Community Resources-What is A School? And what role does schools in community development? Lecture 2

What is A School? And what role does schools in community development? Lecture 2

                                                                By 

                                                       Olaide Alabi (PhD)

At the end of this notes the readers are expected to:

• .    Define school
• .     Explain formal and informal school
• .    Trace the origin of the Formal form of schooling
• .     \State the roles of schools in community development

Definition of school

A school is an educational setting where children go to acquire knowledge from teacher/s. In a school, a developed curriculum is used to determine the kind of subjects that should be taught within the school.

A school is a place, where parents send their children to go and learn. It is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers

There are different levels or grades of the school system: Basic schooling starts from primary school, in primary schools, subjects that cover reading, writing and arithmetic are the fundamental knowledge that students are always exposed to. School curriculum is always developed in a way that ensures that most of the students ' day is spent in the classroom. 

In school systems, students make progress through a series of classes in which students are assessed after being exposed to different concepts of subjects. It is required of a school to provide for the fullest possible development of each learner for living morally, creatively, and productively in any self-governing society.

Formal and informal school

There are formal and informal schools, Formal school denotes the structured type of schooling system that starts from nursery after which primary form of schooling is ensured to provide a stepping stone to secondary and university education. Apart from learning academic subjects, it inaugurates students to specialized programmes for vocational, technical, and professional training. Formal schooling usually leads to the award of certificates to befitting graduates.

The informal school refers to a form of schooling that takes place outside the formal school environment. It is a form of education that parents give their wards within the home environment. It is a form of education that gives room for apprentices and artisan forms of schooling. It covers community education, adult education, lifelong education, and second-chance education.

The origin of the Formal form of schooling

It is expedient to point out that this idea of an assemblage of students together in a centralized location for learning has existed since classical ancient times, which was the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD around the Mediterranean Sea.

That was the period when people thirsted for knowledge and always moved about to seek places where they could acquire knowledge for survival. With time it became imperative to have a regular location where people could gather and acquire knowledge, and then the need for school facilities became inevitable.

It was this practice that metamorphosed into formal schooling, the development of formal school had led to the transmission of knowledge from one generation to another.  It spread all over the different nations of Europe, America, Asia, and African countries. By the 17th century, different higher education types of institutions had been established with the nomenclature “academia” and they are fully entrenched in places like Britain, Italy, and French

Roles of a school in community development

1.     It should be realised that the role of school in community development is enormous, a school in a community has the role of providing basic education to students and helps in transmitting the culture of the society to the young ones.

2.     The school has the role of making the younger generation have a focus in life and guiding them to pattern their lives toward the development of their community.

3.     It is a source of developing sound economic advantages for students after graduation.

4.     It makes learners appreciate valued norms within their community and ensures that it serves as a strong work ethic in life endeavours.

5.     It is an avenue where learners develop love, respect, and concern for neighbours.

6.     It gingers learners to develop a life of discipline and integrity of character which eventually reduces crime rates.

7.     It is a source of generating environmental quality, in which an egalitarian society is developed and a community spirit that enhanced

. Assignment

After going through this topic, Give a summary of your understanding of a school in two sentences and submit it under the comment session

 Note: The next topic is major concepts of school facilities