In a context of rapid societal and technological change, there is a need to rethink the purpose of education and the organization of learning. These papers and global reports explore the implications of this changing landscape, both for teaching and learning practices, as well as for the aims of education.
- Humanistic futures of learning: Perspectives from UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks, a collection of fifty original think pieces from a range of disciplines and scholarly areas on the futures of education (2020)
- The Futures of Learning 1: Why must learning content and methods change in the 21st century? (2015), ERF Working Papers
- The Futures of Learning 2: What kind of learning for the 21st century? (2015), ERF Working Papers
- The Futures of Learning 3: What kind of pedagogies for the 21st century? (2015), ERF Working Papers
- Learning to Live Together: Revisiting the humanism of the Delors Report (2015), ERF Working Papers
- Re-interpreting Learning (2014), ERF Working Papers
- Curriculum in the 21st Century: Challenges, tensions and open questions (2014), ERF Working Papers
- Revisiting Learning: The Treasure Within – assessing the influence of the 1996 Delors Report (2013), ERF Working Papers
UNESCO Reports
Rethinking Education (2015)
Rethinking Education: Towards a global common good? (2015) is the fruit of the work of a Senior Experts' Group established by the Director-General of UNESCO to rethink education in a world of rapid transformation. Revisiting the purpose of education and the organization of learning in a changing global context, it is a call for both public policy dialogue and forward-looking research on learning systems in the 21st century.
The publication is available in numerous languages, download the publication here.
Seven Complex Lessons in Education for the Future (1999)
In Seven complex lessons in education for the future, the author, Edgard Morin, rethinks fundamental problems overlooked or neglected in education, and presents them as "seven complex lessons" that should be covered in an education of the future in all societies in every culture, according to means and rules appropriate to each. The report aimed to stimulate discussion on how education can and should act as a force for the future and promote a transdisciplinary perspective to meet the great challenge of durable development.
Learning: The Treasure Within (1996)
Under the leadership of Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission and former French Minister of Economy and Finance, Learning: The Treasure Within emphasized the importance of a humanistic approach to education and established “the four pillars” of education, namely: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together, The report has further emphasized and updated the concept of lifelong learning.
Full-text not available, please contact library@unesco.org for more information
Learning to Be: the world of education today and tomorrow (1972)
The first of global reports, Learning to Be: the world of education today and tomorrow was developed in 1971-1972 and prepared by a commission chaired by Edgar Faure, a former Prime Minister and Minister of Education of France. The report warned of the risks of inequalities, privation and suffering and emphasized the universal features education. It also called for the continued expansion of education and for lifelong education. It was UNESCO's first flagship publication outlining a vision of education.
The publication is available in numerous languages, download the publication here.