What do you think should be the purpose of Primary Education?

Blog Post- What do you think should be the purpose of Primary Education?

Throughout this post I am going to explore the purpose of primary education, and in addition I will be outlining my pedagogical beliefs. There are numerous views on what the main purposes of primary education should be, however I believe that there is not just one main purpose. Within primary education, I believe there are many significant elements such as development of skills and knowledge which will prepare students for the world of work. Furthermore, I also believe that primary education should encourage students to become more creative for the future needs of their countries and even the world. Primary education should also be student focused, which allows each individual to thrive whether the individual has special educational needs or they excel in a particular subject area, this should hopefully then create a fair environment within the classroom. As I have previously stated, there are many key purposes of primary education which I will explore later within this post.

First of all, the term pedagogy can be defined as “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept” (Stevenson, 2010, p.1309) on the other hand Donaldson takes the term slightly further as he believes that “pedagogy is about more than ‘teaching’ in the narrow sense of methods used in the classroom. It represents the considered selection of those methods in light of the purposes of the curriculum and the needs and developmental stage of the children and young people.” (Donaldson, 2015, p.63) Donaldson states that pedagogy is “more than teaching,” this is an interesting point as many other definitions for pedagogy such as the Oxford dictionary’s states that pedagogy is simply a method of teaching. Furthermore, on this particular aspect, traditionally it can be argued pedagogy has been seen throughout classrooms as just the way in which teachers educate their students, however with the successful review report and the curriculum having alterations, I believe that the term pedagogy will have a very different meaning to previously when the new curriculum is implemented in Wales. This is due to the curriculum adapting Donaldson’s approach of pedagogical beliefs being more than just teaching, as he suggests that “It combines theoretical and practical knowledge and skills with fine judgement about what is required to promote effective learning.” (Donaldson, 2015, p.63) This suggests that education is not always best taught via a text book but also doing practical things which will create new beneficial skills for students, which they can use in later life. Furthermore, by introducing new pedagogical ideas in the classroom it can spark student’s ideas to create an enriched and fulfilling educational experience.
In addition, I believe that primary education should prioritise the development of creative thinkers. This can be associated with Freire’s belief’s, he states that “problem posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the vocation of persons as beings who are authentic only when engaged in enquiry and creative transformation,” (Freire, 1996, p.65) this suggests that every individual learner is different and it is imperative that they can develop their own creativity and learning styles, rather than all being taught via the same educational methods as other pupils.
Furthermore, the national curriculum sets out key aspects within the school establishment which incorporates important knowledge students should learn whilst at school. Particularly in Wales, as Learning Wales states the purpose of the curriculum is “to provide a coherent and integrated curriculum and assessment framework for schools, which raises standards of achievement and widens educational opportunity.” (Welsh Government, 2017) This is a key point as my beliefs are that a curriculum should be relevant to all learners, therefore adapting a more cross curricular approach I believe is an important aspect. This could then hopefully encourage students to believe in themselves rather than being taught in one specific way and being taught a specific subject, which may not suit all learners. Additionally, Noddings, highlighted that “a primary purpose of schooling in a democratic society is to produce thoughtful citizens who can deliberate and make wise choices.” (Noddings, 2013, p.25) This is an interesting statement, as I have previously explained that I believe it is important to educate students in multiple ways. Noddings is highlighting how one of the key factors of the schooling system is to create thoughtful students which will make wise choices, this links in with teaching methods as if we can teach our students in a variety of different ways it will surely enable them gain additional knowledge and skills meaning then could potentially become these “thoughtful citizens who can deliberate and make wise choices.”
To conclude, as previously stated there are numerous purposes of primary education however I believe the main outcome is to encourage students to thrive and become the best the possibly can. I strongly agree with the successful reviews report the cross curricular aspect, as it will allow students to learn in more than just one way and potentially gain vital skills and knowledge which primary education students can take forward into their future educational journey.








Reference list

Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales. Welsh Government.
Freire, Paulo. (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin. London
Noddings, N (2013) Education and Democracy in the 21st Century. New York: Teachers College Press

Stevenson, A. (Ed.). (2010) Oxford dictionary of England. Oxford University Press. USA.

Welsh Government (2017) Curriculum and assessment. Available at: http://gov.wales/topics/educationandskills/schoolshome/curriculuminwales/?lang=en (Accessed: 26th September 2017).



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