Are teachers obsolete? Will online content make traditional brick-and-mortar schools a thing of the past? Will there be one global education language? Should school focus on personal skills rather than academic knowledge? Will company certification be on a par with diplomas? These are some of the issues tackled by the 2014 WISE Survey: School in 2030.
The “2030 School Survey” was conducted between June 3 and 30, 2014, among 645 participants representative of the global WISE community, which comprises more than 15,000 individuals.
Key findings show that education systems are predicted to undergo major changes. Schools will become interactive environments where innovations in technology and curricula will fundamentally transform the role of teachers and reshape the landscape of learning.
The survey reveals a strong consensus around the idea that innovation is an integral part of the future of education. A resounding 93% of respondents say they favor schools that implement innovative methods based on new teaching approaches and creative processes.
Members from the WISE community predict that schools will evolve to become learning networks. Online resources and technologies will support peer-to-peer networking, dialog and exchange, facilitating a move towards collaborative learning. According to the survey, almost half of the respondents (43%) believe that content will be provided predominantly by online platforms, while only 29% ranked brick-and-mortar schools as the primary source of knowledge.
However, the participants emphasize that innovation comes in many forms, not just technological. 75% of those surveyed believe that the most valued assets in 2030 will be personal and interpersonal skills. Only 42% think that academic knowledge will continue to be valuable to learners.
83% of participants also believe that content will become more individualized, reflecting every student’s needs. Another key finding supports the evolution of the teacher’s role towards being a learning facilitator rather than a lecturer.
Respondents also agree that physical presence and human interaction will remain indispensable to education in the future.
Survey participants remain divided on the issue of certification and assessment; 39% think that diplomas will continue to be the most important method of assessment while another third (37%) argue that professional certifications assessing abilities such as management, collaboration or creativity will play a more important role.
Five prominent voices have commented on the results and shared their insights on the school of the future: Professor Noam Chomsky, Ms Julia Gillard, Professor Sugata Mitra, Mr. John B. Mahaffie and Dr. Yasar Jarrar.