The epic of education
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, little Leias and Lukes have for centuries struggled with an education designed and implemented for an era that no longer exists. One example is classrooms that have changed almost nothing since the 18th century; archaeological exhibits worthy of a museum, not schools in the 21st century.
The industrial revolution and education
Learning environments that encouraged methodical, orderly, encyclopaedic and verbalised memorisation were implemented to deliver an education aligned to the needs generated by the industrial revolution. Economic growth needed to be accelerated, so skilled labour was massively trained. [1]
The aims of education at this time reflected the views of the upper classes of society; to educate the middle class with discipline, making many children literate in a short time with the aim of moralising, domesticating and integrating new generations of workers to maintain economic growth, thus becoming the Stormtroopers of the industrial revolution.
Education in the 18th century served primarily to provide a foundation of common beliefs and understandings, to prepare students for a reality that already existed.
Centuries passed, and the retrograde aims of education created in the age of industrialisation remained. In the style of Emperor Palpatine, new generations of Stormtroopers were trained in the same way as 200 years ago, in a world with a totally different reality.
The beginnings of the Resistance
John Amos Comenius, 17th century pedagogue and father of the resistance or rebellion in education, pushed for the integration of didactics into teaching. Comenius set out to seek and find the method that would enable teachers to teach less and pupils to learn more.
Through observation, he came to the conclusion that children are capable of “examining everything for themselves, without abdication to adult authority”, which is why he proposed the implementation of an active pedagogy, where the learners would feel truly involved in the learning process. He concluded, that this process develops from the observation of nature and respect for its laws, elevating it as “the only effective method.” [2]
Words are only to be learnt and taught in their association with things, what are words but the clothing or wrapping of things? — Comenius.
Unfortunately, Comenius’ work was largely unknown until the 20th century. In the 1950s, his works were translated into different languages, and UNESCO made his contributions known through the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the publication of his most famous work: Opera didactica omnia.
The awakening of the force
Movements such as the “new school” began to flourish and spread in the late 19th century. Didactics such as Dewey, Montessori, Freinet and Piaget began to raise their voices in the coming century about active, student-centred education.
Society slowly became aware of the need to change educational goals, both because of advances in the understanding of learning and teaching processes (metacognition), and because of the awareness of creating a better and sustainable future.
To create a sustainable future, we must deal with the complexity of global challenges; climate change or the eradication of hunger, for example, are called “wicked problems”.
These “wicked problems” cannot be solved using disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches. They can only be somehow solved through transdisciplinary work. This is the new reality of our world.
This means that specialists representing different disciplines must interact collectively within the problem. Each area must adapt its approach to negotiate an innovative resolution with other members of the team, the aim being to discover the hidden connections between different disciplines, which is where the real possibility of solving them lies. [3]
If we stop to think about it, specialisation is still necessary to solve these challenges, but the key lies in the integration of knowledge and the development of the competencies to be able to reach such collaboration between actors.
So how do we get education to train these generations of “solvers” of complex challenges? One way is to incorporate transdisciplinary educational approaches. These approaches aim at curricular integration, dissolving the boundaries between conventional disciplines. They organise teaching and learning around the construction of meaning, in the context of real-world problems or issues. Students are the ones who experience first-hand what the transdisciplinary working process is all about. One of the most well-known transdisciplinary approaches today is the STEM-STEAM approach.
It is our duty as adults to support, develop and implement the changes that education requires in this new reality in order to provide our children and young people with the competences they will need to face a challenging and uncertain future.
The 21st century offers us the opportunity to be the Yodas of our little Leias and little Lukes. An invitation that we must all embrace with conviction: teachers, educational institutions, governments and families.
TO BE CONTINUED…
[1] Explaining the Origins and Expansion of Mass Education. 1985. John Boli, Francisco O. Ramirez and John W. Meyer
[2] El correo UNESCO: Juan Amos Comenius, Apostol de la educación moderna y de la comprensión internacional. 1957. María Magdalena Rabecq.
[3] Transdisciplinarity: A Review of Its Origins, Development, and Current Issues. 2015. Jay Hillel Bernstein.
