Informed transition from school-to-college

“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us, there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength of the nation.” -John F. Kennedy.

One of the most important turning points in a student’s academic career is the transition from high school to college. This stage represents the change from a dependent to an autonomous learner. Students now learn to manage their own time and make decisions in a more responsible and adult manner rather than studying in a tightly regulated environment with a rigorous schedule. In higher education, almost everyone experiences the transitional phase differently.

It is a transition from a known or frequent environment to an unknowable or strange environment. The transition from high school to college or university also includes the obstacles and adjustments that students go through. The students must be empowered by both their schools and institutions of higher learning for a successful transfer.

What is school education?

“You must get an education. You must go to school, and you must learn to protect yourself. And you must learn to protect yourself with the pen, and not the gun.” -Josephine Baker

Advertisement

The right to learn is a component of a child’s right to an education. A child’s life might include school as an essential component. A youngster attends school to acquire the fundamentals of interpersonal skills, social dynamics, and adaptability to thrive in today’s interconnected society.

Schools offer a wide range of opportunities for every kid to develop into a responsible adult, including academics, co-curricular activities, values-based life skill education, personality development, sportsmanship spirit, and teamwork skills. Schools assist all children, especially single children, in developing these abilities via a rich educational environment where they learn to get along well with one another and work out their differences along the way.

What is a college education?

“The privilege of a university education is a great one; the more widely it is extended the better for any country.” –Winston Churchill

College education refers to learning at a facility that offers a program of study for which it grants a bachelor’s degree or higher. For individuals looking for new job prospects and those wishing to serve their communities, attending college is a wise decision. This does not, however, negate the reality that it can be challenging and perplexing to choose the correct institution, a degree, and pay for tuition. Finding resources and assistance is essential for a prospective college student’s success because of this.

Connect between school education and college education

“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” Marian Wright Edelman.

Advertisement

Students must move to university smoothly and seamlessly if they want to continue their studies and succeed. However, we are aware that different students have varying experiences and academic outcomes as a result of diverse socio-cultural and economic differences.

A good transition is crucial since higher education offers such compelling benefits. For an individual, this translates into getting jobs with better compensation and opportunities for career advancement. The country’s labor productivity and competitiveness overseas will rise as a result. Therefore, everyone involved—including policymakers, instructors, and parents—should take on the issue of making the move to college successfully.

The research highlights that students will be more successful if they can study independently, think critically, and adjust confidently to new demands, even when university instructors place a high priority on academic subject knowledge. Since these abilities are best learned in context and when their purpose can be clearly illustrated, teachers must give some of this skill development in addition to their subject matter instruction.

Interaction and participation in institutional activities are the practical solutions to the issue:

• The idea of competence encompasses more than simply information and skill acquisition; it also refers to the mobilization of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to meet challenging demands. Students who are prepared for the future require both general knowledge and expertise.
• The ability to think inter-disciplinarily and “connect the dots” will remain crucial, as will disciplinary knowledge, which serves as the foundation from which new knowledge is created.
• For students to advance their disciplinary knowledge, epistemic knowledge, or information about the disciplines, will also be important. Examples include understanding how to think like a mathematician, historian, or scientist.
• Understanding how something is manufactured or done, or the set of processes or actions required to achieve a goal, is how procedural knowledge is gained. Some procedural knowledge is particular to a certain area, whereas others are transportable. It usually grows as a result of solving real-world problems, such as through design thinking and systems thinking. Students will have to put their knowledge to use in uncertain and changing situations. To do this, they will require a variety of abilities, such as cognitive and meta-cognitive skills (such as critical thinking, creativity, learning to learn, and self-regulation), social and emotional skills (such as empathy, self-efficacy, and collaboration), practical and physical skills, as well as a variety of other abilities (e.g. using new information and communication technology devices).

Attitudes and values will act as a filter for how this larger variety of information and abilities will be used (e.g. motivation, trust, respect for diversity, and virtue). The attitudes and values can be observed at personal, local, societal, and global levels. While human life is enriched by the diversity of values and attitudes arising from different cultural perspectives and personality traits, there are some human values (e.g. respect for life and human dignity, and respect for the environment, to name two) that cannot be compromised.

Teachers as facilitators in decision-making in students

“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.” – Alice Wellington Rollins

As a facilitator of learning, the teacher’s job is to effectively direct, help, and manage the dialogues among the pupils. The teachers encourage student engagement, develop their critical thinking skills, and provide them the freedom to take an active role in their education.

Advertisement

Giving a situation some thought, deciding the intended outcome, finding the paths to get there, and then choosing the best one to achieve the goal are all steps in the decision-making process. Decisions made by teachers on the aforementioned topics will eventually affect how well students learn.

In facilitative learning, the teachers direct this process of learning while empowering the students to encourage learning on their own. They instruct the students to recognize issues, use their understanding to solve them and come up with their solutions. The teacher indirectly teaches the students how to manage their learning and put their knowledge to a variety of problems so that they may become actively involved in solving life’s unforeseen problems. Additionally, the students become more inventive and inspired to adopt new ways of thinking.

By providing correct information, assimilating them into the field, and providing guidance on university-level teaching, learning, and study, faculty must be sensitive to guiding students through this phase. Additionally, they must have a fundamental awareness of the pupils’ home cultures of education. Teachers must also have the ability to apply their information efficiently to guarantee that all pupils are learning. Teachers must also possess the proper attitudes to support learning for all pupils. Teacher actions are influenced by dispositions, which comprise the required attitudes, convictions, and professional ethics. Beliefs and attitudes about values like compassion, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and social justice influence dispositions.

 Decision-making at school level as a life skill

Any educational institution’s vision is to provide young minds with the education they will need for the rest of their lives, the freedom to think for themselves, a quality education, holistic learning, a widening of horizons, the chance to find their hidden talents, and the tools to help them become self-reliant and self-assured adults.

Schools offer a curriculum that fosters and develops students’ critical thinking and intellectual curiosity. The framework of the curriculum encourages pupils to develop into responsible, self-reliant citizens. The school wants to carry these beneficial habits forward.

Advertisement

• Career Counselling

Career counseling sessions should be organized in schools on regular basis to make students aware of the career options, and institutions best suited for higher education in India and abroad.

• Collaborative Learning

Through collaborative learning, the focus should be on making students proactive during the learning process, so that they can work as team members and move forward in life with positive thinking.

• Subject Orientation

Career options and innovation related to various subjects should be discussed from time to time through subject experts in schools.

• Exchange Programmes

Students should be provided opportunities to generate innovative ideas and develop their ability to adapt to different environments through various exchange programs.

• Co-Curricular Activities

Various should develop self-confidence, innovation, rationality, decision-making ability, etc. in students through curricular activities.

• Competitive Edge

Students should be informed from time to time about information related to various entrance examinations so that they prepare well for competitive examinations along with academic studies.

Conclusion

Traits like emotional balance, mental adaptability, good judgment, and true independence will be crucial for their future. Thus, the goal of schools & higher education is to give every one of our students a well-rounded education that will help them chart their own course in life. A quality education that would not only provide students with information and skills but also inner freedom, security, and creativity as adults. Our goal will always be to help the kids develop self-discipline, social awareness, curiosity, and reverence for the world as they approach maturity. To cultivate a compassionate attitude that will help our students become successful, compassionate citizens. Schools, faculties, council members, and parents may act as facilitators in this process by encouraging and cajoling, safeguarding and putting together, helping and directing, and accompanying our children in their growth.

Author – Neera Singh, Principal, Rajmata Krishna Kumari Girls’ Public School, Jodhpur

Advertisement