Development is an indispensable concept in all the nooks and crannies of human society. Every society seeks to develop from one degree to the other and from one area of specialization to the other.
Notwithstanding, development is a broad concept that celebrates progress, growth, and even improvement. Development can be human, social, personal, economic, political, biological, technical, etc.
However, this article will focus on the education aspect of development. The quest for development never stops in an intentional society that wants to make the lives of her individuals better.
It is no wonder that education specialists, scholars, philosophers, and thinkers in collaboration with the government have been making deliberate efforts toward the continual development of education
system in its entirety.
This article is set to explore what education development is all about, its role in societal progress, its challenges, its future, and its success over the years.
THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS.
The education systems have evolved from one philosophy to the other over the years. As the need for a means of livelihood increases, thinkers and philosophers always devise a way to solve human problems, and the solutions are often discovered through painstaking researches which when proven will be advertised and taught to the public.
This trend started in the dim past and still continues even nowadays. Some of these evolutions are seen in the following periods of evolution:
• Prehistoric or Early Societies: This is the first period in the evolution of the education system. During this period, education was informal and was based on oral tradition. Instructions were given through word of mouth.
Young people learn through storytelling. The elders gather the young ones preferably under moonlight and tell them stories of what happened in the dim past. Those young people in turn tell the next generation the same stories through improvisation.
In that way, education was carried out in their world. Children learn survival skills and adaptations from the elderly through observation, storytelling, and apprenticeship. The people of this age are regarded as primitives.
• The Ancient Civilizations (3000 BCE – 500 CE): During this age, the Egyptians developed formal education for their priests and scribes. Their emphasis was on writing (hieroglyphics), instructions on religion as well as Mathematics.
The Mesopotamians on the other hand created one of the earliest patterns called cuneiform. They also established schools for their scribes. The Greeks were the first to establish systematic education.
Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle put much emphasis on reasoning and critical thinking in the learning process.
Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum were accredited to these philosophers as the progenitors. Romans built upon the success of Greece in education and emphasized military training, rhetoric, and law.
To them, education was meant for the upper class with schools where philosophy and grammar were taught.
• Middle Ages (500CE – 1400CE): This was the period when education was controlled by the religious powers – the Christian monasteries and Islamic madrasas.
Thomas Aquinas’ scholasticism which had to do with a method of learning which combined classical philosophy and religious teachings was celebrated in this period.
First universities were established and the teaching of varied subjects was embraced. The University of Bologna was established in 1088CE, the University of Oxford was established in 1096CE, and the University of Paris was also established in 1150CE and became officially recognized in 1200CE.
They were the earliest universities in the world.
• Renaissance and Enlightenment period (1400CE – 1800CE): This was a significant period in the evolution of education systems. The pendulum of learning swung from abstract learning to humanism which advocated the needs of the common man.
Humanism emphasizes the study of classical antiquities, sciences, and arts in relation to the significance of man. It was a period of revolution in the education systems. This period was a period of discovery in the education system.
A renowned Catholic monk and astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) came up with a groundbreaking discovery that the earth moves around the sun.
• In 1451, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) discovered the New World – the Americas. This discovery enhanced the study of Geography in the education systems.
In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented the first-ever printing press and books were printed in thousands reaching so many people.
This groundbreaking discovery influenced the education system to a remarkable degree in its evolution.
There were education reforms in this period as thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke preached critical thinking and child-centered learning.
• The Period of Industrial Revolution (1800s to early 1900s): There was a great shift from Agrarian society to industrial society as a result of the Industrial Revolution. This happened concurrently in the education system.
Historians argued that the English society was one of the first societies to embrace the industrial revolution.
During this period, factories were built, hills were leveled, mountains were disintegrated, valleys were filled up, trees were cut down for the production of papers, and bridges were built across oceans for easy transportation of goods and services.
It is important to realize that nature was explored and exploited in this period for the benefit of humanity.
Subjects like engineering, architecture, Mathematics, etc. gained prominence as they were tools set to educate the masses on the new trend of the Industrial Revolution so as to fit into the new working fields.
Women and marginalized groups were given the opportunity to learn as government-made laws of compulsory education for individuals to certain levels depending on the society.
• The Twentieth Century Period (1900s-2000s): This is the period of expansion and modernization in the evolution of education systems.
For the first time in history, education became a fundamental human right as it was stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
John Dewey, in his progressive philosophy of education, emphasized experiential learning, problem-solving, and creativity in education.
In this period, the growth of public education increased around the world and the multiplicity of higher education and research institutes increased. This way, the world experienced a great reduction in the illiteracy rate.
• Twenty-first Century Period (2000s- till date): This period is also referred to as the period of digital and global education. Education assumed a digital outlook and became technologically driven.
Digital tools that enable online courses emerged as well as AI education tools which made learning easier and accessible for all.
This globalized system of learning encouraged cross-border collaborations with colleges and universities across the world in terms of partisanships and research.
The evolution of learning in this age celebrates skill acquisition through digital exposition and adaptability rather than mere memorization.
THE IMPACTS OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL GROWTH.
Education development is one of the key factors to economic development as well as societal growth. When the significance of education is properly understood and an intentional move is made towards the development of its system, the impacts reflect on both the economy and society.
Below are some of the impacts of education development on the economic and societal growth:
1. Increase in Workforce, Innovation, and Production: These are typical reflections of the impacts of education development on the economy of a country that is intentional about the development of its education system.
People become more exposed to skills that increase their professionalism. It also makes them to be critical thinkers when it comes to coming up with ideas that develop the economy of the country.
The juxtaposition of these brings about profound productivity.
2. Reduction of Unemployment and Poverty Rates: When individuals are educated, they usually have better employment prospects unlike those who are not educated.
Developed technical and vocational education exposes individuals to various skills and attitudes that help them to be self-employed and not depend on the government for white-collar jobs.
This reduces unemployment and poverty rates in the society.
3. Economic Diversification: One of the impacts of education development is that it encourages economic diversification. When the education system is well developed, it sets out to develop individuals academically, technically and vocationally.
When the society is made up of different men and women who are functional in these various fields, it brings about economic diversification as the society promotes the economic status of the country via different professional engagements and specializations.
4. Social Cohesion and Crime Reduction: A developed education system creates a good impact on society by promoting interconnected relationships among individuals.
People get to know each other and what they are good at as well as their fields of expertise. Nevertheless, crime is drastically reduced when people are engaged in meaningful jobs because an idle mind they say, is the devil’s workshop.
5. Gender Equality and Empowerment: Education development fosters gender equality and empowerment in society as it encourages women and other marginalized groups in society to take part in the scheme of things towards societal and economic growth.
It increases women’s engagement in the workforce, leadership roles, and nation-building. In this case, education development celebrates individuals who made their way to the top through self-determination and personal achievement rather than conferment.
THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT BY MEANS OF THE KEY FACTORS INFLUENCING EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
There are some key factors that fosters education development. Some of these factors have been tested and proven to be effective in education development. Some of these factors include:
1. Technology and Digital Learning: The tremendous rise in technology and digital learning have improved education development in recent times.
Digitalization through the use of available technological devices has increased online education, challenging the notion that distance can be a barrier to learning.
Learning with AI has also been made accessible nowadays in teaching and learning processes, unlike in the dark ages.
More can be done to ensure the stability of education development if education stakeholders in collaboration with the government take a deliberate approach towards its actualization.
2. Government Policies and Investments: The government is one of the strongest key factors of education development. When politicians know the value of education, it will reflect in the policies they make towards education development.
It will also reflect in the investments they will make towards education development. They will come up with lucrative initiatives that will help in education development and make sure that those initiatives and policies are implemented.
When an annual budget is being made, they will map out a reasonable amount of money that will foot the bills of the resources needed in the educational sector.
By so doing the educational sector is prioritized, enhancing the stability of education development, and when such a trend thrives, the future of education development becomes brighter and glitters with unquenchable hopes and aspirations.
3. Teacher Training and Professional Development: One of the key factors influencing the education system is enhancing teachers’ support through intensive training of teachers. This also increases the durability of the teaching profession.
However, teachers are exposed to different skills and when they use such skills in the classroom setting, they perform better and more professionally, making the teaching profession a noble one.
Seminars and workshops that are of educational value are to be but up for the holistic training and retraining of teachers.
4. Curriculum Innovation: Curriculum Innovation is one of the important keys that influences the education system. However, curriculum Innovation is the process of improving the curriculum in order to bring into existence unexplored areas of knowledge that are useful to the curriculum to serve the current needs of society.
Nevertheless, curriculum innovation influences the education system positively, especially in recent times when the focus is now on skill-based learning and experimental learning.
CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
Despite the fact that education development has helped in so many areas to make learning and learning processes what they should be, several issues have been brought to the table as posing challenges to education development. The following are some of these challenges:
1. Access and Equity Issues: Lack of uniformity in the education system across the globe is one of the major challenges to the development of the education system.
This has caused a lack of equitable access to what education at its basic level should be and offer. Different regions and socioeconomic groups have different views on what education development should look like.
As a result of such disparity, access to suitable, standardized, and uniform education systems in some quarters has become a problem in recent times.
2. Technological Barriers: Technological barriers are another challenge that borders on education development. While the education system in urban areas enjoys the availability of technological devices to enhance teaching and learning, those in rural areas lag behind in such provisions.
This has become a challenge to education development as it brings about disunity in the distribution of learning and learning processes in the education system.
3. Resistance to Change: The challenge of implementing the modern methodology in education development has become another pressing issue in education development.
When educational stakeholders embrace the modern trend in educational development, it will go a long way towards making the education system fit to address the present needs of society.
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
Education development is not just a minor concept that does not require much effort to improve and establish.
It is, however, a massive establishment that requires a variety of effective strategies to improve and standardize it efficiently. Some of the suggested strategies to improve education development are discussed as follows:
1. Policy Recommendations: Policy recommendations are one of the strategies that will help to improve education development.
Most times, education stakeholders and parastatals come up with policies to improve and upgrade the standard of the education system but eventually become discouraged because of a lack of support and backup from the government.
Politics is the strongest factor that determines the fate of education development in every country and that is why the government should be intentional about the improvement of the education system.
2. Public-Private Partnerships: It is said that no man is an island. This expression is a fact when one brings the improvement of education development into the mind.
Education development cannot be holistically what it should be if education stakeholders do not collaborate with established education-minded businesses, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other developed institutions privately owned by individuals and not depending entirely on the government for support and implementations.
4. Community Involvement: Community involvement is one of the strategies to improving the education system. For instance, the role of parents in shaping the education system and improving education development cannot be overemphasized.
During parent meetings (PTA), parents make important inputs into the education system bringing about education development.
Apart from the parents, local organizations in the society also play vital inputs in improving education development.
CONCLUSION
Education development is an intentional engagement that every individual who knows the value of education should uphold for a better future in society.
Education development remains a deliberate act that the government, education stakeholders at all levels, and even the classroom teachers should see as a responsibility that should be given rapt attention to so as to keep improving the education system.
Educational initiatives that will bring about education development should be promoted and supported by educational stakeholders and parastatals and find a way or ways to implement those initiatives in collaboration with the government, establishments, and Non-Governmental Organizations.
It is important to take into cognizance that a standard education system breeds a standard home. Now, if our homes and families are in proper shape, society becomes stable and the shackles of unproductivity become a history.
