Kevin Brown, Head Of School at International School of Ikast Brande explores the education system from different sides and questions, what knowledge and skills are we really trying to develop in our young people?
I am currently in Denmark but this topic resonates around the world. Is academic attainment or social development the key factor in a great education? Should we grade or assess to produce an effective and efficient student or should the dynamics of social skills become dominant? Is the holistic view better or should we focus on ability?
Here in the Nordic countries the social aspect is the biggest push for Governments, in Denmark the social construct shows through in many aspects of education, almost no assessment, even less examinations and the thought that everyone is equal means no real standout results to compare.
Nordic educational systems have been seen globally as the ‘best socially based educational systems in the world’ something to be admired and followed but look closer and you will see the cracks.
'In Danish schools between 13-17% of all ‘teachers’ in schools have no training at all!'
Reported by the OHCHR (Office of the High commissioner human rights) they said that the Finnish education system shows, ‘an overall decline in achievements, a worrying increase in students’ needs for support, and the shortage of qualified teachers, especially for early childhood education and care, as well as special needs. 2023’. In Sweden there are worrying trends of violence and aggression toward both pupils and teachers arising in many school districts. Issues of poor immigrant integration and the rise of the ‘free school’ for profit systems; that Sweden originally was admired for; has caused massive financial issues as schools reduced good education and instead focussed on increasing profit taking.
Recently here in Denmark, one Kommune area 43 out of 45 schools refused to accept the Governments budgets, battling to meet government needs and union pushed increases in teacher salaries. The incoming simply doesn’t match the outgoing. Educational newspapers are reporting on increased aggression in schools, along with high levels of bullying and assaults. Teacher applicants continue to fall even though starting salaries are higher than in most of Europe and the government has scrambled to rearrange teacher training in 2024. In Danish schools between 13-17% of all ‘teachers’ in schools have no training at all!
The social approach isn’t all it is made out to be.
We could look to the Far East, which always tops the PISA leagues, outstanding results and high academics are often the focus of an entire family with students pushed to continually achieve better. The downside is the mental health issues, long school days and additional lessons after school. Outcome based education also has its flaws. In South Korea the college entrance exam is eight hours long! Is it a surprise that South Korea has one of the biggest self-harm percentages for young people in the world?
What does all this mean for educators who simply want the best education for their students? Put simply if schools have issues around curricular, attainment pressure, weak staffing, low training, finances and social problems then gaining a worthwhile education can be a struggle both to deliver and learn it. If we push too hard for outcomes, we risk mental health issues, high self-harm rates and a student’s focus only on achievement instead of their social well-being.
Every school and every country are different, but one thing is clear, the social aspect of our youth is changing faster than we can keep up. Mobile phones, instant gratification and enjoyment on a small screen, a young person being taken down the rabbit hole of focussed advertisement that removes their critical thinking, limits consideration of the facts and polarises their outlook. Instant answers by AI, continuous online progressive learning, already being tested in the USA, a lack of reading and the offer of an easy life by social media where everyone is a star are all pressures that students today and, in the future, will be subjected to.
'The top two recognised skills are critical and creative thinking and yet almost no curriculum in the world has it as a set topic.'
The WEF OECD and multiple big corporations clearly state that a worker in the next decade must be able to learn, relearn and reskill to be successful at work. The top two recognised skills are critical and creative thinking and yet almost no curriculum in the world has it as a set topic. There are of course groups of forward thinkers who include it in curricular, often through privately purchased schemes. The other top ten skills include, empathy, dedication, resilience, digital literacy and leadership with a focus on producing quality work. Many of us do some of these through mentoring and coaching programs, leadership development, ICT and computer work but is there a national curriculum which targets all these skills?
Quality work can only be developed through assessment, feedback and reworking yet in social educational systems these are being reduced, but how do we develop resilience if we are never taught how to overcome adversity and failure? How do we know what success feels like if we have never felt failure? The social construct fails to relate to the real world of work.
In academic constructs empathy and the softer skills are set aside. Production of high-quality work is key and yet it fails to support a balanced life, high burn out, fear of failure and work pressures cause problems later in life. Japan has one of the lowest work engagement statistics with the cause of poor well-being of individuals at the core of the issue. This is where empathy, leadership and wellbeing need to be in focus, yet the education system is driven toward university entry, academic outcomes and being a good citizen rather than developing good leaders with empathy toward others.
Maybe it is time to stop and re-evaluate what education is supposed to be about.
The OECD in its future work paper states that ‘Education needs to aim to do more than prepare young people for the world of work; it needs to equip students with the skills they need to become active, responsible and engaged citizens.’ On page six of the document ‘The future of education and skills Education 2030’ OECD they list what education systems should do to meet future needs.
I have, like others, changed my curricular to include such skill topics often at the expense of time in other subjects. Its not a perfect solution and cultures affect things heavily but it is moving toward developing a better future citizen. All we need is the will, desire and drive to make the difference but that starts at the national and curricular level not at the individual.
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