Time to Rethink - Educating for a Technology-Transformed World

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

The article urges a rethinking of education for an uncertain future shaped by unpredictable technological innovations and intensified disruptions, especially those revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines how technology transforms daily life and education while introducing threats from social media, climate change, and widening inequality. Findings argue that schools often still deliver one-size-fits-all learning, despite technology enabling personalization through guided teachers and abundant online opportunities. It calls for decisions made today and for coalition-based change rather than incremental adjustments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

Main Discussion

Context of COVID-19 and uncertainty

Why education systems change slowly

The technology tsunami

Time to Rethink: Educating for a Technology-Transformed World ECNU Review of Education 2023, Vol. 6(2) 189–214 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311221076493](DOI: 10.1177/20965311221076493)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311221076493)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) G. Williamson McDiarmid 1,2 and Yong Zhao (赵勇)3,4 1 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 2East China Normal University 3University of Kansas 4University of Melbourne Abstract Purpose: We hope to provoke a conversation about preparing students for an uncertain future that unforeseeable technological innovations will transform in ways we cannot predict. The unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes this an opportune time to reconsider all dimensions of education. Design/Approach/Methods: We present information on how technology is transforming virtually every aspect of our lives and the threats we face from social media, climate change, and growing inequality. We then analyze the adequacy of proposals for teaching new skills, such as 21stCentury Skills, to prepare students for a world of work that is changing at warp speed. Findings: Despite harbingers of a radically different future, most schools continue to operate much as they have for centuries, providing a one-size-ﬁts-all education. Technology now enablesan unprecedented degree of personalization. We can tailor learning opportunities to individual students’ interests, talents, and potential with teachers serving as guides, resources, and critical friends. The Internet afford a cornucopia of learning opportunities—online courses, international experts, global collaborations, accessible databases, and libraries. Learning can occur virtually anywhere. Corresponding author: G. Williamson McDiarmid, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; East China Normal University. Email: [bmcd@email.unc.edu](bmcd@email.unc.edu) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Originality/Value: The future depends on decisions we are making today about education. The value of this article is that we call for rethinking every component of education rather than considering each element independently. Keywords personalized learning, reform, technological change, 21st-Century Skills Date received: 26 June 2021; revised: 21 November 2021; accepted: 12 December 2021 As we write this, educators across the globe are struggling as schools, students, and families deal with the consequences of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Uncertainty is the order of the day as local and national policies on vaccination and masks change and, at times, conﬂict. Some teachers are required to teach content both face-to-face and online. For their part, students in some countries are struggling to recoup lost learning time and too often ﬁnd themselves pawns in political conﬂicts among parents, educators, and policymakers. As stressful as the situation is for educatorsand students and their families, the pandemic accelerated a trend toward an expanding use of technologies to provide learning opportunities remotely. Our contention is that major changes in education are imperative—not just tweaks to the status quo but the revolution that many such as Sir Ken Robinson (2010) have urged—yet, major changes in education are rare and slow-moving. The complex

FAQs

Why does the article call for rethinking education now?

It argues that unpredictable technological innovations and the COVID-19 pandemic have created an opportune moment to reconsider how students are prepared for an uncertain future.

What does the article say about how schools currently operate?

It states that despite signals of a radically different future, most schools continue to function much like they have for centuries, offering one-size-fits-all education.

How does the article propose technology can improve learning?

It notes that technology enables unprecedented personalization, allowing learning opportunities to be tailored to students’ interests, talents, and potential, with teachers acting as guides, resources, and critical friends.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk