How Does Education Bring About Social Change?
Education as a means to social change Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ Over the centuries, leaders, thinkers and revolutionaries around the globe have believed in the power of education to catalyse social change.
- Social change is triggered when the complex web of human relations and interactions undergoes a mental transformation.
- It’s when we, as a society, disregard viewpoints propped up by ignorance to accept new ways of life, and education plays a vital part in ushering in this change.
- Acceptance is the key to social change, and acceptance comes through knowledge.
And educational reforms modernise human perspective, broadening our minds enough for us to envision a better future. fairer Bringing the Ivy Leagues to High Schools In their endeavour to shift the educational paradigm to within a more inclusive system, one that can prompt social change, EdTech players are building an international ecosystem of students, mentors and leaders.
What began as an idea to democratise Ivy League education has now progressed into empowering high-school students with instruments of change. Specially curated programmes focus on transformation within communities, societies, and even schools. These programmes, workshops and webinars, etc., have an informal setting but with a global outreach that allows students from diverse backgrounds and cultures to share their ways of life and to network.
Together, the students and mentors find methods to tackle local problems highlighted during the course, while offering sustainable solutions to facilitate positive change. Collaborating with student-led and other organisations such as Harvard Student Agencies, Harvard Graduate Women In Science and Education (HGWISE), CSDGC at Stanford University, MIT Solv, Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR), etc., EdTech startups are globalising out-of-classroom education and helping expand social horizons.
Moreover, they are enabling students to access resources across the world, to better ideate, and innovate to guide communities towards a more fairer and equitable society. More initiatives such as these can only benefit humankind overall. Impact Of Global Mentors Mentors too have a duty in connecting the finest institutions (like the Ivy Leagues) to high schools.
The term mentor reportedly owes its origins to the Odyssey, where ‘Mentor’ was a character who performed the role of a teacher to Homer’s son. Today, mentors hold the same value, sharing world perspectives with their students and acting as stimuli for social change.
- From Civil Reforms to Women’s Rights to LGBTQ Rights, mentors have played a crucial part in enlightening the masses about the need for these reforms, and we can observe the changes that have taken place in their wake.
- The advent of the Internet allowed the world’s citizens to connect beyond borders, and access information at their fingertips.
Global mentors have leveraged this opportunity to share knowledge across countries and help bridge cultural and social gaps, while alongside imparting quality international education to students. And when it comes to teaching, these mentors equip themselves with a more holistic approach, and hence are capable of providing a broader view of the issues faced by society today.
Hubs have been created that connect global mentors to high-school students worldwide. This network helps students understand social impact, and how societies are adapting to a changing world. Keeping the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) in mind, these mentors train students to identify issues in their localities, inspiring the young women and men towards solving them and bringing positive change, thus sparking social transformation at a local level.
Youngsters Sparking Social Change Through International Education Such programmes succeed once the mentors make way for the students to take over, and become the change societies need. A retrogressive society lacks suitable education systems, pushing it even further into the grip of backward beliefs, social conflicts and poverty.
But the life-changing quality of education helps eradicate regressive practices and pave the way to progress, and towards building societies in which all relationships are founded on respect. And the Covid-19 pandemic opened up digital avenues for learning, allowing students to pursue education from universities outside their home countries.
International educational set-ups have long possessed the power to influence youngsters by exposing them to global cultures, high standards of living, and, of course, advanced curricula that hold relevance in an ever-changing world. In such an environment, students learn to challenge orthodox pedagogies and untether themselves from conformist mindsets, the better to discover and make sense of a world in flux.
These youngsters, our next generation, are the change-makers who will bring change to society, a change that befits our times. Meanwhile, initiatives such as the Take the World Forward fellowship, The Passion Project: Young Achievers Program, Compassionate Leaders Dream Lab, Policy Making and International Relations, etc., aid in creating a platform for high-school students to take control of their future.
They inculcate skills to shape confident and motivated leaders of tomorrow, while offering global networking opportunities for students to connect, share, explore and learn. Education in a cosmopolitan environment—influenced, for instance, by the forward-looking reputation of Ivy Leagues—can nurture holistic perspectives that fashion a forward-looking society.
- Programmes that keep this objective in mind strive to build world citizens who follow best practices to solve problems and generate positive transformations ‘glocally.’ In Conclusion Education can help us embrace social change by cultivating a positive outlook and broadening our thinking.
- Further, it can initiate behavioural change and prompt a shift in attitude in people, allowing them to contribute constructively towards the growth of a progressive and tolerant society.
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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For example, the expansion of literacy in a country via education can lead to greater economic prosperity as individuals are able to seek employment in advanced fields. An increase in economic prosperity leads to social change as people, no longer shackled by poverty, seek more rights.
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How can education bring change?
How Education Change Society – Carrie Benedet For centuries, education has been integral in preparing them to contribute to their communities. Education shapes the skills, attitudes, and beliefs of the individual and plays a role in shaping the norms and values of a particular society.
These values eventually define the community structures people build, the goals they strive for, and how they help advance global development. Education has the power to bring individuals and communities together, equipping them with the abilities and knowledge to overcome pressing challenges. This power is not only at work in the conventional classroom but also in any setting where people can gather together and learn from each other.
Teachers and learners involved in conventional schooling, technical or vocational training, leadership coaching, and any other form of education can and should tap into this power for positive social change. The following are some of the ways that educational systems have transformed society around the world throughout history:
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How does education impact society?
Benefits of Education are Societal and Personal – Those who get an education have higher incomes, have more opportunities in their lives, and tend to be healthier. Societies benefit as well. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better overall health, and civic involvement.
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How important is education to change the world?
What are the 7 ways education can power a better world? The human race has made significant progress in the past 7 million years. From being cave dwelling Neanderthals to now being jet-setting futurists, we have come a long way. Today, as we gear up to become a planet of 9 billion people, are we better off than we were millenniums ago? Of course access to the bare necessities of life has never been easier.
- Shelter electricity, food, and hygiene have considerably improved the quality of our lives.
- But the one essential element that separates us from the dumb, that helps create better societies, develop virtues and gives us a sense of freedom—is Education and many around the world are still deprived of it.
The classic definition of education is “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university”. But education is much more than that. It is a process of which can be acquired anywhere at any time and any age. It is the fundamental right of every citizen because it promotes empowerment and ensures development benefits.
- Education can be used for the upliftment of society since it helps elevate the social and economic conditions in the marginalized sections of society.
- Education makes us better citizens by teaching us how to conduct ourselves through life by following rules and regulations and giving us a sense of conscience.
It make us more confident to go out there and achieve things. Many governments across the world have recognized the importance of education as a tool to enhance progress and make the world a better place. Let us see how it achieves that:
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Social change occurs due to various factors such as demographic, technological, cultural, political, economic and educational. These factors often act in concert resulting in changes either in a serial manner or something in parallel too.
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What is Social Change and Why Should We Care? Social change is a concept many of us take for granted or don’t really even understand. No society has ever remained the same. Change is always happening. We accept change as inevitable, and it is, end of story, right? Well, not exactly. Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions.
- These changes occur over time and often have profound and long-term consequences for society.
- Well known examples of such change have resulted from social movements in civil rights, women’s rights, and LBGTQ rights, to name just a few.
- Relationships have changed, institutions have changed, and cultural norms have changed as a result of these social change movements.
That’s pretty heady stuff. Don’t you think? What interests me, and what I hope interests you, is our collective power to influence social change. While we accept that change is constant, we do not have to accept that we are powerless in its wake. It is the extent to which we care about the direction of social change that we can try to shape it and help to create the kind of “change we wish to see in the world.” Whether or not Gandhi actually uttered these words doesn’t matter.
What matters is that the phrase begs the question, what kind of change do we wish to see in the world? As executive director of the 43+-year-old nonprofit, Global Citizens Circle (GCC), I think about this question every day as I work to carry forward the mission of the organization to foster constructive change in our communities, our nation and our world.
I imagine that our partner and host institution, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), also thinks about this question on a daily basis as it seeks to “transform the lives of students.” And surely, our Belfast-based partner, The Social Change Initiative (SCI), thinks about it as it strives “to improve the effectiveness of activism for progressive social change.” We, all three institutions, care and understand that we can influence social change for the better.
We may exercise our power to influence change in different ways. GCC does it through discussion among people of diverse opinions and backgrounds. SNHU does it by offering affordable and innovative educational and similar, and now even in refugee camps in Africa, SCI exercises its influence by bringing together social activists with philanthropists around the world.
These are lofty goals to be sure, and they demand our constant attention and unrestricted imagination to envision a better world. You may think that’s great, but wonder why you should care, why you should take time out of your incredibly busy schedule to take action and more importantly, how you can even go about helping to create positive social change.
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Examples of social change The Reformation. The abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The Civil Rights movement. The feminist movement.
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Why is education important in society development?
9. Economic Growth On A National Level – An educated society is crucial for economic growth. We need people to continue to learn and research in order to constantly stay innovative. Countries with higher literacy rates also tend to be in better economic situations. With a more educated population, more employment opportunities are opened.
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What Is Social Change And Why Should We Care? – Social change can be defined as the way in which human interactions, relationships, behavior patterns, and cultural norms change over time. These changes ultimately transform cultural and social institutions, concepts, and rules, which will inevitably impact society for the long-haul.
- These changes and transformations are not necessarily good or bad, but they are profound.
- On the surface, we may not notice social change; it can take years — even centuries — of action to cause one change.
- As students and members of a rapidly changing society, it’s important to look back on social changes of the past and how they’ve influenced us now.
For instance, at one point, women were not able to study at university. Today, both men and women, of all races, religions, nationalities, and creeds, can study — even online and tuition-free, like at University of the People, This is why social change is important.
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How does education bring about changes in the society class 11?
Class 11 Sociology Chapter 2 Long Answer Type Questions – Question 1. How demographic factors, education and social legislation cause social change? Answer:
- Population growth, its size and composition cause social change.
- When population starts multiplying, unemployment, housing, cleanliness and hygiene, poor economic condition, severe stress due to competition.
- Education is one of the core factors which has far reaching consequences on the evolution, revolution and progress of individual and society by and large.
- Modem educational system aims at imparting empirical knowledge.
- Education enables the members to participate effectively in social domains.
- Education can bring radical changes in the status of women.
- Modem education has brought significant changes in customs, traditions, superstitions and beliefs of people in the society.
- Social legislation has brought significant changes in society if it is supported by social opinion.
- After independence in India many legislations have been passed out. Of so many, a few could bring about significant changes e.g. legislation related to SCs and STs. But there are many which are unplemented. It could not bring about significant changes particularly in the rural society like ‘Sharda Act’ related to child marriage.
How does education help in the creation of better society?
Benefits of Education are Societal and Personal – Those who get an education have higher incomes, have more opportunities in their lives, and tend to be healthier. Societies benefit as well. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better overall health, and civic involvement.
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