editorialIy /peaking Style in Education Style, according to Webster, is a characteristic or distinctive mode of presentation, construction, execution, or expression in any a r t or product. Style is distinctive because it evokes a recognizable pattern or manner of expression. Style is a distinctly human trait and, as such, enters into human interactions such as teaching and learning. Teachingilearning style is involved with cognition, how people perceive and gain knowledge; with conceptualization, how people think; with behavior, how peopleact; and withaffect, how people feel and form values. Such specification of some of the important factors associated with style is meant to illustrate the diversity as well as complexity of human behavior. Yet teachers often do not recognize the possibility that differences in style can exist between teacher and learner, let alone among learners. Clearly if such differences exist in style--that mixture of cognition, conceptualization, behavior, andperception-the success of education, that is, the teachingflearning process, can be in jeopardy. The existence of style suggests that the educational system should strive for structures that maximize individualization. Unfortunately, educational systems have settled on structures that overly stress standardization. Standardization, and synchronization, are the hallmarks of our current industrial society, and the extant educational process generally reflects these characteristics, as might be expected. Standardization leads to curricula that incorporate standardized intelligence tests, grading policies, admissions procedures, and accreditation procedures, all designed, perhaps not overtly, to prepare youth for the job market. Synchronization, which is closely related to standardization, i s a useful concept for current job-related practices. As Alvin Toffler pointed out i n Future Shock, "people were conditioned to arrive a t school when the bell rang so that later on they would arrive reliably a t the factory or
ofice when the whistle blew". Acceptance of the principles of standardization and synchronization logically leads to a search for a standard model of education that will serve the needs of all students. The search extends to the identification of the best method for teaching all students. In the context of our current educational system derived from a society that developed within a highly industrialized system, the "best method for science education" is the 50-minu t e lecture where s t u d e n t s a r e generally passive by-standers i n their own education. Clearly the current method of education belies the diversity in style that is known to exist between teachers and learners and among learners. The recognition of individual differences on both sides of the desk suggests that some system of accommodation to the differences of style should be developed. With the large numbers of persons who work in schools, a n argument for prescriptive uniform and standard approaches could be made with persuasion. From this point of view the issue then comes down to deciding when uniformity and standard requirements are necessary. In effect, the issue becomes a matter of emphasis and of direction. Unfortunately, the available evidence suggests that education is moving toward conformity and away from systems designed to recognize individual differences. We see the results of such systems of education a t all levels--elementary schools, high schools, and colleges. Graduate instruction has not yet generally succumbed to such practices, although occasionally allusions to "graduate school factories" can be found. An argument can be made t h a t one of the root causes of our "problems in education" is that i t does not recognize the rich potential available within the learners and the teachers. There i s no recognition or accommodation to style.
JJL
Volume 88
Number 2
February 1991
89
