A Peek in to History – Education for All

LRNT523 Unit 1 Activity 2

Education for All

I recall my teenage daughter approaching me in sheer shock and disbelief when she learned that it wasn’t that long ago, in the not so distant past, when there was discrimination that prevented many people from receiving an education.  Lost for words, upset, and confused, yet so very grateful the world has since evolved where education is available through a broader and wider net cast, to a larger population of people regardless of age, gender, social status and race.

Education has further catapulted through technological advancements enabling people from all parts of the nation, continent and world near and far, through open and distant education to participate with no boundaries. Accessibility and connectivity as one cohort, as if we are all from the same geographical coordinates on a map.

The history of education has formed so much of the foundation and building blocks of where we are today.  An article from Adult Basic Education written by author Pierre Walter painted a vivid picture of some Canadian history that formed the movement of Alfred Fitzpatrick, founder of Frontier College, on his crusade to give uneducated immigrant laborers an education.  His pitch was, “it’s high time the great resources of nature should be used not to make the few rich, but to make the many wise.” (Fitzpatrick 1920/1999 as cited in Walter, 2003, p.5)  With this he was able to establish a system where university educated men would serve as teachers in the camps supporting literacy programs and exposure to educational, health and social services.  By 1904 there were reading rooms in 42 camps maintained through donations from charge congregations, lumbermen, railways, politicians and other key public figures. By 1922, Frontier College had been granted a federal government charter and became Canada’s first university to offer degrees through extramural study and in 2001 celebrated its 100^th anniversary.  Like many of the pioneers, Fitzpatrick paved the way for inclusion and opportunities for something so essential.  The grassroots of all these pivotal markers in history have really influenced much of where we are today.

Another scholarly article written by Associate Professor Dr. Yusup Hashim shares the movements led by UNESCO and initiative called Education is for All (EFA).  The initiative advocates education shouldn’t be confined to age, ethnicity, gender and social status and through technology open and distant learning can help with the EFA goal.   Dr. Hashim expresses the concept of EFA, equal education opportunities and lifelong learning cannot be addressed with traditional methods of teaching and old technology needs to be replaced by learner-centred approach, supported by online learning pedagogy and technologies. “The education system should be open and flexible in terms of entry, technology and pedagogy.  Students can learn anywhere, anytime and at their own pace and not be confined to live classroom teaching and synchronous learning materials.” (Hashim, 2010, p.2) With open and distance learning (ODL) it may advance us in the cause of accommodation and accessibility to education opportunities, as well as address the needs and demands of 21st century learning.

References

Walter, P. (2003).  Adult Literacy Education on the Canadian Frontier.  Journal of Adult Basic Education,  13(1), 3-18.

Hashim, Y. (2010).  Open and Distance Learning (ODL) – Semantic Scholar.  Asia e University.  Retrieved September 7, 2018 from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=84D227F92ACD10D5D828CED0EFF461CF?doi=10.1.1.175.5417&rep=rep1&type=pdf