FACTORS
INFLUENCING NATIONAL SYASTEMS OF EDUCATION.
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Objectives
After you
have read this chapter you should be able to;
i)
Identify the factors that influence National Systems of Education.
ii)
Analyze the factors that influence National System of Education.
iii)
Evaluate how these factors impact on the educational system of your country.
Introduction
A
national system of education is often defined from the perspective of formal
education system. This includes institutionalized formal education from early
childhood education, primary education, secondary education, tertiary education
and university education. The informal and non-formal education subsets are
often assumed to be part of the formal education and if not ignored altogether,
they are given little attention. However, it is important the national
educational system should be wholly inclusive of all the subsets of the
educational system, that is, formal, informal and non-formal education.
In light
of this simple understanding of a national system of education, it is important
to note that, behind every system of education, there are factors or features
that determine or influence and hence shape each one of the system. However,
the national character of a given system of education is never determined by
one factor, but rather a combination and interweaving of several factors. Some
factors are dominant in one particular system while in another system, they
would be less dominant. Consequently national factors of a country are closely
related with nationalism and national system of education. As such, in the
study of comparative education we should study the factors which make the
education of a country national. These factors include geographical, economic,
social, cultural, historical, religions, political, language and technological.
In this chapter we shall study some such factors;
1)
Geographical Factors.
The
geography of any particular place is often natural, which means that it is undefined
by man. Man in this respect ought to behave in accordance with the geography
and nature in particular. In this regard the education system cum school system
is influenced by the geography of the particular region. By and large the
geography of a particular area dictates the type of building and equipment,
means and methods of transporting children to school, school going age of
pupils among others. However, there are three major geographical aspects that
influence the educational system directly. These are, climatic conditions,
population distribution and land configuration. In regard to climatic
conditions they influence the system of education in terms of ,content of
education depend on the continental climate, for example, training of doctors
in the tropics is likely to emphasize more on tropical disease like malaria.
Extreme low temperatures in Continental Europe, affects accessibility to school
by young children. Temperatures also affect the time at which schools can
reasonably begin in the morning and when they end. In Norway, for example, the
sun does not rise during winter until ten o'clock in the morning and often
temperatures fall to negative 20 degrees. Thus in the Scandinavian countries
there are no infant schools or early childhood education departments in some
schools because of extreme temperatures. Climatic conditions also influence the
education system in relation to time of vacations. In North America and many
countries in Europe take school vacations during cold winter and others during
hot summer. In hot climatic conditions especially experienced in arid and
semi-arid areas, learning often takes place during morning hours when it is
cool. When it is hot in the afternoon very little learning takes place due to
excessive heat.
In regard
to population distribution, which is often as a result of geographical
influence also affects the educational system. Generally worldwide, population
is either concentrated in the urban centers, or scattered in the country side.
For example Australia has two systems of education, that is, one for the urban
areas and the other for rural areas. In the urban areas there are well-equipped
schools with adequately qualified teachers and administrative personnel. While
in the rural areas, schools are small with one teacher for ten up to forty
students. This is because farms are far from the nearest schools and daily
attendance is difficult. Therefore the central government is responsible for
their administration and financing. The government also provides the means and
organization of correspondence, tuition and traveling teachers. As such most
students receive education through correspondence and occasional visits by the
traveling education inspectors.
In regard
to land configuration, this also influences the education system in terms of
architectural structure of farm houses, school buildings, village location and
also the whole way of life and thinking of people because of the rigours of the
climate, in some cases, because of closeness of family ties, boarding schools
for children are non-existence, except for the few who come from far and
inaccessible places on daily basis. By and large land configuration determines
settlement and location of schools.
2)
Economic Factors.
The type
of education largely depends on the economic strength of any country. Also the
economic factor determines the content and method of an education system. It is
important to note that formal education is often possible where production
exceeds consumption. In indigenous traditional education people were trained
depending on the economic conditions and needs of the community. From an
economic perspective, expenditure on education refers to the amount or
percentage of national revenue spent on education by both individuals and the
government. If the economic condition is poor, education becomes backward in
many aspects while if the economy of a country is strong, then educational aims
and the curriculum are given a special direction for making the country
prosperous. For example, in the USA and Japan, education system is patterned so
as to make the individual graduate, strong and capable enough to stand on his
or her own feet after having received education. While in India, college and
university graduate do not know where to go after completing their education
and most of the students continue to stay on in the university as long as they
can so that one can post pone for a few years the problem of the educated -
unemployed.
Another
economic influence on education is that, the poorer classes in communities tend
to be content with minimum education for their children, and the richer classes
are known to be able to keep their children longest at school because they can
afford to meet the costs. In a subsistence economy, that is, one is which people
are just able to make ends meet, educational systems tend to be informal
occurring on the job. On the contrary, where there are enough grants in systems
of education, minimum requirements are met and thus the quality of education is
often high. For example, Britain, France, Japan and the USA among other strong
economy countries, they provide enough grants that are allocated to their
systems of education; actually they have enough funds to support all
educational programmes in their education systems. Unlike the case of
developing countries, where funds are very scarce, which affects even payment
of teachers salaries, essential resource materials such as textbooks are not
adequate and in some cases not even available. As such, this greatly affects
the nature of the systems of education in terms of the content and methods in
learning institutions and in essence the whole system of education.
In this
regard, the growth of the capacities of individual citizens and national
development is of great importance. In fact, the education system should be
such that, it provides opportunities for the maximum development of each
citizen. The aim here is to ensure that the wealth of the nation is not
concentrated in the hands of a few capitalists who manage to attain some level
of education. It is actually by developing individuals that the overall growth
of the nation can be guaranteed. At the same time, there should be no-class
distinction in the planning of education that should be permitted, because this
results in neglect of the education of other more capable citizens. If this
happens it often results in social disparities and in the long run weakens the
nation. Proper planning of the education system also calls for the
establishment of a proper national character, which if it lacks, then the
necessary leadership and co-operation of the people will also be lacking. Lack
of a proper national character, means that the national education system will
not be able to realize its objectives. Consequently, with good leadership and
people's cooperation, there is much that can be achieved even when adequate
economic resources are wanting. Thus, there is evidence to show that there is a
very close relationship between economic security and the national system of
education of any country.
3) The
Social and Cultural Factor.
Schools
at large often and closely reflect the social patterns prevailing in a
particular country. As such the education system is usually seen as a social
factor which must reflect the ethos of the people that it serves. In this
regard, it is the prime aim of education to ensure cultural continuity through
fostering the growth and development of national characteristics that often act
as stabilizing forces. In its simplest definition a culture of a society is the
total way of life of the society. Every society consist of human beings and in
whatever state they find themselves they always have some kind of educational
system. This form of education of the society will always strive to perpetuate
and protect its traditions and aspirations. As such a close study and analysis
of each education system will always reveal the cultural concept and pattern of
the community in question. Also the social patterns of the people in any
particular community or country are reflected in its system of education.
It is
important to realize that the culture of the people often changes at a slow
pace. In each culture, there are certain values which are not affected by time
and place, for example, faith in God, love for truth and non-violence and the
ideal of universal motherhood and justice are the permanent values of many
cultures of the world. However, radical reforms in a society may be slowed down
or blocked at the level of implementation because of the cultural lag. In
African the various projects for educational reform does indicate that there
has been basic cultural charges in the life of a people from the colonial
period into the post independence period. In many countries of the world today,
changes have occurred in the attitude of the youngsters towards their elders,
for example students do not show due respect to their teacher as students did
some twenty five or thirty years ago. The teachers also now care more for the
increments, in their salaries and other allowances then for teaching. In many
meetings of teachers, there is more talk of groupism, backbiting and salaries,
than of students' welfare. In some circles, guardians and parents also do not
respect teachers as they did before. All these and others are a clear indication
that the relations between parents and children, sisters and brothers, husband
and wife, masters and servants and between many other units of society have
undergone great changes. Thus, we have begun to discard many old mores and
modes and are adopting more liberal attitudes. As such time and place have been
changing many elements of culture and as a result it is being reflected in the
education system in various ways.
Another
view of cultural and social change is in the reshaping of the educational machinery
to make for equality of educational opportunity for all. This has led to the
widening of the school curriculum and increased emphasis on the importance of
the right kind of technical educational for the new technological age. As a
result, the old dichotomy between a liberal and a technical education is slowly
broken down and the social distinctions which existed mainly because of that
divide have become of no consequence and has been minimized with time. In this
regard therefore, it is necessary to develop love for one's own culture through
the education system because it strengthens nationalism. In order to make the
country strong and prosperous, the spirit of nationalism must be nurtured. In
each country there are various types of communities, classes, castes, and
interests and due to the lack of national feelings many people ignore national
interests. In many cases minorities are suspicious about the majority and in
certain contexts this may be true of the majority as well. This makes it
necessary to inculcate love for the country's culture and especially through
the adoption of a national system of education.
4) The
Historical Factor.
Each
country of the world has its own history that shapes the nations aims,
aspirations, activities and destiny. This is often reflected through the
educational system. Colonialism has been an important historical factor that
can be said to have shaped the education system of many African countries and
others in the world. For example, the Berlin conference in 1815 was dabbed the
scramble for Africa. At this conference the European powers shared African
states like a cake. This latter meant that; the colonies had to take up much of
what was in their colonial masters homeland and to date features in education
of these former colonial master are reflected in their former colonies.
The
missionary factor also contributed a great deal in shaping the systems of
education in most African countries. Christian missionaries in particular from
Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and USA among others, have
largely influenced the development of the education system in Africa. In this
regard, the present systems of education in many countries of Africa, Asia,
North and South America are actual products of past colonial influence. As
such, most of these countries in their present endeavors in education represent
in most cases, heroic efforts of their colonial heritage.
Another
historical element is manifest between periods in history when attempts were
made to try and bring together groups within close geographical boundaries, for
example, East Africa, South Africa, West Africa and North Africa. A close look
at these groups reflects features in their systems of education that tend to
have similarities. While on the other hand, historically there have been
struggles for the creation of national states, with each state wanting to have
its own unique national identity. The national factors of these countries often
show differences that are reflected in their education system. As such,
similarities and differences of education systems all over the world have a
history behind them.
5.
Political Factor
The
political philosophy which controls the government of a country often has its
inevitable impact on education. The political factor dictates the kind of
administration the system of education will have. They also underlie the
features in education system and the functioning of the same. For example, the
fundamental ideas of socialism as a political philosophy were about the exploitation
of labour by capital and this resulted in class mass. As a political
philosophy, socialism recognizes property as the basis of the economic
structure of the state which results in the concentration of civil and legal
power in the hands of the property owning class. Socialism advocates for the
nationalization of the means of production; where owners of means of production
do not work and workers who produce do not own anything. A change of such a
social order can only be achieved with reform in education. This would be
through a state mechanism with full control of education and the curriculum and
this means that the citizens must be trained by the state, for the state and in
state institutions. In such cases, the details of the curriculum are often decided
by the state authorities and involve functional training of citizens. The
curriculum may also involve scientific training for social utilization
purposes.
Good
examples of countries that have introduced a socialist system of education are
Mexico, Bulgaria and Cuba. The common features of their education system
include monopoly of the state control on education, secularism, physical and
military training political indoctrination in and out of school and also more
emphasis on science subjects. In these states, freedom of individuals and the
idea of tolerance are not accepted. Unlike these countries, France has a
centralized system of education based on its political philosophy. In France,
everything to do with education is controlled from the centre (metropole) which
is the central government. In the case of USA and Japan, their education
systems are highly decentralized, and are often based on the democratic
influence and the capitalistic political philosophy of these countries.
There is
also a close relationship between the national character and the national
system of education. For example, the national character of USA is democratic
as such its education system is democratic in most of its aspects. Nationalism
also as a political ideology influences the system of education in a country.
Nationalism could be defined as a psychological feeling within a group which
believes they have common outlook and traditions based on myth of common
ancestry. These common ancestries include race, language, religion and
territory and often strengthen the consciousness of nationality. The racial
aspect which is often within the political ideology of a country may play a
significant role in determining features in the education system. Race refers
to a tribe, a nation or a group of nations. Modern population includes people
of different racial origins. The British colonial policy was based on the
principle of decentralization and on the building up of a commonwealth of
nations each of which should be free to develop its own culture and national
character. Hence there is a close relationship between national character and
national system of education and the former has been universally accepted as an
important basis of national system of education. Thus the political system of a
country is closely related with its educational programme.
6)
Language Factor
Many
languages may be spoken in a country, but only one enjoys the status of a
national language. In every country the national language occupies a special
place. Also every government tries to ensure that every one acquires the
capacity to express himself through the national language. Without one's own
national language, no country can be said to be strong.
Language
in itself is a symbol of the people. Each community or group has an original
language of its own which often suits its environment and stage of cultural
development. It is through language that individuals become members of a
community and this is important in building the national character. Through the
native language, the child has the first expression of himself/herself and the
world. However, in the modern world today, there is increasing use of foreign
language especially in the school system. This requires a child before entering
school to learn the foreign language. In most cases, before entering school the
child acquires proficiency in mother tongue or native language and in so doing
builds up vocabulary covering most of the objects of sense, impression and
daily activities. This means using a different and a foreign language in school
system means superimposing on this basis a language of ideas expressed entirely
in a foreign medium and this often poses a problem to the learners.
In East
Africa, Kiswahili has slowly influenced features in the education systems in
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Kiswahili is a compulsory subject
in primary schools in Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanzania Kiswahili is used as a
medium of instruction in all primary schools. In South Africa, there are two
linguistic groups, the English speaking and the Africans speaking groups. After
the colonization by the British, English was enacted as a medium of instruction
in schools. The inhabitants spoke Afrikaans and had been used to the Dutch
school system. The use of English failed and in 1914 Afrikaans was recognized
also as a medium of instruction in school for African speaking children. As
such, in a South Africa, a bilingual system of education came into being, where
some schools use English, while others use Afrikaans or even both.
French as
a language is also used in former French colonies like Cameroon, Tunisia,
Madagascar, Senegal, Rwanda and Burundi. Cameroon also emerges as a bilingual
country with two official languages and two systems of education, that is, the
Anglophone to the West and Francophone to the East. Although the Cameroon
government has been trying to put the two zones together it has proved to
remain difficult. Interestingly the ex-British Anglophone system of education
continues to produce local syllabuses with the aim of making secondary school
examination; the ex-French francophone system still clings firmly on the old
and move formal baccalaureate.
By end
large in Africa colonialism influenced the language of instruction in schools.
In the former British colonies, pupils were taught in their vernacular in the
lower elementary or primary school curriculum. The French colonies put more
emphasis on French as a medium of instruction. To date most of the inherited
systems of education still suffer from the effect of the colonial masters in
the school system and at large in the education system. Thus the place of
national language in the development of a national feeling cannot be
over-emphasized. As such in a national system of education, special emphasis is
placed on the study of national language.
7)
Religious Factor
Religious
loyalties also dictate aims, content and even methods of instruction in
education. Indeed, religion and beliefs have also been known to influence and
shape aspects in education system.
In
Africa, European Christian Missionaries did influence and continue to influence
the education system. The initiative taken by the Christian churches to extend
education and their power to control development often explains many of the
common elements which can be discerned in education systems in countries that
were colonized by the Europeans. For examples schools days are from Monday to
Friday and resting days are Saturday and Sunday. This is more so because some
people have their worship days as Saturday and others on Sunday.
Religious
organizations have also been and are still involved in educational development
through building of educational institutions. For example, the catholic Jesuits
succeeded in building up some of the greatest systems of secondary and higher
education institution known in history. There is currently a catholic
university establish in Kenya besides many catholic sponsored primary and
secondary schools. The Muslim faithful also have their own establish
institutions of learning as well as other religious groups such as the Hindus,
Buddhists.
In
Africa, the present systems of education have been influenced by the work which
was initiated by European Christian missionaries who included Catholics,
Protestant and Muslim. All these have influenced features in the education
system in the areas, they occupied. Most current is that the primary and
secondary curriculums have religious subjects being taught in schools in Kenya.
8)
Technological Factors
Technological
changes cannot also be ignored in education. Technology and especially modern
technology also influence the education system of the country. Historically,
emphasis on industrial and technical education followed the industrial
revolution. Technology affects the type of education as well as the means of
instruction.
With the
emergence of computer technology, internet technology, this has
revolutionalised the whole education system especially in the developed
countries. Through information communication technology, home learning has been
made possible. Universities are also adopting projects like AUV and e-learning.
Today the influence of technology in education cannot be ignored. Indeed the
challenge is for the educational administrators and policy makers to see to it
that the right infrastructure is in place in order to allow the use of
information communication technology fully and be able to reap its maximum
benefits in the education system especially in the developing world.
Chapter
Review
i)
Identify factors that shape and influence education systems of the world. ii)
Explain how any of these factors have shaped the education system of your
country.
