Need for Teachers to Reconceptualize the Roles of Education and the Purposes of Schooling
To enable Australia to transition into an information economy successfully in order to complete with the rest of the world, teachers must transcend the limitations of traditional schooling to envisage new roles for education and schooling in the contemporary society. In fact, the school system with its archaic teaching practices has come under considerable attack in recent years for its failure to meet the needs of many students Instead of focusing on transmitting information to students who are expected to passively absorb it, teachers must develop new instructional approaches to help their students acquire the disposition, knowledge and skills of individuals who can thrive in a challenging and unpredictable work environment (Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training 2000; Cumming 1997).
With the constant technological advances that are transforming contemporary society, students today have also become increasingly sophisticated learners who are exposed to information from a wide variety of sources. In short, they no longer rely on their teachers as the sole repository of knowledge. Teachers should thus no longer view education and schooling as a means of accumulating a vast store of information. Rather, they should realise that the purpose of education is to help students acquire the generic knowledge and skills such as critical thinking skills, which will enable them to take on the unpredictable challenges of the rapidly changing world. Education and schooling should equip students with the ability and the personality characteristics to cope with the fluctuating demands of the real world and adapt to changing environments (Cumming 1997; Pitman 2002).
In order to achieve these new objectives that will enhance the development of students, teachers must acknowledge that other parties such as the family and the ...