What Is the Goal of Education?

The purpose of education is five-fold. Children need to have a diversity of knowledge in order to be a productive member of society. Students need academic knowledge. They also need to be vocationally prepared. Kids must also learn how to function in society at large. Of great importance is that the individual pupil has social skills. Lastly, students must be given the opportunity to develop into the personality they were meant to be.

Academics

One of the goals of education is to give students a range of academic knowledge that will assist them intellectually and socially in today's society. Students are taught core subjects such as English, mathematics, social studies, science and foreign language. Learning the same subjects universally in American schools supports a common culture within society. Additionally, academia purports disciplining the mind and intellectual reasoning.

Vocational

Within any industrialized society, there is a need for people to be trained to do the jobs necessary to keep the different industries functioning or imminent collapse of industries will take place. As such, one of the purposes of education is to train students to perform specific jobs within different industries. Schools try to match interests, talents and skills of the individual with particular jobs so students can be well suited for the industry he or she chooses.

Social/Civic

Another purpose of education is to train students to be social/civic minded. As such, students in our education system are taught how our government works, how we elect people for public office as well as how the major political parties work. Our education system tries to teach students what their personal roles are in relation to our government. Additionally, students learn what behaviors are acceptable within our society as well as the skills which help individuals live together peacefully with this society.

Social Skills

Interacting with peers who are the same age will help students learn appropriate behavior for each developmental stage. For this reason, schooling carries with it the purpose of socializing children at every age level. Children who are home-schooled or in separate classrooms such as special education often lack acceptable social skills because they are not interacting with children their own age who have normal affective (emotional), cognitive (thinking, reasoning, processing information), social, mental and/or psychological skills.

Personal

Ultimately, the purpose of education is to help students achieve their personal dreams. Education seeks to develop the skills, interests, intellect, talents and even dreams of individual students. Schooling tries to instill confidence in students by rewarding student achievement and encouraging self-expression. Teachers play a vital role in encouraging students to pursue their dreams.