Educational paradigms are on a constant path to change. There are many methods that are constantly emerging which become recycled through repackaging, repurposing, and remaking from a different angle in order to try and produce measurable outcomes for students. The educational pendulum is thus a term that is used to capture the fluctuations and instability of the legislation and priorities of policies that govern education. The steadily swinging pendulum has been identified to be somewhat dangerous for students and teachers. The pendulum can sometimes shift with unidentifiable results and data. The changes can result in the formulation of policies that are somewhat ineffective. This paper analyses the shift in the educational pendulum by considering the current educational paradigm, how the educational paradigm influences education, and the importance of educational paradigm and the paradigm shifts.
Current Education Paradigm
The current education paradigm is based on The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The act was passed in December 2015 and governs the K-12 public education policy. The current shift and focus are thus for students to have a well-rounded education. The new law requires that school districts should use their funds to support initiatives such as foreign languages, music, arts, counseling, mental health, physical education and nutrition, bullying prevention, and college and career readiness ( Darling-Hammond et al., 2016 ). The passing of the act was a paradigm shift in order to serve students better.
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The current education paradigm is based on having a balanced system that focuses on the quality of education. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), the new system focuses on the current paradigm where education requires support, accountability, and that the young population can be educated to become productive and engaged students prepared for the 21st-century colleges and careers. The current focus is to make use of different strategies so as to address the individual needs of youth and children.
The focus on the overall development of the student can also be seen through The 21st Century Community Learning Centres (21st CCLC). The mission of the initiative is to promote student achievement and to prepare students that would compete on a global scale. The program addresses the current need for learners to participate in real-world problems and careers (Boggs, 2018). The focus is also to develop students towards better management of social and emotional skills. The need current focus on education is not just to equip students academically but to enable education that focuses on the overall wellbeing and overall growth of the student.
Paradigm Shifts
One of the paradigms in recent history was a focus on the integration of education in the 1990s. Prager (1993) analyzed a report titled “It’s Elementary” published by the 1990 California Department of Education’s Elementary Task Force Report. Prager (1993) observed that the focus on education was to make a better connection between subjects and an integration of arts. This would be important in ensuring educating the minds and hearts of students. The focus was to have an education that would enable a proper and efficient integration of various learning subjects.
The pendulum swung in the year 2001 after the No Child Left Behind Act released in 2001. The pendulum shifted away from the focus on integration and became primarily based on achieving individual academic starts. The NCLB was an initiative by the federal government to drive student achievement through the use of targets and sanctions. The focus of the NCLB was on student test scores in math and reading and high school achievement and graduation. While there was an improvement in the graduation rates during the NCLB era, there came an increasingly huge amount of concern that the test-based system focused only on math and reading. The arts were removed from the central focus. Other critical subjects such as music, history, and science were no longer the focus ( Spohn, 2008 ). Additionally, the use of the multiple-choice test was criticized for its focus on recall and selection instead of problem-solving ( Spohn, 2008 ).
The education pendulum shifted away from having a holistic and academic approach in education to one with accountability and encouraging several measures of student and school success. The challenges of the NCLB saw a change in the education pendulum where there was a need to focus on other critical subjects. The ESSA marked a shift in the education paradigm where it was observed that there was a need to develop problem-solving skills, oral and written communication, the use of technology, research and inquiry, and the application of knowledge in real-world applications ( Darling-Hammond et al., 2016 ).
Impact on Teachers, Students, and Education Leaders
The educational pendulum becomes to swing every time that it is apparent that the instructional approach may not be reaching or benefiting every child. Throughout history, the education pendulum has swung back and forth from focusing on the integration of arts, the student and academic achievement, holistically developing, and preparing students to the actual world. The focus of the swinging education pendulum is on students. There have thus been changes on the education approach, curriculum, and teaching methods so as to meet the needs of all learners. However, the pendulum continues to shift because there has not been an effective educational model that will reach the needs of every learner.
The shifts in the educational pendulum have been somewhat difficult for educational leaders who need to adjust to policies that they may not really opt for. This is because the pendulum can shift away from what educational leaders believe is important for education. For instance, the No Child Left Behind Act received a significant amount of backlash from education leaders. Powell et al., (2009) conducted interviews with elementary school principals in Maine. The concern of the principals was that they were losing their autonomy and abilities to become instructional leaders. They felt that they had lost their educational vision for the future of a specific institution. The general feeling was that the NCLB was imposed upon them and that they had to comply due to its strict and punitive regulations. Even though they observed that the educational program may not be really beneficial for their students, they had to comply with the federal rules and regulations.
The shifting educational pendulum can also result in several challenges for teachers. The NCLB was put in place and did not have adequate support from most teachers. Powell et al., (2009) observed that most teachers noted that the NCLB would be beneficial for some group of students compared to others. There were several changes in the instructional time for some subjects, kindergarten nap time, and non-instructional time (Powell et al., 2009). While most teachers were not in full support of the changes, they had to comply with the federal laws.
While teachers and educational leaders can often face several changes with the shifting educational paradigms, they play a significant role in ensuring the success in adopting the changing paradigms. The ability of teachers to absorb pendulum shifts directly impacts students. Instead of focusing on the bruising and negative impacts of the shift, teachers can focus on some of the positive aspects and use it. Teachers should also learn that the pendulum is constantly shifting and that they should learn from the historical shifts in the paradigm. For instance, one lesson that can be taken is from the failures of the NCLB because it placed an emphasis on academic achievement and failed to prepare students for the actual world.
Educational leaders should also learn that the swinging pendulum can shift and that ideas, curriculum, and educational materials changes. These changes always come about because of the shifting ideas about what is best for students. However, both educational leaders and teachers should understand that the primary focus in on students. Even with the changing paradigm shifts, teachers and educational leaders should ensure that students have clear goals about what they want in the future and that they actively pursue their goals for success.
Importance of Educational Paradigms
Shifts in educational paradigm occur when there is a general dissatisfaction in education. The No Child Left Behind Act came about when it was established that there were challenges in education access for minority groups, an achievement gap between minority and majority groups and concerns over the low high school graduation rates. The NCLB thus came about and saw significant changes in the achievement gap and high school graduation for the years it was implemented (Lee & Reeves, 2012). The NCLB also created several challenges because it did not focus on arts and did not equip the student for the 21st-century challenges. The ESSA thus came about to ensure that the student would be equipped and developed holistically ( Dynarski, 2015) . The shifts in educational paradigms occur because of trying to solve the pressing challenges in the current education system.
The modern world is constantly changing and there is a need to adjust the educational system to adjust to the changes. The United States is increasingly becoming diverse and there is a need for the educational system to adjust to all the needs of the student. Additionally, the educational system today has diverse learners of different skills and abilities with varying socioeconomic status (Roper & Deal, 2017). The traditional educational approach may not address the challenges and it is thus important to have a shifting paradigm that can be flexible to the changing demographics of learners. The 21st century also introduced technology and this resulted in changes in careers. The modern student should thus be prepared to effectively make use of technology and the changes in their careers and workplace environment.
Changes in paradigm happen so as to improve education, meet the needs of a particular group, and to improve the school culture and climate. The swinging pendulum will result in changes in the curriculum, educational content, teaching methods, and expectations of students. All these changes are usually made to improve the education content of student. The current curriculum may fail to address all learners. The focus on such groups of students like those that have learning, physical, and development disabilities may cause changes in the paradigm. The school culture and climate can also cause changes in the paradigm in case it is overly stressful or not fully beneficial for students.
In conclusion, the shifts in the educational pendulum exist and have governed the educational field for several decades. The current educational paradigm is based on The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which focuses on equipping students holistically and enabling them to face challenges in the modern world. The swinging educational pendulum can be seen throughout history from integration, to academic achievement in reading and maths through the NCLB Act, and the current focus on real-world problems and social and emotional management for learners. The shifts in the pendulum can cause several challenges for teachers and education leaders. However, they have to look at the positive aspects of the shifting paradigm and comply or learn from it.
References
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Darling-Hammond, L., Bae, S., Cook-Harvey, C. M., Lam, L., Mercer, C., Podolsky, A., & Stosich, E. L. (2016). Pathways to new accountability through the Every Student Succeeds Act. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute .
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Powell, D., Higgins, H. J., Aram, R., & Freed, A. (2009). Impact of No Child Left Behind on Curriculum and Instruction in Rural Schools. Rural Educator , 31 (1), 19-28.
Prager, K. (1993). Bibliography on School Restructuring, 1993.
Roper, D., & Deal, T. E. (2017). A Dilemma of Diversity: The American High School. In Adolescent Boys in High School (pp. 15-33). Routledge.
Spohn, C. (2008). Teacher perspectives on No Child Left Behind and arts education: A case study. Arts Education Policy Review , 109 (4), 3-12.
