User Forum

(1) Are we taught in the same way our parents were? In most cases the answer is probably not. How do educational changes happen? Why do they happen? and who makes them happen? are all fascinating questions. The simple answer is that educational systems were developed by and within the society that was being educated and for the purpose of fostering a better or more successful ‘next generation'. However, now that we are living in a time where globalisation is a reality, it is important to look at these questions again.
(2) Over history there have been few developments that have risen on a global scale instantaneously. Standardisation of basic skills has been tracked and mapped by the OECD for decades now so that benchmarks in a few core subjects can be monitored in a comparative way across the world. The way in which these targets or benchmarks are met however, still differs greatly from country to country and sometimes from one educational board to another.
(3) The psychology of learning is topic that has had a pervasive influence over all new education initiatives with the key battle ground for this is generally being played out between rote learning vs critical analysis. It is important to understand that not everyone learns at the same rate or in the same ways. While we have in many fields understood that the key to post modernism is the respect of individual difference it doesn't seem to have filtered through to educational systems or thinking yet, but the topic is certainly gaining ground.
(4) One problem with some education systems is that they tend to produce under knowledgeable and over opinionated people. Unfortunately, this often is down to the fact they have virtually no underlying knowledge of the topic and have not gained the critical skills necessary to actually get their point across without being irrelevant. This is a shameful outcome of many educational systems. Despite this sad fact, education is getting better and people seem to know more. This is what the OECD statistics would have us believe at least.