How Education Systems Approach Breadth of Skills. Skills for a Changing World

N

19

LEGO Foundation

Educational Practices; Skill Development; 21st Century Skills; Educational History; Educational Trends; Literacy; Numeracy; Educational Change; Comparative Education; Foreign Countries; Educational Objectives; Technological Literacy

Rwanda; Canada; South Korea; Mauritius

Education of the 20th century was characterized mainly by content and knowledge accumulation. Skills development was dictated largely by the needs of the Industrial Age, which was in turn dominated by rote tasks and manual labor. Literacy and, to a lesser degree, numeracy were perceived as necessary in that they provided increased access to content and knowledge. In the 21st century both literacy and numeracy remain key skills. They are emphasized as the major goals of educational systems across the globe, and viewed as primary means to open doors for children to participate effectively in society. In this report, the authors study the alignment of the worldwide aspiration for breadth of skills with its implementation. As with the execution of any vision, particularly large-scale transformations, the application of breadth to education systems varies greatly from country to country. They focus on the factors that fuel the uptake of breadth of skills as well as the elements that lay the foundation for breadth within the formal education ecosystem.

ERIC

2019

ED595126