The dynamics of the so-called "knowledge society" or "information society" are also necessarily reflected in the field of education. Profound changes in the economy, society and knowledge create a new context in which education faces new challenges.
The first challenge, which can be summarised under what has been called learning to learn, refers to educational challenges from the point of view of cognitive development. At a time when knowledge and information have acquired vital importance, education can no longer be confined to a single stage of life and has to become something that is ever present. Apart from that, there is a need to rethink the task of educating as merely an instrument for the transmission of information and to prioritise the process of learning.
The second challenge, learning to live together, includes the challenges that relate to building a social order in which we will be able to live together while still maintaining our distinct identities. Education has to serve as a counterbalance to new capitalism, which brings with it increasingly marked social differences, and globalisation, which does away with local commitments and habitual forms of solidarity and cohesion.
|
|