21st Century Development Challenges and Opportunities: Demands on Education Systems

Transcription

1 21st Century Development Challenges and Opportunities: Demands on Education Systems Mmantsetsa Marope (PhD) Director: Division of Basic Education UNESCO Kai-ming Cheng, Chair Professor of Education and Senior Advisor to the Vice Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong 1

2 21 st Century: Broad View of Development Wealth (tangible material, financial, GDP) Wealth (intangible) Social, Human, Political, Cultural, Values, Ethics Well-being, happiness Safety, freedom, peace of mind but the view of development as tangible wealth still dominates and ranks the world!!!

3 MDGs: An attempt at a broader view of development Human needs and basic rights Freedom from extreme poverty and hunger Quality education (focus on primary education falls far too short) Productive and decent employment Good health and shelter The right of women to give birth without risking their lives Environmental sustainability Equality between men and women

4 Critical Development Challenges of the 21 st Century Fast pace and permanence of change facilitated by information, knowledge, ICTs Climate change Poverty and inequalities Global peace and security Health and well being Demographic changes Work place transformation

5 Pace and Permanence of Change: Highlights of Knowledge / Post-Industrial Societies It is an Era! It applies to all societies and entails... Changed mode of economic activities! Changed patterns of work! Changed ways of living! Changed relations between people! Changed relations between nations!

6 Pace and Permanence of Change: Highlights of Knowledge / Post-Industrial Societies Why? Customized products and services Globalized market and processes Connected people and nations

7 Impact of Climate Change Shared consequences without shared benefits Impact tends to most affect developing countries: 67 percent of developing countries are most vulnerable to external shocks and natural hazards poor coping capacities estimated economic loss of more than $262 billion mostly in developing countries From the start of 2008 through March 2010, 470,000 people were reportedly killed as a result of natural disasters

8 Impact of Climate Change Global deforestation: South America and Africa have the largest net losses of forests, at just under 4 million and 3.4 million hectares per year respectively, over the period In 2007, a 35 % increase of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) above the 1990 level Climate migration Estimated 200 million environmentally-induced migrants by Impact on agriculture and food security Estimated of an additional 600 million facing acute malnutrition by the 2080s

9 Persisting Poverty and Inequality Increase in the World Global GDP: GDP world in billions (current US$) 21, , , ( World Development Indicators, 2010) Decrease in the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005 However, the world is far from reaching the MDG target of halving poverty by 2015 The global financial crisis deepened and widened vulnerability An additional 64 million persons by the end of 2010 in sub- Saharan Africa and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia Rise of number of undernourished from 915 million in 2008 to more than 1 billion in 2009

10 Persisting Poverty and Inequality Between high income and low income countries The world s 500 richest people have a combined income greater than the world s 416 million poorest people Within high incomes countries: In the United States in 2007, the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the 15 largest companies earned 520 times more than the average worker. This is up from 360 times more in Similar patterns have been registered in Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and South Africa.

11 Global Peace and Security The Global village has not necessarily translated into Enhanced mutual trust and understanding Tolerance Social cohesion Peaceful coexistence and security However, the number of wars, genocides, and human rights abuse have somewhat declined over the past decade: 40% decline of armed conflicts around the world since the early 1990s 80% decline of the number of genocides and politicides between 1988 and 2001 Still, Low incomes countries are the most affected by conflicts: Most preoccupying countries: Iraq, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Darfur, Colombia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Liberia, Southern Sudan, and Uganda

12 Global Peace and Security Economic costs of war and conflict: Reduction of around 2.2 percent of rate of growth during war Human development costs: In 2002, 20,000 people killed in wars More than 42 million people are currently displaced by conflict or persecution. Wars destroy property, disrupt economic activity, divert resources from health care... Crowded into camps, susceptible refugees fall ill from infectious diseases

13 Health and Wellbeing The spread of HIV/AIDS is yet to be redressed mostly in developing countries In 2008, 2.7 million new HIV/ Aids infections and 2 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths In 2008, an estimated 243 million cases of malaria and related deaths, mostly of children under five. Each year, 9 million new tuberculosis infections and 2 million people related death

14 Demographic Changes Aging population in the advanced economies : Next 50 years, population decline is estimated at 30% in some central and Eastern European countries, by 22% in Italy, and by 14% in Japan. Risks of aging population: Slower economic growth Less innovation Financial market instability Difficulties in funding public pension systems Accelerating urbanization Approximately 50% of the world s population now live in cities and towns

15 Key Features of 21 st Century Labor Market Jobs? Increasingly difficult to secure Work No limits Local, national, global opportunities but fortune favors the educated and skilled mind! Self-employment Free lancers Consultants

16 Key Features of 21 st Century Labor Market Pure manual blue-collars are diminishing Employment opportunities are shrinking Self-job-creation is increasingly important Occupational identities are being blurred More intensive human interactions Self-confidence, self-management, self-learning, selfreflections are increasingly important

17 Organization of Work in the 21 st Century Industrial Large pyramids Producer-centred Departments Hierarchy Tight structure Design at the top Assigned procedures Rules & regulations Post-industrial Small companies Client-centred Project teams Flat organisations Loose & fluid systems Design at front-lines Improvised actions Fit-for-purpose acts

18 Modes of Working in the 21 st Century Industrial Division of labour Individual tasks Specialist duties Administrative links Credential-based appointments Appraisal by seniors Post-industrial Total solutions Team work Integrated expertise Human interactions On-demand, just-in-time learning appraisal

19 21 st Century Demands on Frontline Workers Industrial Bottom of the hierarchy Hiring due to credentials Member of a specialised department Implementation of design Using specific skills Routine and repetitive activities Working according to job descriptions Following set procedures Maintaining the convention Abiding by rules and regulations Appraised by degree of compliance Stable and secure Blue collars Post-industrial Member of a small group Hiring due to personality Working in teams Directly facing clients Handling human relations Directly facing problems Anticipating total solutions Designing solutions with creativity Using multiple skills Taking risks Improvising fit-for-purpose activities Managing oneself Learning on-the-job, on-demand, justin-time Appraised Unstable, uncertain and insecure Knowledge workers

20 21 st C. Impact on Individual s Employment / Careers Industrial Lifelong career Long-term loyalty Occupational identity Work-study consistency Org membership Stable employment Escalating salaries Upward mobility Foreseeable retirement Constant networks Stable relations Security, certainty Post-industrial Multiple careers Multiple jobs Blurred identity Work-study mismatch Possible free-lancing Mid-age unemployment Precarious incomes Fluctuating status Unpredictable future Varying networks Changing partners Insecurity, uncertainty

21 Range of 21 st Century Skills and Competencies Soft Hard Occupational Communication Team-working, Multi-tasking Problem-solving, Innovative Adaptability, Agility Surfing networks, selecting Initiative, Risk-taking Harvesting heritages Multi-culturalism Personal responsibility Continuous learning Self-management Ethics, values, principles Emotional intelligence numeracy literacy e-literacy languages mathematics sciences applied sciences social sciences chemists Statistics economics mechanics engineering welding accounting design & technology medicines accounting research analysts architecture education health workers

22 Demands on Education and Training Systems Broad-based education to create high thresholds necessary to facilitate productivity, growth, and poverty reduction through redistributive effects, Achievement of skills and competencies is more important than just educational attainment so quality matters Adaptability and most importantly agility to respond to fast changing challenges and to harvest fast changing opportunities so soft skills and resilience matters The complementarity of soft and hard skills and the facility of soft skills to enable the acquisition of hard skills is critical High levels of specializations is still critical as 21 st century technology is skill intensive Production of well-rounded graduates with a span of all domains of skills and competencies Easy access to information is a great opportunity but the challenge is for learners and educators to have skills to select from loads of information what best suits the purpose Teachers and educators no longer prime sources of information and knowledge and should be prepared to facilitate/scaffold Learners and educators should be ready to tap broad and wide information sources but also to efficiently transform that information into knowledge Ample opportunities for real-life experiences

23 Thank You