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EDUCATION: TOP 5 TRENDS IN THE NEXT 3-5 YEARS
By Lisa Illingworth
1. Seeing education as a business
Over the past few years, there has been a rise in the number of independent school groups whose core focus is creating citizens who are equipped for the challenges that lie outside of academia. These groups also use business models that make independent, private schooling accessible to lower income groups of the population. The number of these schools is predicted to increase for the foreseeable future.
2. Educational “niching”
Schools will begin “niching”, focusing on smaller, specific educational segments. This will not only include skills and knowledge segments, but also focus on the emotional well-being of the child. Leadership and stewardship will take centre stage followed closely by coding, entrepreneurship and design.
3. School “coaching”
Schools and parents, particularly those dealing with children in high school, will invest in additional support in coaching and mentoring from professionals to equip themselves and teens with a toolbox of skills and coping mechanisms.
4. Re-thinking university
Parents will begin to search for supplemental factors to the apparently ineffectual curriculum, institutional structure and teaching methodologies. Suits & Sneakers is an example of a revolutionary learning model, creating interpersonal teaching and learning channels hosted in a digital environment.
5. Mindfulness as part of the curriculum
An increasing number of children are experiencing “burnout” and other behavioural and emotional issues. In response to this, some schools have begun to introduce mindfulness into the curriculum to increase calm and combat anxiety, as well as encourage focused and participatory learning. It’s likely that more South African schools will bring this teaching method into their classrooms.
