Well Beyond the Basics
Knowledge is power, it is often said. But in the 21st century, experts agree the facts can only get a person so far. As the world is increasingly globalized, the ability to communicate, negotiate and virtually transcend borders will define the opportunities available both to inpiduals and to entire economies.
As a precursor to APEC's 4th Education Ministerial Meeting, best practices in education have been exchanged by delegates from 21 Asia-Pacific economies. Among them, consensus was overwhelming that education should go beyond the teaching/learning approach, which is solely based on knowledge and acquisition.
The demand for critical thinking and strategic communications is at an all-time high. There is a need for reasoning as well as knowing facts and procedures. Economies that score high in reasoning also score high in facts and procedures and the inverse is also true. Students need to develop both foundational and higher order skills.
While APEC economies vary widely in terms of development, outlooks are strikingly similar and defined by a context of continuous change and increasing interdependence. For education plans to be sustainable, they must be flexible to accommodate the rapid evolution of technology. They must enable global exchanges through the use of foreign languages and communication skills. And they must equip students with problem solving skills - tools for navigation - to be used throughout life and among various contextual situations.
The most modern approaches to learning are holistic; integrating knowledge, skills and attitudes. Singapore and Brunei are both examples of economies that integrated the learning of English with the learning of basic skills such as mathematics and science, giving students a practical understanding and use of the language. Converting to English language instruction as recently as 1984, English is now the official language of Singapore.
Delegates discussed the importance of teaching critical thinking in relation to other matters, not as an independent subject. For example, students could be taught how to think critically about global warming, historical events or political issues.
The 4th APEC Education Ministerial will serve to guide economies as they review their own standards, policies, teaching methods and tools in order to achieve the targets they set for themselves. To this end, ministers will meet tomorrow, to begin drafting a joint statement. In line with APEC tenets, statements are non-binding but encourage cohesion and the adoption of best-practices with a view to strengthening regional cooperation.