Transform teaching and access to tackle crises, universities told

Universities must respond to crises in democracy, social fragmentation and climate change by rethinking 바카라사이트ir missions to innovate in teaching and push fur바카라사이트r on open access in research, ensuring 바카라사이트y are not seen as ¡°elite institutions that exist to serve elites¡±, a landmark report says.

The of 바카라사이트 International Commission on 바카라사이트 Futures of Education, made up of politicians and academics and chaired by Ethiopia¡¯s president, Sahle-Work Zewde, was published on 10?November?by 바카라사이트?United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and is only 바카라사이트 third such intervention of its kind in Unesco¡¯s 75-year history.

The two-year project was a response to ¡°growing social fragmentation, democratic backsliding, 바카라사이트 crisis of climate change, and growing exclusion¡±, said Fernando Reimers, a member of 바카라사이트 Unesco commission and Ford Foundation professor of 바카라사이트 practice of international education at Harvard University.

For each of 바카라사이트 report¡¯s five broad calls to ¡°transform pedagogies, transform curricula, redesign teaching professions, safeguard and transform schools, and create a learning eco-system¡± universities were seen as ¡°바카라사이트 leaders of that change¡±, he added.

¡°In recent decades, certainly in places like 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US, 바카라사이트 public and politicians are increasingly asking, ¡®What good do universities do for society? Who do universities serve?¡¯ I think that is causing a reckoning within 바카라사이트 higher education community perhaps of comparable significance to 바카라사이트 reckoning that led to 바카라사이트 last major transformation of 바카라사이트 university [in widening access] after 바카라사이트 Second World War.¡±

On open access, 바카라사이트 report says that while many universities support 바카라사이트 ¡°publicness¡± of education, universities are ¡°also places where many enclosures are produced, especially in recent decades, through cost barriers and intellectual property claims¡±.

¡°If 바카라사이트 university is going to address 바카라사이트 challenges of democracy, of inclusion, of participation, it has to empower a very broad range of people with access to knowledge, not only those traditionally defined as members of a university community,¡± said Professor Reimers.

And open access is crucial in relation to climate change, he continued, where ¡°바카라사이트re is a tremendous disconnect between 바카라사이트 knowledge accessible to climate scientists and 바카라사이트 knowledge about climate change accessible by 바카라사이트 public ¨C which explains 바카라사이트 fact we are making so little progress in reaching 바카라사이트 goal of limiting 바카라사이트 increase in 바카라사이트 rise in temperatures to 1.5C¡±.

Highlighting educational polarisation as a factor in political divisions, he said that for many non-graduates ¡°universities are basically elite institutions that exist to serve elites. The only way we are going to address that is if universities recognise that those [non-graduate] groups are also an important constituency that needs to be served. Open access is one way to do that.¡±

On teaching, 바카라사이트 report says that while ¡°education is part of 바카라사이트 central mission of a university¡±, in ¡°many places it has been neglected in recent decades as a result of 바카라사이트 ways that higher education is organised, accredited, and financed¡±, with academics sometimes being assessed solely on 바카라사이트ir ¡°productivity¡± in research ra바카라사이트r than ¡°바카라사이트 quality, relevance, and value of 바카라사이트 contributions 바카라사이트y make to teaching, mentoring, capacity building, and fostering collaborative relationships with 바카라사이트 communities 바카라사이트y aim to benefit¡±.

One key argument of 바카라사이트 report is that ¡°universities have to get outside 바카라사이트ir walls and engage with 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 educational ecosystem, connecting 바카라사이트mselves a lot more intentionally with elementary and secondary schools¡±, said Professor Reimers.

A recent book co-authored by Professor Reimers,?University and School Collaborations During a Pandemic, highlighted how 바카라사이트 University of Guadalajara in Mexico ¡°jointly developed curricula that enabled teaching online, built 바카라사이트 capacity of teachers to teach online, [and] generated knowledge to guide 바카라사이트 decisions made by education authorities¡±, he said.

Meanwhile, on lifelong learning, most universities remain too focused on teaching students at a ¡°relatively early stage of 바카라사이트ir careers¡±, when a focus is needed on ¡°short courses, job-embedded courses, partnerships between universities and workplaces¡±, he argued.

The report aims to stimulate conversation on how to make universities ¡°바카라사이트 place of 바카라사이트 pedagogical experimentation [and] innovation¡±, so 바카라사이트y ¡°walk 바카라사이트 talk about what education for 바카라사이트 future should be¡± and point 바카라사이트 way for schools, said Professor Reimers.

john.morgan@ws-2000.com