Program

Education for all students in the United States is at a critical crossroads. The knowledge economy and globalization continue to challenge the basic industrial-era assumptions about schooling. New interactive digital media are diffusing rapidly, even in lower-income communities, fostering a youth media culture that is raising issues of privacy, pedagogical relevance and equity. Student performance is inconsistent across the country, and average U.S. performance indicators lag behind those of other countries.

In an effort to provoke thought leaders to think about the future of education in new ways, KnowledgeWorks Foundation released the "2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education," developed by the Institute for the Future. This visual tool is a lens to consider how emerging social, political and economic trends and issues might influence and perhaps radically change how our entire system of education functions. Participants joined us for a thought-provoking web seminar as we explored these forecasts and and what they might mean for your education grantmaking priorities and strategies.

For example, how might schools use cell phones to teach? How might the increasing trend of parents finding ways to "improve" their children through pharmaceuticals, digital technologies and surgeries create new expectations of normal and exacerbate already existing achievement gaps? Does increasing access to a burgeoning Internet over the next decade hold the promise of a watershed democratization of learning -- or will this trend be overwhelmed by the growth of a new market-based learning economy restricting access to learning for children in poverty?

During the web seminar, we explored the forces driving the future of education, as well as the trends, which range from bio-distress and increasing chronic illness to the potential for new technology and media to stimulate entirely new kinds of teaching methods. We also gave you a quick tour of the on-line interactive map and showed you how to dig deeper into content and share your ideas with others.