The Cost of Education

In Australia tertiary education is a highly significant part of our economy and an obvious result of that is there are many thousands of people who depend on the income they gain from working in education to assist with the wellbeing of themselves and their families. To suggest that all education should be cheaper or even free would also require a much more significant investment from government to ensure that the educators and support staff are able to maintain their livelihood and this of course would have to come from taxes which most people would cringe at the level of additional tax they would be required to pay to support a healthy tertiary education sector. I personally value learning regardless of how that was achieved so one of the questions I have to ask is about the value of identifiable credentials. Particularly in the United States of America and increasingly elsewhere around our planet the increasing monetary value of some forms of education credentials are constantly being questioned. How much is education costing, but not just the financial cost of the credentials but the ongoing financial impacts and related health concerns for the students. Is an inappropriate mix of education having a detrimental cost on our industries, communities, the planet we live on and personal wellness?

An ongoing planet wide discourse is that education should be equally available to everyone and that it should not just be available to the wealthy. This is where we can really pull apart some differences between learning and education but before critically considering the financial costs of education for adults first we need to acknowledge that around the planet we have globally accepted the concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary education. Identifying that learning and education for adults is post compulsory (primary and secondary) education this positions adult education in tertiary education. Acquiring knowledge and skill does not always require a credential. Learning to cook and serve food at a quality and style that would be found in restaurants does not mean that person will ever choose to work in a restaurant. One person taking many years to learn about a legal system so that they can self represent and win court cases against a large corporation who has a well funded legal team does not mean that they will ever work as a lawyer or elsewhere within the legal system. Both of these examples refer to personal learning resulting in the same level of skill and knowledge to undertake work that other people get paid to do. If they changed their mind and decided to work within these sectors there may be a range of requirements to hold certain credentials and because of their existing knowledge and skills they are in a position to be recognised as meeting some or all of the requirements of these credentials. A simplified reading of these examples would indicate that learning is something that people do regardless of whether it relates to employment or other purposes and therefore education relates to employment. However this would not be accurate as there are an ever increasing array of courses and education programs that people choose to undertake for personal interest reasons, for example there are only a small number of people who gain income from working as a dancer and yet there are large numbers of adults that participate in dance classes which have defined outcomes, use a curriculum and rely on a dance teacher to develop the learners ability to dance. So what do any of these examples have to do with the cost of education?

The cost of education that creates the greatest level of angst relates to qualifications that can result in employment and earning capacities of people that have achieved those qualifications. By completing higher level qualifications people are increasing the likelihood of gaining employment in their chosen field which typically results in higher course costs but does not necessarily result in higher salaries. The expected return on investment in both time and money is not realised and therefore the value of the qualification is seen as being to high. Alternatively there are education institutions which offer qualifications at a high price which can deliver an appropriate return on investment but the problem here is typically not the future earning capacity but the financial background of the student. Particularly for young adults there is an argument that course costs should accommodate people from low socio-economic backgrounds so that they can access the relevant qualification and the resultant earning capacity and as a result many countries have implemented loan schemes to enable the payment of the course once they have completed their qualification and are earning. The downside and complaint once again occurs if the perceived earning capacity is not met and therefore the capacity to pay off the resultant debt is not realised. 

I am personally embedded within the education system in paid and volunteer roles where I provide management and shared leadership within the system. My own desire to complete a Masters of Education is about completing a formal qualification that will assist me to access the type of work I choose and a part of that equation relates to maintaining and increasing my income in the types of work that I enjoy doing. However a Masters degree is expensive and there are no guarantees of how quickly i can recuperate that expense and meanwhile we have other financial priorities that limit the amount of money currently available for education. So while I recognise that I can undertake the learning and not pay for a credential that recognises my acquired skills and knowledge, I also accept that the credential will likely result in increased earnings over time therefore financial considerations is one of the reasons I have chosen to undertake a self-directed pathway to achieve a Masters of Education.