Industry: refers to the production of an economic good (either material or a service) within an economy.
Industry: a group of productive enterprises or organizations that produce or supply goods, services, or sources of income. In economics, industries are customarily classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Although the words industry and education are often paired together, I have not seen the words combined within the definition of Industry in the few sources that I have considered. That is not to say that they do not appear together somewhere. However, either in the definition of “Industry”, or in a listing of the major classifications of industry, they do not seem to appear together.
I have seen, and heard, many references to the “education Industry” over lo these many years as an educator. I understand that there are many industries tied into education, textbooks from the Publishing Industry, Hardware from the Computer Industry, busses from the Transportation Industry, educational applications from the Software Industry, and chairs and desks from the Furniture Industry. The use of so many industries within education does not necessarily make it an industry onto itself.
The concept of public Education is said to be based on the industrial model. It was formed and designed to provide industry with a source of educated people to fill the ranks of workers needed by industry for it to succeed. This goes back to observations of an earlier post. “The 3 R’s of Industry” https://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/the-3-r’s-of-industry/
This is the background to my latest reflection about the need to change the culture to reform education. I again engaged this ongoing reflection after commenting on an educational Blog site. When the investors of the education industry look at what their industry is producing for their investment, what do they see? They, the taxpayers, are the stockholders and investors in this local industry, so they have a right to ask.
The question is easy, How much bang are we getting for our buck? The answer is more difficult, because we need to agree on what the buck is. If we think of education as an industry, we should be able to look at the end product and see the ROI, return on Investment. What is the widget that comes out after a 12 year production? This is easily defined by most industries. We simply look at the profit line. Money talks or somebody walks.The problem is that the Education Industry makes no money. there is no monetary profit. Without money as an indicator of success, what do we use?
This is where Education as an industry falls apart. We do not have agreement on what the product is without money as the measure. Is it how many kids graduate? Is it how many students passed standardized tests which assess knowledge of content? Is it based on how many students go on to college. Is it based on how many go on to be employed in a meaningful way? Is it based on how many become lifelong learners?Is it based on how many learning skills each can exhibit?
To further complicate it we need to evaluate: what skills are important; what facts are necessary; what do we place an emphasis on vocation, or higher education. The focus of these directions depends on whom you ask. Students, parents, teachers and politicians each have different expectations for the outcomes. This further confuses whether the investors are getting a return on their investment. If we cannot agree on a common measure for success we will never be able to satisfactorily answer the question.
Now we need to look at the management of the Education Industry. If education is not an industry, why would we run it like an industry? According to Dan Pink, research tells us that merit pay for teachers will not only be unsuccessful, it will be counter-productive. Further, which of the criteria for success should be used to determine whether the entire staff of a district should be fired as punishment for failure. Do we ask: the Students, the parents, the teachers, the politicians? Does mass firing, in addition to being a punishment for failure, also serve as a great incentive to attract better teachers who will work harder to meet the goals of that district?
In my humble opinion we have to stop thinking of Education as an industry. We need to come to some agreement on what the outcome of a good education is. The outcome or the Profit is never going to be in monetary terms. Maybe each student needs develop an Individual Educational Plan with desired outcomes clearly stated and agreed upon by all parties. We can then assess every student’s progress and success as they proceed in a formative assessment and not when it is too late to change course. This would enable us to assess reflect an adjust individuals’ educations, which is our product. We would shift from report cards to IEP meetings. This, although a time-consuming alternative, could save time for students over a 12 year career in school. With successful results meeting times would be less, unless a program of more rigor is indicated to challenge those who need it.
This is a simple plan that only needs us to get the students, parents, teachers and politicians to agree to the change and agree on the outcomes. I guess that would be the part of the reform equation where we need to change the culture. It may take a few weeks.
My Island View 
Thinking about education as an industry, as a business, is precisely the opposite of what should be done. School and education are, ideally, places beyond the reach of money, where money doesn’t or shouldn’t matter. Learning is what matters (and to my mind, a successful education turns a person into a lifelong learner).
When people start thinking about schools as businesses, then everyone will suffer–not only students but also teachers.
In the industry-model schools, teachers become vulnerable members of some faceless “workforce.” Teachers are threatened with not making enough money and/or getting fired for not producing “results”; schools are threatened with losing money thanks to NCLB. No one is happy or secure, and real learning won’t take place.
Administrators and schools, as well as the government, should care about people, and whether or not they are learning and getting what they need–whether that is an education, or good role models, or experience in dealing with people before heading out into the world.
Tom,
You make some important points about the problems we have in treating education as industry. It’s ironic that many educators would protest the idea of an IEP for all, despite how much time and heartache it would save in the long run. By heartache, I refer to the students and all of the dedicated teachers who try to help them find their path to success through the limited measures we currently use.
I was just thinking this morning of the very same concept. What if we, early on, helped learners develop passions, address areas of need, find their sparks and their ways of learning so that they could grow into independent, creative contributors to society? We need to look at reform from the very earliest school experiences and set kids on a path to become their best possible selves. Yes, this is a lofty goal, but clearly one worth having.
Tom,
Your post resonates with me because we have been discussing this very thing in the Advanced Instructional Design class which I am taking this term. I found this paper (llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/Collins-Rethinking-Education.pdf) to get at the very heart of what I see being discussed in #edchat and in your current post.
I think that what educators don’t want to realize (and need very much to realize) is that people are ALREADY arranging their own IEPs! The vast information resources available on the internet, much of which are very good, makes it easy to create one’s own learning plan. The popularity of Open University and like programs are evidence of this. My favorite quote in the Collins paper is “Society should not assume that the only way to improve education is to improve schools.” Pondering this sentence to its fullest requires educators to have a paradigm shift. The industrial revolution school system does not work in the information age. Sure, we need a school system, but some serious changes need to be made.
This is a tough topic to discuss and maybe that’s why people aren’t commenting on your blog posts. I like reading your thoughtful posts and they make me think about what I’m doing as an educator (I’m an academic librarian actually). Posting a comment requires some serious cogitation (for me at least) and I don’t always take the time. Also many educators are reading your posts and I think they are afraid of what a school needs to look like in the information age: it has fewer teacher bodies perhaps. This sentiment is professed here: Virtual Worlds and the New Frontiers of Learning http://bit.ly/b9LKuD
Dr. Whitby, even if I’m not commenting all the time, please know that I’m learning from your posts. You are an important element of my PLN. Thank you for that.
A. R.
I love this post. Really good stuff. Got me thinking in circles for a bit until I realized that the analogy holds if you ‘follow the money’.
In private education, it’s a simple trade – you pay money for education and the cycle is done. The ‘industry’ so to speak educated you in exchange for financial compensation.
With public education, the Government pays expenses for the schools and in return they receive income tax on everyone’s earnings. This is the exchange as I see it. Government pays for education and in return gets tax revenue because those folks become financially productive.
I’m not an economist or anything so I am not sure if my reasoning truly holds up but it seems like you have an exchange there on both private and public fronts.
In the end, I am not sure how viewing education as an industry benefits anyone. I prefer to view education more in terms of how we are able to provide knowledge previously learned so we can discover new information that hasn’t been. To me this is what makes our society function and move forward. There is no point in trying to look at education as an industry if the value of it is priceless.
Great job here!
Tom,
I see no problem from an integrative-thinking perspective correlating business and education models… whatever works, yeah? Why do educators villify the business model so much? @ http://tinyurl.com/yz5je5v
I so totally agree though, with your assessment that all students need, “desired outcomes clearly stated and agreed upon by all parties…” and your assertion that, “we can then assess every student’s progress and success as they proceed in a formative assessment and not when it is too late to change course. This would enable us to assess reflect an adjust individuals’ educations, which is our product.”
I have been talking about the IEP for all concept for years, and employ versions of it as much as my system will presently allow. Here’s my post on what I call “Personal Learning Stories.” I’d appreciate your comments.
Sean Grainger, @graingered
OOPS! I forgot the Personal Learning Stories link @ http://tinyurl.com/yjggtwo
Cheers!
Sean
Tom,
First, I would point out that, at the end of the day, does it really matter whether we refer to education as an industry or something else? What would the end-result be, if we referred to it, for example, as the education system, instead of the education industry?
Just for the record, whether you subscribe to their methods and philosophies or not, a formal education industry does exist, in the form of for-profit secondary schools. Many are publicly-held companies with investors that do expect a return on their investment. Similarly, students of these post-secondary institutions also expect a return on their investment, in most cases the attainment of skills required to advance their careers.
But, I digress, because I believe you are referring to K-12 public education. In your words,
“Industry: refers to the production of an economic good (either material or a service) within an economy.”
In my opinion, based solely on this definition, public education is indeed an industry. Admittedly, the end product is not well-defined, difficult to measure and most likely differs based on whom you ask. Nevertheless, there is certainly production in the form of school buildings, classrooms, teachers, curriculum and teaching services. I don’t think anyone can deny that. Although difficult to measure, I don’t think anyone can argue the fact that economic good is produced. In the case of the students, if one were to compare the salaries and lifestyle of degreed students to non-degreed students, I think the overwhelming economic advantage would go to those with degrees. Even those who are less functional (i.e. those with IEP’s, for example) are most likely prepared to do things they wouldn’t be prepared for if it weren’t for those 12 years they spent in school.
If you were to consider a school system, the economic good it produces is education. Just because the outcome is vague and difficult to measure, it’s no less of an industry than producing widgets that people will buy. Schools produce educated students that people (employers) will buy.
So now we have the investor (the taxpayer), the provider (the government and the school systems), the paid direct service providers and employees (teachers), and the consumer (students). It’s pretty clear what everyone receives from this exchange, except for the taxpayer. I would submit to you that, even if the taxpayer did not benefit by not having kids who attended the local school district, they, their children and their grandchildren will ultimately benefit when those students who graduate eventually begin to contribute to society in the form of economic activity. Not to mention that those students will eventually become taxpayers and help to perpetuate the aforementioned cycle all over again. If that’s not an industry, I’m not sure what is.
The above is just my opinion, right, wrong, good or bad, so my mind remains open. I would certainly welcome thoughts, comments, suggestions, or even “you have no clue what you’re talking about, Jeff!
Respectfully,
Jeff
Mr. Whitby,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I was told to comment on your posts for the next three weeks. I will be posting my comments and thoughts on my class blog at http://mcnortonkedm310.com on or before April 18, 2010 . You have some interesting points you have brought out. I know the IEP for every student would be alot of work but I agree that would be extremely beneficial to all students. We could realize students interest, strengths, and weaknesses then we could build on those. I believe this would make each student a better student. As a future teacher, I found this blog interesting and helpful. This blog gave me lots to think about as I prepare to enter the classroom in the next year or so. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks,
Kimberly McNorton
Yes, so glad I’m not the only one thinking along these lines! You have fleshed out this idea really well. Thank you.
My own musings are here:
http://edumusings.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/ieps-for-all/
Having seen my co-teaching Spec. Ed partner work on her caseload’s IEPs, it seems like a MOUNTAIN of work, but agreeably, could be quite beneficial to employ for all students. It sounds like just the kind of thing I could pilot in summer school (Trying new things there is the only way you and the kids can stay engaged!)
Quite dangerously, I suppose, I try to engage my sophomores and juniors in conversations about Ed. Reform. I showed that Dan Pink TED talk one Friday post-quiz and several of my students were very interested and had questions of their own. Besides risking mutiny, the danger in introducing my students to these ideas is that they will probably hold me accountable to try and enact change in their class!
As far as public ed. shareholders, I’d say they are looking for a return investment in their community from the school. Perhaps that’s as simple as creating an environment in which, after college, those young people will want to return to the area and invest their lives, money, and tax dollars back into the system. Finding ways for the students to serve and educate the community at large is also a tangible ROI.
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Maybe each student needs develop an Individual Educational Plan with desired outcomes clearly stated and agreed upon by all parties.
— I think an IEP is a great way to get students motivated to each their own personal goals. It should be a school requirement; students create and work on their IEP at the beginning of every year, reflecting on their last year and their own personal growth, is a great tool for self-assessment.
So, if education as industry exist, why teachers do still get few salaries? If it’s as industry, it should be more productive in means of money and the graduates are its fine product. And the employed graduates should return some percentage of their salaries to education to support in increasing the salaries of teachers. You know, in industry, a worker be paid according to the production. So teachers should be so if education is as industry.
Thanks
Jean Denys NUWAYO