EDUC 5010 UNIT 5 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT.

Around the world, many children do not have access to education for a variety of
reasons including race, gender, and economic status.
● Explain the diversity of educational experiences children have in your
context.
● How does that fit with the idea of schooling having a sociological function?
● What should the function and purpose of school and education be?
There is a lot of diversity of educational experiences children have within the
Malawian school context, being primary or secondary schools. In Malawian schools,
the type and how children access education depends greatly on the family’s
economic status. Those learners who come from very poor families do get
segregated or discriminated against. For example, even though the uniform is not a
requirement in Malawian primary schools, but if a child comes to school with torn
clothes, they tend to be discriminated against. Everyone wants to associate with a
rich child. All this results in low esteem for the developing mind of a learner. Some
learners do come to school hungry and without books and pencils. According to The
Borgen Project (2017), poverty has decreased the quality of Malawian education.
Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world, (The Borgen Project,
2017). The economy is not getting any better in my context.

Language is another issue. Malawi has a significant linguistic variety and it is a

necessity for both teachers and learners to understand English because it is the
teaching language. To be honest it is a problem to use English in teaching because
both teachers and learners do not fully understand. According to Skaliot’s (2001),
thesis, he found out that “primary school children in Malawi are not linguistically
prepared for instruction through the medium of English.” The same findings are also
highlighted by Chiphanda (2007), from his findings it was concluded that “Standard 5
learners, who are taught through the medium of English, are not sufficiently proficient
in English to cope with the cognitive academic demands of learning content subjects
like Mathematics and Social Studies in Malawi.”

The other social issue is about Inadequate school facilities. Learners are facing a
shortage of educational resources and learning chances. Due to extreme poverty in
rural areas most schools do not have teachers for certain subjects. Some areas have
few classrooms, learners learn under trees and write on the ground since there are
no amenities such as books and desks.

Cultural ideas and practices influence how students and teachers communicate in
the classroom. Malawi has a variety of ethnic grouping that have different ways of
life. Apart from that, Western teaching methods are employed in Malawian schools.
The paper understands that there are philosophical reasoning behind this idea. For
instance, as the paper put it before, learners are taught in English. Because of
differences in cultures and ethnic groupings, children are not educated in their
mother tongue.

Lastly, there is a high disability prevalence in Malawi, this has occurred due to a lack
of preventative and rehabilitative services to care for children with impairments. “The
2018 Census classified seeing (49 percent), walking/climbing (27 percent), hearing
(24 percent), intellectual (16 percent), and speaking (9 percent) to be the most
prevalent forms of disability in the country” noted by Chikasamba (n.d.). Many
disabled youngsters do not attend school. They beg on the streets, and some are
kept in their homes for fear of being stigmatized and to be called bad names even to
be killed. For example, according to Mwananyanda (2021), Amnesty International’s
Deputy Director for Southern Africa, children, and adults with albinism are not safe in
Malawi, whether in schools, home, or on the streets, and this is due to attacks and
killings as a result of a culture of impunity.

Schools should be made to be sociological functions. This means that schools

should provide the learners and even teachers a platform to learn as well as
socialize. To get socialization experiences is one of the main purposes parents do
send their children to schools. The way learner socialize in schools must ensure that
any kind of discrimination must be avoided. Steps are being put in place by the
Malawian government to promote inclusive education in Malawi. The Government of
Malawi through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has formed
National Inclusive Education Strategy with the aim to promote equitable access to
quality education at all levels according to Fabiano (2017) MINISTER OF
EDUCATION, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY.

Since Malawi has a cultural variety, this must provide opportunities for all learners to
learn from one another not otherwise. This situation must allow learners to learn
about different languages, traditions, and points of view from throughout the world.
Western cultures must also help learners to have the perspective of what is there
overseas and give learners exposure, helps them develop cross-cultural competency,
prepares them for the real world, and plays key roles in educational procedures.

The function of schools and education should be to teach the learners to be good
people and have a better living i the future when they grow up. To be a good person
in my case I mean to be able to stay and leave with other people through
socialization. The functions of schooling are to socialize children to perform required
adult roles, to keep children busy, to reduce opportunities for entering the labor force,
to assist society by socializing children into specific social values and customs, and
to develop the expertise required to live in a community such as reading and writing

References:
1. Chikasamba H.G. (n.d.) Malawi: Revised Country Report. Repository on
Disability Rights in Africa (rodra), Centre for Human Rights, University of
Pretoria. http://rodra.co.za/country-reports-malawi/22-countries/malawi/62-
malawi-updated-country-report
2. Chiphanda, P. 2007. The change of medium of instruction from Chichewa to
English in primary schools in Malawi and its impact on pupils' academic
performance. University of Cape Town.
https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/7485

3. Fabiano E. Dr. (2017). NATIONAL STRATEGY ONINCLUSIVE EDUCATION.

Ministry of Education, ,Science and Technology. Malawi
Government.https://rodra.co.za/images/countries/malawi/policies/Inclusive
%20Education%20Strategy-2017-2021.pdf
4. Mwananyanda M. (2021, February). Malawi: Resurgence of killings and
abductions of persons with albinism spells dangerous escallation. Amnesty
International.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/02/malawi-
resurgence-of-killings-and-abductions-of-persons-with-albinism-spells-a-
dangerous-escalation/
5. Skaliot M.H. (2001). Effects of English as medium of instruction on pupils'
academic achievement in social studies in primary schools in Malawi.
Institution Repository. University of South Africa UNISA
https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/882