Foreword
The past year has seen generative artificial intelligence go mainstream - big time. Powerful generative AI models, cutting-edge large language models, and AI tools for everything from artwork, graphic design and music – even the release of an AI-generated Beatles song - demonstrate AI’s rapid evolution and integration into everyday life. Education is part of this new world. Teenagers are already asking chatbots to help them compose essays, solve maths problems and much more. Teachers are using the same technologies to create lesson plans and grade the work of students. While using AI for learning poses significant challenges, establishing the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that should be learned and taught in a world heavily shaped by AI is even more difficult. Education policy has struggled to catch up on both fronts.
With AI set to become even more powerful, alongside other developments like renewable technologies and digitalisation, education will need to adapt – quickly. The jobs of the future will require individuals who can create value through their creativity, critical thinking and collaborative spirit. The demand for innovative thinking will be greater than ever before. So how can we best foster 21st Century skills that empower all students to shape their own destinies and contribute meaningfully to society?
There is no simple answer. But as we stand on the precipice of a new era, we need to find bold and innovative solutions so students can realise their full potential. We need to ensure that every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, has access to relevant education. And in a world in which the kinds of things that are easy to teach and test have also become easy to digitise and automate, we need to develop learning environments that nurture the skills of the future.
The conventional approach in school is often to break problems down into manageable bits and pieces and then to teach students how to solve the different parts. But modern societies create value by synthesising different fields of knowledge, making connections between ideas that previously seemed unrelated. That requires being familiar with and receptive to knowledge in other fields.
In today’s schools, students typically learn individually and at the end of the school year, we certify their individual achievements. But the more interdependent the world becomes, the more we need great collaborators and orchestrators. Innovation is now rarely the product of individuals working in isolation, but rather an outcome of how we mobilise, share and integrate knowledge.
The well-being of societies depends increasingly on people’s capacity to take collective action. Schools therefore need to become better at helping students learn to develop an awareness of the pluralism of modern life. That means teaching and rewarding collaboration as well as individual academic achievement, enabling students both to think for themselves, and to act for and with others.
More generally, changing skill demands have elevated the role of social and emotional skills. They include character qualities such as perseverance, empathy or perspective taking, mindfulness, ethics, courage and leadership. These skills, in turn, intersect with diversity in important ways. They can help students live and work in a world in which people increasingly need to appreciate a range of ideas, perspectives and values, and collaborate with people of different cultural origins, often bridging space and time through technology.
The challenge is that developing these cognitive, social and emotional capabilities requires a different approach to learning and teaching. It also requires a different calibre of teachers. For now, countries can get away with low teacher quality if teaching is mainly about imparting prefabricated knowledge. When teacher quality is low, governments tend to tell their teachers exactly what to do and exactly how they want it done, using an industrial organisation of work to get the results they want. Today the challenge is to make teaching a profession of advanced knowledge workers, who work with a high level of professional autonomy and within a collaborative culture.
But such people will not work as exchangeable widgets in schools organised like rigid Taylorist factories, which rely mainly on administrative forms of accountability, and bureaucratic command-and-control systems to direct their work. To attract the best people, modern education systems need to transform the way schools are organised, to one in which professional norms of control replace bureaucratic and administrative forms of control.
Far too often, schools are divided and disconnected from the real world, with teachers and content split between subjects, and students separated according to their expected career prospects. Schools are designed to keep students inside, and the rest of the world outside; with a lack of engagement with families and a reluctance to partner with other schools. This kind of isolation, in a world of complex learning systems, will seriously limit potential.
In contrast, effective learning environments are constantly creating synergies and finding new ways to enhance professional, social and cultural capital with others. That’s why the future needs to be integrated – with an emphasis on the inter-relation of subjects, the integration of students and fostering connections with other schools, businesses and the wider community. Instruction in the future needs to be more project-based; building experiences that help students think across the boundaries of subject-matter disciplines. This will make learning more closely related to real-world contexts and contemporary issues, and helps create innovative partnerships.
The way children are taught also needs to change. Currently, different students are often taught in similar ways. Now school systems need to embrace diversity with differentiated approaches to learning. The goals of the past were standardisation and compliance, with students educated in age cohorts, following the same standard curriculum, all assessed at the same time. The future is about building instruction from students’ passions and capacities, helping students personalise their learning and assessments in ways that foster engagement and talent. It’s about encouraging students to be ingenious.
Policy makers also need to consider their priorities. In the past, policy focused on providing education; now it needs to put the spotlight on outcomes, shifting from looking upwards in the bureaucracy towards looking outwards to the next teacher, the next school and the next education system. Administrations have usually emphasised school management; now the focus needs to be on instructional leadership, with school leaders supporting, evaluating and developing high-quality teachers and designing innovative learning environments. We need to move from a system centred on quality control, to a future focused on quality assurance.
The challenge is that this kind of system transformation cannot be mandated by government. A top-down approach would only lead to surface compliance. However, true systematic change cannot be built solely from the ground up, either.
So what needs to happen? Government plays a key role in building and communicating the case for change and articulating a guiding vision for 21st-century learning. It acts as stimulator and enabler; it can focus resources, encourage an innovative policy climate, and use accountability and reporting modifications to encourage new educational practice.
But educators need to do more too. Educational leaders need to identify key agents of change, champion them, and find more effective approaches to scaling and disseminating innovations. That is also about finding better ways to recognise, reward and give exposure to success, to do whatever is possible to make it easier for innovators to take risks and encourage the emergence of new ideas.
AI will contribute to this transformation, potentially serving as a powerful tool for both teachers and students alike. In the past, schools were technological islands, with technology often limited to supporting existing practices, and students outpacing schools in their adoption and consumption of new technology. Now schools need to use the potential of technologies to liberate learning from past conventions and connect learners in new and powerful ways.
By harnessing the power of data and AI, educators can offer tailored recommendations and interventions, transforming the educational experience. Adaptive learning systems and intelligent tutoring platforms represent just a fraction of the tools being developed, offering targeted support and guidance both inside and outside the classroom. Digitalisation also promises cost efficiencies and time-saving benefits across various educational processes. From streamlined administrative tasks to automated grading systems, technology potentially optimises teachers’ time, allowing them to focus on their students and enriching educational experiences.
There are, of course, important limitations to AI; and technology alone is not enough to transform education. It is also imperative to strike a balance between leveraging technology to enhance learning experiences and mitigating its negative impact on student focus and well-being. Data from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has already shown that the pervasiveness of digital devices tends to exacerbate distractions and hinder learning outcomes.
While capable of some degree of personalisation, AI also lacks the intuition and human touch of teachers. Unlike algorithms and automated systems, teachers possess empathy and emotional intelligence necessary to recognise when a student is struggling, both academically and emotionally. They can offer personalised support, encouragement and reassurance, tailoring their approach to meet the individual needs of each student.
Teachers also play a crucial role in fostering a sense of community and belonging within the classroom. They create a supportive learning environment where students feel safe to take risks, ask questions and express themselves freely. This human connection is irreplaceable and can significantly impact a student ’s overall well-being and academic success.
So how should educators navigate this digital landscape? The effective integration of digital technology into education demands a skilled and adaptable workforce. Teachers must possess the digital competencies necessary to harness technology effectively, from integrating AI into teaching to navigating complex digital ecosystems. To this end, countries are investing in professional development opportunities and other initiatives to enhance teachers’ digital skills.
We must also remain vigilant against the spectre of algorithmic bias. Just as in other sectors, AI-driven systems in education have the potential both to mitigate inequalities by providing learners with better tailored learning opportunities and to perpetuate and even exacerbate existing inequalities. Whether it’s through uneven performance across demographic groups or the replication of human biases, the consequences of unchecked algorithmic bias are profound, threatening to undermine the very foundations of fairness and equity in education. As the technology develops, so too must our safeguards against this risk and others, from cyber threats to data breaches.
Balancing the benefits of using educational data with privacy concerns requires a nuanced approach that combines technical solutions with robust governance frameworks. As AI and other advanced technologies become more prevalent in education, maintaining human oversight and ensuring equitable access to digital resources is crucial.
School life also needs to adapt to the changing environment. In today’s knowledge-based economy, learning doesn’t end with graduation; it is a lifelong journey. Yet, currently, adult learning systems vary significantly across OECD countries, with those in greatest need often receiving the least training. As the pace of technological innovation accelerates and job requirements evolve, individuals must continually update their skills and knowledge to stay competitive in the workforce.
Governments and teacher organisations must therefore prioritise lifelong learning initiatives that empower individuals of all ages to pursue their educational goals. This includes expanding access to adult education programmes, promoting vocational training and apprenticeships, and incentivising continuous professional development for educators. Technological advancement and digital courses, such as micro-credentials, can help in this regard. By investing in peoples’ futures, regardless of their age, we can ensure that all members of society have the opportunity to thrive in the 21st-century economy.
None of this is easy. But future-oriented policy making is vital, particularly given the immense challenges the world faces. As part of the sustainable development goals, UN member states vowed to provide all children with free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030. AI holds the potential to bring humanity a major step closer to this goal. But as of today, hundreds of millions of children still receive no education across the globe. We can’t let education slip down the political agenda. Quality education is what breaks cycles of poverty, reduces inequality and empowers people to live healthier, sustainable lives. Education is the key to preparing individuals for the economy of tomorrow. In our fast-changing world, it’s a challenge that policymakers must embrace.
Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General