Tag: Importance Of Education

Education and Motivation

Amanda Song asked:

7.8 ? 0 2 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The great words of “The Three Character Scriptures” once said: “If jade is not shaped, it will not become a tool; if man dos not learn, he will not know the meaning [of life].”  For this very reason education has become an important factor in any culture and has developed into many different forms over the years.

First and most importantly, in order to discover the most effective way to promote education, we must realize what education really is and why it is important.  From my perspective, education is a series of understandings, being able to comprehend facts and information.  This will lead to the formation of personal opinions and new methods, which will contribute onto the general collection of knowledge.

This forever building on the foundation of previous discoveries is what separates mental exploration from physical or manual labor.  Manual labor only produces limited and temporary results, but the accumulation of knowledge through education can give you tools which can be used in many forms of application.  In other words, work and physical labor will give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day, but learning and education can equip a man with skills of how to fish.  Understanding “how to fish” is both a major benefit for the man himself and the rest of society.

Learning can allow us to become independent thinkers and have the chance to dig deeper in personal fields of interest; it can also further the overall development of man.  If we do not equip ourselves with the accumulated knowledge of the past, then all of our pursuits will be like running on a treadmill; no real progress will be made.

After establishing the importance of education, the next question would be how we should approach it.  But first, I would like to introduce (what I believe to be) the two major roots to human actions.

There are two main cases when we perform any action: we are pushed to do something by an outside force, or we are pulled towards it by a driving force within ourselves.   “X” is the goal  “O” is ourselves “–>” is a force

-> O X  this is the external force(parents, teachers) exerting their superior power “for our own good”

O -> X  this is the internal force of curiousity driving us toward our goal

When parents plan class after class for their children on the weekend, they are pushing their children towards education.  However, when we are drawn by curiosity to learning; that is the internal pull. In life, there are two types of rewards: the immediate and the eventual. When kids fail to see any immediate rewards from education, they rebel against it. As a result, many parents and teachers push them even harder, causing them to dislike education even more.  This eventually turns into an endless cycle which ends up frustrating everyone, and the kid does not make any progress. In less extreme cases, kids often learn to satisfy their parents’ requests, and so rely on others to encourage them and motivate them.  But when the time comes for them to make their own decisions, they discover they have no interest in learning and turn off the path. From these examples we can conclude that too much “push” from outer forces doesn’t benefit the student.

There is a Chinese saying, “Interest is the best teacher”.  So the best way to promote education would be for children to become interested in learning.  But waiting for children to find their own interest in education is too time-consuming, and children tend to veer off and find more enjoyable activities.  I believe parents should push their children to explore many different fields of activity and learning, to stimulate their curiosity, and to introduce the importance of education, but to allow them to motivate themselves afterward.

As an essential shaper of the future, education and its effective application is a highly discussed theme, so pitfalls and detours along the way are natural problems we must face.  For example, in recent years, education has been reduced to short-term rewards in the form of scores and points.

The grading system found in schools can show what happens when we focus on the details and not on the long run. When we try to find the most accurate grading system, we forget why comparing and contrasting are important in the first place.

I believe the creator of exams originally meant for them to be a useful tool to assess students on whether or not they have understood the material. But nowadays learning has regressed into a pursuit of points and marks; people have made quantitative results to be the sole purpose of education.  Parents and teachers encourage students to labor for a few more points, and many schools may list the students with the highest scores.

Although exams can be useful in many ways, scores and numbers can create a hallucinating effect on students.  Scores can’t really reflect everything about a student and how hard they work, and obsessing with a point or two is not necessary.  I believe time can be spent in much better ways.  After all, in the future, I don’t think any of us will remember what grades we received.

. From this example we can see that it is often easy to forget why learning is important in the first place and focus on what we can only see.

Education and ways of learning has played a major role in human history.   It sets the stage for future generations, so it can greatly influence how we will live tomorrow.  For this reason it has become an important subject in many parts of the world.  If we can make decisions concerning educational systems with learning’s original goal in mind, I believe the world would be better off relying on personal interest to spark exploration.  Like Diogenes Laertius once said, “The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”

Educational/school Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-being

naraginti amareswaran asked:

Educational/School Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-Being

 

 

Introduction

 

            Now we are living in the technological modern world. With the help of science and technology we have developed in all fields. India is a developing country. We have lot of human resources after China. But the literacy rate is very low when compared to other developed and developing countries in the world. India is a rich country, but Indians are poor. With the help of science and technology and by utilizing all sources in the proper way it is possible to India to become a developed country in the world. In the modern world people living with high tension. The student in schools and colleges are also living with high tension because of heavy competitions. It is necessary to introduce psychology as a general subject in all the classes both at school and college levels. Yoga and meditation is also necessary for each and every one in the world.

Definition of Education

Ø      Education is the learning of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them?

–        John Ruskin

Ø      Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it is his hands and at whom it is aimed.

                                                                                                    – Joseph Stalin

The word education is derived from the Latin educare, meaning “to raise”, “to bring up”, “to train”, “to rear”. Education means the gradual process of acquiring knowledge. Education is a preparation for life. Education is also defined as the profession of teaching (especially at a school or college or university).

Importance of Education

India is a union comprised of twenty eight states and seven Territories. The Constitution provides directives regarding the development of education throughout the country. The areas in which the respective central and state governments have domain have been identified in the Constitution as the central list, state list and concurrent list. Until the late 1970s, school education had been on the state list, which meant that states had the final say in the management of their respective school systems. However, in 1976, education was transferred to the concurrent list through a constitutional amendment, the objective being to promote meaningful educational partnerships between the central and state governments. Today, the central government establishes broad education policies for school curricula development and management practices. These serve as guidelines for the states.

 

Generally, at the start of a very young age, children learn to develop and use their mental, moral and physical powers, which they acquire through various types of education. Education is commonly referred to as the process of learning and obtaining knowledge at school, in a form of formal education. However, the process of education does not only start when a child first attends school. Education begins at home. One does not only acquire knowledge from a teacher; one can learn and receive knowledge from a parent, family member and even an acquaintance. In almost all societies, attending school and receiving an education is extremely vital and necessary if one wants to achieve success.

Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms “educational psychology” and “school psychology” are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment among the general population and sub-populations such as gifted children and those subject to specific disabilities

            Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks.

Uses of Educational Psychology

For finding Individual differences and Disabilities

            Each person has an individual profile of characteristics, abilities and challenges that result from learning and development. These manifest as individual differences in intelligence, creativity, cognitive style, motivation, and the capacity to process information, communicate, and relate to others. The most prevalent disabilities found among school age children are attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disability, dyslexia, and speech disorder. Less common disabilities include mental retardation, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and blindness.

Although theories of intelligence have been discussed by philosophers since Plato, intelligence testing is an invention of educational psychology, and is coincident with the development of that discipline. Continuing debates about the nature of intelligence revolve on whether intelligence can be characterized by a single, scalar factor (Spearman’s general intelligence), multiple factors (as in Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences), or whether it can be measured at all. In practice, standardized instruments such as the Stanford-Binet IQ test and the WISC are widely used in economically developed countries to identify children in need of individualized educational treatment. Children classified as gifted are often provided with accelerated or enriched programs. Children with identified deficits may be provided with enhanced education in specific skills such as phonological awareness.

 For Social, Moral and Cognitive Developemnt      

To understand the characteristics of learners in childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, educational psychology develops and applies theories of human development. Often cast as stages through which people pass as they mature, developmental theories describe changes in mental abilities (cognition), social roles, moral reasoning, and beliefs about the nature of knowledge.

For example, educational psychologists have researched the instructional applicability of Jean Piaget’s theory of development, according to which children mature through four stages of cognitive capability. Piaget hypothesized that children are not capable of abstract logical thought until they are older than about 11 years, and therefore younger children need to be taught using concrete objects and examples. Researchers have found that transitions, such as from concrete to abstract logical thought, do not occur at the same time in all domains. A child may be able to think abstractly about mathematics, but remain limited to concrete thought when reasoning about human relationships. Perhaps Piaget’s most enduring contribution is his insight that people actively construct their understanding through a self-regulatory process.

Piaget proposed a developmental theory of moral reasoning in which children progress from a naive understanding of morality based on behavior and outcomes to a more advanced understanding based on intentions. Piaget’s views of moral development were elaborated by Kohlberg into a stage theory of moral development. There is evidence that the moral reasoning described in stage theories is not sufficient to account for moral behavior. For example, other factors such as modeling (as described by the social cognitive theory of morality) are required to explain bullying.

Developmental theories are sometimes presented not as shifts between qualitatively different stages, but as gradual increments on separate dimensions. Development of epistemological beliefs (beliefs about knowledge) have been described in terms of gradual changes in people’s belief in: certainty and permanence of knowledge, fixedness of ability, and credibility of authorities such as teachers and experts. People develop more sophisticated beliefs about knowledge as they gain in education and maturity.

Psychology and Teacher

            Teacher is a national builder. He has a power to change the world through education. According to our Indians teacher is a third god. Teacher plays a prominet role in the development of society. Educational Psychology is a main subject in  teacher education at D.Ed., B.Ed., and M.Ed. levels. It is necessary for each and every teacher to know about psychology. Becausse it is necessary to know the behaviour of the students in the class. Teacher has different roles  like father, advisor, councellor, administrator and well wisher. The future of any country is in the hands of teachers. So it is necessary to give importance for teacher education. So our government introduced psychology subject in teacher education curriculum.

After undergoing the course, the student teacher

1)      Explains psychology and its relationship with Education.

2)      Classifies different branches of psychology and explains their significance.

3)      Explains the importance of heredity and environment and its influences in educational process.

4)      Explains the different aspects of the development of the child.

5)      Explains the growth and human beings and their behaviour.

6)      Describes the individual aspects of the development of the child.

7)      Explains the primary needs of the children.

8)      Explains the secondary needs of the children.

9)      Explains the theories of learning and the factors influencing learning.

10)  Explains the concept of socialization.

11)  Explains the different types of learning.

12)  Understands the concept of motivation and the steps to be taken to motivate the children.

13)  Explains attention and its uses.

14)  Develops skill of observation, listening, responding and understanding.

15)  Describes memory, remembering and forgetting and identifies conditions of good memory.

16)  Describes the effects of different methods used for learning process.

17)  Explains thinking process and its uses-perception, conception, apperception for different ages.

18)  Explains the role of creativity and its development.

19)  Explains the meaning of intelligence and understands the changing concept of intelligence.

20)  Enhances personality development of pupils.

21)  Describes the mental hygiene and mental health.

22)  Understands exceptional children and their significance.

23)  Practices guidance and counseling for school pupils.

Conclusion

          Educational psychology is an application of the principles of psychology for effective learning and modification of behaviour on desirable dimensions.  Knowledge of educational psychology makes a teacher effective in motivating the pupils in their learning.  In short it is an inseparable part of strategy in education. Education gives knowledge, wealth and health. Education is a solution for all types of problems in the society. Through education only it is possible overall development of a person in the society. Through education it is easy to know about behavour of the students and persons in the society with the help of psychology. So it is necessary to study psychology all persons in the society in the modern world. Educational Psychology helps the overall development of the student.

References

1. Educational psychology a cognitive view by Asubel, D.P. 

2..Element of educational psychology by Bhatia, H.R. 

3. Psychology applied to teaching by Bichler, R.F. 

4. Educational psychology by Cole, E.C. and Bruce, W.F.

5. http:/ www.google.com

 

 

*****