Education 2.0- New Curriculum Must Be Future-Proof

It is not surprising that the modern day and age demand for a revamping of the age-old curriculum educational institutions have been following. This is especially true in the aftermath of the 2020 pandemic. Students in high school and college are looking forward to learning new skills that will prepare them for the future.

The emphasis in education is shifting toward a more practical approach. The goal is to make students employable and job ready. As a result, a wave has begun with the goal of creating education 2.0, which will have a new perspective and approach to it. Among the various schools of thought that have emerged, some significant curriculum changes are shared by all-

Employable Qualifications

To begin, the new curriculum must include training in skills that will help students land internships and jobs. The current curriculum’s emphasis on theoretical learning must be reversed. This implies that more hands-on learning and training are required. Planning and organisation, critical thinking, self-management, and other employable skills must be included in the curriculum.

In addition, practical training should be prioritised. This can be done through real-life experiences to strengthen the overall learning journey. Soft skills such as public speaking, teamwork, and so on must be instilled through various activities and exercises. In a nutshell, the emphasis must shift away from theoretical training of traditional skills and toward more practical and pragmatic training of employable skills.

Empathy

While the first curriculum change focuses primarily on relevant technical and hard skills training, empathy development should also be included. One of the most important skills required for future readiness is empathy, or the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others. Several studies have found that a lack of empathy is one of the most common issues that organisations report as a barrier to an individual’s professional development.

Students are rarely taught about the importance of empathy. In their professional lives, however, they are penalised for a lack of empathy. As a result, there is an urgent need to close the empathy gap. The goal is to ensure that students who have graduated from college and school are empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others. The only way to accomplish this is to incorporate mindfulness and empathy skills training into the educational curriculum and build it from the ground up.

Social Abilities

Students who leave the traditional education system have very poor social skills, such as empathy. The education system’s unyielding emphasis on getting good grades in traditional subjects causes social skills training to take a back seat. This means that, while high-achieving students have strong conceptual knowledge, they are unable to socialise once they enter the working world. This invariably puts them at a disadvantage because they are unable to communicate effectively in order to expand their network.

Education

As a result, the educational curriculum should place a greater emphasis on developing social skills. If it truly wishes to be future-ready, it must master communication, public speaking, peer networking, and other skills. Development of holistic individuals is a distant dream unless these skills are prioritised.

Environmental Concerns

Following on from social skills, there is a need to integrate environmental awareness into the academic curriculum. This can be accomplished through engaging and effective interventions. It is a widely acknowledged fact that the world is in an environmental crisis. The future generation’s survival is jeopardised unless they are sufficiently aware and sensitive to the impending dangers to the entire human race.

This simply means that educational institutions must include a full-fledged lesson plan on the current state of environmental degradation. Furthermore, lessons on potential solutions to prevent further deterioration should be available. While the impact will be minimal at first, incorporating environmental awareness into the education curriculum will be a start.

Incorporation of Technology

Following that is the requirement to effectively incorporate technological advances into the educational curriculum. Everyone nowadays recognises that the advancement of edtech has made education more accessible and robust. However, the current format of separating e-learning and traditional education modules is self-defeating.

Curriculum developers must marry the two in order for them to work together. This implies that a variety of traditional modules should be digitised in order to become more accessible. The goal is not to replace classroom learning entirely with e-learning. Rather, to maximise the potential of both for effective knowledge sharing.

Activities Outside Of The Classroom

Finally, there is an urgent need to shift the emphasis from academic achievements to the importance of extracurricular activities. Educationists and parents alike are prone to judging students solely on their grades. They make no mention of their extracurricular activities. While there is no denying that academic performance is important in an individual’s professional journey, dismissing the contribution of other activities is unjust.

Extracurricular activities must be assigned and allocated more time in educational curricula. They must be given the same weight as academic disciplines. A student’s overall development cannot be achieved unless such a situation occurs.

Education Is Essential

To cut a long story short, the world is changing faster than the speed of light. They will be unable to nurture and prepare individuals to face the world unless the education system and curriculum keep up with it. As a result, education 2.0 must focus on skills and aspects that have been overlooked by the traditional system thus far. We can only expect future-ready individuals if the curriculum covers all aspects of learning, training, and development.