All of us go through the stages of compulsory education irrespective of our country of origin, from pre-school, to primary school, to lower and upper levels of secondary education. Most of us advance our studies to tertiary education, obtaining a minimum diploma certification, while some achieve greater milestones such as doctorates.
The education system plays a significant role in shaping various aspects of an individual. Top of the list, parents send their youngsters to school to build their academic and cognitive strengths, to equip them with the survival skills necessary to compete or even outperform in this competitive century. Ideally, the education system’s major responsibility lies in extracting the maximum potential in the youngsters by providing stimulating environments that will strengthen the neuron pathways in their young malleable brains. Social skills and emotional management are also associated goals that parents are targeting to achieve when they send their youngsters to school. So these few aspects have somewhat become the perceived KPIs imposed onto the education system.
Have you considered the value of attending school these days, especially in building our current workforce? Have you thought about whether learning experiences at school have contributed to your current career milestones? Undeniably the education system builds our cognitive abilities and hones the right skills for our future career. With these strong capabilities, we gain a competitive advantage to enjoy a lucrative portion of the salary pie and stand up above the average.
The American workforce has long been standing in the eyes of the world – globally envied, held in high regard and viewed as probably the most outstanding workforce in the world. We have frequently regarded the “top” and “best” to the American workforce: standing at technology forefront, being most well-educated from the world’s top colleges and universities, top performing workforce with highly valued skills and competencies. Is that a myth or reality? The U.S. could take pride in owning the world’s best-educated workforce from its Top Ivy League universities such as Harvard, Yale and MIT, however, only when dated back in the 20th century, as universities in other countries have begun to join the global frontier of quality education. Thirty years ago, the U.S. could claim to be the leader in producing college graduates – 30% of the world’s population of college students. However this is no longer true as other countries have surpassed the U.S. in providing the equivalent, if not better, higher education to their (future) workforce. According to the National Center on Education and The Economy, today, the proportion of the U.S. college graduates has fallen to 14% and is observed to continue in a declining trend.
How do the U.S. working adults fare in critical cognitive skills?
The results from the world’s most comprehensive adult skills exam by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.) came out in early October 2013. The report revealed staggering statistics about this once-admirable American workforce. About 160,000 individuals between 16 to 65 years old from 22 advanced nations were assessed on their literacy, mathematic skills and problem-solving using information technology. Contrary to popular belief of the superiority of the American workforce, the report highlights that:
- Americans possess literacy skills that are far below the top performers.
- About one in three Americans scored at the lowest level of proficiency for problem solving in technology-rich environments.
- Ironically, mathematics – a highly valued skill in the workforce – is the Americans’ biggest area of deficit.
The U.S. was one of the first countries to establish world-class higher education institutions. The quality and reputation of these institutions have drawn the interest of students around the world who yearn to be qualified by these institutions. American universities have long been considered the factories of the world’s best and elite graduates. Thus, isn’t it alarming to know that the Americans performed below the international average on these three basic yet critical abilities? This immediately strikes us to ask: How much value does the current education system bring to us?
What are those numbers telling us?
Potentially, there is a need to revisit and revamp the current education system to identify any area that could be improved or needs our attention to redress and rectify immediately.
While the education system – a formal system of skills, knowledge and learning transmission operating within a community – is highly respected in producing literates and supplying talents to every corner of the world, unfortunately, statistics indicate that literacy skills are depreciating among the people and quality talent supply is shrinking. Thus, it is questionable whether the existing education system is relevant when measured against the optimum learning approach and the skills demand of the workforce. It is enlightening to learn from the extensive research of neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists, precisely how our complex brain is likely to contribute to learning. Learning engages our entire physiology. In parallel with Gestalt Psychology’s Principle of Totality, the collective interactions of cognitive stimulation, physical development and emotional state affect how our brain receives and perceives information, which in turn, contributes to our learning experience. Additionally, students, nowadays, continuously seek for and build understanding as well as actively select their preferred learning mode and information. They are now known as active agents interacting with the learning sphere, instead of the old paradigm of passive learners waiting to be spoon-fed. In line with his vision of the brain – a jungle in which systems interact continuously in a chaotic fashion, Gerald Edelman (chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at Scripps Research Institute and 1972 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology) also suggests that learners have a natural tendency to learn and they would thrive in an environment filled with multiple sensory, cultural and problem layers.
The effectiveness and relevance of the education system must be appraised based on available data such as research insights, students’ learning style and interest, business needs analysis, in order to meet the nation’s economic demand and not forgetting the context for optimum learning. Finland, who now has the best education system in the world, has been through a slow and steady reform process that is aligned to Finnish economic transformation strategies. The development of a unified and comprehensive education system is able to address the workforce needs and ensure the holistic development of children with customised learning opportunities. A few exemplary initiatives in the Finnish education system include:
- The Finnish government prepares an education development plan quadrennially to ensure constant adaptation to the country’s changing needs
- Implemented teacher education restructuring where teachers are subsidised to obtain a master’s degree and are provided with opportunities for professional development to ensure quality teaching force
- Schools own curriculum autonomy while teachers own classroom autonomy
- No homework is assigned as it is assumed that mastery is achieved in classroom; fewer hours are spent in the classroom; more time in outdoor curriculum
- High parental involvement
The success of our education system in alignment to the nation’s economic strategies signifies the quality of talent supply that will hold the fort in the nation’s future growth. Thus, evidently, the depreciation of literate skills will have a catastrophic impact on our workforce and economy. Some critical issues which need our immediate action to examine:
- To nurture and maximise potential talent, do you think that the current education system lends enough support? Taking the baton from the educators, how can organisations continue to develop talent?
- Is your current education system designed to enhance students’ learning experiences and accelerate their learning, knowing what we know about how the individual learns?
- Do the policy makers in your country integrate the education system as part of the nation’s social and economic strategies?
- Most importantly, how does the education system impact talents who are entering the workforce and hence the quality of the workforce?
Complexity is the new norm and change is the only constant. How well-equipped a workforce is will determine how fast moving a nation will be. We ought to rethink the value of the education system and its impact on our future workforce.