Step 1 What:
The trend I
have identified as having an impact on education is the movement of populations
into cities. This is not an isolated trend, as it links in with the impact of
global warming on cities in low lying areas, cyber threats taking out whole
cities, lack of water and food due to population density and location, and the
anxiety impact on people living in densely populated cities.
Step 2 (So What):
More than
half the world’s population live in urban areas, expected to rise to 50% by
2050. Reasoning behind this is easier access to education and public
healthcare, and better economic prospects. Concentration of human resources can
stimulate research and development, leading to innovation and growth (OECD,
2016).
Negative
impacts of urban growth are that it can lead to high levels of poverty and
labour market exclusion, disconnection from family and communities, leading to
high levels of violence and distrust. Living in highly populated areas results
in air pollution and related respiratory and health problems, rapid spread of
virus and disease, and mental anxiety and mood disorders (OECD, 2016).
The trend
toward living in cities has an impact on the education sector, and demands an
increased role to play. Important roles are supporting community engagement,
supporting creativity and innovation and teaching civic literacy (OECD, 2016).
Challenges
will continue to be educating safety of students, monitoring physical and
emotional well-being as urban stress increases, planning for increasing and
decreasing neighbourhoods and protecting school buildings from the impact of
extreme global events (OECD, 2016).
The impact
across New Zealand is already being felt in the growth of cities. The rising
cost of housing outstripping wage increases is impacting the education sector.
Teacher shortages are rapidly increasing in urban areas as teachers cannot
afford housing or the cost of living in these areas. Forced to the fringes of
lower decile schools, teachers are seeing the first hand impact of poverty on
the education and wellbeing of students facing health issues from poor quality
housing, malnutrition, overcrowding and lack of resources to compete with
higher decile schooling. Teacher incentives to move to urban areas are not
enough to shift the trend of seeking employment in more affordable regions.
Step 3 (Now What):
One in
five Auckland schools face teacher shortages due to rapid population growth,
declining numbers of teacher trainees, and sky high house prices. Educational
organisations have addressed this trend in the short term with overseas
recruitment drives, and waiving the retraining fee for teachers whose
registrations have lapsed. Work arounds include bringing teachers out of
retirement, moving teachers out of their subject areas and into high demand curriculum
areas, and bringing in relievers (nzherald, 2018).
These solutions appear to be quick fixes for
a trend that is continuing to increase. Real long term solutions will need to
be implemented including addressing areas of impact such as housing, and
meeting wage increases. If not, the quality of education will nose dive, and
urban education will not address the issues discussed above that are a result
of the urban population rising. Teachers will continue to leave the main urban
areas and become competitors for jobs in less populated regions where housing
is affordable.
Some possible solutions in the education
sector could be flipped learning and global classrooms. Technology can make it
so students can learn in alternative ways if teachers are not available for
traditional classroom teaching. This is the direction education is headed, so
perhaps looking to countries implementing models of alternative education could
be a direction to research.
REFERENCES:
New Zealand Herald. (2018). Education crisis: School’s in, but
where are the teachers? 1 in 5 Auckland schools short of staff. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11981812
