From Lifelong Education to Lifelong Learning

Rosa María Torres

Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning are related but different concepts. Many people use them as equivalent.To a great extent, this is due to the fact that most people do not distinguish between education and learning. There are also many translation problems.

A few examples:

» Paul Lengrand's book An Introduction to Lifelong Education was published by UNESCO in 1970, International Education Year. Lifelong Education was selected by the General
Conference of UNESCO as one of twelve major themes proposed to Member States in connection with the international year. The book was translated into Spanish as Una introducción al Aprendizaje a lo Largo de la Vida o Una introducción al Aprendizaje Permanente.

» The Faure Report (Report to UNESCO by the International Commission on the Development of Education, Learning to be: Education in the Future, 1972) proposed two basic concepts: lifelong education and learning society. In the report in Spanish they were translated respectively as permanent education and educative society.

» The Delors Report (Report to UNESCO by the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century, 1996) was published in French as L'Education: Un trésor est caché dedans, in English as Learning, the treasure within, and in Spanish as La educación encierra un tesoro.

» 1996 was proclaimed European Year of Lifelong Learning (translated into Spanish as Año Europeo de la Educación a lo Largo de la Vida o Año Europeo de la Educación Permanente).

» Sustainable Development Objective 4 (SDG4) within the Agenda 2030 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Many translate «lifelong learning opportunities» as «oportunidades educativas».

■ The Faure Report (1972) and the Delors Report (1996) referred to lifelong education and to lifelong learning. The Faure Report proposed “lifelong education as the master concept for educational policies in the years to come for both developed and developing countries.” At the same time, the main concepts proposed by the Faure Commission were learning, learning to learn, and learning society. The title of the report - Learning to Be - indicates its main concern and orientation.

The report is based on four basic assumptions: 1) the existence of an international community, moving towards the same destiny, 2) the belief in democracy, each man's right to realize his own potential and to share in the building of his own future, 3) the aim of development as the complete fulfilment of man, in all the richness of his personality, 4) the need for an overall, lifelong education, able to produce «the complete man». We should no longer assiduously acquire knowledge once and for all, but learn how to build up a continually evolving body of knowledge all through life.

The report began with a critical assessment of the educational situation in 1972 and some of its «dead ends». It aimed at having a practical nature, that is, leading to action, in the twenty-three countries that were visited by the Commission members.

“The Commission laid stress above all on two fundamental ideas: lifelong education and the learning society (…) If all that has to be learned must be continually re-invented and renewed, then teaching becomes education and, more and more, learning. If learning involves all of one's life, in the sense of both time-span and diversity, and all of society, including its social and economic as well as its educational resources, then we must go even further than the necessary overhaul of 'educational systems' until we reach the stage of a learning society. For these are the true proportions of the challenge education will be facing in the future" (Preamble, Learning to Be, 1972, page xxxv).

“The aim of education in relation to employment and economic progress should be not so much to prepare young people and adults for specific, life-time vocation, but to ‘optimize' mobility among the professions and afford a permanent stimulus to the desire to learn and to train onself” (Preamble, Learning to Be, 1972, pages xxxiii-xxxiv). (1)

■ The Delors Report, Learning: The Treasure Within (1996), proposed four pillars for education: «learning to be», «learning to do», «learning to know» and «learning to be together». Learning throughout life was translated as lifelong education. Learning society was translated into Spanish as educative society and as cognitive society (sociedad cognitiva).

■ The Report of the International Commission on the Futures of Education, created by UNESCO in 2019 (Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education, UNESCO, 2021) refers to lifelong education. It does not mention lifelong learning. It defends "the right to quality education throughout life".

From the right to education to the right to learning

Many countries acknowledge in their constitutions and education laws the right to education throughout life, including all ages: childhood, adolescence, youth and adulthood. However, few acknowledge the right to lifelong learning, which implies ensuring effective learning in education systems and learning opportunities beyond classrooms.

» Education implies a teaching-learning relationship, whether it is formal education (organized education taking place in education systems at the various levels) or non-formal education (organized but more flexible education taking place on the margins of the formal system).

» Learning occurs with or without teaching. Informal learning takes place everyday, in daily life, without the intervention of a teacher or an educator. Children learn while playing; play is their main learning resource; they learn to speak without anyone teaching them to speak. Most of what we learn in life is informal learning through observing, listening, talking, working, reading, watching TV, interacting with nature, navigating in the Internet, etc.

Speaking of lifelong education implies speaking of educational institutions and opportunities, that is, instances mediated by teaching acts or processes.

Speaking of lifelong learning implies incorporating the vast world of informal learning, learning thtat is mostly invisible for the conventional world of education. (The majority of people do not acknowledge, for example, that students learned during the COVID-19 confinement, while schools were closed. For most people, learning is associated with classrooms and teachers).

It is worth noting that the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) refers to formal education, non-formal education and informal learning. There is no informal education: informal learning is mostly autonomous learning, self-learning, without teaching involved.

Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Education (LE) is a concept developed in the late 1960s. Its origin is attributed to Paul Lengrand, Chief of the Continuing Education Section at UNESCO's Department for the Advancement of Education, and author of An Introduction to Lifelong Education (UNESCO, Paris, 1970). Lengrand referred to «lifelong education» as an education covering all ages, and conceived it as a world movement to reorganize and overhaul education, not only to expand it. However, LE - translated into Spanish as educación permanente - has been associated to adult education. ”We by no means identify lifelong education with adult education, as, to our regret, is so often done” (Lengrand, 1975: 20).

After the publication of the Faure Report (1972), Lifelong Education became the focus of the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE), in Hamburg. 

Lifelong Learning (LLL) is a concept introduced in the 1970s. LLL refers to learning throughout life, from birth to death, in formal, non-formal and informal environments. LLL is often translated into Spanish as aprendizaje permanente. 

LLL has been proposed by UNESCO as the paradigm for education and learning in the 21st century. "A new vision of education" necessary to achieve the Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 4. 

The UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE), focused on adult and continuing education, literacy and non-formal basic education, changed its name to UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in 2006.

Lifelong Education	Lifelong Learning
- The concept emerged in the 1960s. - Paul Lengrand, An Introduction to Lifelong Education, UNESCO, 1970. - After the publication of the Faure Report (1972), Lifelong Education became the focus of the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE), in Hamburg.	- The concept developed in the 1970s. - The European Union adopted the concept in the 1990s. - The UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE), in Hamburg, focused on adult and non-formal education, changed its name to UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in 2006.
Focus on education.	Focus on learning.
Speaks of educating society.	Speaks of learning society.
	Lifelong and lifewide learning. Learnng as a continuum, from birth to death, everywhere, in and out of classrooms.
Formal and non-formal education, out-of-school education.	Learning in formal, non-formal and informal environments, with or without teaching.
Mentioned by the Faure Report (1972) and the Delors Report (1996). The Faure Report proposed two main concepts: lifelong education and learning society for both developed and developing countries.	Mentioned by the Faure Report (1972) and the Delors Report (1996). Also mentioned in the Jomtien Declaration (1990, Education for All) and in the Incheon Declaration (2015, Sustainable Development Goals).
“A new concept of education that takes into consideration constant and universal needs of human beings to educate themselves and to progress": Lengrand.	Proposed by UNESCO as the paradigm for education and learning in the 21st century.  "A new vision of education" necessary to achieve the Agenda 2030 and Sustaiable Development Goal 4.
Elaboration: Rosa María Torres

Notes

(1) Given the usual translation problems, I decided to translate the English texts myself. In the case of the Faure report there are numerous inconsistencies between the text in English and its Spanish translation https://www.berrigasteiz.com/monografikoak/inklusibitatea/pubs/unesco_aprender%20a%20ser.pdf  

References

» Comunidades Europeas: Un memorándum sobre el aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida, publicado en 2000
https://uil.unesco.org/es/documento/comunidades-europeas-memorandum-sobre-aprendizaje-lo-largo-toda-vida-publicado-2000

» Delors, Jacques, Learning: the treasure within. Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, UNESCO, Paris, 1996.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590 

» Delors, Jacques, La Educación encierra un tesoro. Informe a la UNESCO de la Comisión Internacional sobre la Educación para el Siglo XXI (compendio), UNESCO, París, 1996.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590_spa

» Faure, Edgar, Learning to Be. The World of Education Today and Tomorrow. Report of the International Commission on the Development of Education, UNESCO, Paris, 1972.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000001801

» Faure, Edgar, Aprender a ser. La educación del futuro. Comisión Internacional para el Desarrollo de la Educación, Alianza Editorial/UNESCO, Milán y Madrid, 1973. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000132984

» International Commission on the Futures of Education, Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education, UNESCO, Paris, 2021.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379707.locale=en

» Lengrand, Paul, An Introduction to Lifelong Education, UNESCO, Paris, 1970.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220612.1972.10671918

» Lengrand, Paul, An Introduction to Lifelong Education, UNESCO, Paris, 1975. (Enlarged edition).
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED118876

» Parkyn, George W, Towards a conceptual model of life-long education, UNESCO, Paris, 1973
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000005902

» Soler Roca, Miguel, “El concepto de educación permanente”, en: Educación, resistencia y esperanza. Antología Esencial, CLACSO, Buenos Aires, 2014.
http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/clacso/se/20140718012935/SolerRoca.pdf

» Torres, Rosa María, Lifelong Learning in the South: Critical Issues and Opportunities for Adult Education, SIDA Studies 11, Stockholm, 2004.
https://cdn.sida.se/publications/files/sida4303en-lifelong-learning-in-the-south-critical-issues-and-opportunities-for-adult-education.pdf 

» Torres, Rosa María, Lifelong Learning, Sida Studies, Stckholm, 2003
https://cdn.sida.se/publications/files/sida2726en-lifelong-learning.pdf

 

¿21st century education?

Rosa María Torres
 
(updated: 27 June, 2021)

 Texto en español: ¿Cuál 'educación del siglo 21'?

Everyone talks about 'Education in the 21st Century':

- 21st century skills
- 21st century students
- 21st century educators
- 21st century schools
- 21st century classrooms

Strictly speaking, however, there is no 'Education in the 21st Century'.

▸ What 21st century?

- About 1 in 4 people live in multidimensional poverty or are vulnerable to it.
- More than 40% of the global population does not have any social protection.
- 840 million people live without electricity.

- Over one thousand million people has no drinking water and 2 in 5 people have no facilities for hand-washing. 
- 43% of schools have no facilities to wash hands with water and soap (UNICEF, 2019)
- 6.5 billion people – 85.5% of the global population – don’t have access to reliable broadband internet.
Source: UN/UNDP 2020

The 21st century is not the same for everyone.

Millions of people do not enjoy the benefits of modernity and comfort, do not have running water, toilets, electricity, decent work and housing, reading and writing, good education opportunities, basic services and basic citizenship rights.

Inequalities - within each country, between countries, between the global North and the global South - become structural: extreme poverty and extreme wealth, hyper-consumption and misery, overinformation for some and zero information for others, the illiterate and the overqualified, the connected and the disconnected.

Home-based virtual education, recommended while schools were closed because of the covit-19 pandemic and confinement, remains out of reach for half of the world's population who lack access to the Internet.

Evidently, life in the 21st century is very different for those living with less than 1 or 2 dollars a day (those living in extreme poverty) and for those participating fully in the Information Society, the Knowledge Society, the Learning Society, the Digital Society.

▸ What education?

There is no education in singular, as a universal fact and as a homogeneous experience for all. There are educations, in plural, diverse in nature, purposes and qualities, because realities, cultures, ideologies, aspirations and needs of concrete social groups are diverse. And because education is not confined to the education system; there is education in the family, in the community, at the workplace, through the media, the arts, participation, social service, etc.

Education and learning needs and experiences are shaped by specific economic, social and cultural contexts and conditions. Community, family and school education models developed historically by indigenous populations, many of which are alive in many countries, coexisting with the dominant Western models, are not only different education models; they are alternative knowledge systems.

▸ Education in the 21st century? 

Education in the 21st century is diverse, placed historically in this century and geographically in each specific context, and does not necessarily correspond to the '21st century' vision coming from the 'developed world'.

Millions of children, youth and adults have never used a computer and don't know what can be found behind a screen. Millions of children and youth don't know where food comes from, how to grow a potato, a lemmon, a tomato. Different types of ignorance.

▸ 21st century skills?

Skills needed are different or have different priorities for different people in different places, cultures and circumstances. Lists of "21st century skills" circulated by international organizations are generally conceived and proposed from the North, mainly for urban realities. Several skills grouped today as "21st century skills" were previously presented as "20th century skills".

Children, young people and adults living in poverty - the majority of the world population - develop skills than enable them to survive in very difficult circumstances and to become resilient at an early age. They learn to take care of themselves and their families, to cooperate with others, to solve practical problems, and to learn in all circumstances.

There are several lists of "21st century skills" proposed by international actors such as the European Commission (key competences for lifelong learning in European schools), the World Economic Forum (job skills for the future), OECD (learning for life), UNICEF (transferable skills), and the InterAmerican Development Bank (skills for life).

The pandemic revealed the real magnitude of economic, social, educational and digital inequalities throughout the world and in each particular country, and the need to radically rethink education and learning systems and practices: what, where, when and how do children, young people and adults, families and communities need to learn if we are to ensure the right to education, that is, the right to educational inclusion, equity and quality for all.

Related texts in this blog (English)
» Basic Learning Needs: Different Frameworks

 

The World Economic Forum and educational quality

Rosa María Torres

En español: El Foro Económico Mundial y la calidad de la educación

The Ecuadorian Public News Agency (Andes) published the note "Ecuador leads the primary education quality ranking in South America" ("Ecuador lidera ranking de calidad en educación primaria de Suramérica", 25 April 2014). The note quoted the Global Competitiveness Index 2013-2014  of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Ecuador appeared in position number 74 (3.8 points) in this category. Andes referred to South America - not to Latin America - since Costa Rica (located in Central America) appears in position 32 (4.8 points), thus with a leading position in the region. (See table at the bottom)

WEF's ranking on educational quality took us by surprise as well as the values attributed to Latin American countries. In the regional context, Cuba occupies a prominent position in the two studies conducted so far by UNESCO's Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE). LLECE tests assess Language and Mathematics in third and sixth grades, and Natural Sciences in sixth grade. 16 countries participated in the second study (SERCE, 2006). Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay were above the regional average; Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic appeared below the regional average. (See SERCE's Executive Summary).

The presence (or absence) of other countries in the world in the first 74 positions of quality primary education also called my attention. Thus, I decided to find out how WEF defines quality education and establishes the rankings. It turns out that they result from an Opinion Survey - "The Voice of the Business Community" (110 respondents in Costa Rica; 118 in Ecuador, for the various topics).

As seen on Table 4.9 on Quality Primary Education, the question asked was:

In your country, how would you assess the quality of primary schools?

1 = extremely poor - among the worst in the world.

7 = excellent - among the best in the world.

Several concerns arise:

a) WEF does not indicate that the 'quality of education' indicator is related to perceptions and opinions, rather than to research.

b) The business community is not a specialized voice in the field of education and in the topic of educational quality. Also, Partner Institutes - as they are called in the report- may be linked to the government in ways that make it difficult to have an independent opinion. Quality of education (of any level and sort) is a complex and much debated concept, dependant on many factors. Dealing with it requires specialized and well-informed knowledge;

c) Quality of education is essentially and ultimately related to learning processes and outcomes. Specific measures and instruments have been developed nationally and internationally in order to assess such processes and outcomes, beyond opinions;

d) The question asks about primary schools - not about primary education. This leads to pay attention to issues such as infrastructure or equipment, disregarding education as such, pedagogy and learning;

e) In Latin America and in other "developing regions" there are often huge and persistent gaps between rural and urban schools, and between indigenous and non-indigenous schools, thus making it very difficult to judge quality of primary schools in general;

f) It is widely acknowledged and confirmed that less educated societies or segments of the population tend to be the ones that are most satisfied with their school systems and the education they receive, while more educated societies or social segments tend to be more dissatisfied and critical. This reinforces the vicious circle of low quality education.

A study conducted by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), adding specific questions to the Gallup World Survey, concluded that Latin America has "excessive satisfaction" vis a vis health and education services, given the objective quality of such services. This was and remains true especially in the case of education. Discipline, security and infrastructure tend to be valued by Latin Americans much more than teaching, learning, and effective learning outcomes. Perceptions of quality are particularly distant from realities. See: Beyond Facts, Understanding Quality of Life, Eduardo Lora (ed.), IDB, 2007.

The same applies to PISA international tests. Despite the fact that participating Latin American countries systematically occupy the last positions in the three areas assessed (reading, mathematics and science), students are quite happy with their schools (question asked: "Am I happy in school?"). The low results/high satisfaction paradox is prominent in Latin America.

In conclusion: we should not consider WEF's values and rankings attributed to quality of education as reliable and useful indicators.

RANK         COUNTRY/ECONOMY              VALUE

1 Finland ........................................... 6.8

2 Belgium ......................................... 6.3

3 Singapore ...................................... 6.0

4 Barbados ....................................... 6.0

5 Switzerland .................................... 6.0

6 New Zealand ................................ 5.8

7 Lebanon ........................................ 5.7

8 Ireland ............................................ 5.7

9 Malta ............................................. 5.7

10 Netherlands ..................................5.7

11 Qatar ............................................5.6

12 Cyprus ..........................................5.6

13 Canada .........................................5.5

14 Taiwan, China  ..............................5.4

15 Iceland ..........................................5.4

16 Bosnia and Herzegovina...............5.4

17 Brunei Darussalam........................5.3

18 Estonia ..........................................5.2

19 United Arab Emirates ...................5.2

20 Slovenia ........................................5.1

21 Japan ...........................................5.1

22 Australia ........................................5.0

23 Korea, Rep...................................5.0

24 Sweden ........................................5.0

25 Germany .......................................5.0

26 Lithuania .......................................5.0

27 Montenegro ..................................5.0

28 Austria ..........................................4.9

29 Norway .........................................4.9

30 Hong Kong SAR ...........................4.9

31 United Kingdom ............................4.9

32 Costa Rica.....................................4.8

33 Malaysia ........................................4.8

34 Latvia ............................................4.8

35 France ..........................................4.7

36 Guyana .........................................4.7

37 Ukraine .........................................4.7

38 Croatia ..........................................4.7

39 Luxembourg .................................4.7

40 Italy ...............................................4.7

41 United States ................................4.7

42 Denmark .......................................4.7

43 Sri Lanka......................................4.6

44 Jordan ..........................................4.6

45 Trinidad and Tobago ......................4.6

46 Portugal ........................................4.5

47 Mauritius .......................................4.5

48 Bhutan ..........................................4.5

49 Seychelles .....................................4.4

50 Gambia, The.................................4.4

51 Czech Republic............................4.3

52 Hungary ........................................4.3

53 Albania ..........................................4.3

54 Slovak Republic............................4.3

55 Indonesia ......................................4.3

56 China ............................................4.3

57 Oman ...........................................4.2

58 Poland ..........................................4.2

59 Saudi Arabia.................................4.2

60 Bulgaria ........................................4.1

61 Russian Federation.......................4.1

62 Swaziland .....................................4.1

63 Zimbabwe .....................................4.1

64 Bahrain .........................................4.0

65 Iran, Islamic Rep...........................4.0

66 Spain ............................................4.0

67 Botswana .....................................4.0

68 Suriname ......................................4.0

69 Kazakhstan ...................................3.9

70 Macedonia, FYR...........................3.9

71 Israel .............................................3.9

72 Tunisia ..........................................3.9

73 Cape Verde..................................3.9

74 Ecuador ........................................3.8

SOURCE: World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey

Related texts in this blog
Sobre evaluación en educación ▸ On evaluation in education

On Innovation and Change in Education

Rosa María Torres

Light bulb - Fubiz

"You cannot force ideas. Successful ideas are the result of slow growth."
Alexander Graham Bell

▸ Innovation - leading to meaningful change - is imperative  

Innovation is about change towards improvement. The term innovation does not say anything about the nature, orientation, pertinence and depth of such change and of such improvement. Education - both in and out of school - requires major changes. An "expanded vision of basic education" was proposed in 1990 in Jomtien-Thailand when the Education for All global initiative was launched. The need for "a new vision of education" has been highlighted by the Incheon Declaration (2015) and the 2030 Agenda. Minor, superficial, isolated, scattered innovations may modify very little. Increasing access to the school system as we know it, and improving its results as measured by standardized tests, without meaningful changes in conventional teaching and learning mentalities and patterns, may only reinforce and amplify the old "banking education" model. What is needed at this point is not only more or better education, but a different education, teaching and learning model.

▸ Innovations are particularly important in periods of crisis 

Throughout the world, in "developed" and "developing" countries, there is dissatisfaction with education, training and learning systems. Innovative experiences contribute to generate critical awareness on the weaknesses of conventional education practices. They show new angles, possibilities, alternatives, ways out. They reveal that commitment, creativity and change are there and alive behind the apparent inertia and despite adverse conditions. In fact, the most inspiring educational innovations are usually found in the most difficult and disadvantaged circumstances - rural and remote areas, urban slums, small villages, poor neighborhoods, multilingual settings, learners with special needs, etc.

▸ It is critical to transform the school system, the most widespread vehicle of systematic education  

While innovation occurs on a daily basis in schools and classrooms, change is slow and non-systemic. Innovation is often the initiative of enthusiastic, committed and subversive individuals and teams. Activating and accelerating change requires persistent and co-ordinated efforts from all sides: top-down and bottom-up, from inside the school and from the outside, from parents and students, universities, the media, mass organizations, political actors, private enterprise. Experience shows that innovations developed on the margins of the school system tend to be shortlived if they are unable to influence mainstream education. 

▸ Out-of-school education also requires major changes 

The term education is generally understood as school education. On the other hand, innovation in education has often been associated with non-formal or out-of-school education, with NGO programmes rather than with government ones. However, most learning throughout life takes place out of the school system, in the family, the community, the workplace, the media, cultural activities, sports, contact with nature, use of the Internet and digital technologies, autonomous reading and writing, social and political participation, etc. Not all education labelled non-formal or run by ONGs is innovative. At the same time, there are many examples of powerful innovation taking place within school systems. Renovation is a need and a challenge for the education, training and learning field as a whole, governmental and non-governmental, formal, non-formal and informal, dealing with people of all ages - children, youth and adults.   

▸ Innovation is not necessarily related to, or dependent on, technologies  

The extraordinary expansion and advantages of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have led many people to associate educational innovation with technologies. The image of "the world as a huge classroom" is strongly associated to the utopia of a connected world where every individual has access not only to information but to knowledge. Realities show the limits of such fascination and overconfidence on ICTs as guardians of educational democratization and change. Let us remember that half of the world population has no access to the internet. On the other hand, research and experience are already showing that incorporating digital devices and the Internet in schools and classrooms does not necessarily change curricular or pedagogical practices. Acesss to does not ensure effective use of. Access to the Internet is not enough; the speed and quality of Internet connections is a new critical component of the digital gap. Broad band remains a luxury in most countries in the South. And yet, social and pedagogical innovation continue to take place in those contexts that have limited or no contact with the digital world.
▸ Innovation is not only about the future, it may be also about the past

People think of innovation as something that is in the future, something that has never been tried before, and awaits to be discovered or imitated from others. However, important innovations may also be in the past. Many countries can tell about wonderful education experiences, often rooted in local cultures and ideas, that made a difference in the national context and that were left behind in the name of modernity. Many of them remain alive as proud memory and also as inspiration for meaningful current policies and practices. In education, and in many other fields, not everything related to the past is bad or outdated, and not everything related to an imagined future is bright and good.
▸ Innovation is nourished by collaboration, not competition 

People tend to associate innovation with isolated individuals or institutions rather than with groups and teams. However, innovation flourishes where there is collaboration rather than competition. Learning to collaborate is a key challenge for school systems, mostly dedicated to cultivate competition, forcing students to compete with each other in the name of "excellence". In highly competitive and individualistic societies, learning to collaborate is also a challenge at the workplace, in social and political life. In an increasingly competitive world and with an increasingly competitive Global Education Reform Movement (GERM), chances of technological and social innovation become slimmer.

▸ Innovators get better with age 

Contrary to popular belief, the capacity to innovate and the quality of the innovation become better with age. Research shows that "the age of eventual Nobel Prize winners when making a discovery, and of inventors when making a significant breakthrough, averaged around 38 in 2000, an increase of about six years since 1900." "A 55-year-old and even a 65-year-old have significantly more innovation potential than a 25-year-old." Reasons for this include: 1. It is necessary to learn the patterns before daring and being able to break them. 2. The capacity to learn from mistakes is essential for innovating and it grows with age. 3. Gray hair gives more confidence and better capacity to convince others. The Finnish school model considers that a teacher is better equipped for good teaching after ten years of practice. All this contradicts "common sense" and regular practices in school systems worldwide, where "old" teachers are often forced to retire when many of them are in the best years of their careers.

▸ Innovations are of very different kinds and scopes  

Innovations may have an eminently transforming or an eminently preserving nature, and may vary greatly in scope and impact. Some innovations challenge the conventional  education model in important aspects ("disruptive", "radical", "alterative", "transformative", "paradigmatic", are some of the terms used); others focus on marginal modifications. Some innovations produce the illusion of change, while replicating conventional teaching-learning practices (this is often the case of innovations that rely on technologies as main motors of change). Many are the result of exceptional situations and processes and are thus hardly replicable in other contexts. Many operate in well-controlled micro conditions and are thus hard to scale-up. Most innovations do not transcend the micro and the local level. Few reach the required depth, consistency and persistence to become true educational alternatives. 

▸ Innovations are never totally innovative  

Experiences considered "innovative" may have one or more innovative components, while other aspects remain unchanged. Continuity and discontinuity, tradition and innovation, are not mutually exclusive. In fact, education carries the double mission of preserving tradition and promoting change, learning about the past while preparing for the future. Very often innovations in education are related to administration, organization and infrastructure, which are the easiest to for top-down initiative and control; curricular and pedagogical innovations are hard to sustain since they require educators' will, motivation and competencies. In this terrain, attention is usually given to instructional materials; less attention is given to critical dimensions such as changes in role/behavior, knowledge production, dissemination and use, understanding, internalization of values, etc. Influencing the real curriculum and changing the teaching culture (stereotypes, ideologies, styles, practices) have proven the most difficult and challenging.

 

▸ The starting point for innovation is critical awareness and analysis of practice

Innovation implies seeing the obvious with new eyes, or putting into practice what is already known. Innovation is often about old ideas being resuscitated, rejuvenated, placed in new contexts or applied to new issues, or about new combinations of the same ideas, or about new components integrated into old ones. While external inputs and stimuli are important, change takes place when it involves ownership, understanding, reflection and critical analysis of one's own practice. 

▸ Educational change requires working at both macro and micro levels 

The term innovation is usually associated with local actors and initiatives and with on-the-ground experiences. The term reform, on the contrary, is associated with large-scale, top-down initiatives, coming from governments and/or international agencies. Educational development and change require both bottom-up and top-down efforts. Sustained and effective change is systemic and this requires complementary and coordinated interventions at both levels. If the school is the focus of change, students, teachers and parents must be placed at the center of the process. Trusting teachers, empowering them, investing in their professional autonomy and status, are essential conditions to ensure building school change from the ground up.

▸ Innovation must be based on realistic grounds  

Perennial, ambitious or radical reform projects often succumb to reality, leaving in their wake skepticism and increasing resistance to change. Many times, changes proposed are too complex or not feasible under concrete conditions and proposed timetables. Typically, teachers are expected to change long-entrenched teaching models and styles with little explanation and short in-service training courses; group work and participatory methods are prescribed regardless of overcrowded classrooms, overloaded curricula or lack of the minimal physical conditions; parental and community involvement in the school is promoted in the absence of any tradition of such involvement and of information, communication or capacity-building efforts. A thorough diagnosis of the starting point and of actual conditions - including resistance to the changes proposed (often confused with "resistance to change" in general), especially when they are not properly communicated and understood - is essential for effective reform implementation.

▸ The innovation process takes time 

Developing, consolidating, institutionalizing and expanding an innovation takes time. Based on lessons from concrete experiences, some authors recommend an initial period of three to five years, and others even a decade or more, before starting an expansion and dissemination process. The fact is that it is easy to initiate innovation but it is hard to sustain and institutionalize it. Many innovative initiatives die before they can even walk by themselves. The field of educational innovation is full of tombs, an indication of the complexities involved and of the haste and simplistic approaches adopted by policy makers and administrators. Survival beyond a limited period of time becomes an indicator of success in itself.

▸ Consolidating and expanding innovation requires a careful strategy  

Systemic does not mean simultaneous: change requires a progressive experimentation and implementation strategy that foresees the different stages and components, the necessary conditions, capacities, resources, support and evaluation to be provided along the way. Understanding, ownership and full involvement of those engaged in the innovation process are conditions for its success. Resistance of some sort must be expected, and a strategy devised to deal with it from the beginning rather than letting it come as a surprise. It is also important to bear in mind that, while initial steps may be encouraging, innovation does not follow a linear evolution: reversion or stagnation is common, as revealed by reports on innovations and reforms that went back into the "old" ways.

▸ Innovation can capture educators' enthusiasm provided that certain conditions are met  

The much-repeated "resistance" of teachers to change has less to do with teachers' characteristics than with what is required of them and under what conditions. Experience has taught teachers that "change" is routine rhetoric in education, something that comes in waves and always from the top. If desired change does not occur within a given (usually short) period of time, it is the teachers who are blamed, not the architects of the plan. Changing teachers' role is not something that can be imposed from the outside and taught through brief lectures or courses. No change in school culture should be expected if it continues to be an external push, and if teachers continue to be viewed as mere implementors.

▸ Innovation is not primarily about money

Often, the possibility of promoting change is perceived primarily as a financial issue. However, abundant international experience, research and evaluation show that higher spending in education is not necessarily related to improved teaching or improved learning. The most important, sustainable and promising change in education has to do with mentalities, with values and attitudes towards education, towards teaching and learning, and towards learners. Ultimately, it is the will to change, at all levels, from central bureaucracies to school classrooms, that makes change foreseeable and possible.

▸ Innovation is not about saying but about doing 

Educational rhetoric has been characterized by ambitious goals and grandiloquent words. Trends towards homogenization and "global education reform" have resulted in a well-known set of words: equity, quality, improvement, decentralization, school autonomy, teacher professionalization, assessment, evaluation, standardized testing, 'merit pay', parental and community involvement, cost-sharing, partnerships, consensus-building, focus on learning, participatory approaches, learner-centered methodologies, learner-friendly schools, technology in education, 1 to 1 models, and, of course, innovation.

There is a big gap between words and facts. Often, programmes are considered innovative because they say they are innovative; education reform proposals are confused with actual reform processes and results; curriculum reform is often considered a document; access to modern technologies and to the Internet is confused with actual and effective use, and taken as equivalent to innovation and change; etcetera. Real innovation and change must be perceivable, not intended.

▸ Innovative experiences cannot be transplanted  

Education and learning are highly dependant on the actors engaged and on the contexts in which they develop. Historical, political, economic, social, cultural, linguistic and other dimensions shape education realities. In a way, each experience is unique. What is innovative in one place may be perfectly conventional in another; what is feasible and what works in a certain context may be rejected or prove ineffective in a different one. There is no "what works/what does not work" in general. Accepting this and acknowledging diversity would avoid the usual temptation to "model" successful experiences and try to replicate them with little or no regard for the particular context and conditions that enable, and ultimately explain, them. 

Innovative experiences may inspire or challenge similar attempts elsewhere but cannot be adopted - and sometimes even adapted - successfully from one context to another. Innovation is about search, exploration and experimentation, not about importing ready-to-use 'one size fits all' models.

▸ Little is still known about educational change   

The nature of educational change is complex and as yet not fully understood. Little is still known on how innovations are initiated, developed, disseminated and institutionalized. "Success stories" and "best practices" tend to be described superficially and included in boxes in national and international reports. We lack information about cultures and contexts, dynamics and contradictions involved in the process. Educational and pedagogical change worldwide would benefit enormously from thorough contextual and in situ studies (not mere accounts), analyses (not mere descriptions) and debate (not just information sharing) on successful and sustainable innovative practices.

To learn more

- 5 Principles of Innovation
- Redes 102: La manera disruptiva de aprender (video, Spanish)

Related texts in OTRAƎDUCACION

» 12 Theses on Educational Change | 12 tesis para el cambio educativo
» The 4 As as criteria to identify "good practices" in education
» ¿Educar para adaptar? | Education for Adaptation?
» Los espejismos de la innovación en educación
» Glosario mínimo sobre la educación en Finlandia
» Escuela Nueva: An innovation within formal education (Colombia)
» WISE Prize for Education Laureates: Bottom-Up Innovators