Abstract
Based on the review of theoretical literature on the nature of human beings and the purpose of education, the authors proposed a ten Gem conceptual academic framework of school education in chapter one. They followed it up with case studies on academic reforms in twelve selected countries. Referring back and forth between the theoretical construct and practices on the ground in the country cases, they have documented, in this chapter, lessons learned. Many countries practise elements of ten Gems and more, in bits and pieces, not all in the same region. The result is, hence, partial. The holistic development of students as global citizens continues to be a utopia. Based on the best practices drawn from different countries studied here, the authors have proposed an academic framework, adding one more element, optimising 25,000 hours of learning in the school years for nurturing a whole new generation to evolve as peaceful, happy, intelligent, global citizens with concern for fellow human beings anywhere and everywhere in the world.
TopLessons Learned
These countries unite on the commonality of goals and differ in details on how to reach the goals. Across the twelve countries, the common goal is a dignified life and quality education for all children. The spirit is that quality education is a fundamental right of all children irrespective of their country of origin (in the case of migrants), the social and economic status of the parents, and the geography of their living space. European countries with sizeable migrant populations and Canada have been articulate about equal and equitable opportunities for children of migrant parents with language and economic disadvantages. The countries differ in their detailed and enabling policy statements and reform agendas. Though 15-year K-12 is emerging as the global schooling norm, countries differ in structuring the 15-year schooling. There are commonalities in the curricular framework among the countries in conventional subjects like language, science, and social studies; there are also variations. For example, music, arts, dance, etc., is part of the core curriculum in a few countries. They differ in their school education system structures, curricular framework, and learning assessment, though not much on the teaching and learning processes.