7 big problems–and solutions–in
education
BY LAURA DEVANEY, MANAGING EDITOR, @ESN_LAURA
May 9th, 2014
Solving these problems could be a key step to boosting innovation
Education has 99 problems, but the desire to solve those problems isn’t one. But because we
can’t cover 99 problems in one story, we’ll focus on seven, which the League of Innovative
Schools identified as critical to educational innovation.
While these aren’t the only challenges that education faces today, these seven problems are often
identified as roadblocks that prevent schools and districts from embracing innovation.
Problem No. 1: There exist a handful of obstacles that prevent a more competency-based
education system
(Next page: Problems and solutions)
Today’s education system includes ingrained practices, including policy and decades-old
methods, that prevent schools from moving to competency-based models.
Solutions to this problem include:
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Creating and making available educational resources on competency-based learning.
These resources might be best practices, rubrics or tools, or research.
Convening a coalition of League of Innovative Schools districts that are working to build
successful competency-based models.
Creating a technical solution for flexible tracking of competencies and credits.
Problem No. 2: Leadership doesn’t always support second-order change, and those in
potential leadership roles, such as teachers and librarians, aren’t always empowered to
help effect change.
Solutions to this problem include:
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Promoting League of Innovative Schools efforts to enable second-order change
leadership
Creating a framework, to be used in professional development, that would target and
explain second-order change leadership discussions
Schedule panel discussions about second-order change leadership
Problem No. 3: Communities and cultures are resistant to change, including technologybased change
Solutions to this problem include:
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Identifying new and engaging ways to share cutting-edge and tech-savvy best practices
with school and district stakeholders and community members
Involve business leaders in technology-rich schools and create school-business
partnerships
Look to influential organizations to spearhead national ed-tech awareness campaigns
Problem No. 4: Education budgets aren’t always flexible enough to support the cost,
sustainability, or scalability of innovations
Solutions to this problem include:
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Build relationships with local businesses and career academies, and create incentives for
companies to hire students, in order to create a revenue stream for schools
Look to competitive pricing and creative solutions
Leaders must not be afraid to take risks and support the changes needed to bring about
this kind of budgeting
Problem No. 5: Professional development in the U.S. is stale and outdated
Solutions to this problem include:
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Identifying best practices from other industries or sectors, and learn more about adult
learning
Create a community for teachers to access immediate help
Personalize professional development
Create and strengthen K-12 and higher education partnerships
Create alternative modes of certification and reward forward-thinking practices
Problem No. 6: School districts do not have evidence-based processes to evaluate, select,
and monitor digital content inclusive of aligned formative assessments
Solutions to this problem include:
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Creating a marketplace or database to help educators identify and evaluate, as well as
take ownership of, digital content
Involve students in digital content evaluation
Identify schools or districts to test digital content evaluation and storage systems
Problem No. 7: Current and traditional instructional methods leave students less engaged
and less inclined to take ownership of their learning
Solutions to this problem include:
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Creating working groups, within education organizations, with the aim of advancing
authentic student learning
Leverage the internet to create online tools and resources that offer innovative teaching
strategies to help engage students
Help teachers understand and practice authentic teaching and learning to help students
master skills and standards
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS OF PHILIPPINE EDUCATION
On the other hand, the country’s unemployment rate in January 2014 is at 7.5 percent, up from 7.1
percent in January 2013. Among the regions, the National Capital Region (NCR) still has the highest
unemployment rate. There were nearly 3 million unemployed in the Philippines as of January 2014, up
from 2.8 million in January 2013, the data showed.
There were 7.1 million underemployed in January, down from almost 7.5 million underemployed in
January last year, with an underemployment rate of 19.5 percent. Underemployment is defined as those
with jobs but who want to work more. Almost 60 percent of the underemployed employees worked for
less than 40 hours a week, most of whom worked in the services and agriculture sectors.
Among the unemployed persons in January 2014, 63.9 percent were males. Of the total unemployed, the
age group 15 to 24 years comprised 48.2 percent, while the age group 25 to 34, 29.9 percent. By
educational attainment, about one-fifth (19.8%) of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.3 percent
were college undergraduates, and 34.0 percent were high school graduates.
UNEMPLOYMENT AND MISMATCH
Education Survey of 1970
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Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE) was created in 1970
Philippine Educational Development Act of 1973
Wake up Call
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total of 1.3 million tertiary-level enrollment, 84% were concentrated in some 140 degree programs
offered by about 1,131 college and universities.
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Filipino technicians and skilled workers gravitated to the foreign job market in 1982, which
employed about 800,000 Filipino overseas contract workers in more than 100 countries.
Philippine education is like a giant soft drink factory,
putting out thousands and thousands of bottles.
The liquid in each bottle
may not be of the same quality and the same flavor,
but the packaging is certainly the same. The question is:
Who will drink all these bottles of soft drink?
- Andrew Gonzales, FSC
(Education Amid Economic Crisis)
Since the second half of the twentieth (20th) century, education officials in the
Philippines have been preoccupied with the search for solutions to the
paradox of mismatch between higher education output and job market
demands. This concern started in the early sixties when Harbison and Myers
(1965) published Manpower and Education, the result of their survey of
nations correlating their level of human resource development with their per
capital GNP. They proceeded form the hypothesis that the higher the level of
human resource development of a nation, the higher its economic
development would be. Indeed, they found positive correlation for all the
countries they surveyed except for the Philippines.
Currently, National Statistics Office (NSO) data showed that literacy rate of
Filipinos increased by 5 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the statistical
body’s 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) data. The CPH, stated
that 97.5 percent or 69.8 million of the total 71.5 million persons aged 10 and
above were literate in 2010, which was 5.2 percent higher than the 92.3
percent in 2000.
Why use technology?
Organizational Strategies for Change
1. Access
2. Quality of Information
3. Shift in Teaching and Learning Roles
4. Lack of Support and Training
5. Expensive to Purchase and Maintain
6. Fragmented Implementation
 To improve access to education and training
 To improve the quality of learning
 To reduce the costs of education
 To improve the cost-effectiveness of education
I. TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND FACILITIES
Technology is so much fun, but we can
Drown in our technology. The fog of
Information can drive out knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin
Technology Education is an integrated, experienced-based instructional program designed to prepare a
population that is knowledgeable about technology – its evolution, systems, techniques, uses and social
and cultural significance. It results in the application of mathematics and science concepts to solve
practical problems and extend human capabilities.
For technological change to be effective, it usually needs to be accompanied by major structural and
organizational changes for its full potential to be realized.
Education Act of 1982
To provide legal backbone to the Philippine Educational Development Decree of 1973, the Philippine
Legislature enacted Batas Pambansa 232, otherwise known as the Education Act of 1982, which
mandated, among others, that tertiary education should pursue the following objectives:
• To provide a general education program that will promote national identity, cultural consciousness,
moral integrity and spiritual vigor;
• To train the nations manpower in the skills required for national development;
• To develop the professions that will provide leadership for the nation
• To advance knowledge through research work and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of
human life and responding effectively to changing societal needs and conditions.
Need for Drastic Reforms
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"brain drain"
1989, the Joint Resolution No. 2 of the Congress of the Philippines created the Congressional
Commission on Education (EdCom)
Philippine Congress enacted in 1994 two landmark educational legislations: RA 7722 creating the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and RA 7796 creating the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
Issues in Educational Technology
What is pleasantly surprising is how the book parallels the various arguments and points
made throughout this blog. In addition to debunking myths behind current education reforms
in education in the United States, Ravitch also offers solutions. Most of the solutions offered
by Ravitch are in fact natural follow-ups if only a careful, sincere and thorough analysis of
education issues is made.
SOLUTION NO. 1 Provide good prenatal care for every pregnant woman.
SOLUTION NO. 2 Make high-quality early childhood education available to all children.
SOLUTION NO. 3 Every school should have a full, balanced, and rich curriculum, including
the arts, science, history, literature, civics, geography, foreign languages, mathematics, and
physical education.
SOLUTION NO. 4 Reduce class sizes to improve student achievement and behavior.
SOLUTION NO. 5 Ban for-profit charters and charter chains and ensure that charter
schools collaborate with public schools to support better education for all children.
SOLUTION NO. 6 Provide the medical and social services that poor children need to keep
up with their advantaged peers.
SOLUTION NO. 7 Eliminate high-stakes standardized testing and rely instead on
assessments that allow students to demonstrate what they know and can do.
SOLUTION NO. 8 Insist that teachers, principals, and superintendents be professional
educators.
SOLUTION NO. 9 Public schools should be controlled by elected school boards or by
boards in large cities appointed for a set term by more than one elected official.
SOLUTION NO. 10 Devise actionable strategies and specific goals to reduce racial
segregation and poverty.
SOLUTION NO. 11 Recognize that public education is a public responsibility, not a
consumer good.
With regard to Philippine basic education, it is perhaps impossible to relate to solution no. 9
since unlike the US, the Philippine public school system is highly centralized. However, the
rest of the solutions are very much transferable. The articles that have been posted in this
blog support most of these solutions.
If there is a lesson from this book that education leaders in the Philippines must take into
heart, it is the following anecdote (This is ironic - A scientist like me chooses an anecdote
for a lesson) that drives home a very powerful message: (These are excerpts from Chapter
32 of "Reign of Error")
In 1991, a businessman named Jamie
Vollmer gave a speech to a group of
teachers in Indiana. He was an executive at
an ice cream company who had come to
conduct an in-service program for
educators. He told them they needed to
operate more like his company, whose
blueberry ice cream had been recognized
by People magazine in 1984 as the “Best
Ice Cream in America.” He told the
assembled teachers, “If I ran my business
the way you people operate your schools, I
wouldn’t be in business for long.”
As he later told the story, he explained to
the teachers that the schools were obsolete
and that educators resist change because
tenure protects them from accountability.
Business, he thought, had it right. It
operates on principles of “Zero defects!
TQM [total quality management]!
Continuous improvement!”
Not surprisingly , the teachers reacted with
sullen hostility. When he finished his
speech, a teacher innocently asked about
his company’s method of making the best
ice cream. He boasted of its “superpremium” ingredients, nothing but the best.
Then she asked a question:
“Mr. Vollmer,” she said, leaning forward
with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky,
“when you are standing on your receiving
dock and you see an inferior shipment of
blueberries arrive, what do you do?” In the
silence of that room, I could hear the trap
snap … I was dead meat, but I wasn’t going
to lie. “I send them back.” She jumped to
her feet. “That’s right!” she barked, “and we
can never send back our blueberries. We
take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted,
exceptional, abused, frightened, confident,
homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them
with ADHD, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and
English as their second language. We take
them all! Every one! And that, Mr. Vollmer,
is why it’s not a business. It’s school!” In an
explosion, all 290 teachers , principals, bus
drivers, aides, custodians, and secretaries
jumped to their feet and yelled, “Yeah!
Blueberries! Blueberries!”
Jamie Vollmer had an epiphany. From that
day forward, he realized that schools could
never operate like a business because they
do not control their “raw material.” They
cannot sort the blueberries and reject those
that are bruised or broken. They take them
all.
The Philippines must realize that education is not a way to get ahead in life. The Philippines
must realize that poverty hurts education so much and that not all solutions are within the
curriculum. The Philippines must realize that a lot of the solutions lie in the early years, not
in the later ones when problems have become insurmountable. This is what this blog is all
about, right from the very beginning.
In many ways, today’s system is better than the traditional one. Technology is the biggest change
and the greatest advantage at the same time. Various devices, such as computers, projectors,
tablets and smartphones, make the process of learning simpler and more fun. The Internet gives
both students and teachers access to limitless knowledge.
However, this is not the perfect educational system. It has several problems, so we have to try to
improve it.
1.
Problem: The Individual Needs of Low-Achievers Are Not Being Addressed
Personalized learning is the most popular trend in education. The educators are doing their best to
identify the learning style of each student and provide training that corresponds to their needs.
However, many students are at risk of falling behind, especially children who are learning
mathematics and reading. In the USA, in particular, there are large gaps in science achievements by
middle school.
Solution: Address the Needs of Low-Achievers
The educators must try harder to reduce the number of students who are getting low results on longterm trajectories. If we identify these students at an early age, we can provide additional training to
help them improve the results.
1. Problem: Overcrowded Classrooms
In 2016, there were over 17,000 state secondary school children in the UK being taught in classes of
36+ pupils.
Solution: Reduce the Number of Students in the Classroom
Only a smaller class can enable an active role for the student and improve the level of individual
attention they get from the teacher.
1. Problem: The Teachers Are Expected to Entertain
Today’s generations of students love technology, so the teachers started using technology just to
keep them engaged. That imposes a serious issue: education is becoming an entertainment rather
than a learning process.
Solution: Set Some Limits
We don’t have to see education as opposed to entertainment. However, we have to make the
students aware of the purpose of technology and games in the classroom. It’s all about learning.
1. Problem: Not Having Enough Time for Volunteering in University
The students are overwhelmed with projects and assignments. There is absolutely no space for
internships and volunteering in college.
Solution: Make Internships and Volunteering Part of Education
When students graduate, a volunteering activity can make a great difference during the hiring
process. In addition, these experiences help them develop into complete persons. If the students
start getting credits for volunteering and internships, they will be willing to make the effort.
1. Problem: The Parents Are Too Involved
Due to the fact that technology became part of the early educational process, it’s necessary for the
parents to observe the way their children use the Internet at home. They have to help the students to
complete assignments involving technology.
What about those parents who don’t have enough time for that? What if they have time, but want to
use it in a different way?
Solution: Stop Expecting Parents to Act Like Teachers at Home
The parent should definitely support their child throughout the schooling process. However, we
mustn’t turn this into a mandatory role. The teachers should stop assigning homework that demands
parental assistance.
1. Problem: Outdated Curriculum
Although we transformed the educational system, many features of the curriculum remained
unchanged.
Solution: Eliminate Standardised Exams
This is a radical suggestion. However, standardised exams are a big problem. We want the students
to learn at their own pace. We are personalizing the process of education. Then why do we expect
them to compete with each other and meet the same standards as everyone else? The teacher
should be the one responsible of grading.
1. Problem: Not All Teachers Can Meet the Standards of the New Educational System
Can we really expect all teachers to use technology? Some of them are near the end of their
teaching careers and they have never used tablets in the lecturing process before.
Solution: Provide Better Training for the Teachers
If we want all students to receive high-quality education based on the standards of the system, we
have to prepare the teachers first. They need more training, preparation, and even tests that prove
they can teach today’s generations of students.
1. Problem: Graduates Are Not Ready for What Follows
A third of the employers in the UK are not happy with the performance of recent graduates. That
means the system is not preparing them well for the challenges that follow.
Solution: More Internships, More Realistic Education
Practical education – that’s a challenge we still haven’t met. We have to get more practical.
The evolution of the educational system is an important process. Currently, we have a system that’s
more suitable to the needs of generations when compared to the traditional system. However, it’s
still not perfect. The evolution never stops.
Author Bio: Chris Richardson is a journalist, editor, and a blogger. He loves to write, learn new
things, and meet new outgoing people. Chris is also fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar.
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