The Promotion of Social Cohesion Through Education in Sri Lanka
The social dimensions and benefits of education are being increasingly appreciated in developed and middle-income countries. Among the many social benefits of education, promoting social cohesion in countries has become extremely important in the m...
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| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/09/15556498/promotion-social-cohesion-through-education-sri-lanka http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18013 |
| Summary: | The social dimensions and benefits of
education are being increasingly appreciated in developed
and middle-income countries. Among the many social benefits
of education, promoting social cohesion in countries has
become extremely important in the modern world, as global
mobility of culturally diverse populations has posed
challenges to the shared values, ethics and identities of
societies. The instantaneous transfer of diverse and varied
information through modern communications technologies has
further increased the importance of social cohesion.
Cohesive societies are more effective in achieving
collective economic and social goals, since such societies
are better at including and uniting diverse groups and
forging synergy (OECD, 2001; Greaney, 2006). Five dimensions
of social cohesion, belonging, inclusion, participation,
recognition and legitimacy, are especially important for
multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious societies
such as Sri Lanka. The education system is of central
importance in promoting national unity and solidarity among
the different social groups in a country. Education is a key
instrument in the promotion of social cohesion through the
transmission of knowledge and the shaping of attitudes of
individuals towards diversity and change. Sri Lanka has
initiated measures to promote social cohesion through the
school curriculum, textbooks, teacher development,
co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, the
organization of schools, and language policy. This paper
discusses these measures, and future policy options for Sri
Lanka as a middle-income society. |
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