COVID-19 Pandemic: Disrupting Education Systems and Vaccine Trials - Essay Sample

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic tantrums across all areas globally, with education systems experiencing surge and closure of some institutions. It, however, puzzles the education department in most countries since the academic calendar seems disrupted by the fact that no one knows the end of COVID-19. According to Dr Anthony Fauci, a trial for the COVID-19 vaccine was launched, but a vaccine cannot be ready within one year. Developing and testing a vaccine takes time due to the safety of human beings and their effectiveness in fighting the virus (Davidson & Katopodis 2020). The far-reaching consequences in the education system include the grading system and how it can be affected. It is important to note that COVID-19 has caused confusion, mental illness, and if one is not infected, they are affected. Due to this fact, many students are infected and affected, leading to psychological trauma. Due to its impacts, there is a need to develop a grading system that accommodates and pulls considerations on COVID-19 that have implications to the society at large. This paper seeks to explore how the grading system in Higher Education has been affected and how one can be developed to cater to the impacts of COVID-19 satisfactorily.

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The education system has been the centre of discussion from the context of its organization to conform to the imperatives of the market. Sociologists and professionals within the education field opposed to the political and moral consequences on the free market have garnered efforts in describing and evaluating implications for the future of state (Davidson & Katopodis 2020). The focus has been associated with a dalliance in the development of empirical and practical studies. Consequently, it has not been easy to develop a program of changes that is in line with the vision of society. From the pedagogy of Block, educational reformers who have succeeded in connecting their proposals to views that are widely shared in societal direction have accumulated more success as compared to those who have not been able to pivot their proposition to the master of social science concepts. Apparently, one of the societal needs is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence proposals need to be hedged towards this societal need. Also, the focus should not only consider the grading system, but the way finances have been affected bearing on surging global economy. Most of the sponsoring programs have not been able to draw funds and disburse to schools since their sponsors are also experiencing economy tantrums.

Some academic institutions like the University of Washington, in Seattle, which is believed to be the hotbed for COVID-19 in the U.S., was seen to decide to move to a remote instruction in consideration of classes (Davidson & Katopodis 2020). The university faculty members, however, agreed to use the grading criteria on their courses or decide on using the CR/NC for Credit, No Credit. Grades have been used as an asterisk as a circumstance of choices made on students on competitive majors in situations where students need a high GPA to proceed to professional school.

It is worthy to note that an asterisk might appear to be infinitesimal. Still, it plays a critical role as a modification in that a letter denotes an achievement in a course and whether to proceed or not to proceed to the next level of the course. All students need an asterisk in any given term, not leaving this term affected by COVID-19 pandemic. However, some of the empirical subjects in broad education test the asterisk can also be used to indicate the justification of situations schools have been compelled in the 2019/2020 academic calendar. Additionally, it could be better is the grading system could be moved to a uniform satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system as a way of recognizing the extraordinary characteristics of the situations.

Also, as the higher education system moves to further instruction for alternative modes, the agreements on expectations and assessments need to be changed. This sparks from the fact that is moving to a new, unfamiliar environment, the faculty, as well as students, cannot behold to expectations constructed in and for a different experience in higher education grading systems (Davidson & Katopodis 2020). The grading system has, therefore, to address all challenges lying outside of higher education institutions.

Mijis (2015) posited that the notion of meritization for a long time had been determined by non-meritocratic factors. Mijis (2015) argues that the meritocratic norm is placed on the victim rather than the system. Secondly, merit does not integrate or address needs and equality from the bases of educational policy with consequences ranging from opportunity and equality.

Victim Blaming

The other side of the coin about merit medal is earned by students who work hard and perform well across all units is a manifest of the credo in that the victim is the one to be blamed other than the society on their failings. Wright Mills typology on private issues is based on public problems where meritocratic policies have failed to integrate this vital subject and where for instance in a populated city only if one man fails to secure a job it is his trouble, and this is looked from the perspective of the man's skills and opportunities. The reverse is true for another city's population, and entirely a high number is not employed, then it is a public issue. The current meritocracy concept is broken down into three elements, including careers to open talents, educational chances matched to natural ability, and achievement as the base of social inequality in the current industrialized society (Mijis 2015).

The first element for Meritocracy in Education has to do with opening up positions to persons who are competent rather than using nepotism and corruption like vices to award jobs. In the second element, the process of testing and testing came from the system of mass education across the U.S. and Europe as a way of depicting the children who show great potential in education so that talents get generated. This form of wasted talent has been felt profoundly in the cold war and illustrated by Stigler's and Stevenson's studies in Taiwan and Japan in the 1980s. It has currently been included in the U.S. policy and E.U. policies.

The third factor of meritocracy has to do with the functionalist idea that acknowledges needs to be replaced by achievement, whereby for society to be a proper function, various achievements should grant awards. According to Davis and Moore (1945), social inequality has been unconsciously evolved where organizations assure critical positions are filled by qualified persons. Therefore, meritocracy has been used as a form of providing meritocracy known as achievement, where it is a function of natural effort and ability. The formal system of education currently offered in most western nations seems to be inappropriate regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Bureaucracy in Education

Brown and Lauder (2001) argue that since the inception of mass schooling, there have been myriad competing interests and interpretations that shape the purpose of education. The education system has never at any given time resembled or corresponded to the requirements of economy from the comprehension of neo-Marxist. Brown (1990) also posited that in the first wave 1 of social-historical development that occurred in the developed nations in the 19th century, education system was seen as a differentiating means of elites from the masses. However, the few elites who were privileged to get an education were empowered with select, culturally prowess world. It was seen as a badge that distributed on the basis o birth accident therefore given to the class of few politicians and those who were economically stable. Education was also organized to elevate the patriarchal relations that existed in the private and public peripherals of socialization.

However, the societies in developed nations lacked manual labor since s intermediaries got the education, they preferred white color jobs and hence developed nations lacked taskforce leading to the importation of labor from non-developed nations (Brown and Lauder 2001). The consequences and the perceived nature of social changes and economic changes that was seen to confront western nations especially after WWII lead to profound impact on education route course due to the need of trained labor. However, countries like Britain which had education barriers perpetuated by gender inequality have apparently been associated with varied social status. The grading system should therefore focus on implementing a system that addresses both white color jobs and other blue-collar jobs. In view of the challenges faced by the developed nations in WWII, there was the need of having an education system that established building up of professional skills simultaneously with technical skills.

Based on the theory of justice, all social institutions are based on justice virtue. Each and every person has distinguished inviolability based on justice that even the society welfare can not compete to override. In this case, justice does not acknowledge the loss of freedom is made right by another group that share common features. From this theory, it is clear each of use is gifted on different angles rather than the same grading system used in higher education. This means that each and every person has to be accommodated in education system by a grading system that acknowledges who they are (Rawls 1958). Also, the justice theory will justify that no man is wrong and hence there has to be different metrics in the grading system rather than a uniform one tat puts human beings with varied ideas together. In line with the justice theory, the grading system in higher education is flawed and needs to be rectified. Also, in the introduction of the book, "justice as Fairness," Rawls argues that any theory no matter elegant and economical has to be rejected or rectified if it proofs to be untrue. This theory does not hold water since the education system stands at no justice at all.

Keddie (2012) argues that the question of schooling, equity and social justice is shaped by advocacy. The advocacy is based on who the students are to the school, the problems of the students, the manifested barriers towards their learning process, their ability to grasp the opportunities of education and how teachers can act upon them. Based on these views, school can be thought as a place for transformation and advocacy where one can transform the disadvantages and win over the barriers. However, this happens to be a theory offered by Nancy Fraser (2007) who defines social justice as an inclusive that permits all spheres of life. Fresher's definition of justice sparks social arrangements that allow everyone to participate as peers in social life. in view of justice participatory parity, to overcome justice is simply destroying institutionalized barriers that act to bar some people from being apar with others in social interactions.

The creation of social arrangements based on parity, where institutions know their students and what they are working upon so as to improve their capacity to be in a competitive advantage of education opportunities is on knowing how varied students are and addressing their equity needs and have different supports in answering to these needs. however, it may not be that easy to do such a recognition and provide for such problems to instructors who support equity in education for the less privileged students and the marginalized groups. However, the rate of social injustices in the society coupled with racism, ethnicity, class...