4 QUALITY EDUCATION
What is the meaning of education in society? How does education and its quality affect us? What happens to people when the quality of education is low? How will society be affected if quality education is disproportionately distributed? First of all, what is the quality of education?
Quality is the content of a thing, good or bad, a standard that distinguishes it from others. In other words, there is a general/average education, and it is classified as "high-quality education" or "low-quality education" according to some criteria. I don't know what criteria the United Nations uses to define "quality education", but for example, the education received by people with high incomes or high status, the education that children receive, and the high scores in examinations, etc. High-quality education is generally considered to be education that produces a large number of students, high-cost education in which highly-reputed and excellent instructors teach carefully in small classes or one-on-one.
So what would happen if we made quality education available to everyone? That quality education is no longer "quality" in society. In other words, because it is an education that everyone receives, it becomes a general, average education and cannot be said to be "high quality." The wealthy will want their children to receive better quality education. Also, if we try to provide too high a quality education for everyone, we run the risk that many students will not be able to keep up. The introduction of higher-quality education than ever before will increase the cost of education, and there is a risk that the burden on the individual and society will become excessive.
“Quality education for all” sounds nice, but it is actually a ridiculous goal that will never be realized.
The purpose of education is to guide immature and otherwise problematic people in some better direction. Even if the same education is given to those who are immature but are willing to learn and grow enthusiastically, and those who have neither the desire to learn nor a vision for the future, the results will be completely different. If you want better results, it is necessary to provide different education for each individual based on their personality, way of thinking, and vision for the future. However, on the other hand, there is also the idea that everyone should be given a uniform education. It must be said that it is inequality of educational opportunities to select children while they are small and to give them different education. In particular, even if a person has talent and motivation, if they are unable to receive a high-quality education due to reasons such as the low income of their parents, it is not only a loss for them, but also leaves people who can become excellent human resources buried. It will also be a loss for society as a whole.
In terms of improving the quality of education, it is an important issue to decide whether uniform education should be given to all or whether different education should be given to each person according to their personality, motivation, ability, etc.
In order to achieve "quality education", educators must make efforts to improve quality. How can we provide an education that is interesting, useful, easy to understand difficult things, conveys the essence accurately and accurately, and can respond appropriately to the changes of the times? It is necessary for educators and members of society to raise the level of education while exerting their wisdom. To a certain extent, it may be necessary to give educators a sense of competition. Teachers of compulsory education in public schools have to provide uniform education and have little freedom. On the other hand, teachers at private schools and tutoring schools have a strong sense of competition in order for their students to achieve good results. In order to improve the quality of education across the country, it may be necessary to gather the ingenuity and wisdom of people involved in education beyond their position and work to improve the quality of the whole.
Education can be most effective by letting people learn what they need at the time they need it while feeling that they need it. If you keep teaching things they don't feel the need to do, your students will become uninterested, bored, and reluctant to learn. Even if you acquire knowledge, if you don't use it immediately, it will be wasted. Education is meaningless if there is no place to utilize it. Moreover, if there is a gap between what is taught at school and what is considered common sense in society, students will be troubled by that gap. Depending on the situation, you may come to hate school, thinking that school teachers are liars and that what you are taught at school will be useless once you enter the workforce.
Education changes with the times. There are many differences between the education of the past and the education of today. Old educated people are gradually unable to keep up with the changes in society.
Learning is not something that should be done only while young, while still a child. As society changes, people need to learn new things all the time. If you stop learning, you will be left behind by society. By promoting opportunities for lifelong learning, it will be possible to prevent people from dropping out of society and to create opportunities for those who have dropped out to be active in society again.
In corporate activities, it is important to increase the number of people who can play an active role in society by expanding opportunities to receive high-quality education, cultivating and discovering excellent human resources, and promoting opportunities for lifelong learning. It is important not only to develop our own human resources, but also to spread high-quality education and promote opportunities for lifelong learning from the standpoint of regional and international contributions.
The United Nations has set 10 specific targets for "Quality Education for All." In order to actually achieve the goals of "Quality Education for All," let's take a look at these targets and think about them.
4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
Primary and secondary education are the foundation of human education, and it is important that all children receive them free of charge. But that's not enough. What matters is the quality of primary and secondary education. Education is not good enough unless it is gender-segregated, appropriate, unproductive, fair and of high quality. Primary and secondary education, which is provided free of charge, must also be devised to produce more effective results, and we must continue our efforts to make it more equitable and of higher quality. Times change. New technologies are being created every day, and research is accumulating. In education as well, we will continue to verify and improve it on a daily basis, while verifying and introducing educational styles that are considered to be of higher quality.
In companies, people who have been educated at educational institutions will be accepted as workers, or they will be further educated and trained within the company as management executive candidates. At that time, it may be necessary to re-educate these employees if they are lacking in strength, or add company-specific training. Even if you can study well and get a degree with excellent grades, that does not mean that you will be able to find a job that meets the company's needs.
Conversely, the arrival of new educated young people into the company may conflict with the old ideas of the middle-aged and older generations. Perhaps it is necessary to re-educate the middle-aged and older generations because the companies themselves will revise their thinking. As a company, we will learn about the latest trends in school education, and work with or cooperate with the national government, government, and educational institutions to improve the quality of education that will produce effective results in order to secure better human resources in the future.
Also, when expanding overseas, it would be good to know the educational situation of the country where you are expanding. It may be said that one of the important strategies is to secure better human resources by cooperating with local schools and other institutions to improve the quality of education there.
4.1 Draft Course of Action
・”Appeal to the government, government, and educational institutions to ensure that free primary and secondary education is fair, effective, high-quality, and more useful in society in areas where companies operate. We will also support activities to improve the quality of education at overseas expansion sites.”
4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
The development and care of infants and preschool education greatly affect the mental and physical growth of children. In fact, it is said that what a child experiences before entering school has a great impact on their future. The quality of infant development/care and pre-school education is an important matter that greatly affects the future of children.
There must be some kind of relationship between the development and care of infants and the contents of preschool education and the subsequent growth of children. And it will have a lot to do with how primary and secondary education is going. Therefore, it is important not only to improve the quality of infant development, care, and preschool education, but also to provide feedback while observing the subsequent growth of children and their achievements after primary education.
Companies should develop and allocate human resources based on the different experiences they receive depending on the era, region, school, etc., and also, in order to maintain a good relationship between the company and employees for a long time to come, it is important for employees of the child-raising generation. It is important to provide support for the development and care of the infants of the children and the enhancement of preschool education.
4.2 Draft Course of Action
・"We are interested in the quality of infant development, care, and preschool education in areas related to our company, and we support their improvement, and enhance infant development, care, and preschool education for employees who are raising children."
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
Technical education, vocational education, and higher education such as universities are expected to contribute to the improvement of social productivity by acquiring specialized knowledge, skills, techniques, and specialized knowledge. Those who have received specialized education are more likely to find employment, and are more likely to earn higher incomes than those who have only received basic education.
Professional education varies in quality and cost. Some are of good quality and some are of poor quality. Some are expensive and some are cheap. Some offer free or low-cost, high-quality education, while others offer expensive, low-quality education. But generally speaking, the higher the quality of education, the higher the cost.
Even if you want to get a high-quality education, if it is expensive and out of the reach of the general public, only a limited number of wealthy people can afford it. Even if they are competent, if they do not have the money to receive specialized education, they will not be able to acquire the knowledge, skills, and skills, which will not only put them at a disadvantage in finding employment, but will also reduce the productivity of society as a whole.
In a company, it is important to have employees receive professional training in order to improve productivity. Another important corporate strategy is to provide scholarship support so that promising students can acquire more specialized knowledge and find employment at companies in the future.
4.3 Draft Course of Action
・”Equally encourage all employees, regardless of gender, to receive specialized education that will lead to increased productivity, and support employees who are motivated to learn. We will work together.”
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
People's future depends on what kind of skills they have. Being employed, getting a decent job, or being an entrepreneur requires a range of skills. Skills are acquired through on-the-job experience, through repeated practice such as training, or through trial and error in pilot operations. Skills are, so to speak, the ability to put things into practice, and together with the knowledge gained through learning, they are the two wheels of wisdom that drive business forward.
By being recognized as having skills, you can be entrusted with a task or trusted by others as an expert.
In order to increase the number of people with skills, it is effective to provide more places where skills can be obtained. In other words, it is to provide a place for practical experience, a place for training and repeated practice, and a place for trial operation. At the same time, it is important to provide opportunities for re-learning what has been experienced.
Both knowledge and experience are important. However, people often tend to rely heavily on either knowledge or experience. Also, when you experience failure, you may become timid or blame others. In order for experience to help improve skills, it is said that it is effective to proceed with experience and learning in parallel. In order to significantly increase the number of people with skills, it is important to increase the number of places that provide experience and learning, and to let people know and spread the importance of gaining experience and skills.
In order to increase the number of highly skilled human resources, companies should actively provide opportunities for experience and learning, especially to young employees, and motivate all employees to work enthusiastically to improve their skills. It is important to continue It would also be desirable to provide promising students with opportunities to gain work experience from the time they enter school.
4.4 Draft Course of Action
・In order to increase the number of highly skilled human resources, we will actively provide opportunities for experience and learning, especially to young employees, and motivate all employees to work enthusiastically to improve their skills. We will provide promising students with opportunities to gain work experience from the time they enter school.”
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
Let's know the current situation of disparity and inequality in education. What kind of disparities exist in education today, based on gender and other factors? What kind of education do vulnerable people, such as people with disabilities, have or do not have?
Once you understand the current state of disparities and inequalities in education, let's think about what to do about it. Are all disparities and inequalities unfair and should be eliminated? Or, is the current disparity and inequality justifiable and not particularly necessary to eliminate?
It is not possible to eliminate all inequality completely. In addition, judgments on whether disparities and inequalities are justified or unfair will differ depending on people's values and ways of thinking. Eliminating inequality completely would require a lot of effort and could drive up the cost of education. However, this does not mean that nothing should be done as it is.
In society, generally speaking, a majority of people think that it is correct is called a social convention. According to social conventions, there are certain occupations that are preferred for men and those that are preferred for women. When we think of police officers, firefighters, and doctors, we imagine men, and when we think of nurses, childcare workers, and accounting clerks, we imagine women.
Lawyers, doctors, politicians such as legislators, and occupations such as national or local civil servants are often compared and discussed in terms of female participation rates. Countries with few women in these occupations are often thought to have a large gender gap. In order to support women's participation in society and eliminate gender disparities, it is necessary to eliminate gender disparities at the educational stage. At the same time, it is also important to carry out activities to change people's awareness of the tendency to accept gender disparities in social norms.
Eliminating disparities and inequalities in access to education and vocational training for vulnerable people is also a major challenge. If people are unable to receive a decent education because they are in a vulnerable position, it is unfair inequality. In general society, the response and consideration for vulnerable people is often overlooked. In order for them to receive normal education and vocational training, society as a whole needs to change its way of thinking and systems.
It will be important for companies to review whether they have preconceptions about gender and support efforts to eliminate gender disparities in education. At the same time, it will be necessary in the future to promote efforts to develop not only ordinary employees but also vulnerable people through education and vocational training so that they can become a force for the company.
4.5 Draft Course of Action
・ “Check the current status of disparities and inequalities in corporate employee education and vocational training. Review whether companies have prejudices against gender and vulnerable people. , We will enhance education and vocational training so that employees, including vulnerable people, can become a force for the company.”
4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
In Japan, "reading and writing" and "abacus" have long been considered important as the basis of education. Currently, reading, writing and basic arithmetic are to be acquired by all citizens through free compulsory education. However, even among those who received compulsory education, there are individual differences in their abilities. In recent years, there have also been concerns that reading and writing skills and arithmetic skills are declining due to not reading newspapers and relying on calculations on smartphones.
Parents who are enthusiastic about education send their children to cram schools in addition to schools. If you go to cram school, you will get good grades. Since what they learn at school is all about what they have already learned at cram schools, talented children do not listen seriously to classes at school. On the other hand, children with chronically low grades also hate classes and stop listening. In Japan's compulsory education system, there is a phenomenon in which both excellent children and low-performing children do not listen seriously to classes.
Companies expect their employees to already have the literacy and numeracy skills they need to do business. However, there may be a gap between the skills necessary for business and the skills taught in compulsory education. If necessary, it may be important for companies to educate their employees themselves, or in some cases to ask educational institutions such as schools to improve the content of education.
Overseas, the educational situation is different from Japan. When expanding overseas and hiring locally, or when hiring foreigners who have come to Japan after becoming adults, it is necessary to understand the educational circumstances of those people and what kind of training and work they will receive. It is important to think about what to do. Depending on the situation, it will be important as a corporate activity to support and contribute to the improvement of reading and writing skills and basic calculation skills in overseas expansion.
4.6 Draft Course of Action
・“We will conduct tests on employees on a regular basis as well as in entrance exams to test the abilities necessary for business, including reading, writing, and arithmetic. Encourage and support efforts for improvement.Understand the educational situation of the company's main activity area and overseas expansion, and participate in support activities to improve the educational content."
4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
Looking at this target, one might wonder how sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles don't exist today, so how do we educate something that doesn't exist? Nevertheless, in order to promote the SDGs, we must produce many people with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote the SDGs. Whether it is sustainable development or a sustainable lifestyle, even if it does not exist now, it will be built and realized in the future, and no lecturer knows the correct answer about it. However, even if there is no correct answer, it should be possible to think about a better direction, share wisdom, and create a path.
Human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, understanding cultural diversity and the contribution of culture to sustainable development, etc., are some of the "right" ideas. However, if there is a common correct answer for all human beings, it may not exist.
There are people in the world who proudly boast that "this is the correct SDGs initiative." Some people attack what others are doing for not being in line with the SDGs. People who say, "I know the correct SDGs" are usually lying. The important thing is not to fight, not to attack, but to cooperate. Having an attitude of learning from each other and cooperating with each other will be important in SDGs initiatives. In the place of learning SDGs, there is not a teacher and a student. Of course, depending on experience, knowledge, and depth of thinking, there may be a difference between senior apprentices and junior apprentices.
For companies, it can be said that one important step is to enhance employee education for the SDGs. Furthermore, taking a step forward, we will disseminate information about our company's thinking on sustainable development to the region and the world, and promote international exchange, learning, and cooperation on the theme of sustainable development. International exchange and cooperation may lead to new ways of thinking and revitalization of companies.
4.7 Draft Course of Action
・"We will enhance employee education for SDGs. At the same time, we will disseminate information on corporate research results and ideas regarding SDGs, and promote international exchange on the theme of sustainable development."
4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
Building facilities with consideration for children, disabilities and gender is not limited to educational facilities. In addition to learning environments, it is desirable that various environments in society are safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective.
For companies as well, it is important to be interested in the current state of educational facilities and learning environments in regions and overseas destinations. If necessary, requesting improvement of facilities and environment or supporting improvement activities has an important meaning for the development of the region and for acquiring excellent human resources in the future. At the same time, it would be desirable to make workplaces and commercial facilities sensitive to the vulnerable, and to create safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective working and commercial environments for all.
4.a Draft Course of Action
・"We will be interested in the current state of educational facilities and learning environments in local communities and overseas destinations, request improvements, and support improvement activities."
4.b By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries
In developing countries, many excellent human resources may be buried because they are not blessed with an educational environment.
As a company, human resource development in developing countries is an important issue that can greatly contribute to future corporate growth. Hiring hard-working and excellent students who have studied hard in developing countries with low wages will contribute greatly to the development of companies, rather than hiring lazy students who are not so good in developed countries where average wages are high. Especially when expanding into a developing country, adopting a system such as providing scholarships to excellent local students will not only contribute to the development of the country but also be effective in securing excellent human resources.
4.b Draft Course of Action
・”When expanding into a developing country, we aim to hire more excellent students locally and at the same time contribute to the development of that country by providing study, research and vocational training, including scholarships, to outstanding students. We will continue to support activities to increase opportunities.”
4.c By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States
If there is a significant shortage of high-quality teachers, we will not be able to provide a satisfactory education to the public. Improving the quality of teachers is important in order to realize high-quality education that produces excellent human resources.
It is also important for companies to take an interest in the "quality of teachers" in their main regions of activity and overseas expansion. If there is a problem with the quality of teachers, it would be desirable to request improvements or carry out support activities to improve quality. We can expect that improving the quality of education in our main areas of activity and overseas expansion will produce excellent human resources, and by securing them, we can expect them to contribute to the further development of the company.
4.c Draft Course of Action
・"In order to improve the quality of education in our main regions of activity and overseas expansion, we will be interested in the quality of teachers in those regions and support activities to improve the quality of teachers."
*Return to About Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Corporate Action Policy
