The document discusses how information, knowledge, and attention are changing in society. It argues that (1) knowledge is becoming more polarized and hierarchical as information becomes more abundant, (2) the global labor market and rising inequality are changing skill demands and schooling, and (3) many students are becoming detached, disengaged, or rejecting of school. It suggests that the learning society requires continuous learning and adaptation to changing skills, and that attention is becoming a scarce resource, challenging schools and teachers.

1. INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND
ATTENTION
Mariano Fernández Enguita
Universityof Salamanca
www.enguita.info
International SociologicalAssociationResearchCommitteeFuturesResearch (RC07)
XVII World CongressofSociology
Gothenburg, Sweden, 11-17 July 2010
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2. INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND
ATTENTION
• POLARIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE
• GLOBALIZATION OF LABOR
MARKET, INEQUALITY AND SCHOOL
• FROM DETACHMENT THRU DISENGAGEMENT
TO REJECTION

3. INFORMATION≠ KNOWLEDGE
• Whereisthewisdomwehavelost in knowledge?
Whereistheknowledgewehavelost in information?
(T.S.Eliot, The Rock)
• Information= data(Parker, etc.)
• Knowledge= meaningful information (Kochen)
• UNESCO: IS≠ KS
– IS based on technological advance, risk of overload
– KS, addressed to welfare, comprises social, political
and ethical

4. Information and knowledge
• IS opens, cheapens and democratizes access
to information
• By the very same reason, ir makes knowledge
more scarce, mor expensive, more
hyerarchical
• Information overload(Toffler),Information
anxiety (Wurman)
• Nor info rich and info poor (Haywood), but
logorich and logopoor

5. SKILLS POLARIZATION
Insustituibiliad del conociminto, Object to which work is applied
ergo del trabajohumano Things People Data
Task complexity New + + +
and type of routines., Creat
knowledge ive or
Innovative k.
Select routines, - + -
Diagnostic or
Professional k.
Fixed routines, - + -
Operational k.
LogorricosyLogopobres
CEDEFOP, CINE 2/3 y 4/5 comocortes
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6. By threes
• Weber: Means of production, of
administration, of knowledge
• Three industrial revolutions: manufacture,
taylorism, informatization
• Three sources of power: (absolute) propriety,
(organizational) authority, )scarce)
qualification
• Three elements of any system: matter, energy,
information

7. IS, KS =Learning Society
• Reflexive, (auto)critical, innovative knowledge
= learning
– No longer a conservative knowledge of the Book
• Shortening of product and technology cycles
– Keep learning to stay in the same position, state of
the art
• Matthew effect
– An accumulative spiral

8. Matthew effect
or The Parable of Talents
•
“'Youwicked, lazyservant! So youknewthat I harvestwhere I
havenotsownandgatherwhere I havenotscatteredseed?
Wellthen, youshouldhaveput my moneyon deposit
withthebankers, so thatwhen I returned I
wouldhavereceivedit back withinterest.
'Takethetalentfromhimandgiveittotheonewho has the ten
talents. Foreveryonewho has will be given more, and he
willhaveanabundance. Whoeverdoesnothave, even what he
has will be takenfromhim.
Andthrowthatworthlessservantoutside, intothedarkness, whe
retherewill be weepingandgnashingofteeth.'” (M25:23)
• Torriano:Denaro chiama denaro
• Stanovich: cumulative differences in reading performance

9. Logorich and Logopoor
LOGORRICO LOGOPOBRE
Schooling ISCED5a, 5b or more(Univ.) ISCED 2 (junior HS) or less
Job chances Higher, skilled Lesser, unskilled
Job content Rich, formative Rutinary, impoverishing
On the job training Yes, more, for promotion No, less, for firing
Vocational training No, but in fact they get in Yes, but not much effective
Retorn to school system Likelu, for specialization Unlikely, for recoveing
Self teaching More, due to ability and self Less, by opposite reasons
esteem
Cultural consumption Higher economic and symbolic Lower value
value

10. A global labor market
• Due to labor and other factor mobility
– International competition (nations) gives floor to
global competition (individuals)
• Global labor competition
– Labor force migration (hindered by law and culture)
– Relocation of productive processes (favored by
liberalization, costs, innovation, land prices)
– Trade in goods (highly libralized) and services (more
strongly resisted)
• To which competition with machines must be
added
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11. A global labor force
• English as lingua franca
• Community of academics, experts,
administrators
• International assessments
• Competencies approach
• Coming services trade liberalization
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12. LA GLOBALIZACIÓN EDUCACIONAL
The usual cliché says that globalization is in an
exclusive or dominant way
• Economic and cultural
• But neither political nor “social” (welfare)
Reality is that there exists, at least, one global
institution: the school
• The precedent of Universitas
• Neo-institutionalist analysis (Meyer, etc.)
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13. IKS: ATTENTION AS AN SCARCE GOOD
• Economy/ics of attention: Simon, Goldhaber,
Lanham
• School declines when t was presumed to reach its
halcyonic moment
• BourdieuandPasseron’scultural arbitrary, then
the ultimate secret revealed to the scholar, now is
the point of departure for the pupil
• From the “doors of learning and culture” to
closing doors and ignoring windows
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14. The place of education
• Prioritary for society, but secondary for
teenagers
– Youth Survey 2008:
• Study, very important for 40% (only more than religion
and politics)
– Willingness to continue (1996-2000) fell
• from93to62%among 15-17,
• from70to40among18-20,
• from54to34among21-24
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15. The underestimation of school
• Instrumental underestimation
– More likely among the working class children
– The belief that received education“is adequate to
what I shall need in the future” fello from 91,1% in
primary to 54,5% in baccalaureat (Marchesi et al.
2006)
– Rejection
• Expressive understimarion
– More likely among the middle class children
– Innerabsenteeism
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16. TEACHERS
• Key and main resource of the institution
• Devaluated by Knowledge Society
– Before families with rising education level
– Before communities full of logical resources
– Before pupils who are digital natives
• The Gutenberg Army
– Fit to lead us towards the Gutenberg Galaxy
– Ill-equipped to lead us to the Internet Galaxy

17. Thanksforyourattention!
Mariano Fernández Enguita
Universityof Salamanca
www.enguita.info
International SociologicalAssociationResearchCommitteeFuturesResearch (RC07)
XVII World CongressofSociology
Gothenburg, Sweden, 11-17 July 2010
17