The need of surge improve in career guidance and behavioral psychology in education system
A student from G.S. Kimironko a school in Gasabo District in Rwanda showing His jumping prowess
Having schooled in a village school in one of the rural parts of Kenya in Africa, I look back and appreciate the probability that a good seed “accidentally” fell on a certain ground and it grew and blossomed into the person I am today. While this should not be case, its fortunate that It happened, however I have come to realize that life is a not matter of chance but choice. When I reflect into my early years, I do not recollect a teacher or a guardian who foreknew anything that would become of me. Nobody had a sense of future and therefore I joined the club of individuals who had no future perspective and outlook of life. I did not know what I would turn out to be and worse still nobody was there to help me to apprehend who I was and the potential that I had. There is a probability that they too did not know and they too were products of fate. In those days, we went to school as part of the culture and worked hard to become what was not known. Many girls as a result of this ignorance dropped out of school and got married young, while boys dropped and started manual work in the neighborhood.
The teachers stimulated superfluous competition among the students and if one did not measure up to the set standards, we could be castigated and categorized as good for nothing and undeserving of attention. The students who scored highly were given special privileges and treated in a manner insinuating they were superior. This flattering of students unfortunately neither happened to the good runners and marathoners nor to good singers who earned awards after competitions. It is unfortunate that a repeat of this can happen in my world and in the 21st century.
During my official visits to schools to support teachers on teaching practice and internship, I have realized that like in my days, most of the students are similarly unaware of themselves, they do not know their abilities and have poor self-image emanating from the views of their society. Our society compares and encourages competition instead of considering individual distinctiveness and complementarity. Our society wants us to be all the same no-wonder they applaud and proudly talk of those students who have made it to the university and talk ill of those who fails attain such grades. What if that student who did not make it to the university but has passion for football and does it outstandingly or that student good in drawing and who creatively making astounding artistic products with hand skills?
Every person is created as an individual, with inimitable characters and strengths, for instance look at an avocado and a mango; though they may be of the same size and colour and are grown in the same area, they are different by default. No one can compare them for they are different in all ways. I have heard many teachers and parents telling students you are not a better performer than so and so; such announcements have killed destinies and shattered dreams simply because they oblige person in question to stop being an individual, and to halt working on becoming a better person. Instead, they start working hard to be that other person prized and highly celebrated so that he/she too can get approval.
Numerous studies in Africa show that the education system is still exam-oriented, even with the introduction of the competence-based curriculum, emphasis on academic performance still dominates the system and it seems like it may take longer than expected to see the outcomes of the new curriculum in essence. The system has made students who are of average and low IQ who are unfortunately the majority; to develop a sense of unworthiness and learned self-helplessness. I am just thinking, “What about if someone considered the uniqueness of these students and applauded them in their area of strength? Instead of reminding the students of what they are not and what they are not able to do; pushing them against the wall to do what they are not able to do, what if someone tried to understand their strengths and built on it, however small it may seem? In Africa especially, there is too much potential that is going into waste for it is believed only the “good academic performers” are destined for good jobs and happy lives which is not always the case. The principles and concepts of positive psychology do not apply in our education system notwithstanding the magnitude of benefits that would be yielded if only premeditated focus would be directed to programs that propagates for consideration of such important principles.
There is need to integrate supplementary programs in our education system to salvage the attitudes and perceptions of the young people during their transition into adulthood. Corstone’s Youth First Program helps the adolescents to discover and understand their character strengths; their inner qualities that shape the way they act, what they choose to focus on, their attitudes, thoughts and feelings.
The evidence backed resilience program has shown that when adolescents know their character strengths, they feel better about themselves, they become more successful, achieve their goals, are effective in what they do, feel good, have more fun and enjoy life and finally they get along with others. Teachers and parents need doses of positive psychology to support the students to be happy and live fulfilled lives.
Youth First Rwanda; a program aimed at helping adolescents to be resilient. A large proportion of the content and concepts of this program is based on positive psychology and attitudinal healing. The program is being piloted in schools in 5 districts in Rwanda with the hope of having it scaled up to all the schools in Rwanda. We hope to help the students become themselves and grow to become happy adults and with fulfilled lives.
Jane Nungari
Program officer for Youth First Program
Inspire Educate and Empower (IEE) Rwanda