What is the Purpose of Education? What are your Pedagogical Beliefs?

Tsang (2013, p.168) identifies “education as a production process in which inputs (such as students teachers and textbooks) are combined to yield desired outputs (such as student learning).” This Neoliberal perception reinforces education’s purpose of producing measurable outcomes and manufacturing an education system purely for consumerism (Tsang, 2013). Likewise, Lessing (2007, p.16) underpins that individuals “are being molded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society.” Therefore, Lessing (2007) reinforces the societies dominant ideology of discourse and how students are made to fit into the existing, contemporary, educational system. Although, change needs to be made (Lessing, 2007), Alexander (2007) disputes the need for change or the necessity of fabricating critical thinkers.

“Pedagogy is... twisted into a kind of ‘service’. The pressure to raise standards can lead to transmission type teaching, to atomised skills which are amenable to measurement and to the proliferation of learning outcomes which can be enumerated and audited” (Alexander, 2007, p.104).

However, Burke and Burbules (1999) outline their viewpoint of critical thinking and how critical pedagogy symbolises a threshold between teaching critically and instructing. Therefore, educating individuals to think critically enables them to form their own conclusions (Burke and Burbules, 1999). Yet, critical pedagogy appears to devise precariously close prejudgments of what those conclusions must be. In contrast, Lessing’s (2007), solitary belief is that all students will go through the process of being indoctrinated. After all, there is no existing system that is not an arrangement of indoctrination (Lessing, 2007). Nonetheless, Burke and Burbules (1999) suggest that individuals must be brought to criticality and this can only occur by alerting them to the social conditions that have brought this about. Therefore, critical thinking should not state how to think politically but a sentiment to teach how to think critically. However, Lessing (2007) identifies zero hopefulness in schools as it remains educating an amalgam of current prejudice and choices of this precise culture.

Essentially, education can be classified as the knowledge consumed from individuals, this is then accrued by pupils once they have studied gratified areas in school (Dewey, 2004). Moreover, Wiercinsky (2011) distinguishes the purpose of education as correcting and converting individuals’ self-understanding. The gratification of relationships is reinforced as this positively impacts on the quality of human life (Wiercinski, 2011). Therefore, associating every human being as spiritual, whilst longing for love, honesty, beauty and contentment, results in a decrease in educations role to transfer knowledge in the development of marketable skills. Although, Wiercinski (2012), confirms it is widespread in our success driven society, it remains a terminal mistake. However, Dewey and Ross (1983), secure that attainment is crucial in education and fixed guidelines must be followed to exceed achievement in schools. An individual requires this direction of change in their quality of experiences, as a student’s unique growth is the only moral ‘end’ to educations role (Dewey and Ross, 1983). Therefore, schoolings outcome remains as the “Process of preparing students for the needs of global corporations and for success in free-market economies” (Dewey, 2004).

Alternatively, my pedagogical beliefs conform to Noddings' (2012) who argues, that amongst a democratic society the principal purpose of education is to construct considerate citizens who can act cautiously and independently form wise choices. As a result, this corresponds with the conception of education being a social procedure and purpose as there can be no definite meaning until we define the type of society in mind (Dewey, 1916). In comparison, Friere (2014) conforms to the perception of society profoundly impacting on education, as the atmosphere of the home environment is prolonged in school. Consequently, at home-based encounters students discover early on that in order to achieve any satisfaction, a necessity is to adjust to the principles which have been established from above (Friere, 2014). One of these instructions in not to think (Friere, 2014), however, Wiercinski (2011, p.114) predominantly argues that “education cannot be manufactured and should not aim at producing something measurable.”

My pedagogical beliefs and thoughts

“Education should be about individual development and fulfilment. All citizens will be able to take a more active part in social life resulting in tolerance of the views of others. This will lead to a ‘better’ and more just society” (Bartlett and Burton, 2016, p.24).

Furthermore, an area of significant focus should include broadening students' knowledge in preparation for the ‘real world.’ This involves making sense of other cultures and being made aware of surroundings not only in the UK but across the globe (Bartless and Burton, 2016).Therefore, an example of this includes teaching foreign languages and international geography. Additionally, in education it is crucial to adapt to the access of technology (Selwyn, 2011). Digital competency should be made an area of priority in the curriculum and taken full advantage of by students and teachers (Selwyn, 2011). Similarly, Donaldson (2015) agrees with the importance of incorporating technology in primary education, as his new curriculum design has made digital competency one of 
 three cross-curricular subjects to drive the curriculum in Wales. The access available to students online includes an explicit range of sources, information and software’s that should not be taken for granted (Selwyn, 2011). However, there are many areas which should be made a priority in the primary education curriculum  to discover children’s unique selves and individual capabilities. As a result, cross curricula pedagogy is an excellent way for students to learn through exciting projects, whilst practicing skills (e.g. teamwork), as well as progressing there mind set in a range of subjects (Noddings, 2013; Donaldson, 2015).

Key Points:

·  Emotional attachment is vital for pupil's engagement to learning

·  Creative and innovative learning styles should be enhanced

·  Process made by any student should be measured in order to develop

· In education relation to the real world doesn’t always exist. 

And so, what is the point if it is not relevant to life?

In conclusion, Schaull (1999, p.5) emphasises “There is no such thing as a neutral education process.” As a result, educations purpose acts as a tool to enable the integration of generations, into the logic of the contemporary system and outline conformism to it (Schaull, 1999). In comparison, Yang and Damasio (2007), agree that when educating children significant concentration remains with logical reasoning skills and factual knowledge which are considered the supreme indicators of educational accomplishment. Alternatively, individuals can become the ‘practice of freedom’, suggesting both men and women think critically in reality and encounter how to contribute in the alteration of their world (Schaull, 1999). Likewise, “understanding is not a resigned ideal of human experience...understanding is the original characteristic of the being of human life itself” (Gadamer, 2004, p.260).

However, I agree with this approach being problematic as neither learning nor recollection occurs in a morally coherent domain because of the disconnection of emotion as more or less of our knowledge will ultimately purify into a reasonably rational, unemotional form (Yang and Damasio, 2007). Consequently, educating students to diminish the emotional aspects of their academic curriculum and operate in the rational domain results in teachers influencing pupils to progress the sorts of knowledge that fundamentally do not transfer satisfactory to practical, real-life situations (Yang and Damasio, 2007).

Reference List

Alexander, J. (2007) 'The uncreating word': some ways not to teach English. In Ellis, V.,Fox, C. and Street, B. (Eds), Rethinking English in Schools, London: Continuum, 102-116

Burbules, N.C., & Berk, R. (1999). Critical thinking and critical pedagogy: Relations, differences, and limits. Critical theories in education: Changing terrains of knowledge and politics, 45-65.

Bartlett, S. and Burton, D. (2016) An Introduction to Education Studies. Sage: London, p.24.

Dewey, J. (2004). Democracy and education. New York: Courier Corporation.


Dewey, J., & Ross, R. G. (1983). The Middle Works, 1899-1924: 1921-1922 (Vol. 13). SIU press.

Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales, pp. 39-40.

Freire, P. (2014). Pedagogy of hope: Reliving pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gadamer, H. G. (1977). Philosophische Lehrjahre E. Rückschau.


Yang, M. and Damasio, A. (2007). We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(1), pp.3-10.


Lessing, D., & Darling, S. (2007). The golden notebook. London: The Fourth Estate.

Noddings, N. (2013). Education and democracy in the 21st century. New York: Teachers College Press.


Schaull,R. (1999) In Mayo, P. (1999). Gramsci, Freire and adult education: Possibilities for transformative action. London: Palgrave Macmillan.


Selwyn, N. (2011). Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates. Bloomsbury UK.


Tsang, M. (2003) Economic Analysis of Educational Devlopment in Developng Nations” in Guthrie, J. W. (2003). Encyclopedia of education. New York: Macmillan ref. USA.

Wiercinski, A. (2011). Hermeneutic education to understanding: Self - education and the willingness to risk failure. In Fairfield, P. (2011) Education, Dialogue and Hermeneutics, London and NewYork: Continuum, 107- 123.