current issues in education slideshare

Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that could make a difference

Eduardo velez bustillo, harry a. patrinos.

In 2022, we published, Lessons for the education sector from the COVID-19 pandemic , which was a follow up to,  Four Education Trends that Countries Everywhere Should Know About , which summarized views of education experts around the world on how to handle the most pressing issues facing the education sector then. We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy.

Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades .

1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures

Low quality instruction is a major constraint and prior to COVID-19, the learning poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 57% (6 out of 10 children could not read and understand basic texts by age 10). More dramatic is the case of Sub-Saharan Africa with a rate even higher at 86%. Several analyses show that the impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant, leaving students in low- and middle-income countries way behind in mathematics, reading and other subjects.  Some argue that learning poverty may be close to 70% after the pandemic , with a substantial long-term negative effect in future earnings. This generation could lose around $21 trillion in future salaries, with the vulnerable students affected the most.

2. Countries are not paying enough attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE)

At the pre-school level about two-thirds of countries do not have a proper legal framework to provide free and compulsory pre-primary education. According to UNESCO, only a minority of countries, mostly high-income, were making timely progress towards SDG4 benchmarks on early childhood indicators prior to the onset of COVID-19. And remember that ECCE is not only preparation for primary school. It can be the foundation for emotional wellbeing and learning throughout life; one of the best investments a country can make.

3. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality teachers

Low quality teaching is a huge problem and getting worse in many low- and middle-income countries.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the percentage of trained teachers fell from 84% in 2000 to 69% in 2019 . In addition, in many countries teachers are formally trained and as such qualified, but do not have the minimum pedagogical training. Globally, teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are the biggest shortfalls.

4. Decision-makers are not implementing evidence-based or pro-equity policies that guarantee solid foundations

It is difficult to understand the continued focus on non-evidence-based policies when there is so much that we know now about what works. Two factors contribute to this problem. One is the short tenure that top officials have when leading education systems. Examples of countries where ministers last less than one year on average are plentiful. The second and more worrisome deals with the fact that there is little attention given to empirical evidence when designing education policies.

To help improve on these four fronts, we see four supporting trends:

1. Neuroscience should be integrated into education policies

Policies considering neuroscience can help ensure that students get proper attention early to support brain development in the first 2-3 years of life. It can also help ensure that children learn to read at the proper age so that they will be able to acquire foundational skills to learn during the primary education cycle and from there on. Inputs like micronutrients, early child stimulation for gross and fine motor skills, speech and language and playing with other children before the age of three are cost-effective ways to get proper development. Early grade reading, using the pedagogical suggestion by the Early Grade Reading Assessment model, has improved learning outcomes in many low- and middle-income countries. We now have the tools to incorporate these advances into the teaching and learning system with AI , ChatGPT , MOOCs and online tutoring.

2. Reversing learning losses at home and at school

There is a real need to address the remaining and lingering losses due to school closures because of COVID-19.  Most students living in households with incomes under the poverty line in the developing world, roughly the bottom 80% in low-income countries and the bottom 50% in middle-income countries, do not have the minimum conditions to learn at home . These students do not have access to the internet, and, often, their parents or guardians do not have the necessary schooling level or the time to help them in their learning process. Connectivity for poor households is a priority. But learning continuity also requires the presence of an adult as a facilitator—a parent, guardian, instructor, or community worker assisting the student during the learning process while schools are closed or e-learning is used.

To recover from the negative impact of the pandemic, the school system will need to develop at the student level: (i) active and reflective learning; (ii) analytical and applied skills; (iii) strong self-esteem; (iv) attitudes supportive of cooperation and solidarity; and (v) a good knowledge of the curriculum areas. At the teacher (instructor, facilitator, parent) level, the system should aim to develop a new disposition toward the role of teacher as a guide and facilitator. And finally, the system also needs to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and be active part in the solution of the children’s problems. The Escuela Nueva Learning Circles or the Pratham Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) are models that can be used.

3. Use of evidence to improve teaching and learning

We now know more about what works at scale to address the learning crisis. To help countries improve teaching and learning and make teaching an attractive profession, based on available empirical world-wide evidence , we need to improve its status, compensation policies and career progression structures; ensure pre-service education includes a strong practicum component so teachers are well equipped to transition and perform effectively in the classroom; and provide high-quality in-service professional development to ensure they keep teaching in an effective way. We also have the tools to address learning issues cost-effectively. The returns to schooling are high and increasing post-pandemic. But we also have the cost-benefit tools to make good decisions, and these suggest that structured pedagogy, teaching according to learning levels (with and without technology use) are proven effective and cost-effective .

4. The role of the private sector

When properly regulated the private sector can be an effective education provider, and it can help address the specific needs of countries. Most of the pedagogical models that have received international recognition come from the private sector. For example, the recipients of the Yidan Prize on education development are from the non-state sector experiences (Escuela Nueva, BRAC, edX, Pratham, CAMFED and New Education Initiative). In the context of the Artificial Intelligence movement, most of the tools that will revolutionize teaching and learning come from the private sector (i.e., big data, machine learning, electronic pedagogies like OER-Open Educational Resources, MOOCs, etc.). Around the world education technology start-ups are developing AI tools that may have a good potential to help improve quality of education .

After decades asking the same questions on how to improve the education systems of countries, we, finally, are finding answers that are very promising.  Governments need to be aware of this fact.

To receive weekly articles,  sign-up here  

Get updates from Education for Global Development

Thank you for choosing to be part of the Education for Global Development community!

Your subscription is now active. The latest blog posts and blog-related announcements will be delivered directly to your email inbox. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Consultant, Education Sector, World Bank

Senior Adviser, Education

Join the Conversation

• Share on mail
• comments added

More From Forbes

These five issues are at the heart of all k-12 education policy debates.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

In education, we don't always talk about what we're really talking about.

The next four years offer the prospect of renewed debates about many aspects of public education policy. As we watch this new batch of fireworks launch, it will be useful to remember that virtually all of our debates are the outgrowth of four fundamental issues.

How To Fund Public Education

In the U.S., we like the idea of public education, but we don’t much care for funding it. Our use of real estate taxes to fund education has guaranteed that folks mostly pay for school for their own neighborhood, wealthy or not-so. There are some state-level mechanisms to help equalize that, but not all are effective .

Critics of public education often cite the increased costs of public education , but at least some is the result of slowly, reluctantly, providing better funding for previously underserved populations. And we’re still not there; for Pennsylvania alone, recent estimates are that nearly $5 billion are needed to fully fund all public schools. Sometimes the inequities are between districts, and in some cases, inequities exist within districts (e.g. the Pinellas County district in Florida that first segregated its students, then segregated the dollars that went to them ). Throughout our history, many white citizens have resisted mechanisms that require them to finance education for Black students ( Schoolhouse Burning and Overturning Brown are just two books from 2020 that lay out some of that ugly education history). Segregation of students and of finances has been a problem in our past, and we have not solved it in our present. On top of that layer the fact that some students, for a variety of reasons, simply cost more to educate than others.

Many reform initiatives of the past decades have declared themselves about “making schools better” or “reducing inequity” while the rest of that statement—”without spending more money”—remaining unspoken. The argument is that spending more money won’t help, and while it’s true that spending the money badly will not help, the research is clear— school funding matters when it comes to student success.

Vouchers and charter schools are both attempts to look like we’re addressing educational inequity without actually spending any more money. “Let the money follow the student,” is the slogan, and it completely skips over the question of whether the money is enough. The blanket is not big enough to cover the bed, but school choice advocates argue that by cutting the blanket up, moving the pieces around, and perhaps setting up some extra cots, the too-small blanket will become large enough to cover everyone. Meanwhile, there’s no serious research to indicate that choice schools do more with less .

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of September 2023

Best 5% interest savings accounts of september 2023.

The funding issues also affect teachers, because teachers are the major cost in education. So we see frequent attempts to lower labor costs in education. Have Teach for America style staff that turns over every few years. Create pedagogy-in-a-box programs that don’t require a trained teacher to deliver. Replace part or all of the staff with computerized programs—especially shiny new ones with AI. It all cuts costs.

All of it comes back to a fundamental issue. The U.S. system demands a Lexus on a Kia budget, and many of our citizens really don’t want to pay to educate Those Peoples’ children. This desire to do school on the cheap serves to limits the range of solutions considered for every single problem in education. As long as we are unwilling or unable to say that we will pay whatever it takes to create a top-level education system that serves every student, these debates will continue.

Equity and Justice; Race and Religion

We have many, many ideas about equity and justice in this country, with new rounds of old arguments opened in recent years. Under Betsy DeVos, the department began “efficiently” closing out complaints related to race, and reversed Obama-era guidance meant to address racial inequity in school discipline. At the same time, she has shifted focus to what she perceives as a different brand of inequity —that related to religion . Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue has further eroded the wall between church and state and paved the road for more use of taxpayer dollars to fund private, religious schools.

Both of these debates about fairness and justice—religion and race—are roiling in the country right now, and public schools are always a reflection of society. A Biden administration is far more likely to focus on trying to right historic and systemic inequity for BIPOC students, but the Trump administration has installed a wide net of judges who are seen as more sympathetic to conservative causes. We are likely to see initiatives aimed at addressing injustices, both real and perceived, promoted through a variety of avenues.

A nation’s schools don’t exist in a vacuum. Every single argument we have in our world about justice, equity, values, racism, and decency is going to spill over into schools, and that’s going to be reflected in policy debates.

How To Read Students’ Minds

This is a challenge for every policy maker and every classroom teacher—how do you know what students have actually learned?

All of assessment is about trying to design an assessment task that will show us what the student did or did not grasp. The list of factors that can interfere with these acts of hopeful psychic divination is long. The student may not understand the task. The student may simply be distracted or focused on other factors. The student may run afoul of the medium through which she’s supposed to show her stuff; she may have trouble writing papers, or multiple choice questions might throw her. Or the assessment task itself may be poorly designed.

This is a daily challenge for teachers, but it becomes even more troublesome when policy makers start talking about “accountability.” For the past few decades, reformers have wanted to measure both what is in students’ brains and how much of it a particular teacher put there in a particular year. What they’ve settled on is an annual battery of multiple choice questions about reading and math. It is not a great instrument , but policy makers (and people who write about policy) have pretended that it is a real proxy for “student achievement ,” and that they can use special formulae to find out how much teachers contributed to that cranial content.

At all levels, the desire to have a solid answer to “how well is this working,” is natural, right and normal. But just as you can’t know exactly what your in-laws think of you, how your boss really feels about your last conference, and why your partner is still with you, you cannot ever know exactly how much learning has been packed into a students’ head. It’s a question we have to ask over and over, but we can never have absolute faith in the answer we get, and we must keep looking for better ones.

How Much Versus When

We know two things for certain in education. 1) Every student has her own pace and speed to work. 2) The system wants students to acquire certain learning by deadline.

Both are true, and both cannot be the foundation of the system. So we end up telling students, “Your job is to get to Cleveland from New York City. You can use any means of transportation that you have access to—drive, fly, bike, walk if you wish—and take any side trips along the way. But you have to get there in twelve hours.”

From time to time, there is a revolt against the idea of seat time . If a student can grasp the educational goal in three months, why make her sit in class for nine months? And if a student has sat in a seat for nine months, does that really mean she’s learned anything at all? Why not come up with a master list of Things To Learn and as soon as the list is checked off, send the student home?

The debate involves many educational issues, but the current pandemic mess has highlighted one real reason we don’t do this—sending students home from school on a varied and unpredictable schedule creates a whole new set of problems for families.

Nevertheless, the idea of alternatives to seat time will continue to be a debate partly because it has merit and partly because it is an opportunity for many folks to make money. Competency based education , various forms of personalized learning , and any edu-product that can have AI attached to it are hot growth industries. Remote learning during the pandemic has intensified the attention to the seat-time versus mastery debate; expect that debate to keep raging.

What Do Students Need To Know

The advent of Common Core turned “college and career ready” into a well-worn educational cliche, and yet, all these years later, we don’t really know what it means. What exactly does a student need to know or be able to do in order to be college and career ready? Is there a list of knowledge and skills that is essential to every student, whether she intends to be a welder or a physician or a banker or an author or a stay-at-home mom?

Common Core pretended to know the answer, but it was simply the answer that the writers of Common Core thought should be correct. There is no research base, no peer-reviewed study, no repository of scientific evidence to show a list of qualities and capabilities that are a requirement for a good, successful, happy life. We probably can’t even agree on what those three terms mean and if they all belong in that sentence.

We have always argued about what an education is for. There is always pressure for schools to focus on employable skills, to crank out meat widgets and worker bees to better satisfy the needs of business, but that, of course, is precisely the sort of education that wealthy and privileged parents would never settle for when it came to their own children. Shouldn’t education be about more than job training?

What is the point of school? We don’t debate this as often as we should, but our differing opinions about the answer underlie most of our other education policy debates.

These five fundamental issues are the foundation of every K-12 education policy debate, even if they remain unspoken (the “let’s keep it cheap” argument, in particular, is the quiet part that folks rarely want to say out loud). Our choice is to address them directly, or to just haggle at the margins. We’ll see what the future holds.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Trade Schools, Colleges and Universities

Join Over 1.5 Million People We've Introduced to Awesome Schools Since 2001

Trade Schools Home > Articles > Issues in Education

Major Issues in Education: Hot Topics

By Publisher | Last Updated August 29, 2024

In America, issues in education are big topics of discussion, both in the news media and among the general public. The current education system is beset by a wide range of challenges, from cuts in government funding to changes in disciplinary policies—and much more. Everyone agrees that providing high-quality education for our citizens is a worthy ideal. However, there are many diverse viewpoints about how that should be accomplished. And that leads to highly charged debates, with passionate advocates on both sides.

Understanding education issues is important for students, parents, and taxpayers. By being well-informed, you can contribute valuable input to the discussion. You can also make better decisions about what causes you will support or what plans you will make for your future.

This article provides detailed information on many of today's most relevant post-secondary education issues.

7 Big Issues in Higher Education

1. Student loan forgiveness

Here's how the American public education system works: Students attend primary and secondary school at no cost. They have the option of going on to post-secondary training (which, for most students, is not free). So, with costs rising at both public and private institutions of higher learning, student loan debt is one of the most prominent issues in education today. Students who graduated from college in 2022 came out with an average debt load of $37,338. As a whole, Americans owe over $1.7 trillion in student loans.

Currently, students who have received certain federal student loans and are on income-driven repayment plans can qualify to have their remaining balance forgiven if they haven't repaid the loan in full after 20 to 25 years, depending on the plan. Additionally, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows qualified borrowers who go into public service careers (such as teaching, government service, social work, or law enforcement) to have their student debt canceled after ten years.

However, potential changes are in the works. The Biden-Harris Administration is working to support students and make getting a post-secondary education more affordable. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education provided more than $17 billion in loan relief to over 700,000 borrowers. Meanwhile, a growing number of Democrats are advocating for free college as an alternative to student loans.

2. Completion rates

The large number of students who begin post-secondary studies but do not graduate continues to be an issue. According to a National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report , the overall six-year college completion rate for the cohort entering college in 2015 was 62.2 percent. Around 58 percent of students completed a credential at the same institution where they started their studies, and about another 8 percent finished at a different institution.

Completion rates are increasing, but there is still concern over the significant percentage of college students who do not graduate. Almost 9 percent of students who began college in 2015 had still not completed a degree or certificate six years later. Over 22 percent of them had dropped out entirely.

Significant costs are associated with starting college but not completing it. Many students end up weighed down by debt, and those who do not complete their higher education are less able to repay loans. Plus, students who do not complete college miss out on the formal credentials that could lead to higher earnings. Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2023, students who begin college but do not complete a degree have median weekly earnings of $992. By contrast, associate degree holders have median weekly wages of $1,058, and bachelor's degree recipients have median weekly earnings of $1,493.

Students leave college for many reasons, but chief among them is money. To mitigate that, some institutions have implemented small retention or completion grants. Such grants are for students who are close to graduating, have financial need, have used up all other sources of aid, owe a modest amount, and are at risk of dropping out due to lack of funds. One study found that around a third of the institutions that implemented such grants noted higher graduation rates among grant recipients.

3. Student mental health

Mental health challenges among students are a growing concern. A survey by the American College Health Association in the spring of 2019 found that over two-thirds of college students had experienced "overwhelming anxiety" within the previous 12 months. Almost 45 percent reported higher-than-average stress levels.

Anxiety, stress, and depression were the most common concerns among students who sought treatment. The 2021 report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) noted that the average number of appointments students need has increased by 20 percent.

And some schools are struggling to keep up. A 2020 report found that the average student-to-clinician ratio on U.S. campuses was 1,411 to 1. So, in some cases, suffering students face long waits for treatment.

4. Sexual assault

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that more than 75 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement, so the actual number of incidents could be much higher.

And the way that colleges and universities deal with sexual assault is undergoing changes. Title IX rules make sure that complaints of sexual assault or harassment are taken seriously and that the accused person is treated fairly.

Administrators were also required to adjudicate such cases based on a preponderance of evidence, meaning that they had to believe that it was more likely than not that an accused was guilty in order to proceed with disciplinary action. The "clear and convincing" evidentiary standard, which required that administrators be reasonably certain that sexual violence or harassment occurred, was deemed unacceptable.

Critics argued that the guidelines failed to respect the due process rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. Research has found that the frequency of false sexual assault allegations is between two and 10 percent.

In 2017, the Trump administration rescinded the Obama-era guidelines. The intent was to institute new regulations on how schools should handle sexual assault allegations. The changes went into effect on August 14, 2020, defining sexual harassment more narrowly and only requiring schools to investigate formal complaints about on-campus incidents officially filed with designated authorities, such as Title IX coordinators. The updated guidelines also allow schools to use the clear and convincing standard for conviction.

Victims' rights advocates were concerned this approach would deter victims from coming forward and hinder efforts to create safe learning environments.

The new Title IX regulations reversed many of these changes. The Biden administration finalized the changes in April 2024, and the changes took effect on August 1, 2024. These updates will hopefully strengthen victims' protection, even as they also restore justice and due process in dealing with issues related to sexual misconduct.

5. Trigger warnings

The use of trigger warnings in academia is a highly contentious issue. Trigger warnings alert students that upcoming course material contains concepts or images that may invoke psychological or physiological reactions in people who have experienced trauma. Some college instructors provide such warnings before introducing films, texts, or other content involving things like violence or sexual abuse. The idea is to give students advance notice so that they can psychologically prepare themselves.

Some believe that trigger warnings are essential because they allow vulnerable people to prepare for and navigate difficult content. Having trigger warnings allows students with post-traumatic stress to decide whether they will engage with the material or find an alternative way to acquire the necessary information.

Critics argue that trigger warnings constrain free speech and academic freedom by discouraging the discussion of topics that might trigger distressing reactions in some students. They point out that college faculty already provide detailed course syllabi and that it's impossible to anticipate and acknowledge every potential trigger.

In 2015, NPR Ed surveyed more than 800 faculty members at higher education institutions across the U.S. and found that around half had given trigger warnings before bringing up potentially disturbing course material. Most did so on their own initiative, not in response to administrative policy or student requests. Few schools either mandate or prohibit trigger warnings. One notable exception is the University of Chicago, which in 2016 informed all incoming first-year students that it did not support such warnings.

6. College accreditation

In order to participate in federal student financial aid programs, institutions of higher education must be accredited by an agency that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. By law, accreditors must consider factors such as an institution's facilities, equipment, curricula, admission practices, faculty, and support services. The idea is to enforce an acceptable standard of quality.

However, while federal regulations require accreditors to assess each institution's "success with respect to student achievement," they don't specify how to measure such achievement. Accreditors are free to define that for themselves. Unfortunately, some colleges with questionable practices, low graduation rates, and high student loan default rates continue to be accredited. Critics argue that accreditors are not doing enough to ensure that students receive good value for their money.

7. College rankings

Every year, prospective college students and their families turn to rankings like the ones produced by U.S. News & World Report to compare different institutions of higher education. Many people accept such rankings as authoritative without truly understanding how they are calculated or what they measure.

It's common for ranking organizations to refine their methodologies from year to year and change how they weigh various factors—which means it's possible for colleges to rise or fall in the rankings despite making no substantive changes to their programs or institutional policies. That makes it difficult to compare rankings from one year to the next since things are often measured differently.

For colleges, a higher ranking can lead to more visibility, more qualified applicants, and more alumni donations (in short, more money). And the unfortunate reality is that some schools outright lie about test scores, graduation rates, or financial information in their quest to outrank their competitors.

Others take advantage of creative ways to game the system. For example, U.S. News looks at the test scores of incoming students at each institution, but it only looks at students who begin in the fall semester. One school instituted a program where students with lower test scores could spend their first semester in a foreign country and return to the school in the spring, thus excluding them from the U.S. News calculations.

Rankings do make useful information about U.S. colleges and universities available to all students and their families. However, consumers should be cautious about blindly accepting such rankings as true measures of educational quality.

Explore Your Educational Options

Understanding the issues in post-secondary education is crucial so you can make informed decisions about your future. And finding a school that aligns with your goals and values is vital. You can get started right here, right now. Our school finder search tool can help you find a school that can help you learn the skills and achieve the education you need to succeed.

Related Articles

The turning point: Why we must transform education now

Global warming. Accelerated digital revolution. Growing inequalities. Democratic backsliding. Loss of biodiversity. Devastating pandemics. And the list goes on. These are just some of the most pressing challenges that we are facing today in our interconnected world.

The diagnosis is clear: Our current global education system is failing to address these alarming challenges and provide quality learning for everyone throughout life. We know that education today is not fulfilling its promise to help us shape peaceful, just, and sustainable societies. These findings were detailed in UNESCO’s Futures of Education Report in November 2021 which called for a new social contract for education.

That is why it has never been more crucial to reimagine the way we learn, what we learn and how we learn. The turning point is now. It’s time to transform education. How do we make that happen?

Here’s what you need to know. 

Why do we need to transform education?

The current state of the world calls for a major transformation in education to repair past injustices and enhance our capacity to act together for a more sustainable and just future. We must ensure the right to lifelong learning by providing all learners - of all ages in all contexts - the knowledge and skills they need to realize their full potential and live with dignity. Education can no longer be limited to a single period of one’s lifetime. Everyone, starting with the most marginalized and disadvantaged in our societies, must be entitled to learning opportunities throughout life both for employment and personal agency. A new social contract for education must unite us around collective endeavours and provide the knowledge and innovation needed to shape a better world anchored in social, economic, and environmental justice.  

What are the key areas that need to be transformed?

• Inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools

Education is in crisis. High rates of poverty, exclusion and gender inequality continue to hold millions back from learning. Moreover, COVID-19 further exposed the inequities in education access and quality, and violence, armed conflict, disasters and reversal of women’s rights have increased insecurity. Inclusive, transformative education must ensure that all learners have unhindered access to and participation in education, that they are safe and healthy, free from violence and discrimination, and are supported with comprehensive care services within school settings. Transforming education requires a significant increase in investment in quality education, a strong foundation in comprehensive early childhood development and education, and must be underpinned by strong political commitment, sound planning, and a robust evidence base.

• Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development

There is a crisis in foundational learning, of literacy and numeracy skills among young learners. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, learning poverty has increased by a third in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple written text. Children with disabilities are 42% less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills compared to their peers. More than 771 million people still lack basic literacy skills, two-thirds of whom are women. Transforming education means empowering learners with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to be resilient, adaptable and prepared for the uncertain future while contributing to human and planetary well-being and sustainable development. To do so, there must be emphasis on foundational learning for basic literacy and numeracy; education for sustainable development, which encompasses environmental and climate change education; and skills for employment and entrepreneurship.

• Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession

Teachers are essential for achieving learning outcomes, and for achieving SDG 4 and the transformation of education. But teachers and education personnel are confronted by four major challenges: Teacher shortages; lack of professional development opportunities; low status and working conditions; and lack of capacity to develop teacher leadership, autonomy and innovation. Accelerating progress toward SDG 4 and transforming education require that there is an adequate number of teachers to meet learners’ needs, and all education personnel are trained, motivated, and supported. This can only be possible when education is adequately funded, and policies recognize and support the teaching profession, to improve their status and working conditions.

• Digital learning and transformation

The COVID-19 crisis drove unprecedented innovations in remote learning through harnessing digital technologies. At the same time, the digital divide excluded many from learning, with nearly one-third of school-age children (463 million) without access to distance learning. These inequities in access meant some groups, such as young women and girls, were left out of learning opportunities. Digital transformation requires harnessing technology as part of larger systemic efforts to transform education, making it more inclusive, equitable, effective, relevant, and sustainable. Investments and action in digital learning should be guided by the three core principles: Center the most marginalized; Free, high-quality digital education content; and Pedagogical innovation and change.

• Financing of education

While global education spending has grown overall, it has been thwarted by high population growth, the surmounting costs of managing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the diversion of aid to other emergencies, leaving a massive global education financial gap amounting to US$ 148 billion annually. In this context, the first step toward transformation is to urge funders to redirect resources back to education to close the funding gap. Following that, countries must have significantly increased and sustainable financing for achieving SDG 4 and that these resources must be equitably and effectively allocated and monitored. Addressing the gaps in education financing requires policy actions in three key areas: Mobilizing more resources, especially domestic; increasing efficiency and equity of allocations and expenditures; and improving education financing data. Finally, determining which areas needs to be financed, and how, will be informed by recommendations from each of the other four action tracks .

What is the Transforming Education Summit?

UNESCO is hosting the Transforming Education Pre-Summit on 28-30 June 2022, a meeting of  over 140 Ministers of Education, as well as  policy and business leaders and youth activists, who are coming together to build a roadmap to transform education globally. This meeting is a precursor to the Transforming Education Summit to be held on 19 September 2022 at the UN General Assembly in New York. This high-level summit is convened by the UN Secretary General to radically change our approach to education systems. Focusing on 5 key areas of transformation, the meeting seeks to mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow; and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG-4.

• More on the Transforming Education Summit
• More on the Pre-Summit

Related items

• Future of education
• SDG: SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals .

More on this subject

Other recent news

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

The Biggest Policy Challenges Schools Are Facing Right Now

• Share article

There are many education policy challenges facing schools at the moment.

Today, two educators share which ones they think are the most important ones.

‘Legislative Attacks’

Keisha Rembert is a lifelong learner, equity advocate, and award-winning educator. She is the author of The Antiracist English Language Arts Classroom , a doctoral student and an assistant professor/DEI coordinator for teacher preparation at National Louis University. Prior to entering teacher education, Keisha spent more than 15 years teaching middle school English and U.S. history.

George Orwell’s words in his book 1984 resonate deeply today: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” These words hold immense relevance as we traverse the landmine of educational bills that have enacted book bans; restricted the exploration of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity topics; and prohibited the teaching of historical truths or any discourse that may result in “ discomfort, guilt, or anguish .”

In the past year, education-focused legislative attacks have become palpable and personal. We have seen an influx of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills , totaling a whopping 283, nationwide. In Florida, the value of AP African American Studies has been questioned, undermined, and dismissed as “ lacking educational value. ”

And critical race theory has become persona non grata, a scapegoat to thwart discussions and actions toward racial justice in our polarized American political landscape. These examples highlight the trend of states’ attempts to not only control curricula, learning, and discourse but also to stifle justice and constrict bodies and intellectual progress, negatively impacting the whole of society.

According to a 2022 Rand Corp survey, one-fourth of the teachers reported being influenced by legislative actions, pending and imposed, to change their lessons. It is scary to think that state legislatures, without any educational expertise, wield the power to manipulate knowledge and rewrite history. In the words of Paulo Freire, “Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people—they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress.” And thus, the barrage of these oppressive educational policies are not only unconscionable but also fundamentally untenable for student and societal success.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture, where the exclusion of diverse perspectives and the suppression of uncomfortable truths have the potential to distort our collective consciousness. It is in recognizing and embracing the history of the most marginalized among us that we truly learn about ourselves, our growth as a society, and the ideals to which we aspire.

These dehumanizing legislative impositions hinder our students’ understanding of our shared history and also represent a dangerous path that encroaches on our personal and academic freedoms. They undermine our capacity to nurture students’ critical-thinking skills and hamper our ability to cultivate a citizenry that values democratic ideals and engages thoughtfully in meaningful change.

As educators, we must continue to fight and offer our support to those living under oppressive state regimes. In our classrooms and beyond, we should:

• Advocate academic freedom: We cannot be passive bystanders while the rights of our students, selves, and colleagues are at stake. We must actively engage in discussions and initiatives that protect and promote freedom of all kinds within our schools, communities, and nation. We must reject the notion that any student should be denied the invaluable opportunity to be exposed to truth, diverse and inclusive perspectives, ideas, and experiences. Our championing of freedom creates an environment that fosters critical thinking, humility, and a deeper understanding of our world.
• Foster critical thinking and humility: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The only way to deal with unjust laws is to render them powerless by ignoring them.” It is time to lean into what we know is right and teach our students to do the same. To navigate this time of distortions and mistruths, our students need to be analytical thinkers who are discerning, open-minded, and equipped to challenge rhetoric and resist the manipulative forces that are restricting knowledge and controlling narratives.
• Uphold the ideals of democracy and global humanity: In the face of state-led oligarchies, it is our duty to instill in our students civic literacy, agency, collective responsibility, and the need to dismantle oppressive systems. Our students must be justice seekers who build bridges as compassionate citizens.

If we are not vigilant, we risk facing a fate reminiscent of the residents of Oceania depicted in 1984 , where “every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture repainted, every statue and street building renamed, every date altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

Censorship is antithetical to freedom; it begets spirit-murdering curricula violence, posing a direct threat to the mental and emotional well-being of students whose histories, identities, and personhood are silenced and deemed inconsequential and without value. By perpetuating harm, these laws also establish a dangerous precedent for future educational policies. The brevity of this moment demands action. If education is the ultimate pursuit of liberation, then the freedom it promises hangs in the balance.

STEM Access

Kit Golan ( @MrKitMath ) is the secondary mathematics consultant for the Center for Mathematics Achievement at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.:

Despite the demand for mathematical thinkers, our country continues to push data-illiterate and math-phobic graduates into the workforce. As such, a vital issue facing public schools today is inequitable access to high-level math courses, which acts as a gatekeeper for many who might enter science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.

Most course sequences prevent students from reaching rigorous math classes, especially students of color. Often, students who do have access to these courses come from privileged backgrounds whose families have invested time and money outside of the school day to “race to the top.” Regardless, many colleges use AP Calculus as a determining factor for entrance and class placement even though most students don’t reach this or other high-level math courses that better align with their career aspirations due to systemic barriers.

Few districts have created flexible course sequences that allow students to reach high-level math classes by senior year, meaning many students who do not accelerate in middle school may never be able to reach higher math classes without taking multiple math classes simultaneously or attending summer school.

Many middle school students do not know their career trajectory; having the option to delay acceleration until junior year and take a compressed Algebra 2/precalculus course would allow more students to access rigorous courses without being barred in middle school. Additionally, because current Algebra 2 courses focus heavily on symbolic manipulation that modern graphing technology renders obsolete, a compacted course could focus more on developing the conceptual understandings needed by eliminating this content. Yet, few schools have made this transition despite the obvious benefits.

Truly, this is a larger issue of tracking and acceleration for some students. Despite the consensus that sorting practices have a disproportionately negative impact on outcomes for marginalized students (NCTM, 2018), many parents still advocate for their children to be accelerated. Because teachers frequently struggle to differentiate for mixed-ability math classes, students who are ready for additional challenges may slip through the cracks as their teachers attempt to support struggling students’ access to grade-level content.

I’m not advocating separating these students into different streams, as the reality is that no matter how well you think you’ve grouped students by ability, there is no such thing as a truly homogeneous class; student variation is one of the only constants in education! Instead, teachers need additional professional development, time, and support (and reduced class sizes!) to better be able to differentiate their classes to ensure that all students have both access and challenge.

This is a systemic issue that requires structural changes beyond individual teachers. Sadly, most middle and high schools rarely have schedules allowing students to gain additional experience with math unless they are pulled from arts or other elective courses. Meanwhile, community colleges have recently begun to replace “developmental math” (their “low track”) courses with co-requisite models where students would enroll in both a credit-bearing course and an additional support class designed to help them gain access to the math content of the former. How might K-12 schools replicate that idea to provide additional support to students who need it?

Ultimately, the issue facing public schools is whether AP courses should be considered a privilege for the few who have access to outside resources or if it should be accessible to any who are interested in pursuing that pathway. Under the current paradigm, only students who take additional math courses outside of their standard school day or who are able to double up on math courses early in high school are able to reach AP Calculus by senior year. It’s outrageous that students who take Algebra 1 “on time” in 9th grade are considered remedial math students when measured along the path to AP Calculus. It’s past time we updated high school math options to reflect the 21st-century needs rather than settle for the status quo of the past century.

NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). (2018). Catalyzing change in high school mathematics: Initiating critical conversations . Reston, VA: Author.

Thanks to Keisha and Kit for contributing their thoughts.

They answered this question of the week:

What do you think is the most important education policy issue facing public schools today, why do you think it is so important, and what is your position on it?

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email . And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 12 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list here .

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Sign Up for The Savvy Principal

Edweek top school jobs.

Sign Up & Sign In

• My presentations

Auth with social network:

Download presentation

We think you have liked this presentation. If you wish to download it, please recommend it to your friends in any social system. Share buttons are a little bit lower. Thank you!

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Trends, Issues and Policies in Philippine Education System

Published by Karley Benner Modified over 10 years ago

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Trends, Issues and Policies in Philippine Education System"— Presentation transcript:

Foundations of American Education, Fifth Edition

1 (c) 2008 The McGraw Hill Companies Redesigning Teacher Salary Structures School Finance: A Policy Perspective, 4e Chapter 12.

An Ideal Philippine Education System

The Egyptian Educational System

THE 2004 LIVING CONDITIONS MONITORING SURVEY : ZAMBIA EXTENT TO WHICH GENDER WAS INCORPORATED presented at the Global Forum on Gender Statistics, Accra.

Foster families in Republic Macedonia Elka Todorova Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

SOCIAL WORKER: AN IMPORTANT ACTOR IN THE CHILD CARE REFORM.

State Literacy Teams An opportunity for IRA state councils to become more involved.

MINISTERIO DE EDUCACIÓN Education for the 21st: Finance and a new architecture to confront the challenges of quality, equity, and greater opportunity.

Appendices. Appendix 1: Supplementary Data Tables Trends in the Overall Health Care Market.

Sustainable development in

1 Citrus County 21 st CCLC Progress Report Larry Parman External Evaluator.

Charter School Presentation May 2008 From the Page to the Stage Getting the Work Done!

Southern Regional Education Board 1 Preparing Students for Success in High School.

Council for Education Policy, Research and Improvement CEPRI Projects Presentation to State Board of Education February 17, 2004.

1 Career Pathways for All Students PreK-14 2 Compiled by Sue Updegraff Keystone AEA Information from –Iowa Career Pathways –Iowa School-to-Work –Iowa.

East Bay Conservation Corps Charter School Charter Renewal Presentation OUSD State Administrator Board of Education September 28, 2005.

1 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) U.S. Department of Education Adapted by TEA September 2003.

National Academy of Engineering of the National Academies 1 Phase II: Educating the 2020 Engineer Phase II: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century...

Title I, Part A and Section 31a At Risk 101

About project

© 2024 SlidePlayer.com Inc. All rights reserved.

Current Issues In Education

Jul 22, 2014

210 likes | 741 Views

Current Issues In Education . Dakota Sale. Cheating . Throughout the United States and even noticed in today’s world, cheating is on the rise in young teenage and college students. It is important that steps and procedures are taken to reduce the probability of these impulses from succeeding.

Share Presentation

• self responsibility
• real world work responsibilities
• united states
• theapple monster com nfs
• san francisco gate
• high school students

Presentation Transcript

Current Issues In Education Dakota Sale

Cheating • Throughout the United States and even noticed in today’s world, cheating is on the rise in young teenage and college students. • It is important that steps and procedures are taken to reduce the probability of these impulses from succeeding. • It is important that students understand discipline and the proper way to go about succeeding.

How Many Students Admit To Cheating? • As studied by Barbara Pytel, nearly 75% of students at Duke University admitted to cheating and around 90% of students admit to copying papers. • Not only is this taking place at colleges and universities, but also students under high pressure in elite high schools are cheating. They believe that the only way to succeed is to do well in school, so they resort to anything they can.

Excelled College Students Cheating • Denise Pope, adjunct professor in the School of Education at Stanford University says, "Nationally, 75 percent of all high school students cheat. But the ones who cheat more are the ones who have the most to lose, which is the honors and AP students. Eighty percent of honors and AP students cheat on a regular basis." [Regan McMahan, San Francisco Gate.com, sfgate.com, September 9, 2007]

Cheating Athletes? • According to a survey taken in 2005 – 2006 by Regan McMahan of San Francisco, nearly 5,300 student athletes were asked to admit to cheating. 65% of them admitted to it. This is higher than the 60% of non-athletes who had admitted to cheating. • The likely hood of student-athletes cheating is due to the required minimum GPA that must be met in order to stay eligible.

Impact On Education • Cheating not only makes you a dishonest person, but most likely a failure later in life. • A student may be able to cheat his or her way through all of their homework, but once it becomes exam time, the individual is doomed. • It doesn’t stop at exam time either. Once the student enters the real world and must rely on self responsibility and the ability to do work alone if need be.

Impact On Education • If an individual is yet to develop qualities in college such as self discipline, tenacity, and forthrightness, qualities that are lacked if you are a cheater, then it is unlikely that the student will be successful in the working world. • Cheating in school can also be an insult to the teacher, who is trying the best they can to further education and spread knowledge.

Steps Taken To Reduce Cheating • First and foremost the only true way to break cheating is to be committed to stopping all together • Teachers today are encouraged to offer extra times after class to help students and explain in greater detail, whether they may actually need it or not. • Even though studying takes time away from a students social life, they must understand that in the real world work responsibilities will do the same.

Steps Taken To Reduce Cheating • A very common activity you now see all over college campuses is what is known as study sessions. Although these have been introduced many of years ago, a more formal, organized style of study sessions are taking place. One where the professor, on his or her own time are showing up to further the students knowledge and understanding of the material being covered.

Cheating In Today’s Schools And How It Is Being Handled • Throughout our schools cheating is a major factor that is under the radar, yet one of the largest known problems. • Cheating only displays dishonesty and low respect towards the teachers and what they are trying to do. • Steps are being played into effect in every school each year as cheating rises, and school officials are cracking down on the problem.

Sources • Image 1 - http://www.tridenttech.edu/00009613.JPG • Image 2 - http://theapple.monster.com/nfs/theapple/photos/0004/4597/cheating_crop380w.jpg • Image 3 - http://gothamschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/524814654_b5bf0a70c4.jpg • Image 4 - http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/elearnaid/miami-students-studing-on-own2.jpg • Image 5 – http://www.ncataggies.com/A&T%20Athletics/tangistudy.jpg • http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~jackson/opinions/Cheating.htm • http://classroom-issues.suite101.com/article.cfm/cheating_is_on_the_rise • http://www.fsu.edu/~elps/ae/download/ade5080/Pratt.pd • http://www.ehow.com/how_2271147_stop-cheating-school.html

• More by User

Current Issues in Payroll

Workshop Presenter(s). Name: Larry Hanyzewski Title: Assistant Director Contact Information: [email protected]: Pamela Hatton Title: Payroll Manager Contact Information: [email protected]: Don Smith Title: Payroll Manager Contact Information: [email protected]. 2. Please

731 views • 41 slides

Workshop Presenter(s). Name: Laurie M Pitner Title: Executive Director Contact Information: [email protected]: Kassaundra Hester Title: Associate Director Contact Information: [email protected]: Laura Barnett Title: Assistant Director Contact Information: [email protected]. 2.

561 views • 39 slides

Current Issues in Accounting

Workshop Presenter(s). Name: John Laroe, Business

551 views • 40 slides

CURRENT TRENDS & ISSUES IN NURSING EDUCATION

Joan Edwards, RNC, MN, CNS Associate Clinical Professor Texas Woman’s University – Houston [email protected]. CURRENT TRENDS & ISSUES IN NURSING EDUCATION. Objectives. Describe forces and issues driving nursing education in the 21 st century.

3.67k views • 41 slides

CURRENT ISSUES IN TEACHER EDUCATION Jaime M. Gellor

CURRENT ISSUES IN TEACHER EDUCATION Jaime M. Gellor. -”Great Debate” in education of the late 50’s between the classicists and the progressivists . Classicists - yield on the science of pure reason (metaphysics)

587 views • 19 slides

Current Issues

Current Issues. SE Asia and Oceania. Great Barrier Reef. World’s largest reef system; over 2900 reefs What does it do? About $5.4 Billion in tourism for Australia

352 views • 21 slides

Current Issues in Environmental and Science Education Research

Current Issues in Environmental and Science Education Research. David F Treagust ICRIEMS 2014. A Digression. Permantapan Kerja Guru (PKG)—strengthening the work of teachers—approach to in-service teacher development in Indonesia for science teachers.

489 views • 21 slides

Current Issues. GOALS Connect the timeless truth of God’s Word to current lifestyle, cultural and theological issues Emphasize the importance of making decisions based on clear scriptural commands and instructions. GOALS

372 views • 20 slides

Current Issues in Education: Charter Schools

Current Issues in Education: Charter Schools. Ryan Sickle Ivy Tech Community College.

235 views • 9 slides

Current issues

Current issues. Good regulatory practice. Transparency procedures. Horizontal (general) issues. Conformity assessment. Technical assistance. S&D Treatment. “TBT Triennial Reviews” (Article 15.4). Horizontal (general) issues. TBT Triennial Reviews: - Every three years

255 views • 16 slides

INVESTIGATING CURRENT ISSUES IN EDUCATION

The Investigators. INVESTIGATING CURRENT ISSUES IN EDUCATION. Today ’ s Program. How do Teacher ’ s use Authentic Assessment in the classroom to Ensure Student Success?. How do Teacher ’ s use Authentic Assessment in the classroom to Ensure Student Success?.

216 views • 10 slides

Current Issues in Leptogenesis

APCTP, Yonsei, Sep. 15, 2007. Current Issues in Leptogenesis. Eung Jin Chun. Korea Institute of Advanced Study, Seoul. I ssues in leptogenesis. To summarize (not so) new developments in leptogenesis = my two works done in Ann Arbor. Quintessence and leptogenesis

531 views • 39 slides

Current Issues in Education

Current Issues in Education. Abstinence Only Education. INTASC Standard, Description and Rationale. Standard # 5: Application of Content

2.76k views • 10 slides

Current Issues in Accounting. Wednesday, March 18 Workshop Session 5 8:15 am—9:30 am Workshop Session 6 9:45 am –11:00 am. Workshop Presenter(s). Name: John Laroe, Business & Financial Coordinator Phone: 217-333-9133 Email: [email protected]

631 views • 45 slides

Current event issues in education

Current event issues in education. Cody Gonyeau EDU 290 Tu,Th 9:30 Dr. Dirkin. Michigan State House of Representative lawmakers look to more public education reforms. Ryan Stevens Detroit Statehouse examineer.

308 views • 12 slides

Current Issues in Accounting. Current Issues in Accounting. Tuesday, April 28 Workshop Session 2 10:45 – 12:00 Workshop Session 4 3:10 – 4:25. Wednesday, March 18 Workshop Session 5 8:15 am—9:30 am Workshop Session 6 9:45 am –11:00 am. Workshop Presenter(s).

595 views • 40 slides

Current Issues. Institute of International Bankers October 29, 2007. Repricing of risk - ABX. Repricing of risk - LCDX. Not over yet…. ABCP.

189 views • 5 slides

Current Issues in Food

Current Issues in Food. BSE Claire Appleton and Carrie Thompson (NHS). Introduction. BSE is a form of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). It is thought to have first emerged in cattle during the 1970s. The disease is characterised by degenerative brain malfunction.

236 views • 13 slides

Current Issues in Education. Deandra Downey. INTASC Standards, Description and Rationale. Standard #5: Application of Content

311 views • 9 slides

Investigating Current Issues in Education

The Investigators. Investigating Current Issues in Education. Jen Glassock , Paul Schulz, Chris Samphire , Andrew Taylor and Jess McNicoll. Today ’ s Program. How do Teacher ’ s use Authentic Assessment in the classroom to Ensure Student Success?.

185 views • 10 slides

CURRENT ISSUES

320 views • 18 slides

CURRENT TRENDS & ISSUES IN NURSING EDUCATION. Objectives. Describe forces and issues driving nursing education in the 21 st century. Apply at least one theory to nursing education. Define components of curriculum development and design & redesign.

5.38k views • 41 slides