One of the things that I’m really enjoying about my sojourn into higher education at the moment is the chance to really engage with – and do some deep thinking about – some of my previously cherished notions about education. I guess this is part of becoming an increasingly critical thinker – and consumer – of research, but I find that one of the key ingredients in being able to successfully do this relates to having the time to read widely and then reflect. After all, one of the reasons that I am trying to stick to a reasonably strict schedule in terms of this blog is to force myself to both read and then consider what I’ve read. I’m not expecting to turn out masterpieces here – rather, this is an attempt to engage in ‘writing as thinking’, but time is the crucial aspect in making it work.
Naturally enough, COVID19 has led to some pretty significant changes in the education industry, too. And, perhaps not naturally, but certainly predictably, the edu gurus have seized on this as a chance to promote their brand, sell their books, and offer online conferences. I know, grifters gonna grift. In addition, there are the usual promises that all of this means that education will be revolutionized, and finally education will enter the 21st century, and we will escape from the old factory-industrial model of education, and a new world of education is just around the corner and…
I could go on, but I think my point has been made. There is almost a heady desperation about the change – and it’s not the first time this has happened. I’ve seen the same excitement about MOOCs, about smartphones, about 1:1 laptop programs and all kinds of other things- supposedly revolutionary approaches to education that have, ultimately, failed to deliver the wholesale change that their prophets promised.
I know I might sound a little negative; that’s not my intention. Rather, what I am trying to point out that education is a complex beast, and the structures that support the education system (i.e. schools, for example), serve a range of different purposes than simply providing ‘education’ – how so ever that might be defined. Any changes that are going to stick need to recognise that, too, and address it, otherwise I am not certain that any change will take place.