Introduction
The education sector is among the most important sectors in a country. The society relies on the schools to provide better learning facilities and quality education to their children. There are various social issues that are associated with education including class, poverty, and resources. All these, among others, define the type and quality of education offered by the institutions. Every individual would like his/her children to get quality education to better their future. However, not all individuals have the ability to afford the best education that they would like to give their children. All social issues are important and should be addressed. This paper addresses resources as a social issue in the education sector in Canadian schools.
Resources as a Social Issue in Education
Schools need resources to provide education for the students. The resources include teachers, educational apparatus like computers, learning facilities, finances, among others. These resources determine the type of education a given institution offers. Resources such as computers, for example, they are very important in the education system in this decade. In the modern global context, it is impossible to imagine the process of education without available computer technologies, Internet, video and audio materials, and other multimedia stuff. All these facilities improve learning process, making it more dynamic, vivid, and comprehensible. Moreover, computer laboratories diversify learning environment and involve students in active learning (Glowacki, 2015). Facilities such as the computer laboratories are, however, not accessible to all schools.
Public education in elementary and secondary schools is free for the children in Canada (The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2016). This has greatly helped individuals in the lower class in the society to educate their children without paying fees. However, the quality of education has been questions by various stakeholders and researches. Teachers in such institutions should be well compensated and motivated to provide better learning to the students. The teacher-student ratio, for example, is an issue of concern when it comes to education in the country. The teachers in the public schools deal with a larger group of students as compared to their counter-parts in the private schools. This may inhibit the one-on-one interaction that students may need to improve on their grades.
Limited resources in schools also leads to poor facilities for the students. The learning environment of the schools that have more resources or that are better funded is different from the schools that have limited resources. Some equipment like computers are shared among five or more students which is not as effective as when a student has his/her own computer. As stated earlier, computers are important tools in learning in the current century. For this reason, all schools need to be well equipped to provide computer training to the students in the different social classes. Schools with better resources expose the students to diverse extra curriculum activities that can be very useful to a student in future. Through sports, for example, a student can get sponsorship from individuals or corporations related to the given sport. Due to lack of resources, some schools miss out on such opportunities.
Conclusion
Limited resources in education can create a barrier for the students. They are less exposed to various opportunity that can be helpful in future and are offered sub-standard education. The government should come up with strategies to at least provide more resources to all the schools to ensure that they all have equal opportunities. All children have a right to better education and equal opportunities. Lack of resources should not be a hindrance to the success of certain students in the society.
References
Glowacki, L. (2015, September 16). Technology in the classroom no shortcut to success. OECD report. Retrieved from Technology in the classroom no shortcut to success.
The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. (2016, June 2). Retrieved from Education in Canada: http://www.cmec.ca/299/Education-in-Canada-An-Overview/index.html
