Innovation is integral to the future of education, experts believe

A survey on “School in 2030”, carried out last June among 645 international experts, predicts that education systems will evolve to become “learning networks”.

WISE (the Global Innovation Summit in Education), an international initiative to develop innovation and collaboration in education, presents the results from a survey of its community of international experts and reveals their vision of what school will be like in 2030.

The main conclusions show that education systems will be subject to major changes in the coming decades. Schools will become interactive environments where technological innovations and curricula will fundamentally transform the role of teachers and reshape the contours of learning.

The survey reveals a strong consensus around the idea that innovation is an integral part of the future of education. 93% experts say they are in favor of schools that would implement innovative methods based on new pedagogical approaches with more creative processes.

Experts from the WISE community predict that the school will evolve into a “learning network”. Online resources and technologies will support peer-to-peer exchanges, facilitate dialogue and foster a move towards more collaborative learning.

According to the survey, almost half of the experts (43 %s) believe that, in the future, educational content will mainly come from online resources, while only 29 %s believe that traditional schools will remain the main source of knowledge.

However, it emerges from this survey that the innovation that will irrigate education systems will not be solely technological.

75 % of the experts surveyed believe that in 2030 the most important values will be personal and interpersonal skills. Only 42 % of them think that theoretical knowledge will continue to be useful for learners.

83 % experts also believe content will be more individualized, reflecting the needs of each student. Another key finding supports the evolution of the role of the teacher towards that of a facilitator of learning rather than a lecturer.

Experts also agree that physical presence and human interaction will remain essential factors for learning.

Finally, the experts remain divided on the issue of assessment – 39 % believe that diplomas will continue to be the most effective method, while another third (37 %) say that professional certification assessing management capacities , collaboration or creativity will play a greater role.

The survey on “School in 2030” was carried out between 3 and 30 June 2014 among 645 experts, among the 15,000 people in the WISE community.

To consult this study in detail: http://www.wise-qatar.org/school2030.

Source: press release