Democracy, Society and the Need for Educational Reforms
In this article learn
Content warning: Education system, classroom interactions, exams, results, motivation, social change, suicide rates
Have you been praying fervently for your results? Have you been called, congratulated or probed about your board exams to the point of discomfort by people you know and don’t know or that have very little involvement in your life? Have you grown up to realize your boards were not as big of a deal as you thought they were? And have you ever just wondered, why?
The problem
We are a society that values numbers. Numerical quantitative outputs. You are as rich as the digits in your bank account. As popular as the number of followers on your social media. But can something as valuable or priceless as knowledge be quantified?
And by what yardstick do we decide upon the importance of certain educational objectives over others?
The CBSE board just scrapped important sections like Secularism, Democratic Rights, Federalism and Local Self-Governments from the civic studies portions for grades 9- 11. What does that say about our education system besides a lack of cognizance about the current political climate? It exposes how education of late has been less about the actual experience of learning knowledge and more about exam performance. It displays fractured objectives; an extrinsically motivated learning system.
What is extrinsic motivation?
Extrinsic motivation involves engaging in a behavior in order to earn external rewards or avoid punishment.
In the education system today, learning is purely motivated by rewards
Education is a means to an end- to get good grades and avoid the humiliation of failure, and by extension, live a high quality of life with greater material rewards.[1]
A system dictated by such motivations has dangerous repercussions. For one, it produces a society of self-centered individuals, thereby narrowing the scope of societal development. What could be a collaborative and synergetic experience is instead an unhealthy rut to score the highest possible marks. Secondly, it raises a generation of non-innovative, rather mechanical members of society. This is further explained by French philosopher Louis Althusser in his essay Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, where he believes educational institutes become training centers for students to become sources of labor power, to work for and under capitalists. [2]
Majority of society is wired to believe that if what we learn does not contribute to high praise, great pay and a life of materialistic bounty, it’s not important. Unfortunately, it is exactly that kind of thinking that has led to the state of affairs as they are today. If there is anything that 2020 with its famines, wildfires, global pandemic, civil rights and pro-democracy movements have taught us about our education system, it is the urgent need to re-evaluate our priorities in terms of how much value we place on certain aspects of schooling and education.
What explains which objectives are most important, and hence to be studied for marks?
This is where the idea of intrinsic motivation comes to play. Imagine going to school every day and getting an education because you thoroughly enjoy the process of learning, because you relish in the opportunity to explore and actualize your potential? [3] In reality, this cannot be said about pupils in our current system of education. School life is marked by repetitive routine, uniformity, discipline and rather interesting dynamics of power and authority. For a democratic society, activist Angela Davis puts it best-
‘If you take democracy seriously, then you have to take education seriously as well, because at its best, education allows for the practice of democracy.’
The classroom should be a space where students learn how to practice radical democracy. But we are witnessing the exact opposite trend. [We are witnessing] privatization of schools, and deterioration of education as a public good…” [4] So what then should be the purpose of education?
Education as a means for public good
John Dewey, the author of Democracy and Education (1916), was a great proponent of democratic education or the idea that democracy is both a goal and a method of instruction. He believed that
‘The purpose of education should not revolve around the acquisition of a predetermined set of skills, but rather the realization of one's full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good.’
[5]
He believed that education and schooling were instrumental in creating social change and reform.
Unfortunately, our primary and secondary school experiences have been marked with the repression of identity, dismissal of mental health, existence of power structures (student leaders, teaching staff) with a lack of accountability and very little room for creativity and innovation. We could not have spent a week in school without hearing the statement, ‘don’t try to act over smart’. We have repeatedly walked the halls where athletic achievements, trophies and medals were proudly showcased and debate, writing, and poetry winnings were kept to the back. We’ve all had weekly timetables with more time dedicated to mathematics and science and lesser time for language, literature or art. This structure of our days or the nature of our hallways or the atmosphere of our classroom where learning is mostly a one way street, is all part of what Philip W. Jackson (Life In Classrooms, 1968) called the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum is basically the way that not individual teachers but schools implicitly transmit norms, values, and beliefs to its students.[6]
The hidden curriculum is basically the way that not individual teachers but schools implicitly transmit norms, values, and beliefs to its students
Thus the hidden curriculum and the system it belongs to have a lot to answer for in their relation to the absence of environmental conscientiousness and the need for empathy and scientific spirit in the society it has raised. A society that is unquestioning of political power, disinterested in matters of social justice and apathetic to humanitarian crises. A society that although technologically advanced, is disproportionately developed and ridden with prejudice, depression, anxiety and more.
The solution?
Education is directly connected to the strength of a country’s democracy, political and economic institutions, and its development and human rights indices. The Nordic countries are a great example of this. Their high rates of development and stability can be traced to a system of education that strays from conventional ideas of teaching and learning. There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions.[7] Students are made to acquire skills in technology, research, communication, critical thinking and cultural understanding.They have managed to produce high academic results from children who do not start formal schooling until the age of seven, have short school days, long holidays, relatively little homework and no exams.[8] Doing so encourages students to engage in learning for its inherent value, in an intrinsically motivated manner.
In India however, the only response to standardized education has been the birth and boom of the private sector in education. Although an improved quality of education can be found within these private institutions, they are highly expensive alternatives and only tend to increase the unhealthy competitive nature of our society and are largely inaccessible to the masses anyway.
In order to have a healthy society, a re-evaluation of our priorities needs to happen.
It is time to try a different perhaps more humanistic approach. There are numerous factors contributing to the state of the country and even the world, but the most fundamental aspect remains to be schools and educational institutions- one of the most important agents of socialization after family where behaviors, biases and our understanding of the world as we know it are learnt. Ideally, a movement of intellectualism and academic excellence must be pursued, but not at the cost of personal wellbeing. We must critically approach and be radically involved in the formation of state curriculum, ensuring that the boards of education continue to remain apolitical, updated and inclusive. It is important to create public awareness and advocate for the democratization of education. But more importantly, we must refocus our attention towards making the very process of acquiring knowledge and education holistic, nourishing, cross-disciplinary, diverse, practical and constructive.
Kofi-Annan once said,
‘Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy, and sustainable human development.’
These objectives must be better reflected not only in our advocacy for structural educational reforms but also in our national education policies.
KEY TERMS
Extrinsic Motivation
Behavior that is driven by the need for rewards, incentives, (money, fame, power) avoidance of punishment or other external factors
Intrinsic Motivation
Behavior that is driven by the opportunity to explore or for the inherent value of the task at hand as opposed to acquisition of rewards or other external factors
Hidden Curriculum
A consequence of schooling where norms, values, and beliefs are conveyed implicitly in the classroom and the social environment by way of structure and social settings
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References:
[1] Cherry, K. (2019, September 7). Intrinsic Motivation: How your behaviour is driven by internal rewards. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-intrinsic-motivation-2795385#:~:text=3%EF%BB%BF,interchangeably%20to%20describe%20such%20activities
[2] Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Towards an Investigation (1970) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_and_Ideological_State_Apparatuses
[3] Coon D, Mitterer JO. Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (2010).
[4] Robinson, C. (2018, June 19) Angela Davis: Education must not be sacrificed at the altar of profit. People’s World. https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/angela-davis-education-must-not-be-sacrificed-at-the-altar-of-profit/
[5] On education and teacher education (n.d) Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey#On_education_and_teacher_education
[6] Hidden curriculum (n.d) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_curriculum
[7] Hancock, L. (2011, September) Why Are Finland’s Schools Successful? Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/
[8] Spiller, P. (2017, May 29) Could subjects soon be a thing of the past in Finland? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39889523
Fasiha Shaikh
Bad with people. Bad with pets too. Has given up trying to fix that posture. Can be found reading Bukowski in bad light somewhere.
