What is the relationship between education and the ‘mega-trend’ of individual empowerment?
When reading the National Intelligence Council’s 2012 report on global trends I was immediately intrigued by their identification of ‘individual empowerment’ as a ‘mega-trend’, that is one of the 4 crucial patterns or changes that will shape what the world looks like in 2030. Many close links have been made between education and empowerment and this really brought home the vital role that we, as teachers have in equipping our students with the skills they need to build a better future.
According to the N.I.C this trend has emerged over the last decade through the rise of enabling technologies and the growth of the middle class. The reduced cost and widespread availability of new technologies means that they are being adopted at a rapid rate by developing countries, allowing them to develop at a faster pace than ever before (National Intelligence Council, 2012). By 2030, a mere 14 years away the majority of the world will, for the first time, be defined as ‘middle class’.
Cheaper, more accessible technology and transport means that there is greater communication and mobility between countries. This increased ease of movement has meant that immigration is at an all-time high and countries are becoming increasingly diverse.
With this changing world comes many positives but also the potential for challenges and conflicts. The National Intelligence Council ( 2012, pg iii) sees the solutions to these challenges as coming, not from interventions by traditional world super-powers but rather through the increased empowerment of individuals “…we see the potential for greater individual initiative as key to solving the mounting global challenges over the next 15-20 years”.
Technology has had, and will have a large part to play in the development of individual empowerment but without education its’ ability to break down barriers will be limited. The 2009 EFA Global Monitoring Report, Overcoming inequality: Why governance matters found that education leads to individual empowerment, reductions in poverty and promotes more democratic societies through giving individuals the knowledge and skills to question their governments and hold them to account (UNESCO, 2009). As educators we have a responsibility to teach students not only how they can utilize new technologies but also the skills they need to participate in, succeed in, and change the world of the future.
Global challenges will require global collaboration and education can help by ensuring that the next generation is equipped with the skills required to tackle these challenges. The development of '21st Century' skills such as collaboration is now regarded by many educators as being as vital as teaching reading, writing and maths (Fullan & Langworthy, 2011). The New Zealand Curriculum already includes some ‘21st Century' skills in the form of key competencies such as participating and contributing and working with others. Many schools nationwide are building on this further by adopting programmes such as Michael Fullan’s ‘New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning’. There is also a drive towards individual empowerment in schools through the development of greater student agency and student involvement in curriculum design and assessment.
Alongside the deliberate inclusion of 21st century skills in learning programmes I believe that helping students to develop a growth mindset so they are unrestrained by deficit thinking related to class, race and gender is integral to ensure that they reach their potential and develop the confidence or ‘empowerment’ to push for change.
Our students generation will have an opportunity to influence and shape the world of the future like never before and we have a vital role in ensuring that they are ready to let their voices be heard.
References:
Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (2011). A rich seam how new pedagogies find deep learning. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (Vol. 15). http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2011.01.017
National Intelligence Council. (2012). Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds. Info.Publicintelligence.Net. http://doi.org/978-1-929667-21-5
UNESCO. (2009). EFA Global Monitoring Report. Overcoming inequality: why governance matters. Book. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001776/177683e.pdf
I hope Aung San Suu Kyi is right here! I worry about "individual empowerment" - will we lose the community which is so important to humans? I approve the rise of technology (in an ethical, reasonable, way), but was hoping it would be to bring people together. Individual empowerment makes me think of people out there for themselves! But perhaps I'm just interpreting the words too literally.
ReplyDeleteI see it more as the empowerment of individuals I.e everyday citizens to question governments and push for positive change. Power shifting to the "people" rather than the government. I totally agree that maintaining connections and building communities is important though.The definition of the word community is definitely changing with the rise of technology, e.g I post these quite personal blogs to my online community but don't know the names of 3/4 of my neighbours!
ReplyDeleteHiya,
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are coming from Belinda, as I too worry about the community 'feel' being lost, and people becoming single cells just bouncing along beside each other, rather than a cohesive group. I've seen this article a few times:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/10/why-japanese-kids-can-walk-to-school-alone/408475/
and it gives me a bit of hope that even with the increase of technology and skills, communities still have that collective responsibility for their members.
I have enjoyed reading your post Sarah. On the one hand I agree with you, let's empower individuals and give them the ability to stand up and make a difference and enforce change for good. On the other hand I think that in our "collaborative" society we can run the risk of students not knowing how to communicate with integrity and respect. One has to be careful that this individual empowerment does not become "All about me". A very interesting balancing act. How would you ensure that the individual empowerment doesn't result in dictatorship?
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that I am playing a bit of devils advocate here and pushing the outcomes to the limits.
DeleteHi Andre, Belinda posed a similar question and I think that collaboration and communication are skills that we need to develop as part of empowering students. Individual empowerment should theoretically prevent dictatorship because others will have the education/knowledge to make up their own minds rather than blindly following a leader (I can't help but think of Donald Trump right now!) The 2009 EFA Global Monitoring Report (referenced in my main post) found that education promotes more democratic societies through giving individuals the knowledge and skills to question their governments and hold them to account (UNESCO, 2009).
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