Introduction
Higher education is an important achievement to an individual. Higher education not only benefits the individual in person, but it also extends the profit to the society. Higher education transforms the scope of an individual’s outlook on life. It imparts skills and knowledge that can be used to change life for the better.
Higher education also bestows people with the ability to relate with others positively and to interact with all aspects of the human life for purposes of improving quality (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 53). This paper highlights the importance of higher education, particularly in enhancing the chances of success for an individual. The essay emphasizes on how higher education can potentially open up one’s chances of ending up being successful in life.
Education branches are interconnected together to the very core of providing knowledge and awareness. To this end, attaining higher level of education, irrespective of the main area of specialization or study, leads to a common base. Higher education completes, corrects, as well as balances individuals.
An individual who studies up to the university level may only study a single course or area of specialization but the fact that he interacts with colleague students who study other subjects compliments him. In other words, students at the university level are gainers of the full circle society that a university offers. This is an experience that can hardly be attained elsewhere other than in institutions of higher learning.
The assemblage that includes learned men from different fields that are in part rivals of each other expands one’s outlook of life in its entirety. It enables one to appreciate the fact that life exists in different perspectives and, therefore, varying ideologies of it also exist. We do not have to think in the same way or look at things with the same eye in order to have our objectives achieved. Higher education expands the avenue through which problems can be solved in life until the most practical solution is attained.
The composition of human society entails many factors that are complex, but which need to be incorporated together in order to achieve success. As Roisin (84) points out, higher education is a perfect tool that enhances regional development. Universities have played a significant role in such countries as Greece, Norway, and Belgium in formulating regional development policy.
These policies rely on accurate research conducted by experts, who determine how factors can be manipulated to achieve desirable objectives. The continuous research and studies enable the institution to include appropriate changes to the policies, particularly where the situation also changes to render the initial policy less valuable. Thus, regions or countries can achieve great development by virtue of basing their policies on well researched studies by higher education institutions.
Tribal communities are often very poor with less formal education, poor health standards, and high unemployment rates. These characteristics are almost synonymous with societies that lack higher institutions of learning in their midst, and lack personnel that is well trained in such institutions (Oosahwe 34).
In Native American communities, the lack of advancement amongst individuals has also contributed to high prevalence of suicide cases, lower life expectancy, increased infant mortality rates, as well as high cases of alcoholism and diabetes. However, there is hope amongst Native Americans living today that at least the future has something positive in store. Members are increasingly seeking to attain higher education as the perfect remedy to break the deeply seated poverty in their community.
As Oosahwe (33) further points out, Native Americans have increased their chances of securing employment opportunities in the future. They will lower their prospect of living poor by virtue of their increased education. It is prudent that the well being of a community or individual, and the employment chances relate strongly with economic development. Native American students at the institutions of higher learning are mainly inspired by the wish to put an end to the endless cycle of poverty that has bedeviled their community.
Baum and Jennifer (8) on their part emphasize the fact that much benefits accrued from higher education are actually directed to the students and their close families. This is because their average earnings also increase because of the high education levels that they attain. Typical college graduates, for instance, earn more than 60% of what a typical high school graduate receives.
Graduates who attain advanced degrees, on their part, earn up to three times more than their high school graduate colleagues. Baum and Jennifer (8) further point out that apart from salaries there are other benefits that an individual with higher education will achieve more than those with lesser qualifications. Such benefits as employer-provided health, as well as pension benefits, are more likely to be enjoyed by a degree graduate than would be the case for college or high school graduates.
The entire society also stands to benefit because of the financial return resulting from investing in higher education. This will be through widespread productivity increases, as well as the higher tax payments that are accrued from the high income.
There is reduction in the level of dependence on some programs when people are involved in employment. Equally, dependence on an individual worker by the society also reduces when more individuals have attained higher education, and thus stand the chance to obtain employment on their own (Baum and Jennifer 8).
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz (53) point other benefits to the society, other than financial, that accrue because of higher education. Individuals who live together in a community and have attained higher education often learn how to hold others with high respect. They widely consult each other and assist one another because of the appreciation of value that they know their colleagues have.
The pure and clear atmosphere of thought is inculcated to the individual right from the days of his studenthood at the higher learning institution. The individual has the advantage of following the steps of other successful individuals in selecting the right subjects and career. In the end, the student understands the principles of intellectual ability. These factors of education highlight the aspect of liberality.
In the end, a habit is formed within the mind that lasts throughout an individual’s lifetime. The attributes of this habit include “freedom, equitableness, calmness, as well as moderation and wisdom” (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 53). This can also be termed as a philosophical habit. These attributes can hardly be nurtured in a different education area other than a university institution.
There is also the benefit of being able to discharge duties to a society because of attaining higher education. An educated person is trained to fit in whatever situation of the world that he may wish to. This is because the scope of such an individual, in terms of his views, is widened.
His intellectual tone is raised and a public mind cultivated within, thus making it easy to purify the national taste. An intellectual is capable of supplying true values to enthusiasm that is considered popular, as well as to have fixed aims to all the aspirations that are considered popular. To such a society, present day ideas will be enlarged and sobriety attained in most cases. These benefits will be used to facilitate the political power exercise, as well as refine the private life intercourse (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 54).
Indeed higher education can be relied upon as the best remedy to alleviate problems that continuously affect the society. In the USA, for instance, the society has for long been grappling with the problem of discrimination on the basis of race and, to some extent, gender.
However, Allen (18) notes that education has played a significant role in opening doors to success for all Americans, irrespective of their race or gender. Individual’s unique talents have been discovered successfully through higher education, while the strong democratic foundation that today describes America has its roots in higher education.
There is openness in the society, which is reflective of the manner in which citizens are provided with equal education opportunities. The America’s Dream, together with the country’s contribution to civilization throughout the world, is contained in the promise that visitors will be allowed to pursue their happiness without any inhibitions (Allen 18).
The African American community that has suffered continuous discrimination on the basis of race remained poor and disadvantaged for long because of being denied the opportunity to attain knowledge. Many theories and stereotypes about the African American community were advanced as a way of denying them the opportunity to get education like others. However, the lifting up of these limitations enabled members of the community to pursue education just like any other American.
Over the years, the increasing numbers of intellectuals from the community has enabled greater transformation and advancement in their lives (Thanki 85). African Americans are no longer looked at as slaves, but rather as a community that has advanced through its achievements in the realms of education. Today, the community that was once regarded as downtrodden has produced the most powerful man who rules the country as a President (Allen 21).
A society that has a majority of its people attaining higher levels of education faces fewer health-related problems. In other words, intellectuals report fewer health complications and problems than people who fail to attain higher levels of education. This can be attributed to the higher level of awareness on health-based issues among persons with higher levels of education.
Moreover, persons who have attained higher level of education earn better incomes, thus they are able to live healthier lives and afford medical cover. In Washington, for instance, residents who increase their education levels also report to being healthy. Evidences to support this position points at the fact that individuals with higher education often are less likely to engage in potentially damaging behaviors to their health.
College graduates, for instance, will adhere to widespread public warnings that dissuade them from smoking than is the case with individuals holding little education. In a statistic released in 2010, it was found out that holders of bachelors’ degree only had 10% smoking rate, while graduate degree holders had a 6% smoking rate. This is far lower than the smoking rates for holders of high school diploma and GED, which stood at 24% and 45% respectively (Washington Student Achievement Council 11).
The greater success that belies higher education, in this regard, would expand to the society at large. A reduced healthcare cost would enable a society to channel more funds to other aspects of development than wasting too much on treating recurrent health problems. There are also greater chances of a healthy individual. The health of individuals is further reflected in a healthy society that is more productive in numerous activities and endeavors (Smart 34). This increases success by improving the living conditions of the individuals.
Conclusion
Higher education levels have great benefits to both the individuals and the society. Individuals who attain high education expand their outlook of life and enhance their ability to provide solutions to problems that affect the society on a daily basis. Such individuals will look at other people as important in helping to find solutions to common problems. Indeed, this results in a unified society that respects all the important constructs of a society.
Higher education also enhances the chances of employment and provides the ability to earn highly competitive earnings. It reduces overdependence on social welfare funds, and enables the society to attain high living quality in life. Health costs are also minimal in societies with highly educated individuals than those that comprise of individuals with less education.
Works Cited
Allen, Walter R. “A Forward Glance in a Mirror: Diversity Challenged-Access, Equity, and Success in Higher Education.” Educational Researcher 34.7 (2005): 18-23. Print.
Baum, Sandy, and Jennifer Ma. “Education Pays 2007: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society.” Trends in Higher Education Series. 2007. Web.
Lunsford, Andrea and Ruszkiewicz John. The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response, 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.
Oosahwe, E. Star. Strategizing Success: Narratives of Native American Students in Higher Education. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest, 2008. Print.
Smart, John C. (ed). Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Volume XXIII. New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media B.V., 2008. Print.
Thanki, Roisin. “How Do We Know the Value of Higher Education to Regional Development?” Regional Studies 33.1 (1999): 84-89. Print.
Washington Student Achievement Council. Key Facts About Higher Education 2012. Web. https://wsac.wa.gov/