By Abdelhak Mezguidi
Rissani, Morocco - Education has played, and continues to play, a very significant role in the development of societies.
Through education, so many countries, societies, and individuals are developed. However, education faces several distinctive problems in many countries, and Morocco is no exception. Scholars have tried and try to explain these problems and the solutions to them. In this respect, one of the most significant problems that education encounters, which is by itself a solution, is morality. As a matter of fact, morals are considered as one of the crucial elements that make education successful.
The study of the obstacles hindering education has been a major concern for many studies. In contrast to what has been commonplace in the past, education’s problems are extensively due to the deficiency and unwillingness of a student to learn. This of course could be part of the problem, however it is apparent that this belief is no longer true as there are many students who are intelligent and have the will to learn, but are still unable to receive a proper education. This reality highlights that there are many other factors that may affect the quality of education. In this respect, and generally speaking, most scholars argue that different elements should contribute towards a successful education. In other words, achieving an effective education requires much more than one would expect. A successful education then requires from learners, teachers, parents, decision makers - even the society as a whole - an awareness of what they are seeking to accomplish.
One of the very important things that should be taken into consideration before tackling the issue of morality is that in fact, each context has its particular circumstances that should be taken into account. That is, there should be appropriate methods, stratagems, techniques, and materials for each particular context. What works well for one given context may not work for another, and vice versa. It’s more like the system of the traffic rules. Here in Morocco and in the United States for example, you drive on the right side of the road. If you don’t observe the traffic rules, you pay the penalty. Similarly in England and India you drive on the left, and if you don’t, you pay the penalty. Thus, even though there is a common approach amongst all these countries in organizing their traffic system, their traffic rules are tailored to fit each respective country.
We need to make a clear distinction between what is pedagogy, and on the other hand, the mastery of a given subject. The mastery of a subject is not the end all that is needed. What is also needed is an effective means of how to learn that subject. At university, there is a number of professors who haven’t received any training before starting their job. Therefore, students may only be efficient in what their professors are trying to explain. I don’t deny the fact that there are some professors who excel pedagogically. But again, and paradoxically, even when we have teachers, in primary, middle, and high school, of whom have received training before starting their job, we still have the problem of the ineffectiveness of education. Therefore, this situation makes clear that morality is an urgent matter as far as I am concerned.
It should not be ignored that morals have a great effect on education. Of course there are many other factors that we cannot deny such as individual differences of learners and teachers, the style of teacher’s teaching, motivation, and the environment wherein a student learns. Other factors may be the lack of the necessities such as infrastructure, the climactic extremes of summer and winter, the lack of electronic equipment the misbehavior of learners and so many other factors. As far as I am concerned, with morals in mind, these factors can be challenged to some degree. That is, when morality applied, the teacher, and hopefully all the concerned people, will recognize that she or he has a great role of responsibility in the successfulness of the learning process. This is because the teacher has multiple tasks to accomplish. To name some, they are the one who regularly confronts students face to so that they will observe things that are not apparent to the decision makers; they pass them the knowledge. Teachers teach, guide, help, motivate and train them. In my point of view, I think that all these tasks cannot be done without morality.
I think that morality is a key element in education, because it is the element that leads to the successfulness of other several distinctive things that are so relevant to education. For instance, it can lead to a good motivation of the students by respecting their feelings, opinions and thoughts. It can also push the teacher to do her or his best, and take things seriously in their job. To do this, a serious plan is needed. This means that the teacher will make a needs analysis to their learners, including the context in which they are learning by applying the following steps as defined by Jordan, R.R. (1997) with an edition in which the first and third steps are added. Firstly, make an analysis of the present situation so as to recognize the deficiencies and necessities of the learners. Secondly, make an analysis of the target situation by defining the intended goals based on the present situation and other sources like experience.
Thirdly, make an analysis of the learning situation by looking for the suitable theories, methods, approaches, techniques, strategies, materials and games. Fourthly, create a syllabus that is based on the three aforementioned situations. Fifthly, design materials so as to exemplify the items outlined in the syllabus. Sixthly, teach the materials with respect to the syllabus and with editing in accordance to the context. Finally, establish an evaluation procedure to figure out to what extent one was successful in what was designed. One thing that is no less important than the mentioned steps is, Jordan, R.R. (1997) added, to consider the learner at every single stage. That is, the learner should be the focus of the whole learning process.
So as not to be confused, I am not saying that this is the end all to a successful learning process, instead it will lead to the achievement of better results in education. Teachers should be an ideal model in many levels; a model in the mastery of the subject, in the pedagogical domain, and above all in morals. I mean morals in its most broad terms, including teaching with heart and the motivation of the students. Morality is not limited to only the teacher, it goes beyond that. It extends its reach to the students, parents, decision makers and the society as a whole. However, it’s so difficult to have strong morality when it comes to students, because they are living in a period of their lives in which they themselves are difficult to deal with. It is this adolescence that makes it difficult for some students to have the proper moral scope. I would like to add that when there are some students who do not care about morality, the teacher should continue to do so. By doing so, to some extent, it will be possible to move toward a better quality of education.
For all of these reasons discussed herein, they require a serious awareness from teachers, educators, and decision makers, given that morals are a critical factor for successful education
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