that improve critical thinking skills of learners. According to Papathanasiou, Kleisiaris, and Kourkouta (2014), today’s nursing institutions must strive to promote critical thinking skills of students to produce graduates who can effectively keep up with the rapid technological advancements in the contemporary world.
Therefore, learning activities that improve critical thinking skills of learners are important because they will enable students to understand and analyze issues more effectively, with the aim of solving complex problems that they increasingly encounter in the ever-changing world (Papathanasiou, Kleisiaris, and Kourkouta, 2014).
H1. Critical Thinking Strategy
The nurse educator will use collaborative learning to facilitate the development of self-reflection skills among students in the Nursing Fundamentals Course. Collaborative learning is a critical thinking strategy that involves allowing nursing students to work in teams to solve complex problems related to specific course concepts that they have been taught in the classroom.
H2. Implementation of Selected Strategy
Collaborative learning strategy will be implemented in the Nursing Fundamentals Course by following four steps chronologically. First, the nurse educator will teach students a new course concept and allow them to ask questions. Second, the nurse educator will identify an article that talks about a complex issue related to the taught concept. Third, he or she will ask students to form groups.
Each group will be invited to read the article, analyze its contents, identify the problem, and come up with a solution or solutions to the identified problem. Fourth, the nurse educator will use the solutions generated by each group to help students to understand the course concept further (Rosenblum and Sprague-McRae, 2014).
I. Examples of a Best Practice
The nurse educator should have a system in place to provide feedback to learners in the clinical setting. There are several acceptable approaches for providing feedback to students. For instance, in the Nursing Fundamentals Course, the nurse educator can provide written feedback to learners at the end of the course, that is, in a summative manner. The feedback should contain an explanation of observed desirable behaviors as well as undesirable behaviors and actions that students can take to improve on them (Anderson, 2012).
C1. Evaluation Method
Formative evaluation method will be used to assess if the curriculum design is effective for the Nursing Fundamentals Course. This assessment strategy involves assessment of the curriculum design during implementation. Formative evaluation of curriculum design will enable the nurse educator to make relevant changes that match ongoing trends in the nursing education field (Burns, et. al., 2017).
References
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Burns, H., Noonan, L., Jenkins, D. P. & Bernardo, L. M. (2017). Using research findings to design an evidence-based practice curriculum. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 48 (4): 184-189. doi: 10.3928/00220124-20170321-09. Retrieved from PubMed.
Harrison, C., Konings, K., Schuwirtg, L., Wass, V. & Vleuten, C. (2017). Changing the culture of assessment: The dominance of the summative assessment paradigm. BMC Medical Education, 17:73. doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-0912-5. Retrieved from BioMed Central.
Ierardi, J. A. (2014). Taking the ‘sting’ out of examination reviews: A student-centered approach. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(7): 428. doi:10.3928/01484834-20140619-13. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Ihm, J., Choi, H. & Roh, S. (2017). Flipped-learning course design and evaluation through student self-assessment in a predental science class. Korean Journal of Medical Education, 29(2):93-100. doi: 10.3946/kjme.2017.56. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Javid, L. (2014). The comparison between multiple-choice (MC) and multiple true-false (MTF) test formats in Irarian intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98(6):784-788. Retrieved from ScienceDirect.
Kharb, P., Samanta, P. & Singh, V. (2013). The learning styles and the preferred teaching: Learning strategies of first-year medical students. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research: JCDR, 7(6):1089-1092.doi:10.7860/JCDR/2013/5809.3090. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Lewis, D., Stephens, K. & Ciak, A. (2016). QSEN: Curriculum integration and bridging the gap to practice. Nursing Education Perspectives, 37(2): 97-100. Retrieved from PubMed.
Lock, B., McNaught, C. & Young, K. (2015). Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced assessments: Compatibility and complementarity. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(3):450-465. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1022136. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Papathanasiou, I. V., Kleisiaris, C. F. & Kourkouta, L. (2014). Critical thinking: The development of an essential skill for nursing students. Acta Informatica Medica, 22(4):283-286. doi:10.5455/aim.2014.22.283-286. Retrieved from PubMed.
Quinn, B. & Peters, A. (2017). Strategies to reduce nursing students test anxiety: A literature review. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(3): 145-151. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20170222-05. Retrieved from PubMed.
Rosenblum, R. & Sprague-McRae, J. (2014). Using principles of Quality and Safety Education for Nurses in school nurse continuing education. The Journal of School Nursing, 30(2): 97-102. Retrieved from PubMed.
Shawwa, L., Abulaban, A. & Balkhoyor, A. (2015). Factors potentially influencing academic performance among medical students. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 6: 65-75. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S69304. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Sutherland, K., Schwartz, J. & Dickison, P. (2012). Best practices for writing test items. Journal of Nursing Regulation, doi: 10.1016/S2155-8256(15)30217-9. Retrieved from PubMed Central.
Yengo-Kahn, A., Backer, C. E. & Lomis, A. K. (2017). Medical students’ perspective on implementing curriculum change at one institution. Academic Medicine, 92(4):455-461. Doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000001569. Retrieved from PubMed.
I have had the opportunity to experience two sets of learning that have been pertinent in enhancing not only my academic but also my personal growth. They are distance accessible and face to face courses. The distance accessible courses provided me with the chance to interact with other students via virtual means who are taking similar courses. This widened my circle of academic knowledge as I managed to share my knowledge with students from different countries.
Secondly, it is more affordable an aspect that enabled me to save a lot of money. Lastly, I was a working student and distance accessible courses introduced flexibility as I could easily fit the courses within my schedule. On the other hand, the face to face courses are important as they enhanced my socialization skills as I got to interact with my fellow students and teachers. I admired the way the teachers could motivate each of us in our way to make sure we were able to achieve our full potential.
According to Bain (2004), “They do not teach a class. They teach a student” (p.143). In my case, the instructors presented the lectures in an interactive way where we as the students were actively involved in class discussions. Also, the instructors were cordial and had an open door policy. They allowed students to approach them with any challenges that they faced in their academics.
Benner et al. (2010), “focus on covering decontextualized knowledge to an emphasis on teaching for sense” (p.89). Based on this my instructors approached content analysis by dividing the class into groups of five people based on our strengths and weaknesses. This was done at the beginning of the semester to enable us to help each other in tackling difficult topics. Also, the instructors offered private tuition to weak students who were ready to seek help.
According to Boyer (1990), “Teaching is also a dynamic endeavor involving all analogies, metaphors, and images that build bridges between the teachers’ understanding and the student’s learning” (p. 23). The techniques used by my instructors include group discussions, imagery, virtual learning, engaging class interactions, question and answer session that sparked creativity.
I have learned as can be seen in this personal reflection from Benner, Bain, and Boyer that teaching is an inclusive process that requires the use of creative methods to foster student learning. For me to be present for my students, I plan to incorporate imagery in my presentations to encourage learning, make the class more interactive, focus on sharing life advice that does complement the content I am teaching. This personal reflection highlights just but a few of the learning outcomes that I have received and will use in my career growth.
REFERENCES
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college professors do. Harvard University.
Benner, P. Sutphen, M., Leonard, V., & Day, L. (2010). Educating nurses: A call for radical transformation. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
The relevance of effective leadership in enhancing the quality of pedagogy continues to gain significant importance in the field of early childhood, as stakeholders seek to achieve greater professionalism and enhanced outcomes as illustrated by children’s performance (Heikka, 2014). “The field of early childhood education and care has had a growing interest in pedagogical leadership rising from the need to increase quality and influence organisational change (Alameen, Male & Palaiologou, 2015).” In this regard, there is greater focus on building relationships, mentorship, diversity and inclusiveness. Individuals in leadership work in partnership with others, providing leadership opportunities to other staff, students and others in the education community. This insinuates that leadership as traditionally defined does not always apply to early education realms. It is because while business and other sectors may observe leadership from a hierarchical perspective, effective early years leadership is mostly more collaborative or transformational in nature. The traditional way of envisioning a leader as the one on top of the hierarchy is a just incomplete definition of how leadership is. Leadership is a process that is influenced by the shared vision and purpose by individuals or teams in connecting with each other. Effective leadership while being guided by the principal who provides direction goes beyond this by recognising the role played by all stakeholders as defined in shared values, visions and expectations. Leadership in early childhood education is an in-depth human quality that does not follow the conventional rule of authority.
Children are purely innocent to what this society gives to them in early childhood. If the society provides them with effective skills of leadership then that is what they are going to get regardless of gender or sect. If children are exposed to negative traits from the society then this would only end up in criminal activities. Children tend to strive hard to learn the way of living which society provides them. The importance of early childhood education can be imagined from Siraj-Blatchford and Hallet’s (2014) idea of leadership, which states that “Effective and caring leadership is an evolving area of importance in developing quality provision for young children and families (p. 9).” Early childhood leadership is not only about the business of academics but it involves everyday routine of children’s services.
In recognition of the growing importance placed on leadership in early childhood education, this paper explores the concept of leadership in the context of early education and how it influences the quality of education. In this relation, it will focus on what leadership means in the context of early childhood education, leadership styles in ECE, effective pedagogy in the early years, effective leadership in the early years and challenges and issues in early childhood leadership.
The Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) project changed the education landscape in Europe, and can be considered an influential study in the emerging importance of leadership in early childhood education (Siraj‐Blatchford, et al., 2008). The longitudinal study was the first of its kind and consisted of a young children’s development sample with the objective of investigating the impact of preschool education among three and four year children. Information for the study was collected from 3000 children and also involved interaction with their parents, home environment and school settings (Sylva, et al., 2004) Through the research which as conducted between 1997 and 2004, it was established that education quality made a significant impact in the development of children (Sylva, et al., 2004). This is a function of leadership, which the study also established as being instrumental in ensuring quality and better outcomes among children.
Based on the study results, it was established that high performing centres included in the study had resilient leadership and a strong shared philosophy, and that managers ensured a strong lead in planning and curriculum development. In addition, leaders in these centres encouraged staff development, education focus, child-adult interaction, all essential aspects of leadership in early childhood education. Therefore this study illuminated the importance of effective leadership in preschool in a bid to enhance outcomes and it remains a point of reference in the realms of ECE.
Effective Leadership in the Early Years Sector (ELEYS) and Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY) also played an imperative role in illuminating leadership as an important issue in early education. The ELEYS research demonstrated the ideal setting for early year schools, noting that adult-child interaction, good curriculum knowledge among practitioners, parent involvement, formative feedback and behaviour policies influenced good outcomes for children Siraj-Blatchford et al (2007). REPEY on the other hand argues for the provision of leadership for learning as a fundamental requirement in early learning. This can be done through social context considerations, collective working and a focus on children’s learning outcomes. This research is based on the passing of the Children Act of 2004 in England and the commitment of the government to reform children services through the ‘Every Child Matters’ campaign (Siraj-Blatchford, I & Manni, 2007). These two studies have influenced commitment towards leadership in ECE and are a good source of reference for leadership literature.
Early childhood is a sensitive stage where all leadership efforts should be directed towards ensuring the best outcome for the children. Leadership in early childhood education has been considered a pacesetter and a major influence of quality, hence the need to effectively understand what really consists of leadership in ECE.
Kagan and Bowman (1997) proposed five faces of leadership that early childhood leaders should seek observe in order to promote the outcome of children in their schools.
The first face of leadership is administrative leadership. This involves the everyday operational activities and management of services (Kagan & Bowman, 1997). In executing administrative leadership, a leader is expected to maintain skills necessary in:
Dealing with people: This involves building effective relationships with staff, children, families, board members and colleagues among others
Structure: This entails the maintenance of infrastructure, complying with regulations, security issues and fire procedures among others
Processes: This includes the development of policies and procedures for governing school activities, including interaction of children and families.
Culture: this involved possessing knowledge on resource and referral agencies as well as changes in legislation.
Outcome: This includes maintenance of occupancy rates, fees, wages, budgets, petty cash and resources among others.
Environment: This involves awareness of the health and safety issues related to the occupation as well as the legislative requirements and aesthetics.
Pedagogy is understanding how learning process takes place which is supported by philosophy and practice.Pedagogical leadership entails the recognition of the best approaches in ensuring quality of early childhood care and education (Heikka, 2014). At the core of early childhood education lies the need to ensure that the quality of children’s lives is improved through enhanced growth, learning and development (Cheng, 2013; Kivunja, 2015). In this relation, leadership in ECE is about identifying how best the children can learn. It is associated with the philosophy of the program, its goals and everyday practices that are advocated for in the managing the organisation (Murray & Clary, 2013). A leader is also expected to stay informed about issues and trends in early childhood education and care, and propagate the same information to staff. Leaders are expected to work closely with families and the community and ensure that all their actions demonstrate their knowledge of pedagogical leadership in everything they do (Sullivan, 2010).
Leaders is early education have an obligation to disseminate the importance of early childhood education to the community. This means that leaders must promote advocacy for best practices in early childhood education in order to influence the community and the overall outcome of ECE in the community (2008). It involved being increasingly visible in the community where one operates, developing community partnerships and participating in the education and training of ECE professionals through mentorship and networking. An early childhood leader is required to collaborate with community members and play a vital role in influencing policy making within the community.
Conceptual leadership is about being actively involved in the creation of new ideas with the aim of advancing the profession. This means that a leader should be capable of contributing to the ECE profession through innovative and futuristic thinking that leads to the development of pioneering ideas to influence early childhood education success (Kagan & Bowman, 1997; Rodd, 2013). This is equated to visionary leadership and is best achieved if one has a social conscience. This means that ideas are based on what leaders believe is the best for the advancement of children in early years.
Leaders in early childhood are expected to actively advocate for early childhood issues in order to improve the welfare of children and their families (Kagan & Bowman, 1997; Woodrow, C & Busch, 2008). Leadership involves taking a lead in looking out for better education quality and advocating for issues affecting early childhood education such as licensing requirements, affordable childcare, teacher salaries and other important issues (Rodd, 2013). Leadership in ECE is not only about working with individuals and organisations within their immediate sector but rather collaborating with others beyond their environment to create better outcomes in the early childhood sector.
Effective leadership in early childhood is defined by the ability of the leadership to effect high quality, through involvement of different stakeholders and upholding professionalism. This can be demonstrated in the following illustration, which demonstrates the importance of well set goals, high quality educators, professionalism in leadership, programming quality, and the involvement of families in ensuring outcomes for children.
Pedagogical Leadership tells us to reconsider the way we learn and work alongside with other adults. It is a common observation that development and growth take time and the best way children learn is by the interest and engagement with adults. Characteristics like curiosity, purposefulness and openness create an environment of learning both for the child and for the adult.
The Pedagogical Leader has an important role in creating a setting that supports values and vision for a healthy and quality learning environment. In this kind of environment, habits like organising time, spending money and supporting others come from the vision for growing child. In this way, children are nourished to produce leadership qualities and sense of responsibility. (Coughlin & Baird, 200)
It has been recognised that effective leadership is the key to the growth of education and care. Teaching, learning and sustaining high-quality learning environment cannot be shaped without the skilled and committed leaders. There are minimal chances for effective leadership in early childhood without these skilled pedagogical leaders. According to a research, leadership comes only second when teaching has an influence on learning. Leadership is essential to an improved outcome and equality in education. (Leithwood et al., 2006: 4)
The style of leadership that is adopted within the organisation to a great extent determines the organisation’s performance. In this respect, the leadership style adopted should match the objective of the organisation in order to ensure that set goals are met. In early childhood, it has been established that leadership is more about inclusiveness and that the traditional idea of leadership, demonstrated through hierarchical outlook is considered outdated. Leadership is seen as a practice that is socially constructed and where the need to promote the quality of education and outcomes for children determines the leadership style adopted. The following leadership styles consist of some of the leadership styles adopted among early education institutions.
Directive leadership: In directive leadership, leaders are required to guide followers by spending as much time as possible with learners who are learning new tasks. The leader is expected to observe the learner provide feedback and develop suggestions for improving performance (Wieczorek-Ghisso, 2014). Directive leadership in ECE is seen as a means to ensure that the learner acquires the best knowledge possible to enhance the quality of education.
Facilitative leadership: This style seeks to empower group members by providing them with the resources necessary to execute their work. This style is aimed at ensuring that the needs of group members are met and that the outcome is satisfactory to the children and their families. While it may be directive at times, facilitative style is never authoritarian.
Participative leadership: This is where the leader promotes a collaborative atmosphere with teachers, such that everyone has an opportunity to participate in decision making. Ideas from followers are held in high regard and each view is considered important. Leaders are open with teachers and communication ensures that they can contribute to the everyday running of the school (Aubrey, et al, 2013). Participative leadership enhances motivation and is considered effective in advancing performance due to its ability to identify new ideas that would otherwise go unutilised.
Transformational leadership: Leaders depicting transformational leadership lead by showing concern to personal development of followers, such that they are committed to ensuring that they can discover their potential by acting as their role models. Through providing them with the required knowledge and resources, transformational leaders develop their followers into leaders and moral leaders through inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealised influence and individualise consideration (Hughes, 2014). In ECE, this plays a role in enhancing motivation and thus high performance of teachers; consequently contributing to changes in school education. Transformational leadership is such that both the leaders and followers learn from each other and is therefore not about power holding.
Situational leadership: A commonly used leadership style is situational leadership, where leaders tend to apply different approaches in dealing with different issues. This according to Wieczorek-Ghisso (2014) is an approach which in the early years education context is based in levels of competency, such that continuous professional development is enabled. This is evidenced through the Blanchard model which provides four different leadership styles for four competence levels identified. Blanchard’s quadrant, consists of four leadership styles namely directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Each style is useful for different competency levels through which staff go through before they can be considered highly effective to work without much support.
Blanchard’s first competence level consists of staff portraying high commitment and low competence. These are members who are probably new in context and therefore lack the necessary skills to carry out required activities. This group may display high enthusiasm and willingness to learn but lack the skills to perform effectively. The suggested leadership style is the ‘directing’ approach, aimed at providing them with guidance to undertake activities through providing specific instructions and making follow up. An employee who effectively succeeds in this quadrant such that they no longer require close supervision then moves to the second quadrant, representing low or some competence and low commitment. This group requires ‘coaching’ as the leadership approach. This requires leaders to explain the importance of task completion and monitoring of progress while providing encouragement and support.
When a staff is ready to move to the next quadrant, this means that they no longer need coaching but rather ‘supporting’. These are staff with high competence but with variable commitment. While they may have adequate experience, such teachers may lack confidence, motivation or initiative to undertake independent tasks. By supporting their daily activities, a leader can ensure that staff effectively accomplish tasks and that they develop high commitment. This means that they are ready to graduate to the next quadrant, consisting of staff with high commitment and high competence. These are individuals who have mastered their roles and who are confident in their ability, experienced, knowledgeable and self-motivated, such that they do not require much supervision. In this situation, the leader employs ‘delegating’ approach, such that these individuals may be trusted with responsibilities without the need for monitoring or direction.
The model is considered effective because it aims at gradually developing staff capabilities to ensure that they can effectively respond to delegated tasks. It considers the different needs of staff and the required form of support needed to enhance competency and is thus considered an effective approach to leadership.
Leadership is an undertaking that requires individuals to demonstrate their ability to influence processes and other people for the attainment of set goals, such that leaders are expected to possess certain qualities that differentiate them from others (Ang, 2012). It is not any different in early childhood and the following qualities of a leader ensure enhanced outcomes. Teachers with early childhood development degree give them the right skills to help every child learn. Practically speaking, teachers of early education of children must possess certain qualities that will enable them to motivate children along with finding joy every day (Aubrey, 2011).
When it comes to young children, leaders having the confidence of working with the children require enthusiasm and dedication to the work. Only this way, they could think of achieving the successful completion of their leadership duties. Teachers should have the enthusiasm to unlock each child’s door to learning. In addition, every child is different which makes the job even more challenging; thus requiring a patient nature along with good sense of humour to help the teacher to face this sloping path of ups and downs every day.
Every child has a different learning style and personality when he comes to school for early education. Each child would have his or her own style of doing anything. Due to this reason, teacher must always respect the differences and mange to teach in each child’s style rather than imposing on the child to adapt another style. Furthermore, each day teaching young children and at the same time educating them requires creativity. Adapting to the style of learning that each child possess is flexibility. Regardless, the planning a teacher has done for each day, there should be flexibility to handle all the glitches that can throw off the day. A successful early childhood teacher would be the one who is always creative and flexible to make each day a positive one.
An effective leader takes approaches that are unique and whose execution ensure that organisational goals and objectives are met. This skill requires critical thinking to ensure that ideas and strategies set the organisation apart from competitors through quality outcomes. Additionally, an inspirational leader motivates followers to perform by helping them discover their strengths. He or she should be capable of influencing followers to perform by helping them discover their potential, providing them with the needed guidance and rewarding good performance (Murray & Clary, 2013).
Contemporary leadership literature indicates that active involvement of employees and other stakeholders in leadership decisions and undertakings can have an influential role on organisational outcomes (Grant, 2016). In early education, there is need to involve teachers, boards, students and the community in leadership, thus ensuring that the management can understand what the needs of others are. When leadership considers the input of others, the likelihood of success is enhanced through diversity in ideas. In a world where leadership entails greater involvement of stakeholders in leadership and decision making, having a leader who is open and accommodating can have a considerable impact on the organisation. In early education, being open can encourage contribution from followers and thereby improve the outcome of schools.
Every leader’s mandate is to achieve the organisation’s goals and objectives and thus contribute to the overall performance of the organisation. In this relation, a leader must not lose focus on the main goals that the organisation seeks to achieve (Grant, 2016). This ensures that he or she can effectively lead others in achieving the goals, correct deviations, mentor and encourage others to achieve. In doing so, the ability to influence others through endowing them with the power to perform is considered a major leadership quality. Leaders in early childhood should not only provide teachers with the necessary skills to perform tasks but they should also build their capacity to perform roles that are considered as being beyond their level, including independent decision making (David, 2012).
A leader should be concerned about the welfare of others, such that their decisions should be considerate about the feelings of others. This is essential in ensuring that followers feel appreciated, which promotes their productivity and willingness to contribute in organisational activities (Cheng, 2013). Being collegial involves recognising every individual as being important and avoiding self-exalting behaviour. An effective leader sees themselves as part of the team and thus encourages others to work to work together towards achieving the organisation’s goals (David, 2011). This demonstrates the adoption of a give-and-take approach, such that the leader can learn from followers, just as followers learn from them.
Developing skills necessary to enhance the performance of early education institutions is imperative in enhancing pedagogical leadership. Waniganayake (2014) notes that while a majority of institutions have ECE graduates, most of these individuals are not equipped with the leadership strategies necessary to enhance performance. Waniganayake (2014) further notes that given the budding nature of ECE, the number of schools has grown significantly, leading to the demand for managers and principals. This means that more ECE teachers find themselves in positions of leadership when they are fresh graduates with minimal knowledge and skills on leadership. In order for them to successfully execute the mandate given to them, such teachers require training to help them acquire the necessary leadership skills and qualities. This may be enhanced through different approaches as discussed below.
Learning communities
Group of individuals when come together to share passion and interest in collaborative learning is known as professional learning communities. Individuals participating in this learning communities build up knowledge through their interactions. There is a need of facilitator who helps them to start a dialogue of ideas that could enhance the connection to values and perspective. The professional learning communities is a powerful staff development strategies to help shift the focus from teaching to learning. (Coughlin & Baid, 2013)
Giving Time to absorb
Time is very precious and a necessity for any skill or development to be fully absorbed by both children and adults in the early learning environment. It is often practiced that learning communities make quick fixes and single training session to introduce change. However, to make changes sustainable, educators must be given time to share their complexities and practice growth in collaborative work.
Selection of Pedagogical Leaders for preschools
The building of strong leadership in the field, teacher’s education serves as an important role for building new resources and learning environment for the children. Student teachers should be selected on the merit of their experience that includes teamwork, engagement with kid and reviews from their pedagogical courses. These pedagogical leaders are also asked to provide a reflection of their leadership journey and opinions for life-changing experiences.
While the above discussion demonstrates approaches to developing pedagogical leadership skills, it is notable that there are various issues related to early years leadership that could affect such processes. Some of the challenges witnessed in early years leadership are discussed as follows.
Like in any other profession, the issue of age in leadership is prominent and the question of the age at which an individual can take up leadership is of concern. In ECE, a high number of young professionals are increasingly joining leadership, more so with the increase in the number of institutions and the consequent demand for managers and principals. Whether these individuals, some who are fresh from college have the requires skills and capabilities is what makes it challenging for them to pursue their careers. This is more so where there the individual needs to manage older staff who may not appreciate their position as leaders.
A significant issue in early education is that individuals in leadership are not as adequately remunerated as their counterparts in other sectors. Given the significantly low pay among early childhood education professionals, taking up a position of leadership is not as motivating as it would be in other sectors where it would come with attractive perks. As a result, individuals are more likely to be adamant to take up leadership positions because the amount of work involved may not be adequately compensated.
Early childhood education for a considerable portion of its history mostly constituted of a female workforce. According to Siraj and Hallett (2014), early education workforce could comprise up to 98-99% women. This can be attributed to the fact that women were considered more caring and motherly to children, and as playing the nurturing role which they did best (Kelleher, 2011). Mistry and Sood (2013) also note that stereotyping of men who work in early childhood education as either paedophiles or homosexuals has led to slow growth in the number of men in the sector. This feminisation has an impact on leadership in that men who have since joined early childhood education still find it difficult to settle into the female dominated career. As a result, leadership roles among men tend to be few in the sector. According to Mistry and Sood (2013), the gendered perception about men in the early education profession may lead to leadership prejudice because men still tend to be treated with suspicion when handling children. This could deny men an equal chance at being in leadership positions despite being qualified.
Leadership remains a challenging undertaking and some individuals tend to shy away from such responsibility. This means that despite their qualifications, they may be reluctant to lead. According to Mistry and Sood (2012), early years leaders tend to be reluctant on taking on the leadership of whole schools because they believe that it is not given adequate significance. In addition, some leaders are reluctant to take on management roles because they feel that such responsibilities divert their attention from their preferred role as child developers and educators. Mistry and Sood (2012) add that reluctance could also be based on lack of confidence in their level of training on leadership such as adult management and budgeting among others. Reluctance may also be observed among males, mostly due to the desire to remain inconspicuous based on the feminisation issue discussed above.
A major issue is the existence of the hierarchical leadership mentality in some institutions. Some early childhood schools are still run using the traditional leadership approaches, such that it becomes difficult for an inclusive workplace to be maintained. This may impact leadership effectiveness and consequent leadership outcomes.
The effectiveness of leadership in ECE can be measured against the learning outcomes of children, such that the key role played by school principals can be recognised based on the performance of their schools. However, leadership issues discussed above must be addressed in order to ensure that leadership is enhanced for better outcomes.
An important aspect to consider is the defeminisation of the profession. Currently, the profession still remains a female dominated field and encouraging men to participate would play a relevant role in enhancing leadership efficiency. To succeed in this, there is need to eliminate the stereotypes surrounding men as early childhood educators and instead advocate for male participation in ECE leadership.
Achieving high level motivation as far as leadership is concerned is a challenging task for this sector, given the low motivation to lead. To achieve this, authorities in ECE must recognise that leadership in ECE is just like leadership in other professions and that there is need to motivate leaders through improved pay and providing opportunities for skill development (Jor’dan, et al, 2013). Mentorship would work effectively in promoting performance of upcoming leaders and ensuring that they remain focused.
It is apparent that individuals in ECE are increasingly taking up leadership positions at a young age, which implies that their leadership skills may not be well developed. In this relation, leadership should be incorporated into graduate programs to ensure that leadership in an ingrained skill among ECE graduates. By preparing graduates for leadership as part of their learning objectives, it is easier for them to fit into leadership positions.
It is important to recognise that children are emotionally bonded to their parents. The workforce in early year education is most comprises of female. The Daycare Trust reports that 97.5% of the workforce for childcare comprises of females. This gender discrimination in child care needs to end. Men should be actively involved in this workforce. Other than this, research also tells that there is a strong need for collaborative leadership training for pedagogical leaders for better future of early childhood education (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2007).
Bring the educators and parents together with the photos of children with observations of children behaviour when engaged in focused activity. Star the conversation by asking questions like: What appearance can be noticed from child’s face when focused in any activity? What interests him the most? How much child tries to give effort to area of his interest? How child’s point of view can be considered a factor of influence for the thinking of educator?
Importance of Home Learning
Other than preschool learning at early age, EPPE study has found out that children’s intellectual and social development is more influenced through Home Learning Environment (HLE) then by their parent’s education, occupation, and income. Due to this, the study also concludes that children’s learning by their parent’s support is far more important than who the parents are. The study clearly suggests that the parents should opt for giving more time and affection to their children. Children need a healthy environment to get morally stronger. In this fast-moving world, people have generally less time for their children due to work load and professional responsibilities. That is why there is preschool where children are taught in a proper systematic way to nourish their skills and to provide them with the environment which they couldn’t get at home (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2006).
Leadership in the context of early childhood education has recently been illuminated as an important aspect in determining the quality of outcomes among children. Evidently, effective leadership in ECE is directly related to the performance of early years institutions and the need to develop such skills is necessary. This paper discussed the concept of leadership as it applies to early childhood education, with specific attention to the nature and facets of leadership in ECE, the application of leadership styles, qualities of good leadership and the challenges facing effective leadership in ECE. It can be established that leadership in ECE has not effectively matured and that there are certain issues that still require to be addressed in order for institutions to function effectively. However, training and application of effective leadership styles could play an important role in enhancing leadership outcomes in ECE settings.
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The basic understanding of literacy is the ability to read and write. Early literacy differs from literacy in that it is a process through which children are prepared for literacy. Neuman & Dickinson (2011) define early literacy as what children recognize about reading and writing before they can learn to read and write in reality. It is about laying a foundation to ensure children have the skills necessary when they are developmentally prepared to read and write.
While literacy pays much attention to reading and writing, developments in early education provide a wider learning range by including talking about books, book sharing, early mark making and environmental awareness in addition to reading and writing (Foundation Years, 2009). Early literacy as we know it today has a rich history, entrenched in the need to improve how children learn and the inclusion of play pedagogy in enhancing literacy.
Albright, Delecki & Hinkle (2009) retrace early evolution of literacy to the 1940s and 1950s when the development of storytelling techniques including rhyme and repetition started gaining importance. Story hours were first offered by librarians in the 1940s as a response to the ‘reading readiness’ theory aimed at ensuring that children were mentally equipped to read. Story hours would involve dramatization, clapping, repetition, songs and rhymes and were seen as an avenue for children to interact with peers and gain interest for reading.
Over the decades, new concepts such as dialogic reading to promote more enjoyable reading, entertainment and education have been developed through research and development. Historically, the government in England made little intervention towards preschool provision and curriculum (Kwon, 2002). However in 1996, the Desirable Outcomes for Children’s Learning on Entering Compulsory Education framework was introduced to guide early years curriculum. This was later revised as Early Learning Goals in 2000 and was aimed at providing learning goals for children (Kwon, 2002).
Early literacy strategies
Early literacy strategies have evolved significantly over the years and the emphasis on play and innovative learning methods in England is apparent. The House of Commons Education Select Committee in December 2000 issued a report indicating that creative play should be the main form of learning for children under five (Clouder, 2017). In England, the development of rules and policies guiding early childhood education aims at improving early literacy by providing guidance to teachers and caregivers (Department of Education, 2017). As a result, England’s statutory frameworks are keen on the fundamental role played by literacy.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, first introduced in 2008 and revised in 2012, 2014 and 2017 is a law provides rules and regulations to guide early literacy and its statutory framework as provided in Learning and Development Requirements is that ‘All the areas must be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities’ (Foundation Years, 2009, p.10).
Early literacy and play pedagogy are mutual, based on the role of play pedagogy in promoting literacy. Contemporary research labels play as the most effective approach in setting the foundation for literacy in early years.
References
Albright, M, Delecki, K, & Hinkle, S 2009, ‘The Evolution of Early Literacy: A History of Best Practices in Storytimes’, Children & Libraries: The Journal Of The Association For Library Service To Children, 7, 1, pp. 13-18
Play pedagogy has gained increased popularity as a preferred method of learning in early years, based on children’s natural attraction to play (Shanahan & Lonigan, 2013). Play pedagogy according to Rogers (2011) has historically been dominant in Western-European pedagogy and educationists, theorists and philosophers have sought to establish the importance of play in childhood learning and development.
More recently, policy makers are applying research on traditional and contemporary theories on play to develop curriculums, policies and rules aimed at improving education outcomes among children (Rogers, 2011; Platz & Arellano, 2011). The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which provides learning, care and development standards for children under 5 years provides that learning in early years should mostly be through games and play.
First introduced in 2008, EYFS as a statutory curriculum sought to address different demands from stakeholders in relation to children’s learning and development (Silberfeld & Horsley, 2013). The importance of physical development is emphasized in a bid to enhance learning and the use of play and games is emphasized to promote learning in communications and language, personal, emotional and social development, literacy, expressive art and design, understanding the world and mathematics (Department of Education, 2017).
According to Foundation Years (2009), learning through play is guaranteed to enhance knowledge assimilation among children and that designing a range of strategies aligned with the needs of the children can greatly enhance their ability to learn. Foundation Years (2009) notes that children are not passive and that they enjoy involvement in ‘brains-on’ and ‘hands-on’ activities, and have a significant role in driving their own development through individual interests, knowledge seeking, asking questions and quest to perform competently.
The EYFS framework enables this by providing guidelines for schools and teachers to promote early learning. The application of play pedagogy in England is undeniable and has improved significantly over the years. Silberfeld & Horsley (2013) note that play is predominant in early education in England and that this plays an imperative role in promoting learning among children in the early ages.
Much of the motivation to integrate play into learning is from the EYFS statutory curriculum that aims at supporting the development of children, which is targeted at school leaders, staff, childcare providers and childminders. EYFS guidelines are mandatory and are based on four themes namely, ‘a unique child, positive relationships, enabling environment and learning and development’ (Foundation Years, 2009, p. 2). In relation to play pedagogy, the themes enabling environments and learning and development are more related to play and learning activities.
Enabling environment require that schools, teachers and caregivers offer stimulating resources that enable children learn in the context of their culture and community, rich opportunities for learning through playful teaching and support for children to explore and take risks (Department of Education, 2017). This generally includes significant play activities as a means of learning.
The learning and development themes provides that children are different and will learn in different ways, hence the need for a framework that ensures the best outcome for all children including consideration for special needs and disabilities. This theme calls for playing and exploration, critical thinking and active learning, which essentially spells out the importance of play in pedagogy.
Literacy introduction in the modern learning world is not only confined to books but also to playful interaction with pictures, talking, telling and listening to stories, singing nursery rhymes and imitation among other activities that create a foundation for reading and writing skills development (Platz & Arellano, 2011). In England, it is common practice for nursery schools, kindergartens, daycares and government schools to teach using these skills and play can actually be established as the main approach to learning in Europe (Butler, 2016).
Silberfeld & Horsley (2013) note that learning is sustained through encouraging lived experiences, hence the importance of play in Europe’s early education. This includes helping children to play by utilizing structured games and open-ended activities, pretending and being imaginative, role acting, and playful activities such as homour, singing, riddles, chanting, clapping, mimicry and using available materials and resources imaginatively. Butler (2016) notes that play and play creativity could be the secret to Britain’s top-notch education system, exemplified by the commitment of teachers to provide vital skills for learning through play as opposed to classwork.
This is achieved through teacher-directed play as well as free play, which enables imagination and creativity. Children are then evaluated based on observation and not through testing and new approaches designed to ensure that their skills are continually upgraded (Rogers, 2011). According to Shanahan & Lonigan, 2013), adults must be both thoughtful and skillful in helping children learn and play and exploration play a vital role in enhancing learning.
Early language and communication skills are considered an imperative phase in early literacy and is thus given significant attention. Providing such skills to children however requires innovative approaches to get the attention of children, hence the importance of play (Brown, 2014). By creating the statutory framework EYFS, the United Kingdom ensured that play can be effectively applied in early literacy.
References
Brown, C.S., (2014). Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years: Foundational Skills that Support Emergent Readers. Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years, 24, 35-49.
Platz, D., & Arellano, J., (2011) Time tested early childhood theories and practices. Education, 132: 54–63.
Rogers, S., (Ed.). (2011) Rethinking play and pedagogy in early childhood education: concepts, contexts and cultures. Albingdon, England; New York: Routledge.
Shanahan, T., & Lonigan, C.J., (Eds.). (2013). Literacy in preschool and kindergarten children: The National Early Literacy Panel and beyond. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing
Thomas, L., Warren, E., & de Vries, E. (2011). Play-based learning and intentional teaching in early childhood contexts. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(4), 69–75
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Why people attend college
Each year, hundreds of thousands of students join colleges and institutions of higher learning to pursue college education, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, (1) “in the year 2011, about 68.3 % of 2011 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities”. These figures point out to a high number of people seeking college education. It is worth noting that, there were other college admissions outside high school graduates.
The three major reasons why people attend college are; to attain success because a college degree is a requirement by most employers, secondly it is because attending college is what everyone else is doing and perhaps chances are that the student wants to just join his or her peers and finally the third reason is the desire to gain knowledge on a given skill and build on one’s talent. The three reasons are discussed in the next paragraphs.
Nothing is more important to an ambitious student than ending up in their dream job since this is considered by many as attaining success. Success for most students depends on what course they study and employers look for just that. Even the most independent-minded student acknowledges the relevance of a college degree in the current job environment.
For such a student, he or she will attend college so as to increase their chances of being successful in their future endeavors. There is a significant number of students whose main aim of going to college is to attain the right papers for securing their future jobs.
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Another reason why people attend college is because it is trendy, most people will think lowly of anyone who does not have college education. Therefore because it is what everyone does and perhaps the chance is there and the student has a guardian or another source of financing, so he or she just attends the college because the chance is available. Such people do not necessarily perform poorer than those in the category explained above; it is just that they join college with a different kind of motive.
Perhaps the third major reason why people attend college is the desire to gain knowledge on a given skill and build on ones talent; there are some skills which can only be trained adequately in colleges. This could be because of some training facilities required. In addition, such skills have to be passed on by qualified professionals who can only offer such services in colleges and this is possible in colleges.
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The above mentioned three reasons are the common reasons on why people attend college. Evidently after college a lot of the success or failure witnessed amongst people in life after college hardly depends on what caused the person attends college.
Often it is hard to pick out for example from an organizational or workplace set up, the different types of people based on the above categorization. In most cases, one may succeed or fail in life after college irrespective of their reason for joining college. It is worth noting that other factors besides reason for attending college can determine the outcome of one’s college life.
