Page 50 - EducationWorld October 2020

THE
CHANGE

Be the change that you wish to see in the world
Mahatma Gandhi

At the turn of the century and beginning of a new • Globalization and Internationalism, as opposed to
millennium our global society was struggling with the localization and nationalism.
uncertainty and predicted collapse of systems due to the • ‘Feminism’ and soft values, as opposed to personal
Y2K bug, ever since our social and professional paradigms gain and success at any cost.
have changed. Deep research has shown that we have • Self-actualisation, lay spirituality and holistic living,
moved from an “Industrial Age” into a new age called the as opposed to materialism and personal gain.
“Knowledge Age”. • Social consciousness, as opposed to exploitation of
As we prepare to charter the unfamiliar terrain that lies adversity.
ahead, we need a new kind of enabling device, very different These shifts in priorities, perceptions and values, are
competencies and a whole new sense of direction. giving rise to a new world order, a new attitude in society.
New times call for new organizations that can handle
uncertainties of the knowledge age of the future, rather 21st Century Learning Paradigms
than the industrial age of the past.
The road ahead is leading to the appreciation that Today, in a global economy fueled by information and
economic wealth will not be based on land, money, labour powered by an increasingly distributed workforce, education
or raw materials but on intellectual capital. remains a harbinger of personal and professional success.
While this may be cause for anxiety to industrial societies Even more than before, education strongly influences
a period of transition when the old order gives way to new, individual employment advantage and earning power as
yet there is also a sense of tremendous adventure and well as plays a major role in economic development and
opportunity for all. societal stability.
The presently prevalent systems of schooling practices Yet, the requirements of education have shifted. In
have been generated to address the needs of the Industrial addition to command of basic facts and information, today’s
Age. The educational transactions of today need to be worker must have the ability to use resources productively,
inclusive of the emerging appreciations of knowledge, as master interpersonal skills, manipulate information,
an economic component. understand systems thinking and operate technologies.
The paradigm shifts today have given rise to images that The foundation for these competencies rests with basic
define a new age - the knowledge age. The shifts are: skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics as well
• Ecological sustainability, as opposed to greed and as the ability to think creatively, make decisions, solve
exploitation. problems, and know how to learn for a lifetime.

50 EDUCATIONWORLD October 2020