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1. Introduction
This paper is written as a basis for discussion and debate. It presents a series of hypotheses about
the development of education and training systems, institutions, pedagogy and curricula as the
basis for exploring how education may develop in the future. Central to these hypotheses is a
cultural understanding of education both as a reflection and part of wider societal organisation
and in individual terms as a reflection of the ways in which we learn and share knowledge.
Hypotheses
The first hypothesis is that education systems and institutions are developed to meet the needs of
society at particular stages of economic and social development. Education systems serve not
only to develop the skills and knowledge in the workforce required by industry but also to
develop social capital. Furthermore the organisational forms that education systems develop and
implement reflect particular organisational forms of capitalist production.
The second hypothesis is that industrial revolutions lead to profound and often paradigmatic
social change. However, such paradigm changes in the social arena tend to lag behind at times of
rapid technical development and change.
The present deep and prolonged industrial revolution, based on the development and
implementation of digital technologies, is leading to massive pressures on education and training
systems, both in terms of the changing demands from society – especially from employers – for
new skills and knowledge but also from the changing ways in which individuals are using Web
2.0 technology to create and share knowledge.
Paradigm Shift
The interaction of these pressures is likely to result in a longer-term paradigm shift in our
education systems – including the organisation and form of educational institutions and curricula
and the pedagogic approaches to learning and knowledge development.
This paper will elaborate on these hypotheses. In the final, and perhaps speculative section of the
paper I will put forward some ideas what a new education system might look like. I believe that if
the hypotheses and scenarios I advance in this paper are accepted, it is important that we begin
now to discuss how we can shape an education system which meets the needs of learners and the
wider needs of society in the future.
Values, cultures and organisation
Of course one of the features of paradigms, particularly in social fields such as education, is that
they seem almost ‘natural’ to participants. We fail to appreciate that there are radically different
alternatives and that systems are socially shaped. Even in education and training systems in
Europe there are quite different base assumptions in values, cultures and organisation. I once
spent some time trying to explain to an incredulous head teacher in Spain that school heads in the
UK were appointed and not elected. He could not accept that an externally appointed head would
have the authority to run a school. And at the same time I found it hard to persuade a UK head
teacher that elected heads could have authority within their institution.
2. The industrial model of schooling
The present ‘industrial’ model of schooling evolved to meet the needs and form of a particular
phase of capitalist industrial development. At least in the UK, prior to the industrial revolution of
the 1840s the schooling model was not the predominant form of education. Education was the
preserve of the privileged few, based on class and wealth. Parents hired tutors for home schooling
for their sons and (less often) daughters. The church provided what schooling there was. Indeed
until as late as the nineteenth century, all university fellows and many schoolmasters were
expected or required to be in holy orders. Schoolmistresses typically taught "the three Rs"
(reading, writing and 'rithmatic) in dame schools, charity schools, or informal village schools
(Wikipedia, 2007). However, the majority of young people had little formal schooling. That is not
to say they did not learn. But, learning was through what we would now call work based or
practice based learning. In a predominantly rural economy this took the form of helping in the
family smallholdings from an early age. Apprenticeship was the main way of learning in the
mainly town based craft trades. Occupational choice was (as it still is often today) based on
parental occupation.
The industrial revolution imposed new requirements in terms of skills and knowledge – in
particular the need to extend general education to much wider layers of society. But, in the UK, it
was not until 1893 that the Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act raised the school
leaving age to 11 and 1902 that the state took over education, through the organisation of Local
Education Authorities and the provision of funding for schools from taxation. It is notable that
there was opposition to these reforms based variously on the idea that this would make the
labouring classes ‘think’ and could lead to revolt and that handing children to a central authority
could lead to indoctrination. These reforms were based on a perceived need for Britain to remain
competitive in the world by being at the forefront of manufacture and improvement. [1]
Organisation and pedagogy
The system evolved to provide a basic technical education for the majority (through Secondary
Modern Schools) and a more advanced academic education in grammar for a minority
progressing to university. Selection of schooling route was heavily class based.
Mobility was relatively low. Most people worked and lived in the city, town or village in which
they were born. Socialising took place at a local level, based on networks formed at school and at
work.
Reforms and modernisation
Of course, there were continuing change and reforms in the education system throughout the 20th
century. In the UK, perhaps the most notable were the move to end the 11 plus entrance
examination for grammar schools and the establishment of comprehensive schooling and the
move towards mass university education heralded in then Prime Minister James Callaghan’s 1976
‘Ruskin speech’ which argued for society's right to have a say in what was taught in schools -
through establishing a "core curriculum of basic knowledge".[2] Such reforms reflected the
changing needs of industry and the economy at the time.
Taylorist organisation
Despite the reforms, the paradigmatic forms of organisation and delivery of education, the
institutional form of schooling, the development of curriculum and approaches to pedagogy were
based on the Taylorist organisation of production stemming form the industrial revolution.
Figure 4: My Space
Identity production
In a speech to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Danah Boyd, (2006)
said many teens access MySpace at least once a day or whenever computer access is possible.
“Teens that have a computer at home keep MySpace opened while they are doing homework or
talking on instant messenger. In schools where it is not banned or blocked, teens check MySpace
during passing period, lunch, study hall and before/after school. This is particularly important for
teens who don't have computer access at home.”
Boyd went on to look at the issue of identity production in on line social networking
environments. “The dynamics of identity production play out visibly on MySpace. Profiles are
digital bodies, public displays of identity where people can explore impression management.
Because the digital world requires people to write themselves into being, profiles provide an
opportunity to craft the intended expression through language, imagery and media.”
As Boyd point out public spaces on the internet are critical to the coming-of-age narrative
because they provide the framework for building cultural knowledge.
Learning?
Of course, there is an issue as to how much learning takes place through participation and
engagement in social networking sites. However, the failure of the education providers to engage
with this activity risks schools and other educational institutions becoming irrelevant to the
culture of discourse for young people and to the way in which young people interact and
exchange ideas.
Bibliography
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Comments
[1] Some of the speeches and documents of the time bear an uncanny resemblance to debates
around the European Union’s Lisbon Declaration
[2] Interestingly, this speech is still quoted on Tony Blair’s 10 Downing Street web site
[3] See, for instance the European Union Lisbon declaration which declared the aim of Europe
being the most advanced knowledge based economy in the world and also promoted the use of
digital technologies for learning and knowledge production.
[4] It is a shame that the surveys being undertaken by Pew Research are limited to the USA.
Similar work in other countries and cultures would be extremely useful.