The Educative Process in the United Kingdom

The educative process the United Kingdom is one of the modern examples of education system. There are many non-UK residents who dream of studying in the country. For a foreigner who is new to the British education system, there might be a need for a brief rundown of the way knowledge is imparted in the UK.

According to the British Council, there are around 36,300 schools in the UK, around 83% of which are located in England and Wales. Nearly ten million students attend primary and secondary schools across the country. The educative process in the UK is governed by different education authorities in each of the country that makes up the UK.

According to UK laws, children must receive full-time education until they reach age 16. The Education and Skills Act of 2008, however, mandates that students must receive full-time education until they reach 18. The law becomes fully effective in 2015.

The National Curriculum, introduced in 1992, split the main educative process in the UK into four key stages. The first stage is for 5 to 7 year olds and the second is for 7 to 11 year olds. Third stage is for 11 to 14 year olds while the fourth is for 14 to 16 year olds. Key stages 1 and 2 are usually completed at primary school while key stages 3 and 4 are perfected at secondary school.

The educative process does not in secondary school. Currently, when students complete full-time education, they can attend sixth form colleges or other further education institutions.

When students reach age 18, they could proceed to higher education. It takes around three to four years to complete an undergraduate degree in the UK. After that, a student may proceed to graduate studies by taking a master’s then a doctor’s education.

What Is the Educative Process?

        It cannot be denied that education plays a significant role in human life. In practically all cultures of the world, education is an important achievement that many individuals aim for. This is because attaining even just basic education gives a person such skills as knowing how to read, write, count, speak in different languages, and discover new ideas which will help him navigate through life and possibly even contribute to society as a whole. But in order for us to understand education and its role better, we will need to answer some significant issues. What is the educative process? How do people learn at different stages of their life? What contributes to learning?

        In the educative process, the student’s interest in the material to be learned is in itself the best motivation for and stimulus to learning, instead of external goals such as good grades, a competitive advantage, or social recognition coming from peers, family and society. But any act of learning should go beyond the pleasure it gives the individual in having acquired knowledge. Learning and education greatly increases an individual’s career opportunities and economic standing in the future. This is because, as anyone who has ever applied for a job knows, employers will look at a person’s educational history as a consideration for employment, more than any practical or street-savvy knowledge a person has. The educative process itself is designed to prepare students for future responsibilities in a career whose specifics they have studied in university or college. The more advanced a person has studied in a discipline, the more opportunities will be open to him or her after completing his or her studies.

        The educative process involves two important human components: the teacher and the learner. Teachers serve as the principal agents of learning to their students, and not the teaching aids or technological devices being used in the learning process.

Educative Process: Its Characteristics

The educative process has many characteristics such as the following:

• The most ideal condition for the educative process to occur is when the student has genuine interest in the material that is being learned. Internal motivation is the best stimulus to be able to learn, rather than external factors such as to appease parents, get good grades or gain a competitive advantage in some field at later time.
• The principle agents of instruction and most effective facilitators of the educative process are teachers, and not rooms, lecture halls, computers and other teaching aids. The latter merely enhance the capacity of a great teacher, but what really directs how learning will take place and guides the student is the teacher or professor.
• The most important objective for any student in undergoing the educative process and acquiring knowledge is the fact that it will make their lives better and open a wealth of opportunities for them in the future. This should take precedence over the objective of learning simply for the pleasure of acquiring knowledge.
• In order for a student to master the fundamental concepts, ideas and theories of a field of study, he or she must not only grasp its general principles but also develop a positive attitude toward learning and inquiry in general. Thus, it is an important quality for a student to always be curious and creative, guess and take hunches, and develop the ability to eventually solve problems one one's own.
• Unless schools design curricula that places information into a structured pattern, this will only tend to be forgotten by students. In addition to a structured presentation of information, teachers must also do their part in assessing students through tests and coursework to determine how far along students are in grasping the ideas that they are presenting in class.

Using The Principles of The Educative Process in Direct Democracy

         Direct democracy is a form of government in which the citizens collectively make the decisions for themselves instead of the traditional way in which the political affairs of the nation would be decided by elected or appointed representatives. Among the general descriptions of the education process or also known as the educative process is that it would simplify in carrying out the process of imparting the knowledge, skills, and values.

         The practice and realisation of direct democracy in a nation would not be possible if there is no critical and effective awareness among the citizens of the country in practicing that form of government. The only way that the citizens would have critical and effective awareness of direct democracy in their country is through education, which is not just confined to the formal school system in the country. A vibrant and functioning direct democracy in a country is possible by carrying out the concepts and principles of the educative process.

         So how could the education process contribute to the realisation of direct democracy as a form of government for a country? Historians have stated that in countries such as Switzerland and the United States where the direct democracy form of governments are practiced, the process of direct democracy did not occur in a few years or decades, it developed over a few hundred years.

         The educative process of simplifying the process of imparting, transferring and acquiring of knowledge, skills and values were used as the basis for some of the principles or concepts that the citizens used in developing and improving direct democracy as a form of government. For example, direct voting by the people at the state and local levels in the U.S., during the late 18th century had many restrictions, but the spread of educational awareness for voting rights made universal voting available for all adults by the middle of the 20th century.

Introduction to the Educative Process

        The educative process refers to a series of steps in which a learner is able to transmit his or her knowledge of a certain field of study to a student so that the tradition of knowledge will be passed on from one generation to another. Below are some of the important characteristics of the educative process:

• Ideally, the best stimulus for the learner to absorb knowledge is to first and foremost have interest in the material being learned, rather than external factors such as getting good grades or gaining a competitive advantage in academic positioning.

• The principle agents of instruction and learning itself are the actual human teachers that transmit the knowledge, rather than teaching devices such as computers to teaching models that merely serve as an aid to the educative process.

• The most important objective of learning is that it will be of use to learners in their daily lives and most especially when these students graduate and take on jobs in the real world. The act or process of learning should not merely take learners somewhere because this implies that learning stops when in fact it doesn't; it should allow students to venture further more easily knowing that they have valuable knowledge to guide them.

• In order to fully master the important theories, concepts and ideas of a certain field of study, the student does not only have the grasp its general principles; he or she also has to develop an attitude of learning and inquiry, guessing and hunches, to always question the way things work around him or her, and to conduct investigations in solving problems even while doing it independently.

• Unless details of the subject or concept being learned is placed into a pattern that is well-structured, it tends to be forgotten soon enough.

My Assignment on The Meaning of The Educative Process

        My baptism of fire as a first year bachelor science in education student was the assignment we had to write a research paper about the educative process or also known as the education process, which is a very broad and comprehensive topic. Since we had only one week to research, write and submit my research paper on the education process, I decided to focus on a simple theme or ideas for my paper, which is the meaning of the education process.

        The educative process or education process is usually associated with the general concept of the philosophies, policies, practices, methodologies and outcomes that would influence and affect the process of education. Since education is generally defined as the act or process of imparting and acquiring general or particular knowledge or skills on the mind, character, and physical ability of an individual or individuals, the education process should help in simplifying and carrying out the act or process imparting and acquiring the knowledge or skills. I have learned that the process is the systematic series of actions or activities that would lead to the learning, teaching and schooling of the individual whether he is the teacher or the student.

         The educative process could go through several stages or steps such as: the teacher having the goals or objectives for educating his students; the tools and other materials that a teacher has to use in the effective education of his students; the policies set by government bodies and non-government organisations on how they could create and carry out actions that would contribute to the education and learning of both the teachers and the students; the goals or objectives for the student in learning and why he should learn; and public and private support such as funding and resources for educational institutions that would educate the students.

Teacher-Student Educative Process

In the academe, the process of educating students or the educative process starts with the goal of providing students with knowledge and skills in different subject areas. It is the process of achieving this goal.

The educative process or the process of providing knowledge to students comprises of providing information, reinforcing the information through exercises, clarifying and reviewing materials and testing with the aim of verifying the learning.

1. Providing Information – To start the educative process, the teacher, trainer, instructor or educator provides information to the learners using different educational means like teaching in person, books and other materials. It is in personal instruction that students are able to ask questions.
2. Re-Enforcing Using Exercises – Students perform seat works and other activities so that they can practice and re-enforce what they have learned. Exercises get students more involved in the instruction-learning activity and their interest is maintained through them. Students are also asked to discuss lessons in groups which enables them to strengthen their knowledge. Aside from classroom or online student exercises, students can re-enforce what they have learned through repetitive reading or reviewing and doing practice exercises by themselves. They also do this by doing homeworks and checking them in class.
3. Verifying Knowledge – To complete the process of giving education, the students' learnings should be verified. Students are given tests, quizzes or examinations so that teachers can verify their learning. In doing so, the teachers also evaluate their teaching. Tests are designed to have passing rates which should be representative of sufficient knowledge.

The usual process of providing education includes providing information, facilitating exercises, clarifying questions and assessment in the form of testing. The steps involved are present in the delivery of education in the classroom and online or distance setting. Students in self-study and in personal study time may skip some steps.