Education in the 21^st Century: Acquisition and Application of Knowledge versus Certificate

Adenekan T.E.^1, , Chilaka U.C.¹, Fadeyi O.O.¹, George P.A.¹ and Ige N.A¹

¹Department of Information Resources Management, Babcock University, Ilishan, Remo

Cite this paper:
Adenekan T.E., Chilaka U.C., Fadeyi O.O., George P.A. and Ige N.A. Education in the 21^st Century: Acquisition and Application of Knowledge versus Certificate. American Journal of Educational Research. 2018; 6(3):210-213. doi: 10.12691/education-6-3-8

Abstract

Education has always been an important factor that brings about national development in human capital, science and technology. The central goal of education is to develop citizens to be self-reliant with a critical thinking ability, decision making and source of solution to life problems while applying the knowledge acquired. This paper examines education in the 21^st Century with a specific focus on acquisition and application of knowledge versus certificate. Literature was reviewed in the area under examination and the work revealed that the world is changing as a result of emerging technological and professional trends. This has resulted in the need to down play on the celebrated certificate and encourage the application of knowledge orientation to keep abreast of the 21^st century demands of the society. The paper emphasizes the importance of pragmatic knowledge over certification, the skills, abilities and learning dispositions that have been identified as being required for success by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies in organizations and society. It concludes by giving clues on the creation of niche, that is, individuals with their own brand in career and business. This will therefore relegate certificate consciousness and increase the relevance of knowledge application for creativity, innovation and invention.

Keywords:
application of knowledge certificate education 21^st century

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Subair, S. T. (2008), Infrastructure, Welfare Services and Students’ Perceived Motivation to Learning in Universities in South-West Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. University of Lagos. In Adenekan, T.E. (2016), A Case for Private University Education in Nigeria (Chapter 15, Toyin Falola and S.U. Fwatshak (Eds.) Contemporary Nigeria: Transitional Agencies of Change. A paper presented at the 2013 Annual African Conference on "African Educational Policy" held in the University of Texas, Austin, United States of America.
[2]	Adu, I. (2005). Nigeria education at cross roads which way out? In educational Peucope. A Publication of NAEND, Ogun and OYO States.
[3]	Aladenusi, O. & Ayodele K.O. (2012). Leadership education as a veritable tool for good governance and democratic development an empirical assessment of Public perception.
[4]	Abdul kareem, A. Y. (2001). Nigeria University and the Development of Human Resources. In N. Nwagwu, E. T. Ehiametalor, M. A. Ogunu & M. Nwadiani (Eds). Current Issues in Education Management in Nigeria. Benin City: Amik Press. 12(1), 127-129.
[5]	Federal Government of Nigeria – National Policy on Education (1998) and (2004).
[6]	Adegbesan, S.O. (2011). Establishing quality assurance in Nigerian education system: Implication for educational manager: Educational Research and reviews 6(2). 147-151.
[7]	Ogundele, A. G., Feyisetan, C.T., & Shaaba G. P. (2014). Technical Education as a Vital Tool for Skill Acquisition through Guidance and Counseling for Nation Building. American Journal of Educational Research. 2.1: 50-53.
[8]	OECD, (2008). 21st Century Learning: Research, Innovation and Policy. Direction from recent OECD Analysis. Retrieved on 2017-01-19.
[9]	Graham, S. (2015). Preparing for the 21st Century: Soft Skills Matter, Huffington Post, April 26, 2015. Retrieved 2016-03-16. http//www.academic journal org/ERR.
[10]	Job-hopping is the new normal for millennials, Forbes Magazine, August 14, 2012. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
[11]	Cuban, L. (2015). Content vs. skills in high schools - 21st century arguments echo 19th century conflicts, November 3, 2015. Retrieved 2016-03-12.