Education’s Future: Trends, Policies, and Social Impact
The Future of Education: International Policies and New Technologies
Regarding marginal prostitution, from an educational perspective, many individuals lack the necessary skills to secure decent employment. This is often linked to broader issues of poverty and social exclusion.
However, the most serious situation affects those immersed in a state of poverty and/or risk of social exclusion. It’s important to note that, currently, an increasing number of people with adequate training are experiencing poverty due to long-term unemployment. One-fifth of the Spanish population lives below the poverty line. The number of homeless individuals is increasing, in addition to those living in slums or substandard housing.
Considering this context, and from an educational standpoint, it is necessary to:
- Develop legislation that addresses the legitimate demands of diverse cultural groups.
- Gradually eliminate racial discrimination.
- Utilize communities themselves as educational resources.
- Encourage the participation of all involved sectors.
- Provide adequate budgetary resources.
Issues such as AIDS, drug addiction, violence, ecological damage, unemployment, and fundamentalism, among many others, require indirect educational interventions.
Current Trends in Education
Current educational models exhibit weaknesses that need addressing, as they don’t adequately respond to major social problems. This necessitates a rethinking of social policies.
Professor Garcia Garrido identifies three types of changes in future education policy:
- Substantive Changes: Educational policies must serve as an impetus to balance both the specifics of various peoples and regions, and the country overall. They must also incorporate a scale of ethical-humanist values.
- Structural Changes: Policies should be oriented towards educational forms that are regionalized and simultaneously open. Regionalization should not mean being closed to the projects of other individuals or groups. The educational process should be participatory, enhancing the involvement of all community members.
- Functional Changes: Education policy has three functions: to support reasonable competitiveness without dehumanizing, to guide and inform without being manipulative, and to promote solidarity.
Furthermore, the new reality may require us to evolve pedagogically from a quantitative concept to more qualitative planning, and towards permanent or continuing education.
In the field of disabilities, we must emphasize the need to remove barriers that go beyond mere architecture.
Consensus among all social, cultural, and political sectors, along with institutional and citizen participation, is urgently needed.
Approaches to Education Policies
Regarding the future of education, several issues affect most countries. Among them, we highlight the following:
Educational Decentralization
There seems to be a general consensus calling for greater autonomy. However, some authors caution against certain claims, suggesting that the real intent may sometimes be to safeguard privileged situations rather than genuine cultural, social, or economic progress. Nevertheless, real decentralization remains a valuable ideal, as genuine education cannot develop without a wide range of autonomy.