Is Big Tech Driving Education The Wrong Way?

This is a Guest Post from Rob Davies

Guest Post

                                         

               

 

Many governments around the world, probably driven by the PISA league tables, have been seduced into thinking that their education systems need new curricular and indeed new pedagogies for the 21^st Century. 

The argument goes something like, “The world is changing so fast, jobs of the future are going to be very different, knowledge is no longer important as Google knows everything.  Therefore, pupils need to acquire essential 21^st-century competencies such as collaboration, communication, independent research and higher-order cognitive skills”.  Which, all sounds very enticing and forward-thinking; what self-worthy Government wouldn’t want that for their learners? 

But, what does the evidence say; is it a sham?

There is limited evidence to suggest that changing a curriculum and adopting “new” pedagogies will help pupils become more independent and better problem solvers.  There is a lot of educational research and survey evidence that suggests the complete opposite in fact.  In addition, OECD’s own PISA survey data below suggests pupils are more likely to be better problem solvers when taught in more traditional ways. 

Moreover, and significantly, many countries that have introduced 21^st-century curricular and associated pedagogies, have found their educational outcomes, noticeably in literacy and numeracy, have declined; countries and jurisdictions where this has occurred to a greater or lesser extent include Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and British Columbia.

A person in the street might ponder why governments around the world are re-writing curricular and adopting new pedagogies for the 21^st century.   The answer could well be in the influence of big-tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and IBM, have on OECD and their policy agenda.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated OECD’s continued drive to promote 21^st-century skills.  In its report, “Schooling disrupted, schooling rethought”, June 2020, OECD suggests:

“Perhaps most important, we can seize the moment to make curricula and learning environments more relevant to the needs of the 21^st century.”

And,

“Access to online learning and independent learning using technology can facilitate the acquisition of essential 21^st century competencies such as collaboration, communication, independent research and higher order cognitive skills.”

Unsurprisingly, big-tech companies, such as Microsoft, are also using the pandemic to promote the curricula and pedagogy reform agenda, suggesting in their “Education Reimagined: The Future of Learning”, 2020:

“The fallout of COVID-19, continuing advances in digital technology, and intensifying pent-up demand for student centred learning have combined to present an unprecedented opportunity to transform education across whole systems.”

In the report, “Deep Learning” is defined as “the process of acquiring six competencies:  Character, Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking.”  The article juxtaposes this “Deep Learning” against “Traditional”, noting, for example, that “Traditional” transmits existing knowledge, while “Deep Learning” connects students to real-world, authentic problem solving.

Yawn.

A little bit of rummaging on the internet soon uncovers that OECD is associated with a wide range of big-tech companies through the Centre for Curriculum Redesign.  The Centre for Curriculum Redesign’s vision is spelt out in this presentation.  The array of tech corporations associated with this organisation is impressive and includes, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Pearson and Promethean.  Also of note, OECD’s PISA-D programme is partly funded by Microsoft.

Now I might be putting two and two together and coming up with five, but I thought “Is Big Tech Driving Education the Wrong Way?” could make for an interesting slow-chat topic.

Rob Davies