Bite Size thoughts on challenging the existing status quo on how schools and colleges operate
I guess I am not the only person challenging and questioning the educational systems available globally. The more research I do, the more momentum seems to be building on this topic. Since 1999 I have been questioning the real value of the academic degree in the real world that is changing on a daily basis. A number of my articles actually focused on such issues like the one questioning the duration of the PhD in the 21stcentury based on the assumption that research and surveys can be conducted in seconds compared to the 20th century thus limiting the time required to complete the degree. Furthermore, Peter Thiel’s book “from zero to one” also questions the duration of each class session in school. Why should all classes last for an hour? Is this logical? Are all classes the same? Jeff Selingo (2016) also has questioned the duration of the bachelors degree. Why should it be 4 years? And why should it be 4 years for all degrees? This is a point that I have always raised during my educational talks around the world, also comparing the American degree with the UK degree of 3 years. “More” does not mean “better”. A chartered accountant in Greece some years ago required 30+ courses and 8 years of experience while a CPA or an ACCA could complete the training requirements in 4 parts (CPA) or 14 papers (ACCA) with 3 years of experience. We should never judge merely through quantity in such cases and blanket policies are not necessarily right. They do save time and make things easier though…
The fact is that the corporate world is moving faster than ever and changing dramatically, especially due to the automation of jobs, but schools and Universities are actually stable. Stability is not as :good” as it once was. In the era of change, we need to embrace change. Schools and Universities have not seemed to understand this.
Research studies by a number of consulting firms (i.e. McKinsey, 2014) has suggested that employers feel that graduates are not as equipped as they need to be before they land their first job. So let’s think of this: We go to schools that are organized in the industrial era, to graduate through standardized tests (i.e. in the USA) or through a system where only the last exam counts without taking into consideration previous performance , to enter college for 3 or 4 years which is – in many cases - out of date, to teach us “knowledge” (not “competencies”) to eventually graduate and enter the job market with limited or no practical experience and work in an era where automation is “killing” a great percentage of jobs that we thought would be ‘there” for us. Interesting isn’t it? Parents and college students should be aware of these issues as the system does not seem to be working if one checks stats on graduate employment globally. It takes many graduates a number of years to actually enter the job market, even with a Masters degree. How can we confront these challenges?
Change is happening fast, technology is disrupting everything and we need to be able to assess, evaluate and predict. The problem is that we are asking the wrong people. If you want to know about the job market, ask consultants and seasoned – market focused – counsellors. If you want to think about which area to study, ask the people who work in that area, not the school or college. Go and ask someone who is doing what you want to do, not the person or people who are not even working (or have worked in many cases) in that industry. Make the best out of your time at school and during college to gain competencies and skills. Internships do play an important role. Soft skills development also does. With a plethora of courses and trainings offered on-line for free, make the best out of your time in everything you do…
Bite Size Thoughts by Dr. Constantine 'Dino' Kiritsis