ERIC Number: ED499042
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Essay in Culture, Society, Education and Vocational Training
Cully, John H.
Online Submission
In many developing countries it is apparent that there are multifarious impediments associated with, and acting upon, educational development and the complexity of diverse socio-cultural landscapes. Indeed, numerous perspectives tend to be overlooked or possibly not even taken under consideration when it comes to the transmission of salient knowledge. While national governments clearly need to rationalize and readapt their education systems in many critical areas, it is crucial that they pay particular attention to that of skills training as it is now more than ever coming to the forefront as a essential requirement for any progress in addressing the impacts of economic globalization. International organizations working in different fields of development can play a significant role in this transition through implementing high quality training courses, workshops, presentations and other essential educational components. However, when exploring some of the approaches applied in educating nationals as utilized and implemented by developmental organizations it is not difficult to notice why they often fail to disseminate knowledge in its variety of forms. These issues need to be studied in greater detail with a view to improving what can only be described as fairly inadequate attempts to enlighten populations. What follows highlights an example of a typical instructional approach which is common place in developmental education and one that evidentially fails to deliver its intended outcomes. This inquiry also shows that there is little attention paid to socio-cultural dimensions, not only from a transmission point of view, but also from what would appear to be predetermined attitudes intrinsic to this form of methodology. Further considerations are given to the fact that there are dissimilarities between cultures and how they recognize and interpret the world they live in. Knowing that this factor is often challenging to transcend, this study offers possible deliberations related to human similarities and temperaments that may help to blend and balance the differences for the benefit of educational development. These deliberations take into account that all human beings have traits that go beyond socio-cultural barriers and also propose that there can be assimilations between these characteristics. Additionally, it highlights the fact that many agencies are offering skills trainings that are attempting to create improved working conditions for the most vulnerable members of these developing societies but are falling short of reaching their intended goals either by failing to identify key factors in the relationship or not fully understanding the rudimentary conditions inherent within specific areas of trade expertise relative to educationally underdeveloped participants. Furthermore, it is difficult to see how this situation can progress even if the skills are imparted if there are no provisions for business creation built into the training or after support for those trainees who have identified outlets for their specific skill.
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A