EDUCATION FOR THE GOOD SOCIETY - Support

13 The most comprehensiverecent researched case for lifelonglearning is Tom Schuller andDavid Watson’s Learning ThroughLife: Inquiry into the Future forLifelong Learning, NIACE, 2009.14 See, for example, RichardSennett’s The Craftsman, AllenLane, 2008.15 See an upcoming pieceby Michael Young for anargument from the Left aboutthe importance of subjects inthe school curriculum: ‘Thereturn to subjects: a sociologicalperspective on the UK CoalitionGovernment’s approach to the14–19 curriculum’, The Curriculum,forthcoming.16 This is an aim of UnionLearnand its approach to workplaceskill development through unionbargaining (see www.unionlearn.org.uk/).17 See Allson Fuller andLorna Unwin, TowardsExpansive Apprenticeships,ESRC Teaching and LearningResearch Programme, www.tlrp.org/pub/documents/apprenticeshipcommentaryFINAL.pdf.the formal education system and greater capacityfor the self-organisation of education by thecommunity, civil society organisations and individuals.It points us towards more emancipatoryconcepts of organisation associated with theearly days of the labour and socialist movementsand an understanding of why the concept of freeschools might possess a grain of truth, despite theall too evident flaws. Education for transformationcannot be rooted solely within the state as itis currently constructed.Institutions that promote learningand living togetherThe values of mutualism, reciprocity and a senseof place require educational institutions thatembody these values. The Right advocates institutionsof segregation and selfishness – eachfor themselves – despite its more rational casefor independence and freedom. The vision ofthe Good Society, on the other hand, suggeststhe remaking of the moral argument for thecommon school, and democratic participationand accountability in communities and localitiesto meet the needs of all learners and to promote asense of inter-dependence.Lifelong learningAn expanded concept of education, formal andinformal, has to be nurtured over the life-courseand is not simply confined to schooling forchildren and young people. The idea of lifelonglearning is compelling because it improveseconomic, social and individual well-being. Theeducation of adults is, therefore, a key indicatorof a successful education system for the GoodSociety. 13A curriculum and qualificationsLearning, curriculum and the process of becomingqualified are of vital importance. Learning shouldbe about openness and discovery. Young peopleand adults learn more effectively when they aremotivated, understand why they are learning andcan use knowledge to make sense of the world. Acurriculum for the Good Society will thus placevalue on all types of knowledge and skill. The skillof the craftsperson, doing a good job for its ownsake, 14 deserves as much recognition as the questfor knowledge and greater awareness. The curriculumwill have to encourage confrontation withthe great challenges of the age – poverty, oppressionand the climate crisis – so that educationplays its role in helping society address its deepestproblems.Learning for the Good Society will also meaneducators finding ways to help all learnersengage with what has been termed ‘powerfulknowledge’, so this does not become the preserveof the few. 15 In the future, educators will haveto focus far less on selection and far more ondeveloping the highest standards and nurturingpersonal development – the music test principlein practice.Education, the economy and innovationin the workplaceWorkplaces are prime sites of learning andhave enormous educational potential. However,evidence suggests that existing workplaces –often exploitative, oppressive and undemocratic– provide restrictive learning opportunities andcan fail to harness creativity. Education for theGood Society needs to have a vision of theworkplace that promotes democratic participationand more collective control as an integralpart of learning, 16 moving them from a restrictiveto more expansive learning environments. 17The first stage of the education for the GoodSociety project is to establish the principles andpoint of education. Then and only then will wediscuss and debate the shape of the educationsystem. Form must follow function. An e-bookwill shortly be published by Compass dealingwith these big themes and issues. After they havebeen debated, refined and developed we willbegin the second stage to discuss how. This iswhere it will get hard and we will need help, ideas,experience and critical engagement from all whowant a Good Society and know education has acentral role in delivering and being that GoodSociety. So we finish by addressing some of thedifficult questions we know we must face.Facing difficult questions in order tocreate a new common senseEducation for the Good Society will involve abattle of ideas and practices. A humanitarianand transformative vision of educationwill be strongly opposed by those seeking to12 | www.compassonline.org.uk