The role of learning in education cannot be undermined or underrated. Learning is a necessary condiment to living and succeeding in life. In the world of today, a learned individual is simply recorded to be a leader among ordinary men. This is because he tends to see further than others do.
Learning is the step-by-step activity of attaining new skills, knowledge, understanding, and values both in school and life. Learning is a process that is both natural and self-motivated. Meaning, it is something people can do by themselves.
However, when it comes to education which is the process of helping someone or a group of others to learn, there is possibly a minimized energy to learn by oneself. With educational support, learning can happen more efficiently. In simple terms, learning and education help hold together human life and civilization as we know it. They are what we use to make our societies better for ourselves, those around us, and those who come after us.
The Role of Learning in Education
Having stressed the importance of the process of acquiring knowledge and ideas, it is time we discussed the role of learning in education and how it can be said to be something that cannot be undermined:
Happiness
Research suggests that people who practice continuous or lifelong learning are happier on average. This may be because lifelong learning helps people to keep developing their passions and interests, which bring us happiness.
Learning about topics that interest us makes most of us feel happy, at least in the moment, as does spending time honing hobbies we are passionate about (which is also an act of lifelong learning!). It stands to reason that building time for these things into your personal life would contribute to your overall happiness.
Continuous learning also helps us to keep pursuing our personal and professional development goals, and all the achievements along the way are a great source of happiness for many of us. It also helps us keep boredom at bay, which is another way of increasing our happiness.
Adaptability
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is pushing employees to pursue continuous learning throughout their lives as they will have to constantly adapt to new knowledge and technological changes, which keep appearing faster and faster. Engaging in continuous learning means becoming accustomed to incorporating new knowledge all the time, and this is essential in order to keep adapting.
It’s important to make learning continuous because this gives people the skills they need to adapt, empowering them to stay competitive in the job market, pursue promotions in their current jobs, and keep pace with knowledge and technological changes in their everyday lives.
Investing in an adaptable workforce by supporting continuous learning is also key to any company that wants to remain competitive and relevant in its industry.
Read Also: Six Examples of Learning Skills and their Importance
Innovation
Learning also drives innovation, which describes the new ideas and technological and cultural developments that people come up with to solve problems and improve their societies. Research shows that companies that have a strong learning culture are 92% more likely to innovate by developing new products and processes, and 56% more likely to be first to market with these new developments.
Innovation is important for society as a whole because the benefits of these new developments can be shared to help improve all of our lives.
The fast-tracking of the Covid-19 vaccines are a great example of an organizational innovation that has been developed to combat a global pandemic. Learning can also help people build the critical thinking skills they need to view problems in new, innovative ways.
Longevity
Several scientific studies have shown that lifelong learning activities can help people maintain better brain function as they age. One study found that people with Alzheimer’s who practice more learning throughout their lives start to display dementia symptoms later than those who have spent less time learning.
In other words, lifelong learning might be able to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s. Another study found that spending time learning to play a new musical instrument can help delay cognitive decline. A third study found that spending time learning new skills, namely digital photography and quilting, helped elderly people to improve their memories.
Capacity
One key way that continuous learning helps both employees and their companies is by helping people upskill, which means improving their existing skill sets and broadening them with new skills. Upskilling is good for employees because it equips them with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue their personal and professional development goals, for example by upskilling towards a promotion.
Building a more highly skilled workforce through continuous learning is also beneficial to companies. More skilled employees can do their jobs better and faster, and research shows that companies with a strong learning culture are 52% more productive.
Employees learning new skills to pursue promotions also benefits companies because internal promotion is generally a more time-efficient and cost-effective solution than hiring externally.
Lastly, companies who support their employees’ continuous learning boast demonstrably higher staff engagement, which in turn boosts productivity and profitability . This is also beneficial to individual employees, because being engaged at work generally means enjoying your job and finding it meaningful.
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