Three Educational Scenarios for the Future: lessons from the sociology of knowledge

Abstract

This article draws on social realist approaches in the sociology of knowledge and in light of them constructs three scenarios for the future of education in the next decades. The primary focus of the article is on one of the most crucial questions facing educational policy makers — the relationship between school and everyday or common sense knowledge. The different possibilities for how the school/non‐school knowledge boundaries might be approached are expressed in three scenarios —‘boundaries treated as given’, ‘a boundary‐less world’ and the idea of ‘boundary maintenance as a condition for boundary crossing’. The curriculum implications of each are explored and the article makes the case for the third scenario. The factors likely to make one or other scenario dominate educational policy in the next 20–30 years are also considered.

Italian signposts for a sociologically and critically engaged pedagogy. Don Lorenzo Milani (1923–1967) and the schools of San Donato and Barbiana revisited

“…(Freire, 1994) In watering down curricula on the pretext that it renders them closer to life, one is again shortchanging students, denying them mastery of certain areas which prove crucial in terms of economic and political success. Young and Muller (2010) argue along similar lines. They critique different forms of progressive discourses on education for providing what can be a watered down version of education.…”

The contested introduction of linguistics in the Dutch exam; A historical curriculum study on the relationship between school subjects and academic disciplines

“…In doing so we provide an illustration of the relationship between school subjects and academic disciplines that is often ignored in curriculum research (see Mickan, 2013) or is mainly touched upon in a more general manner, whereas, concealed or not, it plays an important role in the negotiations about the contents of school subjects, as is already illustrated by previous studies like Goodson (1983) and Stengel (1997), and more recently Young (2008), Young & Muller (2010) and Deng (2013).…”

Possible futures for science and engineering education

“…The first is what he and Young call 'traditionalism', which is based on an under-socialised concept of knowledge and the second they call 'progressivism', where there is an over-socialisation of knowledge (Young and Muller 2010).…”

“…Muller (2015): The future of knowledge and skills in science and technology higher education Muller (2015) draws on an earlier piece co-authored with Young (Young and Muller 2010) to bring a sociology of knowledge perspective to the context of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education. In doing so, he undertakes an exercise in 'futures thinking' that presents the reader with three scenarios.…”