EDUCATION is a process of absorbing knowledge through various modes. The educative process guides us through the intricacies of knowledge perception from the social, cultural, moral, spiritual and ethical perspectives and brings understanding through the various modes of critical, analytical, creative, visual and abstract thought process.
It is not only cerebral, but also physical in addressing the corporeal aspects of a person to create a holistic individual. Such an educative process avails itself through both formal tutelage and informal experiential learning.
Formal tutelage is usually associated with schooling that involves the classroom format, which aims to develop one’s critical faculties through the analysis of data by constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing information into various formal structures and conceptual framework that elicit different and even contrasting meanings.
Such an intellectual exercise is executed within the conscious realm that encourages cognition of phenomenal manifestations.
The formal classroom learning happens in a controlled situation that prescribes the nature and extent of knowledge transfer administered by the teacher.
It is mainly individualised with minimal teamwork and is totally assessed through individual efforts.
Experiential modes of learning, on the other hand, are through a variety of engagements and interactions outside the classroom format.
Such a learning is executed consciously and unconsciously in a less stressful and even stress-free setting and of one’s own volition. The learning could be intuitive and implanted unconsciously in one’s memory through the medium of play or other leisure activities at one’s behest.
And there is a kind of psychological safety in these experiential learning as they are not judgmental, unlike in the formal classroom setting, where students are assessed and graded according to their performance.
The classroom situation is stressful as students are openly evaluated according to certain prescribed standards.
Experiential learning, on the other hand, allows students to do it at their own pace and they can switch to other experiences without penalty. It develops confidence and a sense of achievement.
Examples of experiential learning are in sporting and aesthetic activities, such as dance, music and drama, which develop communal awareness and camaraderie as well as team spirit that are crucial in real life.
They also involve the conscious and unconscious observations of real-life phenomena.
Our whole life is one long educative process, ranging from the standard school, college and university education to more experiential and self-improvement learning.
We definitely learn in our workplace and may upgrade ourselves through in-service or self-improvement courses. But education is not just a process of transferring knowledge and developing skills. More importantly, it is meant to develop character.
In simple terms, character encompasses the qualities of self-worth, integrity, humility, truthfulness, thoughtfulness, discipline, sharing, passion and determination in pursuit of a quest.
Character development depends on three types of environment, namely, the home, school and peer group.
But school plays a more important part in overcoming shortfalls in character development than the other two environments, for it aims to instil discipline and right values.
The school, if properly managed, can instil in students the correct values of life that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to society.
The peer environment, which is found both in and outside the school, is most unstable in character development. For it may lead to the learning of negative values that are detrimental to personality development, and even engender anti-social and rebellious behavioural patterns.
Therefore, there is a need to guide students to be in a right environment, which can be done only through the home environment.
Home is the crucial environment for instilling positive values. The behavioural expressions of parents and other siblings will surely impact the students.
More important is the responsibility of parents as role models.
This poses a problem for the low-income group, where living space, insufficient finance and bickering parents may lead students astray and cause them to seek the company of peers, who may not be ideal for character development.
There is a dire need to institute a social ecosystem that provides formal and experiential learning. This is the responsibility of the state as well as the immediate community.
There has to be a holistic approach towards education. The authorities should not only concentrate on the school environment, but equally important is the socio-economic and cultural environments.
And the educative process should be tailored to address the scholastic needs and developments of students from different walks of life without forgetting special needs students, who tend to be overlooked in educational planning. Thus, the educative system should aim to develop character that combines sound education with positive behavioural qualities, and a robust mind and spirit to strive for excellence in all endeavours.
In the final analysis, the educative process is a path of discovery and rediscovery of the wonders of the universe, and the self which allows us to recognise our weaknesses and fortify our strengths to overcome our failure to create a meaningful life.
It also gives the opportunity to see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower, as well as equipping ourselves with the resolve to take the road less travelled.
The writer is a professor at the School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia