Why Does Someone Choose to Study Something?
There are many reasons for study; and often many different people can have an interest (and influence) upon what a student ends up enrolling in and studying.
One would assume that the choice of what to study is the student's alone; but that is a simplistic assumption.
Student Perspective
Students do not always know their needs. To know what is needed in a particular discipline, one first needs to understand that discipline. If a student does not understand the discipline, their understanding of their needs in a course will necessarily be limited. If they do understand the discipline, there may well be little reason for them to undertake a course.
Students will inevitably have wants and expectations that relate to a course they undertake. Every student is likely to have a different set of priorities and expectations, and those expectations are likely to change as they progress through the course.
What will have changed when a student comes to the end of a course?
Perceptions
The course should have enlightened them and, with greater understanding and awareness, they may appreciate needs they didn’t see when they started.
The World
The community, industry and the value of knowledge and skills can be very different at the conclusion of a course, compared with what it was at the beginning. Politicians and bureaucrats can often influence what is studied, but controlling the funding and political decisions about what is offered to students.
Educator’s Perspective
An effective educator should be empathetic, and have the ability to put themselves in the shoes of the student, not just while the student is studying, but also when they have completed the course. The educator can however see things about what a student needs to achieve; which the student might not be able to see.
Family Perspective
Parents and/or families want to see value for education. Unfortunately, families can sometimes dictate (overtly or subtly) what a student enrols in.
Community and Industry Perspective
Community and employers are motivated by their work and profit (or in the case of government or non-profit organisations, achieving more value for the money spent). Some employers will be concerned with-long term benefits from training, but often employers only worry about the short term. Employers may demand certain things be studied, or at least strongly influence what is chosen.
QUALIFICATION = JOB ... A MYTH?
Many people think “If I do this course; I will get this job” In the real world, this is a myth.
Qualifications are sometimes important, when and where governments have legislated to make it compulsory to have a certain qualification. Doctors and lawyers for instance, usually need to be registered to work in their jobs; and registration would require certain university level qualifications. However many industries are simply not like this.
Here are some examples:
- Lots of people study journalism degrees, but many of the people who work as journalists do not have a degree in journalism. Some people who have degrees in journalism may not work as journalists – they may work in marketing or business development for example.
- Lots of people obtain PhDs only to be told they are over qualified; while people with lesser qualifications are frequently seen beating them to a job.
- Some of the wealthiest and most successful business owners are university or high school drop outs.
- Graduates from I.T. degrees often struggle to find work in I.T., while "computer nerds" who taught themself about IT at home are often more successful in that industry, without ever having done any formal study at all.
- People who study business, accounting or other subjects because their parents encourage them into what they perceive as a secure and high earning profession, often fail to succeed in the area they studied because, despite having the qualification, they do not have a passion or natural affinity for the industry which is needed for success. Many students that receive very high results in their final school year are encouraged into medicine or law because their parents or others view these are prestigious professions. However in the past medicine, for example, was thought of as a ‘vocation’ (a calling) rather than a course of study you undertook because you are very clever. People that undertake study due to outside pressure do not always succeed, even if they do complete their studies they may not go on to be successful in their field.
- A college or university that is dependent upon getting enrolments in order to remain viable is going to have a bias to encourage students to do their courses, whether relevant or not. They may also give unrealistic expectations to potential students – an example of this is the IT and multi-media industries – graduates in these courses ten years ago were told that they would be ‘head hunted’ even before they finished their courses and step straight into very high paying roles. In reality this caused an over-supply of graduates that were either unemployed for lengthy periods, or had to do further studies to make themselves employable. Those that did find work started on very modest salaries, even after 4 or 5 years of study.
Becoming educated is important to getting a job and building a career, but it is only part of what is needed; and the learning that comes from a course is always far more important than the qualification you receive.
Learning doesn't stop when you complete a course either. If you have the right attitude, you will continue to build on the foundation knowledge you receive in your formal education; and continue to develop knowledge and skills all through your life; getting better and more capable, every year that passes.
