ABSTRACT

In recent years, the idea that the future is inherently unpredictable has gained considerable currency in educational policymaking. In this paper, we seek to critically examine and analyze the implications that stem from embracing this concept of the future. To do so, we focus on current discussions of 21-century skills, and more specifically on the work of the OECD. First, we offer a brief introduction to the prevailing conceptualization of the future as uncertain and risky, and the ensuing emphasis on the development of skills needed to adapt to this increasingly volatile future. We then explain why the emphasis on future uncertainty leads to conceptualizing education as adaptation, while disregarding the importance of the past. We argue that this results in an impoverished conception of education and the skills it should develop. Next, we focus on how the idea of an unpredictable future marginalizes the role of values in education. We maintain that this not only leads to a narrow vision of education, but also undermines the cultivation of skills heralded by 21st-century skills frameworks. We conclude by offering some remarks on the importance of attention to the past and values as the basis for a meaningful vision of education.

摘要

近年来，未来本质上不可预测的想法在教育政策制定中得到了广泛的认可。在本文中，我们试图批判性地检查和分析因接受这一未来概念而产生的影响。为此，我们将重点放在当前对 21 世纪技能的讨论上，更具体地说是 OECD 的工作。首先，我们简要介绍了普遍存在的不确定性和风险性未来概念，以及随之而来的对适应这种日益动荡的未来所需的技能发展的重视。然后我们解释了为什么强调未来的不确定性导致将教育概念化为适应，而忽视过去的重要性。我们认为，这会导致教育观念及其应发展的技能贫乏。下一个，我们专注于不可预测的未来的想法如何边缘化价值观在教育中的作用。我们认为，这不仅会导致对教育的狭隘视野，而且还会破坏 21 世纪技能框架所预示的技能培养。最后，我们就关注过去和价值观作为有意义的教育愿景的基础的重要性发表了一些评论。