The Purpose of College Education: Exploring its Impact in Society - Essay Sample

Introduction

In recent years, there has been diverse discussion on the purpose of college education in society. The college tuition has been a significant upsurge which has made people in the society question the purpose of education. According to Brandon Busteed, availing the actual purpose of the college has to the consumers plays an essential role in ensuring that college education is received positively in society (Busteed). With the knowledge of the college purpose, the consumers will be able to undertake calculations on the cost of college education and possible outcomes of the system, thus establishing the importance of college and the need to adopt a college education. According to Alex, in the last 363 years, college education has undergone a development that has seen it adopt diverse changes, thus causing the society to have diverse views about the college and its purpose (Valaitisi).

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Among the first colleges to be established in the society is Harvard University; the study reveals that the initial purpose of the college was to provided religious education. Alex, in his research, provides that the first graduates of the Harvard were religious students (Robert & Murray). However, due to the dynamism exhibited in the society, the college education has undergone tremendous changes which have seen it meet the desires of the changing environment (Busteed). At its early years of establishment, the education in the college provided soft skills to students, which they would use in executing daily activities and inculcate public responsibilities. In the current society, some people hold that college prepares students for jobs and others believe that it prepares students for success (Valaitisi). However, the research indicates that the college serves both purposes of preparing students for jobs and equipping them with the desired skills required in life.

As provided by the research, most of the American citizens hold that college education plays an important role in ensuring that student gets decent jobs befitting a certain social class in the society which calls for respect from the society. Most of the white-collar jobs in society call for college education; therefore, it is worth to hold that education contributes to one's chances of getting a good job with good remuneration (Valaitisi). Furthermore, a college education provides appropriate preparation, which enhances ones' chances of success in life. Education equips the learners with the desired skills, which bolsters thinking capability and communication clearly (Robert & Murray). With such skills in place, one can think critically and make a sound decision that will enhance success. The ability to communicate clearly in society is crucial as it enables one to share ideas and communicate effectively with different people in the society hence worth saying that education bolsters cohesion through improving communication skills, which yields understanding in the society.

In the early years of college education, the college degree did not attract much attention from the public domain; however, due to the diversity and advancement noted in colleges, college education has received much attention in the society (Valaitisi). At the time when the college education was positively received, most of the colleges adopted an aesthetic look within their campus. However, to achieve the desired aesthetic, there was a need for students to have the desired experience. Therefore, it can be deduced that the college provides the desired experience to the students, which enables them to have diverse skills an be able to apply them in a real-life situation (Busteed). At the time when diversification of courses was adopted in colleges, architectural education was emphasized. Upon providing the architectural skills to college students, they were allowed to make the design of their colleges, which in most institutions has remained to be iconic up to the current era.

In the current society of economies, there is a belief that the smart and bright people in society have a higher chance of surviving in the society, thus leading to their success. With this knowledge in place, most of the students normally choose the course they usually believe in earning them opportunities in the corporate world, which will dictate their success (Valaitisi). Furthermore, in the corporate world, attainment of higher education signifies that one will earn more salary; therefore, it can be deduced that college education provides one smart educationally, which will attract more salary when one is employed (Weihua & Wang). However, in society and the education system of many countries, diverse courses and subjects attract varied attention, and their chances of leading to employment differ. According to the research, it is evident that the mathematics and science courses in colleges are competitive in the corporate society, thus pushing more colleges to emphasize these courses with the quest to make their students competitive (Busteed). It is worth to deduce that college equips students with the desired skills to make them compete effectively in the corporate world.

The college has been devised to meet the desires of the students. In some instances, some of the students have varied art talents, and they need to further perfect their arts (Weihua & Wang). With the desire to bolster ones' art, colleges offer opportunities to students to sharpen their skills hence worth deduce that colleges perfect the talent skills of the students. Furthermore, colleges offer life experience desired by most of the people in the society. For example, the introduction of athletics in colleges have played a crucial role in attracting students to colleges. The college offers an opportunity for the students to showcase their athletics talent and provided a platform for the competition, which offers the students a means of earning their living.

However, despite the importance of college in the current society, it is worth noting that there are varied challenges of colleges. For example, most of the colleges have placed more emphasis on prestige as opposed to meeting the desires of the students (Robert & Murray). For example, the Ivy League schools have emphasized on prestige as opposed to skills and meeting the desires of the students (Valaitisi). In this case, the prestige associated with the college attracts a high cost, thus making the college education expensive in some colleges hence locking away some of the students who would have otherwise joined the college and acquire diverse skills. Furthermore, college education has created a social class in the society that perceives themselves as more successful due to the possession of a college degree (Weihua & Wang). With such beliefs in the society, those who did not attend college are perceived to have little chances of success; hence college served to their detriment.

Conclusion

To sum up, the college has undergone tremendous development since its inception, where religious education was at the forefront. The college has served as an essential entity where students acquire the desired skills required in executing diverse activities in society. College education has played an important role in preparing students for jobs in the society. The training offered in colleges equips one with the knowledge to execute different jobs in society. Furthermore, colleges have in the forefront meeting the desires of students, such as perfecting their arts and forming a platform to exercise their talents. Consequently, some of the colleges have emphasized on prestige as opposed to offering education hence posing a challenge in most of the colleges.

Work Cited

Busteed, Brandon. "Forbes." What's the Purpose of College? 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2019/04/10/whats-the-purpose-of-college/#3a105165354e. Accessed 24 May 2020.

Nash, Robert J., and Michele C. Murray. Helping college students find purpose: The campus guide to meaning-making. John Wiley & Sons, 2019.

Valaitisi, Alex. What Is the True Purpose of College? 2019, https://medium.com/modern-college/what-is-the-true-purpose-of-college-41434f47b824. Accessed 24 May 2020.

Weihua, Wang Keda Chen Ping Xu. "Research on the Physical Education Model and Fostering Purpose in common Colleges and Universities [J]." Journal of Jilin Institute of Physical Education 1 (2015).