Introduction
A strategy is the determination of the basic long goals and objectives of an enterprise the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for achieving those goals. Therefore, strategies to achieve educational goals refer to the objectives of an individual that aim at achieving both the short-term and long-term goals with the aid of certain resources.
On the other hand, a goal is a statement about where the individual wants to be at a specific time in the future. This is a target set by an individual. Long-term goals take a considerable amount of time to be attained while short-term goals take a short time (Shalley, 1995).
A goal, like any other target, provides a clear purpose and direction for an individual’s activities. Without goals, an individual’s activities would be haphazard. An individual would be without direction and this would be subject to the whims of the environment.
Professional short-term and long-term educational goals
Increase in Responsibilities
An increase in responsibilities generally means that an individual’s focus on certain educational activities is increasing. Therefore, it is important to accept that responsibilities have increased and do extra work to ensure that the tasks and educational responsibilities have been accomplished. There are certain advantages such as resource increment that comes with additional responsibilities and this applies to an individual making this an attainable short-term goal. Setting the short-term goals will be the basis to focus on to achieve the long-term educational goal.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
The essence of enhancing and putting more effort into my education is to be able to attain the proper qualification and success in my field of study, which is a Bachelor of Science in nursing. To attain this goal, I would be required to be consistent and persistent in my studies.
Personal short-term and long-term educational goal
Co-curriculum activities
I will focus on this short-term goal to enhance my physical well-being. Working without any sort of activity will be highly detrimental in achieving my professional long-term goal. The need to rest and exercise is as important as doing research and studying in my field of interest.
Get a stable job
The main reason why most people study so hard in school is to be able to secure a good job, to be financially stable, settle down, and get married sometime in the future. Therefore, my long-term goal is not very different since I am looking forward to securing a stable nursing job that will enable me to provide for my family someday.
Skills required in attaining the educational goal
To attain both my long-term and short-term educational goals, be it professional or personal, certain skills are required. These goals can only be achieved through the use of educational resources (like the library and the sports facilities) and effective communication (both in class as well as socially), which is necessary to boost self-confidence and morals. I would be required to put more effort particularly to the things like research that will enhance educational success and finally be able to attain the required certification in nursing. This would make my career as a nurse to be realized.
Milestones for achieving the short-term and long-term educational goal
Properly equipped and up-to-date library facilities have been a major milestone in enhancing the achievement of my professional long-term goal. This is because it has facilitated research and provided a good environment for studying for the examinations. The presence of various co-curriculum activities and the importance that the school puts in it is another important milestone in enhancing physical well-being, which is vital for education success.
Barriers to achieving educational goals and ways of overcoming them
One barrier is setting inappropriate goals. These are goals that do not fit the individual purpose, mission, or strategy. An example is whereby one shows an interest in engineering while studying nursing.
Another problem is the setting of unattainable goals. Some goals are impossible to achieve. Goals should be challenging but if they are unattainable, they will finally stop being an effective incentive.
Overemphasizing quantitative goals is also a barrier. Quantitative goals are good because they can help an individual assess the extent of goal attainment. However, if they are overemphasized, they can discourage individuals. Many individual works cannot be quantified. This includes improvements in morale.
Overemphasizing qualitative goals may also be a barrier. Here, an individual pays too much attention to subjective goals at the expense of quantitative goals. For example, an individual may improve morale at the expense of costs. Individuals using certain guidelines for effective goal setting can overcome these barriers.
Understanding the purpose of goals – individuals must understand and appreciate that goals are only targets that are aimed at but not necessarily attained. An individual who sets goals and comes close to achieving them is doing a good job.
Another problem may come in the statement of goals. Goals must be stated clearly and they must be concise and specific. They should also indicate a particular time for their accomplishment.
Another barrier is communication. Once established, goals must be communicated to the family members, friends as well as teachers so that one can get the necessary support and cooperation in the process of trying to achieve those goals.
Management of time in attaining educational goals
The key to using time effectively is better management. Therefore, an individual needs to manage his or her time effectively (McLeod & Hoover, 2003). One can never gain time. This is because you simply lose more and more of it as the days, weeks, months and years progress. You find that by the end of one day, no more hours are remaining for doing any work.
One must budget his or her time to achieve good results. To budget your time, you will have to establish specific goals, design deadlines, and allocate time for each important activity that you want to perform each day. As an individual, you are actively involved in creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and opportunity seeking to attain both personal and professional goals.
Time management techniques involve the identification of specific daily goals. Know what you want to accomplish each day. List the work goals in their order of importance and then tackle the most important goal before you can concentrate on the others in the priority list. Have time to work on your own until you finish your major goals. There should be no interruptions and distractions during this time since it requires total concentration.
Conclusion and recommendations
Individuals might have multiple goals but it is important to prioritize them. Those at the top of the list should be the main purpose and mission of the individual. Normally, the success of the short-term personal and professional goals will be the determinant of whether the long-term goals will be achieved.
In dealing with goals, it is recommended that individuals try to use their skills to balance the disparate goals into a congruent set of educational aims. This balancing is known as goal optimization and it involves a tradeoff between different goals for the sake of educational success.
References
McLeod, J. F., & Hoover, G. (2003). A key element of classroom management: managing time and space, student behavior, and instructional strategies. New York, NY: Sage.
Shalley, C. E. (1995). Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2), 483-503.