The The influence of education on knowledge and character

It is commonly assumed that formal education fos­ters both knowledge and character development. How­ever, this study questions the integrity of this assumption. This research aims to investigate whether education and ob­taining higher qualifications genuinely lead to enhanced gen­eral knowledge and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Interdisciplinary journal of education research 2024-08, Vol.6, p.1-12
Main Author: Steyn, Renier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
character
education
knowledge
world values survey
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:It is commonly assumed that formal education fos­ters both knowledge and character development. How­ever, this study questions the integrity of this assumption. This research aims to investigate whether education and ob­taining higher qualifications genuinely lead to enhanced gen­eral knowledge and a heightened awareness of one's igno­rance regarding certain topics. Cross-sectional data from the World Values Survey (N > 90,000) on educational levels, gen­eral knowledge, and the acknowledgement of ignorance were analysed. Education levels corresponded with elevated gen­eral knowledge; however, both educated and less educated individuals displayed similar tendencies to acknowledge their unfamiliarity with certain top­ics. The hypothesis pro­posing that higher levels of education correlate with superior general knowledge was supported by the data, but the com­mendable trait of acknowledging one's igno­rance does not ap­pear to be cultivated among those with higher degrees. This research raises important questions about the value of ad­vanced education as a builder of character and could consti­tute a call to universities to incorporate more formal ethics training into their curriculum.
ISSN:2710-2114
2710-2122
DOI:10.38140/ijer-2024.vol6.30