‘If
you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance’
It has been argued that
all human learning was an ‘epistemic’ or ‘knowledge building’ activity and definitely
social, so learning is not only for the individual but also creates economic
growth for the community. This social dimension cannot account for all
learning, as some ‘knowledge building’ cannot be achieved through experience
alone, such as the development of concepts, which can take learners beyond
their own experiences, cannot be developed in a ‘hands on manner’. Bandura argues that learning is a cognitive
process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through
observation or direct instruction. If human knowledge is not recognised as a
knowledge building activity which involves epistemic and social knowledge then
we create the false dichotomy of the skills and knowledge debate. In this
debate, knowledge is often equated with facts rather than concepts which
confuses the issue. If the skills versus knowledge debate is rephrased as
‘knowing how’ and ‘knowing that’ then it becomes apparent that they are
interdependent. This ties in with educators such as Dewey and Piaget who through
looking at how we learn, came to understand that knowledge building and
experiential learning are strongly linked and thus their emphasis on
experience-based learning.
UNSECO (1996) defines
the four pillars of learning to be ‘learning to know’, learning to do’, ‘learning
to be’ and ‘learning to live together’. These pillars now need to be re-integrated
taking account of the new social dynamics created by the use of the internet,
as a source of information and as a community builder. Social networks tends to
be built by people with similar values and in these social networks
‘groupthink’ can become prevalent, thus increasing intolerance to those with
different value systems and beliefs. It is easy to avoid those with differing
values in the virtual world and thus society is splitting into ‘incompatible
public spaces’ where it is easy to excommunicate an individual with the click
of an ‘unfriend’ button. Not only is the digital age changing our social
dynamics but also the way we learn. As information has become more available to
society and everyone is encouraged to be creators of knowledge, we have moved
from transmission of knowledge to being more about sharing and creating knowledge.
Thus ‘learning to know’ has changed to accommodate the use of technology and we
need to work harder on ‘learning to be’ and ‘learning to live together’ in a
rapid paced and changing society.
So what do this mean
for schools and learning?
The launch in 2014 of
the Developing the Young Workforce Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy
signposted the investment of the Scottish government, in growing the number of
opportunities for young people to be involved in “work-based learning which is
valued by both employers and young people” (p5). This context dependent
(vocational) learning serves a different purpose from context-independent
(academic) learning, and is also different in structure by being more
spontaneous by the learning within the work place, rather than a more
prescribed curriculum. Context dependent learning has over time proved itself
more successful to support skills development. The opportunities to develop
skills on-the-job are valued but in the digital age, less apprenticeships were
available for school leavers, thus a key performance indicator of Developing
the Young Workforce is to increase the number of modern apprenticeships
available for students transitioning from secondary school.
Context dependent
learning as part of an apprenticeship could be considered a form of
collaborative enquiry. The apprentice immerses themselves in an active learning
environment and within this they experience learning and methodology to achieve
relevant outcomes. Learners then explore and undertake critical reflection of
their experiences so they can apply this learning in new contexts. This process
can be described in the following questions;
·
What
do I want to ask?
·
What
am I going to do?
·
What
happened?
·
What’s
important?
·
What
work for me?
In contrast to
context-dependent learning, in creating context-independent (academic) learning
opportunities which allows learners to move beyond their everyday context and
helps them to think conceptually, could be described as one of the purpose of
schools.
A second purpose of
school could lie within the transmission of knowledge through organisation of
knowledge (curriculum) and giving knowledge context so it builds on schema
(pedagogy).
‘Learning to do’ is no
longer about acquisition and internalisation of practical knowledge; instead,
it is about the ability to create and invent practically relevant knowledge.
Epistemic literacy and critical thinking requires active knowledge creation and
innovation. Knowledge can be contemplated in two domains. New knowledge; which
could be considered as research and transmission of knowledge, which can be
thought of as acquisition of specialised knowledge, and epistemic literacy; which
is using both new knowledge and specialist knowledge to understand, integrate
and create meaning which allows us to make sense of the world. Contexts for knowing
i.e. the systems and structures that support learning, will become reconstructed
but in the absence of epistemic literacy, i.e. critical reflective, we can be
held hostage to ‘dogmas, orthodoxies and fashions’ of the time.
So if human learning
requires both context-dependent and context-independent learning then schools
must evolve to accommodate both. In the foreword of Developing the Young Workforce,
then Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills & Training, Roseanna
Cunningham MSP states that Scotland needs “a fundamental examination of how we
provide, promote, and value a range of learning which leads to a wide variety
of jobs.” Supporting students to build economic capital through a variety of
learning opportunities, whether that is vocational or academic learning is crucial
to developing successful learners who can become effective contributors in
Scotland.
References
Bandura
– Social Learning Theory
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
Biesta,
G. (2015) what is education for? On Good Education, Teacher Judgement and
Educational Professionalism; European
Journal of Education, Vol 50, No 1
Developing
the Young Workforce: Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy; Implementing the
Recommendations of the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/DYWResponseYouthEmpl%20Strategy_tcm4-853595.pdf
Monne,
X.P. (2015) What is learning for? The Promise of a Better Future; European Journal of Education, Vol 50,
No 1
Tuomi,
I (2015) Epistemic Literacy or a Clash of Clans? A capability-bsed Veiw on the
Furture of learning and Education;
European Journal of Education, Vol 50, No 1
UNSECO
(1996) Learning: The treasure within (Paris, UNSECO)
Young,
M. (2015) what is learning and Why Does it matter? ; European Journal of Education, Vol 50, No 1
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