Educational Institutions and Processes

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Educational Institutions and Processes

            Educational Institutions are beacons of personal, social, economic, political, and national growth and development. By means of providing educational services to millions of students around the world, educational institutions are able to facilitate the process of learning that enables the citizens of the global community to obtain knowledge and information that are critical to progress and development through the instantaneous application of things and concepts learning to real-life situations. For instance, learning under formal education programs set by educational institutions within the sphere of higher education enables individuals to earn a degree that directs their future career. (Zuber-Skerritt, 1994) An individual’s professional growth and career development does not only satisfy his personal needs, but are also vital in national development through his social and economic contributions. (Lowe, Grant, & Williams, 1971) This particular aspect of education, including everything beneficial and advantageous that might be gain from educational institutions as educational service providers, allows them to be regarded as agencies of empowerment.

            However, other aspects of educational institutions as systems also result to disempowerment, or one’s inclination to get rid of positive feelings or belief towards his abilities or competencies. This means that at times, educational institutions cause people within it to experience non-motivation and non-productivity, which directly defeat the purpose of education. With this in mind, the remainder of this text will look into the dimensions of educational institutions as agencies of empowerment and disempowerment. Moreover, this critical analysis shall be integrated to the concept of existentialism.

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            Empowerment is the process of allowing individuals to determine various possibilities that might be able to help them accomplish their needs and desires. Moreover, empowerment assists individuals in harnessing their strengths and abilities to become productive and efficient individuals. Disempowerment, on the other hand, pertains to losing one’s control, power, or belief in oneself or from other things or people. In order to understand how empowerment and disempowerment are related to existentialism, this particular concept shall also be defined. Existentialism is a philosophy which was founded on answering what the essence of life is for man by dissecting the total sum of his existence. Moreover, existentialism focuses on man’s search for the purpose of his existence as a means of living meaningful and productive life. (Flynn, 2006)

            The ultimate goals of educational institutions, which are to facilitate learning for self-empowerment, productivity, and efficiency, are therefore tied in to the concept of existentialism. This rationalization is because educational institutions engage its students to educational programs and activities that allow them to achieve in areas of their strengths and interests, guiding them to determine what professional careers are suited to them and how they are going to accomplish their personal goals and objectives in life. For instance, the dimensions of learning are designed to help students be able to think independently and critically through the obtainment of vital knowledge and information and to guide them in using knowledge wisely and appropriately. In so doing, educational institutions are not only able to empower the students, but also the educators and staff of the school by enhancing their knowledge and abilities under the context of their professions in order to accomplish the empowering goals and objectives of educational institutions as agencies of learning and self-development. (Rudduck & Stenhouse, 1995)

            On the other hand, educational institutions have the tendency to disempower its learners. Perhaps one of the primary reasons why the school is regarded as an agency of disempowerment is its acknowledgement of individual and cultural differences or gaps among its learners. For instance, some aspects of teaching consider gender differences between the male and the female population, based on teacher education courses such as human growth and development and gender psychology. This means that educators and academic institutions consider gender concepts and are sensitive to these differences upon their integration of these concepts to the educational paradigm. Aside from this scenario, educational institutions also categorize students according to their culture or ethnicity, and social class. Underprivileged students are not capable of enrolling in educational programs offered by private educational institutions, or students who belong to distinct culture are assigned to ESL classes due to the discrepancy between the students’ knowledge and skills of the English language and the standards and guidelines set by the school. (Matheson, 2000)

            These differences and gaps among the educational programs offered by educational institutions disempower some students due to the distinct line drawn as markers of differences between and among the students in the school. Different treatments and regard to students have the tendencies to emphasize what one student lacks in terms of knowledge and skills as compared to other individuals, relieving him from his motivational faculties to believe in himself and nurture his existence. The definitive role of the educational institution as an agency of disempowerment does not follow the concepts of existentialism since it does not allow students to determine their purpose of existence, but on the other hand, shatters their ability to grow and develop through learning as a means of self-empowerment.

References

Flynn, T. R. (2006). Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford          University Press.

Lowe, J., Grant, N. & Williams, T. D. (1971). Education and Nation-Building in the        Third World. Berkeley, CA: University of California.

Matheson, D. (2000). Educational Issues in the Learning Age. New York, NY:   Continuum International Publishing Group.

Rudduck, J. & Stenhouse, L. (1995). An Education that Empowers. Bristol, UK:            Multilingual Matters.

Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1994) Professional Development in Higher Education.           Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge.

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