EDU401 Midterm Preparation Highlighted Handouts by Muhammad

1. Contemporary
2. Trends
3. Issues

These three terms can be explained like as under.

1. Contemporary

Contemporary means related to the present time or starting as of today. What we experience in education today.

2. Trends

Are positive kinds of things that are happening in other words the patterns that we like to see and continue.

3. Issues

Issues deal with the negative. They deal with the not so good things that happen in education.

In this course we will focus on trends and issues in education.

If I ask you what one factor causes the change in the education, today? I hope most of you will come up with technology. In twenty first century even yet we are using yesterdays’ training with today’s students. To be compatible with twenty first century education we have to give technology due importance.

We have to see what trends we have to study in technology and what issues in technology we would talk about. In order to provide education to each and every child we have to uplift our resources. We, the teachers of today are basically the product of twentieth century; unlike the students are also twenty first century students. The teachers have to unlearn the concepts of last century and update ourselves with twenty first century. Education must enable nations and communities to gradually evolve and strengthen their systems of social justice, democratic institutions, and foster values of peace, harmony, tolerance, and mutual respect among diverse populations. All these skills are necessary to survive in twenty first century. Education should also promote individual freedom, empower people and a vehicle to uplift the economic situation.

Topic 2: International Conventions for Free and Quality Education

Provision of free and quality education has been declared as fundamental rights. They want all children to get basic elementary, secondary education.

1. Universal declaration of human rights

This convention was approved by the world nations at the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. According to this convention everyone has the right to education and education shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental basis.

Elementary education involves pre-school, the early years and education up to grade 5. It is supposed to be free. It means that govt. or any other agency shall be sponsoring that. All the children shall be in school in those grades.

2. Convention on the rights of the child

Convention on the rights of the child in 1989 explicitly recognized education as a fundamental right. All children must be in school progressively meaning gradually. They also have equal opportunity for all the students. The elements of this convention states make primary education compulsory and available free to all children. Encourage the development of different forms in secondary education including general and vocational. Education of a child does not stop at elementary level. Vocational education helps a student to earn a living.

3. DAKAR world education forum

April 2000 164 countries combined together, to ensure Education for All (EFA). They focused at achieving the goal in developed, developing and under developed countries to achieve till 2015. Pakistan has not met most of the targets set under that convention.

EFA Goals

Following are some of the EFA goals with explanation.