Every generation has a responsibility to ask what skills and knowledge are most essential for children to learn. Some necessary and fundamental skills will change little over time- like being able to read and write, or master maths. Others will change depending on technological developments and the requirements of an evolving jobs market. The education system should prepare every young person for the world of work and enable them to fulfil their potential as active and happy members of society.
As the world becomes increasingly automated, one popular estimate is that 65 per cent of children that entered primary school in 2016 will by the time they are economically active (in 15 or so years) work in completely new jobs that do not exist today. It is more important now than ever that we set learning priorities for young people that are grounded in a rigorous assessment of what skills will be required of them when they enter the workforce.
One of the key strands of Nesta’s work in education focuses on identifying what the main skills gaps will be and what educators and policymakers can do to anticipate them. Evidence set out in the recent report Solved! Making the case for collaborative problem solving demonstrates that complex human faculties, like problem-solving and social skills will be the hardest to automate and so will be the most in demand in the future workplace. The report, produced in partnership with UCL Institute of Education (IOE) and UCL Knowledge Lab, calls for policymakers, educators and innovators to adapt to equip young people with skills needed for the future. Despite a growing pool of evidence supporting this call to action, public policy, and everyday practice in schools, often seems to be moving in an opposite direction.
In reality, the education system has barriers that stifle collaborative problem solving
skills: individual assessment prevails and concerns over behaviour management and lack of training for teachers means that most education systems remain focused on memory and knowledge tasks that are the easiest to automate.
Knowledge and a thorough understanding of the subjects being studied continue to be important. However, students must also be able to apply this knowledge, to explain it clearly to others, to combine it with knowledge from other subject areas, and be able to use it to solve problems collaboratively.
In 2017 the OECD will publish its first country rankings for collaborative problem solving. PISA ratings for maths, reading and science have become a prominent feature of educational debate and media coverage. The OECD has recognised for some time that these subtler skills are becoming more important, and has been keen to ensure that the metrics keep up with the reality. National policymakers should follow.