My Experience with Education and Development:

1. Structure: Overall the structure of the class included a paper, three blog posts, a presentation, two tests, and a photo voice project. The paper allowed us to focus in on a particular issue of interest of us and present what we found to the class. I think that this project was the most valuable aspect of the class because it made us learn about a new issue and reflect on that issue critically. The blog posts were a great idea because they made sure that we stayed on top of the readings, a little more structure to the requirements for the blogs would have been helpful. Maybe one option to consider would be having the blogs be just in response to readings and everyone is assigned a different reading since the course is reading heavy. As for the tests, I think that there should only be a midterm and the final should have been our country issue project. The photo voice project was a good idea, but maybe starting it earlier and having the pictures incorporated into reading responses would be clearer.

2. Content: The Shields book chosen for the class was good and complimented the lectures well; however, Verger was a little more lengthy and without in depth conversation in class it was hard to prioritize the readings assigned. As for lectures, I like the discussion based style. More guided questions and clearer class topics would improve the course.

3. Atmosphere: Jessica made the class an inviting space to share ideas and think critically about the issues we were discussing. I would not change the teaching style at all, just the organization of the material.

4. Conclusion: Overall I would recommend this course to other students. The discussion based classroom style made the course a lot more engaging than a traditional lecture based class. The reading’s could have been incorporated more and the structure of assignments and the course needs improvement; however, the class in whole is a great experience.

The Top 5: Your Inside Look Into World Education

1. World Education Blog’s top article for this week was an EFA report entitled “We will never eradicate poverty without quality education for all”. It assesses the need for education by citing statistics about world poverty levels being at 21% and claims that education leads to economic growth which gets people out of poverty. 

One critique that could be applied to this article’s logic is its assumption that education leads to poverty reduction. Although education often gives people  more opportunities, the Western focus of education often leads individuals to pursue work outside of their country. This leads to less economic growth domestically and more growth internationally, which  does not always link to poverty reduction for the country in question.

http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/we-will-never-eradicate-poverty-without-quality-education-for-all/

2. “Why Girls’ Education Matters” by EFA report spotlights the impact of education on girls. According to the report 30 million primary school aged girls do not have access to education. The report continues to highlight the role education has been shown to have on reducing childhood arranged marriages, teenage pregnancies, and infant mortality rates.

While education can be a tool for the social advancement of girls, I think it is important to note that it does not always lead to social change. Some regimes choose to segregate girls and boys education and/or implement stricter laws against the types of education girls can receive.

http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/why-girls-education-matters/

3. “Spotlight on Nigeria’s Education Crisis” by Pauline Rose looks at the issues within Nigeria’s education system and the efforts to solve them. 10.5 school aged children do not have access to education in Nigeria, which has led to a illiteracy problem effecting over half the population. They blame this phenomenon on high education costs coupled with high poverty rates in the country. UNICEF programs are working to reduce these numbers.

In questions of literacy rates, we must not focus only on children’s literacy. Adult literacy education is just as important because literate parents are better able to ensure their children’s literacy.

http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/spotlight-on-nigerias-education-crisis/

4. “The Teacher Led Push for Quality Education” by Fred van Leeuwen, general secretary of Education International looks at the global effort to ensure accessible primary schooling worldwide. Education International has sent out 30 million teachers to countries in need of staff. Primary schooling has affected the lives of 10% additional students since 2000.

While it is great that there is an emphasis on sending international teachers into countries that lack quality education, it is important that these teachers are knowledgable of the local culture. All too often culture is lost or put at a lower priority when teachers are not from the country they are teaching in.

http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/the-teacher-led-push-for-quality-education/

5.”New Partnerships are Needed to Improve Education Worldwide” by EFA report suggests that education programs should be a global effort. The report looks at the large number of children out of school and suggests that countries join together to organize education programs with countries in need of them and multilateral organizations working to promote education access.

Global efforts to increase education are great; however, regional efforts are more likely to have knowledge of the best options for individual countries within their region. Giving regional leaders and parents more of a say in how education systems are implemented will increase quality and lead to better prepared students.

http://efareport.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/new-partnerships-are-needed-to-improve-learning-worldwide/

The documentary “Schooling the World” highlights some key issues about the imposing of Western education values on other societies. One story that is told in this documentary is that of a community where students, just like here in the United States, are pressured into obtaining a University level education. Upon completing this education, however, they are not equip with the skills necessary to participate in their native economy. What the underlying message of this example is, though, may not be clear to someone at first glance. It is not just that we are providing people with the wrong skills, we are creating a cultural hierarchy that assumes Western values are not only universally applicable but morally correct. This cultural imperialism is problematic for three main reasons: it prevents the preservation of non-Western culture, creates an unfair advantage for Western economies in the global market, and justifies unequal treatment of people in the societies that the West is “educating”.

When we go into countries to provide education, the motives are usually good. However, in practice we end up neglecting to appreciate the value of the culture that we are entering in to and truly understanding what they want out of the arrangement. Instead of insisting that the Western way of teaching is the best way to educate people, we should instead try to understand what skills are useful to the local economy and culture and create a curriculum based upon that. This would solve for the issue of people being unable to apply the knowledge they gain from Western schooling and preserve the traditional culture without implying value judgments about what culture is superior.

The next problem with the current education system is that the skills that it provides people with are catered to Western businesses and organizations. This creates generations of people who are tools of Western economic development rather than unique contributes to the economy. When graduates are not able to enter into their local economies, they often look to relocation to gain employment. This not only takes away the most skilled workers from the native area but completely undermines the philanthropic aspect of Western educators going in to these areas to begin with.

Finally, the most detrimental impact of the Western education system abroad is that it justifies human rights violations. When we go in to an area and teach their children that they should reject their culture and accept this Western value system, we are inherently creating a cultural hierarchy. This hierarchy justifies discrimination based on where you were born and other factors that are not controllable to an individual. It creates two choices: either you conform to the Western system and slowly work your way up in the cultural hierarchy or you choose to not conform and are viewed as disposable. This is the biggest reason why we need to reform the current education system.

Overall we can see that the way we are educating other cultures is wrong. Solving this issue of the way in which we do education abroad is the first step to solving the bigger issue of people viewing one culture as superior to others. We all have a role to play in this, recognize the cultural imperialism promoted by the United States and reject it. This takes the form of changing the way that you talk about other countries and promoting discourse that frames other countries as part of our global community rather than deviant. If we can change that view in ourselves and in future generations then one day we will see a world where the norm is to appreciate diversity rather than homogony.

Marlaina L. Isbell