The purpose and future of education in OECD’s and UNESCO’s 2030 educational policies

Abstract

In the everyday discussion on schools and education, where technical and practical issues around systems and organizations are often at the forefront, fundamental questions are often missing regarding the purpose of education in the context of our common future in this world. Some scholars have pointed towards the important role of education in dealing with societal changes in the 21st century, but education systems seem to have been hesitant to deal with fundamental questions around the content and purpose of education in that relation. However, the responsibility of education in dealing with the overarching challenges the world is facing, not least in relation to climate issues, has been pressing lately, both among academics as well as from other directions. In the projects ahead, questions relating to the purpose and future of education are inseparable.

Influential international organizations can have a strong impact on discourse and the creation of educational policies, as they invest time and money in developing educational policies, frameworks and indicators that nation states are encouraged to follow. Examples of such organizations are the OECD and UNESCO. These institutions have made an impact on educational policy making for years. Both institutions have recently published reports and policies, where they look towards the future and the challenges ahead.

Given this situation, the study explores messages in two key educational policy documents presented by the OECD and UNESCO. The two documents present the organizations’ policy directions towards 2030 and were both published following the launching of the Sustainable Development Goals. The two institutions have for years influenced educational policies, created indicators and frameworks, and used soft governance to influence policy making within nation states, Iceland included. Even though their actual influence on policy making is not always obvious, it is quite clear that they want to have an impact and put immense work and resources into doing so. Two research questions guide the analysis. First, how do the institutions present the purpose of education in relation to the future of the world? Second, who is included in the future their policies are directed towards?

The fundamentally different origins of the two organizations are reflected in the findings of the study. The OECD’s aims are always first and foremost economic, reflected in the immense work on developing indicators and creating competition between countries instead of cooperation. Even so, the OECD’s policy post-2015 presents broader aims than before, as it is connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG4 on quality education for all). However, the policy is directed towards the future of those who are free to move around the world, in a world of competition. Unfamiliar concepts are presented, such as inclusive growth, which are clearly supposed to represent an emphasis on inclusion and justice. One of the findings of this paper is that the OECD’s future policy does not represent a convincing turn towards a humanitarian emphasis.

UNESCO’s future policy, however, is broader and specifically addresses those who have fragile access to education. The policy emphasises education as a common good and centres on the purpose of education in relation to our common responsibility for the planet and the future. UNESCO’s educational policies have been criticized for being too wide-ranging and philosophical, presenting normative visions rather than realistic ideas. Even though it can be argued that this criticism can be applied to UNESCO’s 2030 policy, the purpose presented in the policy is quite clear and a valuable contribution to the conversation about the purpose of education in relation to the future. Whereas the policy presented by the OECD focuses more on technical and instrumental issues and on finding new ways for economies (and the Earth) to survive. UNESCO, on the other hand, places a stronger emphasis on access to education and the importance of belonging in our common world – aiming at a future in which we can all live together.