In definitional terms 360 is a symbol of education being complete taken from all angles, or with a peripheral view. It is also simpler than pie2r. Education 360 is for education to permeate in every aspect of a student’s life to create the effect of lifestyle education [the external mark] and education as a lifestyle [the internal mark].

Lifestyle education [the external mark]

Lifestyle education warrants a reengineering of the facilities in private institutions to reflect its effect on molding a student subconsciously. In due recognition to cogito ergo sum, we are subconsciously shaped by our surroundings. Education thus must create a proper environment in which a student is able to develop the new skills needed for the future. This habitat of excellence must integrate the necessary infrastructure to mirror the realities available in industry practice as well as managers of the environment that are well versed with these industry realities.

This effort is to bring the practices of the industry to implementation at private institutions in order for the student of be encompassed with some of the industry best practices from a situational perspective.

Concepts such as six sigma or TQM [total quality management] for example can be integrated and practiced by operators of institutions. Infrastructures of information technology for instance must be available and used in the same tone that is used in the industry.

The use of infrastructure intellectual or physical that is analogous to the realities of practice allows the student to become familiar with the best practices of the industry thus allowing the student a minimal gap in adapting to the working environment. Even in a situation where differing or no concepts are practiced the student is armed with a contrasting viewpoint from which to make comparisons.

Through the duration of education the infrastructure will become the student’s culture thus placing the student on a different starting point than graduates who have to familiarize themselves with the practical versions of the theory they have learnt before developing on. In reducing this lag time and cutting through the ‘introduction’ to the chase the student is able to contribute immediately and allocate the learning curve to the more important specific customization of their particular vehicle of practice.

It is best in this process that education be able to stay one step ahead of industry changes. This can be done by promoting concurrence of research as well as teaching institutions. Lesser economically endowed institutions may exist in both research as well as teaching capacities or be linked to research institutions or at the very least be updated on developments which are fairly inexpensive on the world wide web.

The second strategy fro the external mark is to focus on the managers of the environment especially the quality of the teachers. There should be a minimum accreditation standard, accompanied by staff development, feedbacks and career management. This is more effective if it is done by and through the individual institution using a recognized standard.

Thus an “insider research” approach (Bennettetal., 1996)  was adopted thereby creating opportunities for participants to understand and improve their own practice within their own institution. As researchers note, reflection by tutors on their own practice can have a much greater effect on the improvement of learning, teaching and staff development than research produced by educational theorists (Carr and Kemmis, 1986 ; Schon, 1983)  as well as engendering a sense of ownership.

Education as a lifestyle [the internal mark]

Education as a lifestyle creates the effect of amalgamating education into a student’s way of life so that as a person, continuous and never ending improvements in knowledge, skills and character development can be generated through systemized lifelong education. Such an approach begins to benchmark the system on the overall quality of students that may be produced. The first step in delivering this system is to be clear on the specific standard that it must achieve to be successful. Such a benchmark however may disintegrate into a myriad of self serving interpretations which often blemish the truth. Thus as a prerequisite, this standard must reflect the overall goals of education abovementioned.

Today educational excellence is dependant on the institution. The size and spread of courses are marks of excellence. Facilities of infrastructure are boasted far above the quality of academic staff. Yet, excellent factories do not necessarily produce excellent products and it is common that success be benchmarked on the product rather than the machine or person which produced it.

This would mean in a utopian sense that the benchmark of education be on the quality of the student that is produced by the educational system. Whilst this forms the true worth of education it poses an unfair and difficult if not impossible standard to achieve. This because there is nothing to ensure that all aspects of the system will be absorbed by the student and most of success is getting a perfect fit to circumstances which differ in too many ways to be able to be assessed by an objective standard.

The true benchmark of education sits snugly in the middle of these polar opposites. It is the synthesis of both objectives. The thesis of a good student must be balanced with the antithesis of a good institution to produce a synthesis of having an institution promise the ability to produce excellent students in the global currencies of knowledge, skills and character.

The worth of education is ability. This is important to appreciate since success is simply the ability to do that which subjectively pleases us. By allowing education to give ability, it becomes aligned with success, the true goal of education as an end.

Education should give a student the ability to succeed through the provisions of all the tools and methods needed in today’s practice. The effect of success however largely depends on variable circumstances as well as the level of commitment of each individual student however the avenue is what education is all about. Ideally the student will have all the tools and methods needed to lead in any manner chosen or necessitated. Ability should be coaxed towards creating leaders who will develop the canvass of tomorrow. But ability per se is the sole benchmark.

Institutions that succeed will be benchmarked in three manners:

1. The scope of ability given through the tools mastered [scope]
2. The relevance of the abilities in tandem with the needs of the industry juxtaposed by world class standards.[ Effect]
3. The most effective system to produce ability [Quality]

It is this rather than columns of sand and stone or the eminence of professors that determine the worth of education or educational institutions. Though both play a part they are incidental to the true benchmark. The provision of ability is the yardstick of education but the acceptance of this ability is in the sole discretion of the student.

Whilst abilities are industry specific, three basic aspects of educational development determine any ability; Knowledge, skills and character. One does not have the ability to do something and as a correlation succeed unless one has the knowledge of how to, possess the skill to do so and have a well developed character to inherently manage the task. Knowledge, skill and character development thus become the core tools for the generation of abilities to succeed. Each of these tools inturn requires an educational system for its development in the most efficient and effective manner possible.