The OECD Scenarios for the Future of Schooling

This report explores four scenarios for the future of schooling by 2040, considering the impact of technology, society, and policy.

Excerpt from report:
“In 2001, the OECD published What Schools for the Future? (OECD, 2001[1]), a set of scenarios on the future of schooling and education. … This chapter presents an updated set of scenarios, drawing on the original thinking as well as over a decade of CERI work on Trends Shaping Education”

The OECD report presents four scenarios for the future of schooling by 2040, reflecting on the potential transformations in education systems. These scenarios are built upon advancements in technology, changes in societal expectations, and shifts in policy and governance. The report does not predict the future but offers a framework for considering how different factors might shape education. The scenarios are: Schooling Extended, Education Outsourced, Schools as Learning Hubs, and Learn-as-you-go. Each scenario explores different degrees of formal education, the role of technology, the involvement of community and private entities, and the implications for teaching and learning practices.

Drivers mentioned include:

• Employers continued reliance on traditional forms of education
• Investment in education R&D
• Digitalization
• Massification and extension of schooling
• speed of technological change
• New forms of work
• Increased number of sources for learning
• Increasingly educated parents
• Erosion of formal education credentials / skill set over qualifciations
• polarization and fragmentation in society
• Digitalization and AI
• Learning and skilling outside formal education and schooling
• embedding technologies in our lives (and our bodies)

Categories: 2030s time horizon | 2036 time horizon | 2040 time horizon | 2040s time horizon | English publication language | education | global geographic scope | learning hubs | outsource | schooling