Education for the Apocalypse?

Education for theApocalypse? Keri Facer & Doug Belshaw #LWF12

Session overviewThis session will take delegates through a fast pacedcollaborative process that will encourage them toexplore radically different approaches to education inthe light of economic, environmental, technologicaland political changes. It will explore emerging trendsand signiﬁcant potential disruptions, andencourage participants to confront their own fears andaspirations, and ﬁnd practical steps towards creativeeducational change.

Hashtag #E4A

Session structure Introduction Possible Futures Futures Challenges Purposes of education General discussion Continuing the conversation

INTRODUCTION

Apocalypse? John Martin, The Great Day of His Wrath (1851)

http://edfuturesresearch.org

http://purposed.org.uk

POSSIBLEFUTURES

Some questions1. How old will you be in 2035?2. What futures are you assuming?3. What are you basing your evidence on?4. What do you think the child entering school today might be doing in 2035?

FUTURESCHALLENGES

TECHNOLOGICALAND SOCIAL CHANGE

Constant connectivity - topeople and to networksMassive computingpower on demandMerging digital andphysical – internet ofthings, augmentedlandscapes, augmentedbodiesWhat is the nature of the‘person’ in these settings?

Rise of biotech (personal genomes, bespoke medicine, cosmetic pharmacology)When asked whether healthy children under theage of 16 should be restricted from taking thesedrugs, unsurprisingly, most respondents (86%) saidthat they should. But one-third of respondents saidthey would feel pressure to give cognition-enhancing drugs to their children if other children atschool were taking them. (Nature, 2009)

KNOWLEDGE

Connectivity= value in ‘ﬁnding theplace for expertise’= value in collaboration,data miningEmbodied knowledgeDangerous knowledge

DEMOGRAPHICS

By 2035 50% ofpopulation of WesternEurope aged over 50,with a further 40 year lifeexpectancy, 25% agedover 65Lifelong over 500 years?Global intergenerationalrelationships?

Competition for publicresources?Intergenerationalconﬂict?New intergenerationalcohesion - older adultsas active citizens/partners/ co-workers/learners?

WORKING IN THE‘KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY’

International competitionfor creative roles – highskills, low wagesCasualisation of middleclass roles –crowdsourcing,freelance, amateur/volunteer effort

Centralisation ofcreativity/autonomy in‘global talent’ in majormultinationalsLosing the ‘rungs on theladder’ and potential forradical polarisation

ENERGY, MATERIAL AND CLIMATECONSTRAINTS

f Energy shocks and constraints Climate disruption Breakdown?

PURPOSE OFEDUCATION

What is education for?1. Look at the 5 continua on your sheet2. Mark an X where you stand on each issue3. Discuss with the person sitting next to you4. Can you sum up your what you believe to be the purpose of education in one sentence?5. Feed back to group

GENERALDISCUSSION

"The reason that I think we need to continue to invest inthe school as a physical space and a local organization,is because I believe that it may be one of the mostimportant institutions we have to help us build ademocratic conversation about the future. A physical,local school where community members are encouragedto encounter each other and learn from each other is oneof the last public spaces in which we can begin to buildthe intergenerational solidarity, respect for diversity anddemocratic capability needed to ensure fairness in thecontext of socio-technical change. Moreover, the publiceducational institution may be the only resource we haveto counter the inequalities and injustice of the informallearning landscape outside school." (Keri Facer, Learning Futures)

A Challenge...• Open your imagination...• By yourself, in 5 minutes, design your ideal school. No bounds. No limits.• What does it look like? Who is there?

Continuing the conversation• Purpos/ed (http://purposed.org.uk)• Petition (http://bit.ly/purposedpetition• Ed Futures website (http://edfuturesresearch.org)• Our contact details • Keri (k.facer@mmu.ac.uk) • Doug (doug.belshaw@northumbria.ac.uk)

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Education for the Apocalypse?

by Doug Belshaw on Jan 24, 2012

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Education for the Apocalypse? — Presentation Transcript