Anthropology Learning and Education
Education is the process of instilling knowledge and wisdom into the mind of the learner. This usually happens based on a set curriculum, within a given time in the learner’s life. Education in the past was majorly through an informal system, where learning was based on role modelling and issuing of basic instructions to be followed by the learner. In most cases, the male gender learnt from the male adults while the female gender learnt from their female adults. However, with the emergence and advancement in technology, the learning process has become modernized, changing the whole education system. Currently, for an individual to qualify as a guide to any learner, they have to undergo a training process, where they are taught the details of education. The other adjustment is the gender of a teacher, where any gender could teach any gender, as long as they are properly trained. These major changes brought about a lot of competition, and as a result, so many people pass through the education system (Bussemakers, van Oosterhout, Kraaykamp, and Spierings, 2017, p.32). This has resulted in a lot of challenges within the system, such as discrimination, to sideline a specific category or to deny them the best forms of education. Some of the affected categories, especially in the United States, have been a member of a different race, as well as a given gender. Therefore, race and gender are some of the factors that determine those who receive education and the quality of education they receive.
Positive Impacts of Race and Gender to Education Attainment
Stiff and Healthy Competition within the Education System
The background of education has always been in favour of the male gender. According to the society, males are more superior and intelligent, hence deserve better education services. On the other hand, the white race has been the leading race in terms of preferential treatment in the United States, declaring other races inferior. As a result, the Asians and the African Americans have been treated with a lot of disregards. The situation becomes worse, suppose one is a female from a different race. These societal stereotypes have been used as an encouragement strategy and a motivational aspect to the female gender and the different races (Khattab and Modood, 2018, p.242). Therefore, these two groups have put double effort in their work while in the education system, because of the lack of preference and discrimination within the system. Looking at the education system currently, the female gender and the different race students are better performers, granting them better chances of survival. This kind of competition has resulted in an improvement within the education system due to the created competition.
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Like every other challenge, these discriminations by the education system are contagious and has been translated into different sections of the world. Most nations globally, still consider the males more superior when it comes to every important aspect of the society, education attainment being one of them. They have, therefore placed higher expectations on the boys as compared to the girls (Bussemakers et al., 2017, p.28). As a result, the girls have been motivated to work extra hard in order to receive equal recognition within the society. This has created a better system, especially for the female gender, enabling them to achieve better results as compared to their male counterparts, and qualify for better positions within the career field. Similarly, the misplaced races living within other countries have been discriminated against, on several occasions, challenging them to perform even better than the original inhabitants. Based on research, most of the education centres with students from a different race as those of the local students have the different race students occupying the top positions in class. They end up performing better and becoming more successful as compared to the local students (Khattab et al., 2018, p.245). Gender and racial differences have, therefore acted as a challenge to the performance of foreign students, as well as female students.
Improvement of the Education Standards
History records that discrimination against the female gender, in terms of their potentials and capabilities during their term in the education system has resulted in better performances from their side. This kind of diversity has acted as a challenge to the male students as well. As expected by the society, the male students have better potential and better chances of success as compared to the females. Therefore, by female students stepping up, challenged the males into working harder to maintain the norms and expectations within the society. This has, in turn, resulted in remarkable performances of both genders within the education system. These better performances have been attributed to the fact that both male and female students have motivating factors (Kleven and Landais, 2017, p.207). As a result, the standards of education have had to be raised to match the incredible performances of all students. These standards include teaching more technical ideas at lower levels since the students have proven themselves more capable. Consequently, the grading system has been edited such that the best grades are only awarded to very high performances. Gender discrimination has, therefore acted as a motivating factor within the education system, resulting in better standards of education.
Racial differences, on the other hand, have also placed the foreign students at the top of the performance chat. In the United States, African American students perform better in most of the schools, as compared to the white students. This has posed a greater threat to the white students since the African American students qualify for better positions and better chances in life. As a result, the white students have had to step up since it is expected by the society that they perform better (Khattabet al., 2018, p.244). Historically, the whites have the most intelligent in terms of education, innovations and the general principles of life. These historical records have challenged their performances, enabling them to step up and match societal expectations. Interestingly, their improvement has also led to better performances from the African American students. Therefore, a competition cycle was created that improved the performances of all the students, resulted in an improvement in the general standards of education. This reaction was attributed to the fact that all students had the ability to register better performances. Therefore, raising the standards would result in even better performances from the students. The race has resulted in healthy competition, leading to higher standards of education.
Preferential Treatments to Discriminated Students
The female gender has been discriminated against, in several instances. They have been considered the less superior gender with insignificant opinions and ideas. This forms of discrimination began during the pre-technological times, and have translated to the current times. Therefore, individuals and organizations have stepped up on several instances, to defend the rights of the female gender. This has resulted in a lot of attention towards the discrimination against this gender (Kleven et al., 2017, p.200). Consequently, the issue of gender discrimination, being an issue of global concern, has been used as a campaign tool by politicians seeking to run for office, or those seeking to retain their various positions in their respective departments. As a result, preferential treatments have been issued to the female students in all aspects, including their journey towards the attainment of education. In the bid to foster equality, learning institutions have been set-up specifically for the girl child. In some countries, there are numerous girls’ schools at pre-college levels as compared to boys’ schools. Consequently, various spots within the high-end learning institutions have been spared for the sake of the girl child. Which is why during college application, the best-performed girls stand better chances of entry into the best colleges. Gender discrimination has, therefore resulted in better opportunities for the girl child.
The race has translated to a matter of global concern. Racism is one of the factors that play in almost every aspect of life. Some of the aspects include employment, medical caregiving and adoption processes. People make preference to certain races, compared to the others. Generally, the white race has been the most superior race worldwide. This has been a challenge since better education opportunities are offered by the white people. Therefore, different races strive to fly to the white countries, seeking better education opportunities. However, the foreign races have been discriminated against, within these white countries. Currently, there are various ongoing campaigns against racism, since most people have missed better opportunities in life due to their races. These campaigns have advocated for racism, and a lot of attention has been diverted towards seeking solutions towards racism. As a result, in the education system, racial segregation has been a priority. In the bid to ensure racial equality, foreign races are offered equal or even better opportunities as the white students. Positions are secured in good schools, for the sake of the Asians and the African American students in the United States. Consequently, special schools have been built specifically to accommodate the international students who miss better opportunities. Racial campaigns have, therefore contributed to a better education system for the foreign students, especially in the United States.
Negative Impacts of Race and Gender to Education Attainment
Categorization of Students
Gender differences have resulted in preferential treatment towards the male gender, leaving out the females to fend for themselves. The discrimination has become so rampant that schools have been separated into those meant for the males, and those of the females. The separation has been attributed to the fact that female students take a lot of time to grasp information, therefore slowing down the male students. Moreover, the female schools have been allocated some of the less qualified teachers because according to the society, female education is a mere formality (Di Florio et al., 2017, p.798). Consequently, the learning facilities in these female schools have been less operational and less sophisticated as compared to those of their male counter paths. Gender discrimination has, therefore, resulted in the categorization of students based on gender, affecting their final attainment of education.
Different races have also been discriminated against while pursuing education in foreign countries. They have been considered a burden to the system and a non-deserving lot. The society has discriminated against them to the extent that they rejoice upon the downfall of these foreign students. For this reason, the students of different races have had isolated learning institutions constructed on their account. However, these institutions, especially in the United States, receive some of the worst services if they get lucky since in most cases, they are totally neglected (Kleven et al., 2017, p.188). Additionally, the foreign students have been given last positions to cover up racism situations within the country. Racial differences have, therefore resulted in foreign students being isolated from the local students, in order to neglect them and leave them out in terms of educational progress. As a result, foreign students have had it challenging to attain education.
Poor Performance by the Discriminated Students
Gender discrimination in the education system has resulted in general poor performance by the female gender. This has been attributed to the fact that less is expected of the female gender, and therefore less input is given into their performance. This discrimination has also resulted in low self-esteem for the female gender, denying them the confidence to perform better in the education curriculum. Consequently, the female gender has been isolated as the less superior gender, as compared to their male counter paths. This isolation and the stereotypes create no opportunities for challenges. As a result, the girl child has been placed in a comfort zone (Museus et al., 2017, p.188), resulting in poor performances hence fewer chances of attaining better education as compared to the male students.
Race, on the other hand, has caused emotional trauma and esteem issues to students of different races studying in a foreign country. As a result, these students spend so much of their time dealing with emotional issues and issues of isolation that they neglect their academics. Therefore, the race has resulted in poor performance of these foreign students. Consequently, less attention is paid to their areas of weakness or academic hitches. Therefore, they end up struggling at individual levels to keep up with the rest of the students. On rare occasions, tuition sessions are offered to them but at very high cots, making it difficult to afford the sessions. Based on research, as much as some of the foreign students register some of the best performances, they are also represented in the poor performing category.
Loss of Cultural Identity
Occasionally, when most of the foreign students’ study in a different country with students of a different race, they are forced to abandon their cultural practices and adopt the new cultures within the country (Kleven et al., 2017, p.180). This has been challenging because the culture is something inborn and takes time to deviate from, in the bid to embrace new cultural practices. Additionally, most countries do not set aside a curriculum for the cultural practices of foreign students. In the long run, most of the foreign students struggle through the entire education system due to lack of adaptation to the new system. As a result, these students end up spending so much effort in trying to achieve the best forms of education.
School Leadership Discrimination
Leadership within a school set-up begins from the general head of management which is the principal in most cases, down to the deputies, heads of departments, teachers and the student leadership. Most of the teachers employed to handle technical subjects are usually the male teachers. Female teachers are in most cased allocated some of the most insignificant disciplines (Di Florio et al., 2017, p.788). Consequently, top school positions are rarely allocated to the female teachers. On the other hand, foreign teachers are usually disregarded within the staff. This kind of discrimination denies the teachers an opportunity to explore different fields, and to test their leadership abilities. As a result, they set the same kind of example to the students, who grow up knowing the societal norms. As a result, their general capability in terms of educational attainment is affected.
The education system has been geared by historical occurrences, right from the era before advancement in technology. Some of the aspects that have impacted the attainment process of education include racial differences and gender differences. These factors have created open and healthy competition within the education system, leading to an improvement in the standards of education. Consequently, better facilities have been installed in different learning institutions due to the campaign against racial differences and gender differences. However, these factors have also affected the attainment of education negatively by creating isolation programs for students of different races and gender. As a result, the discriminated students have registered poor performances due to a lack of self-esteem and academic attention. Race and gender have also affected the leadership within school set-ups, as well as the cultural practices of the foreign students. Generally, race and gender are some of the factors that led to the deterioration of education, but with time, the negative impacts were embraced and transformed.
References
- Bussemakers, C., van Oosterhout, K., Kraaykamp, G. and Spierings, N., 2017. Women’s Worldwide Education–employment Connection: A Multilevel Analysis of the Moderating Impact of Economic, Political, and Cultural Contexts. World Development, 99, pp.28-41.
- Di Florio, A., Putnam, K., Altemus, M., Apter, G., Bergink, V., Bilszta, J., Brock, R., Buist, A., Deligiannidis, K.M., Devouche, E. and Epperson, C.N., 2017. The impact of education, country, race and ethnicity on the self-report of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Psychological medicine, 47(5), pp.787-799.
- Khattab, N. and Modood, T., 2018. Accounting for British Muslim’s educational attainment: gender differences and the impact of expectations. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(2), pp.242-259.
- Kleven, H. and Landais, C., 2017. Gender inequality and economic development: fertility, education and norms. Economica, 84(334), pp.180-209.
- Museus, S.D., Yi, V. and Saelua, N., 2017. The impact of culturally engaging campus environments on a sense of belonging. The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), pp.187-215.
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