Broadening horizons of the possible in education

Abstract

The social project of education always and already has a future orientation, which is filled with unrealized possibilities. In this way, educational settings serve as sites of promise and hope. This promise and hope, however, is riddled with a paradox: If the future is unknowable—and education can only occur in the known present—then how can the social project of education fulfill the promise and hope of preparing young people to realize the possibilities of an unknowable future? The purpose of this paper is to explore how educators have attempted to resolve this educating for unknown futures paradox (EUF-paradox) and push beyond it by considering whether a more expansive approach to education can broaden the horizon of what is possible in education.

The new science of possibility

“…Both require the generation of different possibilities. The role of uncertainty and the importance of educating for failure underlie Beghetto’s (2023) call for educators to move away from an educational model based on backwards designing from hypothesised outcomes. For Beghetto, the complexity of living in the determined present and preparing for the undetermined future leads to a paradox for educators.…”