IT Wisdom: Is higher education worth it?

You’ve paid a significant amount of money and personal sacrifice, spent a tremendous amount of time getting your degree(s). Sometimes, all that investment forces you to believe that it was worth it in your mind. But was it really? Famous author and speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, illustrated a scary reality with many fundamental challenges in education; one of them being that education kills creativity. When we look at the business world, some businesses are requiring more education while others like Global publishing group Penguin Random House are dropping the requirement of a degree for hiring; but the message is the same – they want more from employees and they are not getting it. What is really missing?

To have a full understanding of the value of education, one has to explore the historical journey for formal education. Before the industrial revolution, apprenticeship was the most common form of education. When industrial revolution came with its massive need for labour on the assembly line, the formal educational system was born to create assembly-line workers the perform repetitive tasks. As we’ve moved into the knowledge economy and the digital age, many systemic characteristics remain stagnant in our higher education. Out of the many, behaviourism is one that greatly limits your development as an intelligent innovator/leader. Within behaviourism, people are expected to change their visible behaviour based on a different stimulus given. It does not consider the cognitive thought process that drive behaviours. If you get the desired behaviours, then the goal is complete. In higher education, the desired behaviour is attending class, passing a test, and writing a good paper. Countless universities still use grades as the major determinant of success. So ask yourself thisHow much do I remember from what I learned in college/university?

Most people we’ve surveyed around the world responds between 20-35%. This is a rather sad reality when you consider all the time you’ve spent in the classroom and doing studies outside of class. Can I practice effectively when needed? In many instances, to apply something effectively, one must have the knowledge of the skill and have had ample practice time. If the recall was between 20-35%, how appalling is the ability to apply? In adult learning studies, the majority of our skills that attribute to success is NOT from formal education. This provides a clear rationale why businesses are wanting more from their employees, but not getting it. To be competitive in the global environment, they want employees who are innovative.

Higher education stands in front of a major revolution. Whether it’s in the US, UK, Asia, or here in Malta, the system of education has some fundamental challenges. While these are major systemic issues in the universities, you are not trapped in an old system intended to create laborers. Here’s some strategies to empower you:

Integration: the real world is a very much integrated. When you’re learning isolated topics like accounting, as your professors to show a clear integration between accounting and other topics like marketing and operations. ??? Not clearTo lead, you need to see the interconnections between topics.

Application: in order for you to remem- ber information, you have to apply it in a meaningful way. Doing case studies is not necessarily meaningful. Find real world situations to apply on a personal level. This will greatly enhance your ability to remember and develop your courage and creativity.

Measurements: as you apply, measure the outcomes. These measurements help you determine what is best for you and creates an emotion that solidifies knowledge into your brain. It also helps you develop skills while creating a learning loop.

The above strategies take courage, conscious effort and commitment. The value you get from any form of education is drastically increased when you apply this learning process.

At Transcontinental Institute, we’ve consciously redesigned higher education to include these processes. As you progress in our powerful integrated learning system, you will not only get an accredited degree, you will see a fully capable leader with courage and wisdom in yourself.

Join us at our free innovative seminar on June 20, 2018 18:30 at Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort. Register here: https://transcontinental.edu.mt/seminar