A decade has passed since author, game designer, and educational thought leader Marc Prensky heralded the arrival of a new generation of students whose immersion in information technology distinguished them in fundamental ways from previous generations. Because they had spent their entire lives "surrounded by and using computers, videogames,…

While professional development (PD) has always been central to the teaching profession, increasingly traditional models of PD are out of step with contemporary ways of learning. Commiserate with the literature, we see the field moving along a continuum which reflects changes in what, how and when teachers learn. Following a brief sketch of the…

In the face of communication changes brought on by technology, journalism curriculum needs restructuring while staying true to its core values. Using an instructional design framework, and a case study, this paper proposes a journalism education based on Esser's spheres of influence. Current practices and principles are discussed. A literature…

This essay brings together two lines of inquiry. Firstly, I revisit research on futures in education conducted during the 1980s and re-examine some of the propositions and principles that this research generated about "the future" as an object of inquiry in education. Secondly, I argue that the language of complexity invites us to…

In an increasingly global world, where events in one corner of the world simultaneously affect other remote areas of the planet, global competition is becoming a continuously evolving phenomenon. Competition is also increasingly becoming an individual endeavor. Individual's own knowledge and skills will be the differentiators in a global economy.…

Traditionally, at least according to popular wisdom, learning took place in venues that were custom-designed for the purpose. The purpose, given the evidence of the artefacts with which we are confronted, seems to have been the educational equivalent of the production line that so succinctly characterised the industrialisation of society. One…

In support of the conclusions and recommendations in the National Education Technology Plan (NETP), this article makes explicit the connections between the economic rationale used in the plan and the educational transformations it recommends. The article reviews macroeconomic research, microeconomic research, labor market and workforce studies,…

Education has long been considered as playing a part in the construction or formation of self and identity. The processes of education and formation, being historically and culturally shaped, display the concerns and features of time and place. One of the distinguishing and influential features of contemporary western societies is communication…

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the relations between Carl Bereiter's and Marlene Scardamalia's knowledge-building approach and social practices. It is argued that technology enhances learning through transformed social practices. In order to truly contribute to educational transformation, pedagogical approaches have to be embedded…

Social work, like other professions, finds itself influenced by postmodernism and hypertechnology. Social work educators are striving to adapt in the face of rapidity of knowledge expansion and of technological advancement, which impact the nature of pedagogy. Recent emphases on effectiveness and efficiency of technological innovations are…

This article sets forth a conceptual, philosophical and social agenda for art and design education in the twenty-first century, considering how a set of beliefs articulated within US art education discourse interfaces with conceptualisations about emerging global digital media and technologies. Discussion highlights selected writings in the USA…

Article comments on contributions to an issue of Educational Policy that focuses on glocal politics of education in multiple national and international arenas. Commentary offered considers the ways in which the set of articles in this issue of EP require readers to take scalar leaps across the semiotic landscape of the local into the global. The…

Education "is" changing, as is knowledge more generally, to a significant degree energised by what has been described as the digital revolution. This has been widely discussed with references to notions such as globalisation, the New Media Age, open access, and the Network Society. Something definitely to be considered is what this could…

For decades Japan has remained at or near the top of international assessments of student learning; and in the past decade, students in Japan have become more engaged in learning. However, the government aspires to improve learning outcomes even further. "Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for…

Research findings in recent years provide compelling evidence of the importance of encouraging student control over the learning process as a whole. The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide…