One of the biggest debates in education is around knowledge vs skills. In the age of AI, where we can easily access information, should schools still be focusing on knowledge or spending more time equipping young people with the skills they need to meet the demand of our economy?
For the first few years after University I leant more towards skills. This is because I felt as though I was playing catch-up on the skills front – learning how to communicate effectively, present to an audience, write well, use excel, manage my finances etc. I was slightly resentful that I hadn’t been more well-rounded at this point in my life. Admittedly, this was partly down to me being a bog-standard student at University. However, having researched this area, my perspective on knowledge has changed.
Have you ever thought about the importance of understanding the world around you?
Two people who are the same in all aspects, apart from knowledge, are likely to view the world in completely different ways. What makes you operate effectively is fundamentally underpinned by what you know as well as what you can do.
This is captured by a concept called powerful knowledge, which is explored by Michael Young in knowledge and the future school. It has become a mantra in current education policy (in England) and is defined as knowledge that helps us:
- Go beyond the limits of our personal experience and ‘common sense’ knowledge.
- Better explain and understand the natural and social worlds.
- Discover new ways of thinking in systematic ways that help us to generalise beyond a given context and think about alternative futures.
- Engage in current debates of significance.
When I think back, I enjoyed learning because it helped to take me beyond the deprivation I was surrounded by. I loved learning how the world worked and how my life could improve if I thought in new ways. This is why I was drawn to Economics. It helped me understand the socio-economic reality I faced and provided me with new ways of thinking about how to overcome disparities.
In my career, I’ve been drawn to psychology, which helps me to understand the human behaviours you experience at work and at home. Sociology has challenged my way of thinking about the purpose of education and helps me to engage in policy debates. Understanding child development has helped me be a better parent. There is still so much to learn…
Ultimately, the knowledge we learn in school underpins the skills we build, so you need both. Going forward, I want to elevate the importance of continuing to build powerful knowledge in our lives and striking a balance with building skills.
This will be the aim of my powerful knowledge series going forward, where I will take ideas across a range of subjects that meet the criteria outlined above.
What is the most important powerful knowledge that has helped you (?):
- Go beyond the limits of our personal experience and ‘common sense’ knowledge.
- Better explain and understand the natural and social worlds.
- Discover new ways of thinking in systematic ways that help us to generalise beyond a given context and think about alternative futures.
- Engage in current debates of significance.