Distinguishing Tertiary and Secondary Education

Tertiary:In tertiary institutions the primary emphasis is on Standards and Professional Development. The intent is to prepare individual's to operate in a specific chosen career field. The only Progress considered is if the students are meeting the requirements and to what degree. Credit is not given purely for progress, progress must be in line with the standards. This is due to the increased focus on a particular employability outcome, with students granted admission by demonstrating their ability to participate. At the same time it is important that students develop their self-directed learning skills, critical thinking skills and ability to access and evaluate information.

Secondary:

Alternatively in the secondary environment it is first and foremost about Progress. For some students it is a confidence building process, empowering them at the general level, in order to establish a sense of achievement and success. Hopefully moving toward a sense of ownership of one's life and future. This means Life skills are the next key priority. Ideally, as a learning facilitator, we can focus on learning, study and planning skills. Yet manners, thoughtfulness plus emotional and social intelligences are all key. This is demonstrated by the emphasis on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) alongside cognitive development. Indeed if a learner is not in a sound emotional and social state, knowledge and skill learning is less successful. Further there is increasing indication of the importance of social and emotional ability for success. Standards are also important, as they are required for effective functioning in the adult world. They are used to indicate levels of achievement with increasing stringentness, as the learner progresses to senior secondary, in preparation for employment or the tertiary education system.

All young people are expected to attend educational institutions and get an 'education' and as a consequence there is an increased level of diversity which needs to be cater to as young people are 'guided' in the direction of an appropriate (for them) means for them to become contributing members of the society. As a consequence schools provide an ideal setting for promoting inclusivity and collaboration with diverse team members. An important skill required for success.

In theory, at least, secondary schools prepare a diverse range of students for general life success, requiring students to gain a strong sense of who they are, how to succeed in life and general society knowledge. While tertiary education prepares, suitably capable students, for specific field employability.

Transition from Secondary to Tertiary:

These differences are just the start for students when they move from secondary to tertiary study. They also need to adjust to change in the type of knowledge they are require to work with from predominately absolute knowledge to combination or predominately relative knowledge; a significantly increased reliance on self-directed learning; often an adaption to more depth and understanding of knowledge with less rote learning; as well as higher expectations for presentation procedures. These changes may mean students require extra support from tertiary teaching and support staff.

Copyright Janelle Sheen 2016

Developing- understanding cognitive development in secondary schools learners (and some tertiary) are they ready/ grasping abstract concepts? Implication in lessons/scaffolding.