Fien's educational typology and my experience as a student and educator

There couldn’t have been a more apt description of my early education experience than the ‘Vocational/neo-classical’ orientation in education. It was characterized by rigidity, teacher dominance, text books, formal assessments, high priority on math and language above other subjects and formal classroom arrangement. We were prepared to become lawyers, doctors and engineers. Any other profession outside these three was for students who are not smart. One of the most striking perspectives in the Vocational/neo-classical orientation is the teacher-student relationship. I was so afraid of my teachers; I could hardly express myself in class. The sight of teachers walking around with long canes still gives me nostalgia today. I remember a time when I was given homework on long division and I couldn’t figure it out. I was so petrified at the thought of facing my math teacher with an undone assignment that I ran away from home the next morning. I dressed up in my school uniform and instead of going to school; I hid behind the door of an incomplete building close to my house. There was a search party for me and I was eventually found after hiding for an hour. After lots of rebukes from all the adults that found me, I was taken back to school to face the teacher I dreaded most. Every attempt to explain that I didn’t want to come to school because of a difficult homework fell into deaf ears. I was made to stand before the teacher and I was given six strokes of cane for my actions. I was 9 nine years old and I was in Primary 4. This experience destroyed my interest in math up till my university days but today it’s the subject I enjoy teaching most.

Another striking perspective is the student learning role. We were receivers and not processors, neither were we given much chance to research further on a topic. I remember a lecturer justifying that the reason why I was given a low grade was because I didn’t use the words in the study notes. I had done further research on the topic and I had more to write than what was given in the study notes and I got low grades because of this.

Fien’s perspective on broad curriculum organization was a regular occurrence during my growing up days. Students were selected for leadership and academic responsibilities based solely on academic performance (especially in math and English grammar). There was no recognition of multiple intelligence, creativity or diversity.

Both the liberal/progressive and the socially critical orientation fit into my own beliefs about the purpose of education however, the liberal/progressive orientation is a mirror of what goes on in my classroom and the socially critical is what I’m moving towards. I strongly believe that students should be given an opportunity to reflect, think, question their actions and take charge of their own learning; this for me is the essence of education. In my classroom, I have a reflection box and students drop their weekly reflections every Friday. This has proven to be a very valuable assessment tool. I also have my daily reflections at the end of each school day. My classroom is organized in a face to face arrangement to give room for discussions with face and shoulder partners. I have found this setting to be very appropriate for cooperative learning and group activities which are vital for effective education. I do not enjoy the chalk and talk approach of teaching so I play the role of facilitator and guide in my classroom. In addition to these, I plan my lessons to appeal to different learning styles, using a variety of media like PowerPoint presentations, music, videos, dance/movement and mnemonics to make my lessons interesting. I have found informal ways of assessing my students to be more effective than having one test at the end of the term. I use ongoing formative assessments like discussions, artwork, drama, debate, report writing and presentations to gather evidence that my students have understood my lessons.

I particularly enjoyed reading Fien’s typology because it made me reflect on the way I was taught, the way I teach and the way I would like to teach. Through this reflective process, I have been able to discover what I consider to be best practice in my classroom. Fien’s perspective on desired student outcomes really got me thinking about the purpose and value of education. The desired student outcomes of both the liberal/progressive and socially critical approaches have redefined the meaning of education and what should be my role as an educator.

I would have loved to see how the different orientations cater for students with special educational needs. I am of the view that every educational approach should address how to accommodate students who have special educational needs because it’s a reality that has come to live with us today and the classroom is an imitation of the real society.

Reference

FIEN, J. (1993). Major characteristics of vocational /neoclassical, liberal/progressive and socially critical orientations in education”. In Parker, J. (2008) Unit 1 Reader – Introduction to Education for Sustainability. London: Distance Learning Centre, London South Bank University.