RETHINKING THE LONG-TERM AIMS OF EDUCATION
RETHINKING THE LONG-TERM AIMS OF EDUCATION

Summary/Abstract: Children who begin their schooling today will be working until at least the end of 2070. No one knows what the world will then look like or even how societies might then function. Few can foresee what changes global events may bring to our lives over the next ten years. So what stands between us, or, more importantly, between our children, and the potential chaos of an unknown and unknowable future? Quite simply, our governments must develop public schooling. Wise investment in education is key, preoccupied not with smooth administration, but focussed upon the genuine support of teaching and learning. The time has come to say unequivocally that all schools are different and every child is unique. The way of standardisation, with its rigid controls and curriculum and massive filing protocols, leads only to a dead end. If, by definition, the future tests our ability to adapt to the unknown, our very flexibility, how can we create flexible strategies in education to meet the needs of the next generation and those following? How can we, as we must, take steps to customise and personalise education? What will be the most crucial themes and objectives for future learning? This article will elaborate upon these questions, as well as consider the European Commission’s own response to the issue in its recent paper “Developing Key Competences at School in Europe”.

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