Student-centered Education

Student-centered education is an education that takes into account the needs and interests of the student. The ideas of student-centered education described as above are based on the work of the German educationalist Wolfgang Klafki. The themes and subjects chosen (a) should be representative of the subject matter being taught, (b) need to have meaning for the students’ lives and (c) should address key issues of the time and consequentially have meaning for the future of the students. The teaching should address the structure of the problem and enhance the problem solving of the student instead of presenting formulas and forcing the student to learn by heart. The subject matter is presented in a way that engages the students and makes the material easily accessible to them. The goal of student-centered education is to develop in each student a wide range of interests and competencies. Students should also develop self-determination, practice participation in democratic processes and recognize their duty to advocate for those who do not have the same rights. Students who have been taught in a student-centered way are able to develop a thought process that interconnects different parts of the given problems and fields of studies. The students not only see the points made in a narrow sense of the lesson but interconnect them with a wider range of aspects of their lives and the outside world. They are critical thinkers, capable and willing to clearly bring up the key arguments for and against a given problem and develop un understanding of the perspectives and reasoning of other people.