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Towards a Holistic Education: Synergizing a Traditional Model of Transmission With Inquiry and SEE Learning

Towards a Holistic Education: Synergizing a Traditional Model of Transmission With Inquiry and SEE Learning

Carol Ann Inugai Dixon (University of Tsukuba, Japan)
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5107-3.ch006
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Abstract

In times of stability, when societies are not experiencing tectonic changes, established educational systems do not attract much attention. The systems tend to fulfil their purposes while contributing to the ongoing stability. In times of disruptive change, however, the power of education to transform is a potential source for innovative solutions to emerging problems. We live in such disruptive times where the changes have local and global impacts. In order to understand the scope and scale of the current situation, this chapter will take a broad look at education: its purposes, its recent history, and whether it is fit for the current paradigmatic shift that we are experiencing. An example of navigating educational changes through synergies in the Japanese national context with the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes of inquiry and a traditional transmission model of learning will be examined as a local phenomenon which reflects dynamics occurring globally. Additionally, the place of social emotional and ethical (SEE) learning for a holistic education will be considered.
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Globalization

Arguably, globalization has been going on for thousands of years as different peoples of the world have traded and migrated from place to place. But, because of population increases along with the most recent technological revolution, the digital revolution, the scale and speed of the phenomenon have brought about unprecedented changes. In fact, our times have been given geological status, being described as the Anthropocene by the Anthropocene Working Group (2017), such is the impact that we, as a species, are having on the environment because of our actions. And unfortunately, our impact has created problems serious enough for us to be extremely concerned about the ability of the planet to continue supporting us in the future. Drawing attention to these serious problems, and the need for solutions, the United Nation’s seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 (UN 2015) identify 169 targets and 232 indicators that describe and reveal in detail the extent of the global impact that humanity is having on its environment. Any responsible educational system concerned with the welfare of the world that people are sharing now, and hope to continue to do so in the future, must concern itself with these goals. In order to understand how best to do this though, and to educate for problem-solving on such a massive scale, as well as avoid further serious threats in the future, consideration of the nature of the typical traditional educational system that has, until relatively recently, successfully served industrial nations for hundreds of years, is necessary. Only by understanding the previous contexts that generated this typical model can effective changes be evaluated and planned to suit new emerging contexts.

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