Approaches to educational planning

Maje Omary · 2012-11-29T12:38:00+00:00

Educational Planners and policy makers are obliqued to focus on the relevance of education if they are to plan for sound education system in any country and Tanzania in particular. The followings are some approaches to educational penning. 1. EDUCATIONAL PLANNING FOR EXPANSION Quantitative approach is directed at addressing dissatisfaction with direction of growth in education. It confronts with resolution of the Jomtienconference (UNESCO, 1990) that all countries in the world should attain 100% universal access to basic education by 2000 and the Dakar Declaration (2000) that called for commitment a collective commitment to basic education for all. Planning for educational extension involve · Targets for increasing enrolment until all eligible children have access to basic education. · The extension of basic compulsory schooling. · The expansion of post-secondary and technical institutions after a country after a countries independence so as to supply enough indigenous human resources for various section of the economy. Many countries are realizing that the higher the knowledge and skills levels of their population, the more family the country stand in the part to development. Many countries pursuing this policy demand the government be responsible Educational plan under this approach may involve a systematic incremental approach where expansion is gradually under taken as the economic improves and human resource capacity increases. Although quantitative approach to educational approach to educational planning in popular among politicians and generals community if suffer from number of down backs. First: The expansion and extension of schooling alone does little to enhance the knowledge and skills necessary for national development. Unless matched with consideration of the relevance, quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the education provided similarly, when education is free parent may find that there is nothing to lose if they exclude their children particularly where opportunity for post-primary is slim and returns for participating in other economic activities with immediate returns are higher. Second: If the school system lacks the ability to support increased demand it will be unable to provide an environment conducive to effective teaching and learning, this has been the experience of many developing countries especially in rural areas there are shortage of basic physical facilities ( classroom desk, chairs, and teachers house) supplies (textbook and others teaching and learning materials) In addition, teachers quality is often poor and salaries are low. Many teachers have not benefited from staff development programme and hence were not motivated to teach effectively (Mosha and Sumra,1992) There has been and remains to day a wide gape between words and deeds between policies proclaimed by ministers attending conferences and action taken in their countries for mobilizing sufficient resources to make effectives learning possible. 2.EDUCATION PLANNING FOR QUALITATIVE IMPROVEMENT This perspective on education planning emphasizes the needs for selective growth which has to be accompanied by greater adaptation, change and innovation. The approach focuses on promoting democracy, eliminating poverty, existing environmental degradation and fight international terrorism and violence. According to Miclos et al (1992) the main objectives of qualitative planning is to modify educational experiences and not just the structures. In order to accomplish these objectives there is need for political will to refocus attention on outcome and to view the processes and inputs as facilitating means. Bermans (1998) maintains that for quality improvement to be effective; · Quality improvement strategies need to be implemented manageable pieces. · Top managers must support these strategies and provide the needed leaderships. · Managers and teachers must discharge their efficient essentials roles effectively. · Quality is change process and not a programme meaning that it is continuous enduring and unending. · Quality strategies do not address crisis. · Quality improvement procedures short-term results as well and · Quality requires additional resources but not many. Plans for high quality education need to focus on developing the child holistically so that the primary goal of education is not merely scholastic achievements- vobotic craming to pass examinations but also acquisition of the values, attitudes, knowledge, skills and other dispositions needed to be a full participants of society. Education should also nurture creativity in order to develop self reliance skills. 3.EDUCATION PLANNING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT This policy approach gives primes importance to education as procedure of the stock of human capital required for economic development. The major emphasis is to provide the educational planners with vital information about the link between education and the labour market. There is no doubt that all over the world to day education is viewed as a key input for economic growth, as well as social, political and cultural progress . There are two critical inputs feed into national economy through education system. · First, it provides the human resources necessary to manage all sectors of economy including the social and political process associated with the economic well being of the nation. · Second, it generates the knowledge, attitudes, motivation and entrepreneurial dispositions that are essential for the economic and social health of the country. Ultimately, all the evidence show that without quality education the process economic development can be seriously jeopardized (Carnoy, 1999). In summary, the economic policy approach to educational planning should concerned with planning the supply and demand of high quality human resource to meet the demands of the global economy. 4. EDUCATIONAL PLANNING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE The approach emerges from observation that the mere expansion of an education system does not reduce disparities in enrollment and achievement among different groups, defined by either economic or social criteria. The social change perspectives therefore requires educational planners to address in inequalities in the education sectors which tend to exacerbate inequalities in the societies at large. Social change approach has five tenets, · Seek to address the barriers confronting women in male dominated societies by stressing the needs for greater females participation in education. · Meant to enhance opportunities for minorities, low income group, the less privileged and less developed communities especially youth and adults without basic life skills. Ill health population expansion and infant mortality which are caused by lack of knowledge. Many in rural areas are also marginalized because their parents ability to demand for their right to education or gender, for this reason some countries and Tanzania in particular, have eliminated school fees at primary school levels for that marginalized children can participate. Other system however, insisted on the need for cost sharing between public and private funding · The social change approach also tend to address the often unmet educational needs of people with physical challenges that quality to enroll are not sent to school at all in many developing countries. These societies are just beginning to realize that children with physical challenges have the same rights to education as other children do school must therefore be equipped to provide for the special needs of children with disabilities not only in terms of physical facilities and books but also teachers training. · This perspective also focuses on the social returns from investing in certain type and level of education especially for women. Education should have several positives externalities or benefits i.e improved health and nutrition, lower petty crime rates and achieve population growth resulting from low fertility rates, child spacing and smaller family sizes. Improvement in water quality, health services, environmental conditions, governance and participation in civil life. Moreover, education should change values, raises awareness, develops emotional sensitivities, forges relationships, reduces bigotry, reinforces empowers communities, revitalizes religions organizations and increases political commitments to safeguarding human rights and promoting democracy. · This strategies seeks to correct regional imbalances and other forms of exclusion based on gender, religion, colour, and cultural taboos gender. Some religions have greater resources and higher participations rates than other in the education system because its people support idea of schooling where some regions place moved emphasis on secular education other are move oriented toward religions studies however since most work opportunity in government and the economic larger depends on one lived secular education this latter group should be provided with a move secular education so as to minimize energy conflict participation and representation of different sectors of the population. Colonial education was organized in context of racial in which disparities in participations based on racial. Some countries have eliminated racial other still grappling with the problem. In our country and other countries promotion private school might re-entre element of racial and class segregated education if educational planners in developing countries do not come forward with viable strategies for bridging the emerging gap. In most African countries and Tanzanian in particular, ( cultural and religious practices and taboos have always left the female children disadvantaged in gaing access to education in many developing countries where parental resources are limited permits many face a choice between investing in son's or a daughters. Many choose to educate the boys since it is perceived that the girl's education once married would mainly benefit her new family. This attitude is currently changing rapidly due to aggressive intervention policies, gender imbalance in education remains a problem especially at post- primary levels. The social policy approach to educational planning is therefore geared to initiating special compensatory programme to overcome these imbalances. 5. EDUCATIONAL PLANNING FOR EQUITY Equity is a higher level that equality. The main objectives of equity is to correct imbalance in the system so that every one receives a higher quality education with focus on correcting disparities performance for education provided especially in urban versus schools and in advantaged versus disadvantaged schools plans therefore should focus on improving method of teaching that are designed to empower often condemned student to gain hope and opportunity thought schooling. Equity does not mean that every one attains an "A" grade, it does mean however that every one can be helped to do better in whatever one is best at. Research shows that if more interest is paid to child learning, coupled with proper guidance assistance, those regarded as slow learner can do just as well in school if not better even those students considered to be bright ( Stefanakis, 2000) If this is not considered many students will waste many years in school without gaining the necessary skills for work productive life in society. The goal of equity demands that educational planners have beyond traditional models that mainly emphasizes academic achievement. They have to focus on contemporary models that focus on the "multiple intelligences. They have to focus on contemporary models that focus on the "multiple intelligences" of the child (Gardner, 1993; Amstring, 2001; Mosha et al 2001; and Stefanakis, 2002) as per this theory, education system fail many talented students because they are unable to identify their talents and nurture their development. Educational plans to achieve equity should therefore include the fallowing stages: · Establishing needs assessments to uncover factors that caused equity imbalances. · Setting the objectives and targets for arresting and eventually eliminates inequalities. · Developing alternatives strategies for addressing the problem. · Mobilizing financial resources, facilities and equipments as well as developing human resources for implementing the chosen strategies. · implementing, evaluating, getting feedback and taking remedial action 6. EDUCATIONALPLANNING FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY. The focus is on the rising cost of education and the fact that, education sector must compete for limited recourses with other social services (Colton, 1983). Pressure for increased efficiency therefore stem from the assumption that there is either, inefficiency in the educational system or that there needs to be a better means of setting priorities within the system. Hence the goal according to this approach is to reduce the amount of input per unit of output or increase the amount of output per unit of input. Many efficiency driven measures, including pressures to increase teachers; work load, increase class size and introduce double shift in urban schools, this must be weighed carefully by policy makers and planners in developing countries because they are rarely associated with improvement in quality, equity and providing an all round education to children. Similarly, difficult choices have to be made concerning the programmes and investment that are necessary to accomplish specific goals in the most efficient manner possible. Modern management techniques must be applied in order to improve resource allocation and use. There is also a need to make better use of space and time; however, there is danger of being too excessively concerned with the issue of efficiency. As Kaufman and Herman (1991) observed that efficiency also involves the extent to which the system has effective mechanisms to prevent waste of resource through pilferage or corruption. Strategic decision also needs to be made to ensure that, there is no overlap and duplication in the educational planning and educational delivery efforts of a society. 7. EDUCATIONAL PLANNING FOR GLOBALISATION Globalization is a process of penning up national economy to free market forces. The focus is on competition and the use of information technology to drive the revolution in the organization of work, production of goods and the provision of service. It is also transforming culture world wide and recognizing relations among countries (Carnoy, 1999 and 2002). Educational planning designed to meet the demand of Globalization should focus on improving the quantity and quality of skills in the labor force, with increased emphasis on the teaching of science and mathematics. Under this approach, there are four main tenets: Ø It calls for improving student achievement at all educational levels, with the goals of increasing labor force productivity to meet the demands of a competition-driven globalization process. Ø It emphasizes the need for central government to establish clear academic standards and to relay these expectations to schools and parents (Carnoy, 1999). Ø It calls for educational management tat will inspire teachers and supply them with effective teaching alternatives in order to raise the cherished quality (Levin, 1993). Ø It tresses the need for improved teachers recruitment and training. Maje Omary. A. E-Mail: omarymaje@yahoo.com

Thread starter Maje Omary
Start date Nov 29, 2012

Maje Omary

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Nov 29, 2012

DadyJ

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