Knowledge

Knowing

Chapter 1 introduced a few of the key ideas that have governed educational thinking over the past 100-150 years. In this chapter attention is focussed on key ideas and thinkers who have contributed to current thinking. Consideration of alternative philosophies of education is a way to more intelligent understanding of what we do as educators and this chapter touches on some of the key theories that have influenced educational change over the centuries. The starting premise is that moving forward in time and making defensible decisions for society demands a good understanding of current global events and issues as well as knowledge of the literary and theoretical canon of thought in which our decisions are grounded.

There is no one way of ‘doing education’ and the more we know is likely to help the process. The journey individuals make through time and space is far from unified nor simple to comprehend. Diverse patterns of thought from philosophers as well as enduring views from ancient cultures, developing nations, and surviving indigenous cultures are especially informative, if only for highlighting how to avoid poor decisions. Combined voices add to our levels of wisdom. They help individuals shed ignorance and enhance meaning in their personal lives. And, by adding diverse perspectives to the pool of knowledge the goal can be inclusive of views from recognised or published sources as well as local communities and their citizens. A composite mosaic provides a rich tapestry of ideas from which to consider how to respond to problems such as the challenges posed during disruptive events such as global pandemics.

Mostly it can be said, voices from the past provide clues to the thought processes in decision making today. For this purpose and for historical reference some further exploration of their ideas is considered in this chapter. The logic is that the past provides the launching ground for finding solutions for contemporary education. It can also explain the lethargy in institutional responses to clearly signalled local, national, and global events. Societal governance shapes the cognitive powers of the people and their definition of knowledge. By inference, it is historical context that in part explains omissions, biases, and prejudices. It’s the dragon in the room. Hence, one of the fundamental questions raised in the outset of this book is what is knowledge? As Karl Popper (2009) argues the fundamental problem rests with viewing epistemological views of knowledge as the search for validity compared with the psychological view of knowledge as fact. Induction versus deduction. Philosophers have attempted to answer this question for centuries and any resolution of the problem is unlikely soon. In fact, the plethora of digital platforms offering alternate views of reality is adding to the complexity of the problem and likely to distance reality further and further from the past.

Let the imaginary mind wander. Fast track in time 50 years the archaeological finds related to the present may well sign post remarkable new directions in the life patterns of the twenty-first century Anthropocene. It’s the defining moment in time for the ‘E’ world! Indeed, some have argued that the pandemic has precipitated societal change on a scale akin to the Industrial Revolution. The changes to people’s ways of living are massive and unlikely to revert to past ways. Working and studying from home have become increasingly efficient. Transactions by mobile devices are ubiquitous. Time is saved and costs of travel are minimised. Transactions are not so much in real time as a time which best suits the worker’s lifestyle and competing commitments. Climate change is real, past behaviours are not sustainable, and young people know it. In brief, control of time and space has shifted to the individual. Identity politics has, and is, rapidly changing traditional values. How have (will) institutions and governments responded to this shift in power in the coming decades?