The world is changing at an unprecedented rate, and the pace of change is only accelerating. This means that the skills and knowledge that students need to be successful in the future are constantly evolving. As a result, education needs to evolve as well. Discover how Boundless Education was purposely designed to meet these challenges head-on.
A recent report1 published by McKinsey & Company highlighted rapid growth in the deployment of new technologies - including automation and artificial intelligence (AI) across all industries. Workers will need to be able to adapt accordingly and become a lot more flexible and resilient to change than perhaps ever before in history.
“Economic, social, technological, and geopolitical disruptions are reshaping societies. Governments are increasingly investing in their people as a critical enabler to achieve sustainable societal and economic prosperity. At the heart of these investments, a new learning paradigm is emerging: as the skills revolution unfolds, education and skilling systems need to prepare learners not just to become productive workers and citizens but also to adapt continuously to changing trends in the labour market and society."
McKinsey & Company
Why is evolution within education so important?
There are several reasons why evolution within education is now so critically important. You could almost say that a revolution is what’s needed!
- It will ensure that students are learning the skills and acquiring the knowledge that they need to be successful in the future workforce. The skills employers are saying will be in the highest demand are social and emotional skills, higher-level cognitive skills and technological skills
- It will prepare students for a world that is increasingly complex and interconnected.
- Constant upskilling will boost future earning potential and job security. Education no longer needs to prepare students for a ‘job for life’ but rather equip them with the skills - and desire - to join a never-ending quest for knowledge and self-improvement.
Why will the 3 skill sets mentioned above be so coveted in the future?
🫂Social and emotional skills
Social and emotional skills, such as leadership and managing others, will become increasingly important in a digitalised world. These skills are inherently human and difficult for machines to replicate. Research estimates that demand for these skills will rise from 18% to 22% of hours worked by 2030.
🧠Higher-level cognitive skills
Cognitive skills, such as creativity, complex information processing, and critical thinking, will also be in high demand. Demand for physical and manual skills is expected to decline from 31% to 25% of hours worked.
"The demand for cognitive skills that transcend rote memorization is surging. Creativity, complex information processing, and critical thinking are the building blocks of higher-level cognitive function. These skills empower children to think outside the box, solving complex problems, innovating, and adapting to an ever-changing world."
Rekha Magon - Boundless Life Co-Founder and Head of Education
💻Technological skills
Technological skills are the most in-demand skills of the future, and their growth is expected to outpace all other skill categories by 2030. While advanced IT skills, programming, and basic digital skills are already essential in many workplaces, the demand for these skills will continue to grow in the coming years. Additionally, digital technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in all workplaces, so even non-tech occupations will require basic digital skills.
How can education be made more adaptable and responsive to change?
One way is to focus on developing students' transferable skills. These are skills that can be applied to a variety of different jobs and industries. Examples of transferable skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
Another way to make education more adaptable is to focus on project-based learning. This type of learning allows students to apply what they are learning to real-world problems. It also helps students to develop their problem-solving and collaboration skills.
Finally, it is important to make education more individualised. Individualised learning is critical to the future of education because it has the potential to transform the way we think about and deliver education. By tailoring the educational experience to each student's unique needs, interests, and learning styles, individualised learning can help to ensure that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Here are some specific examples of how education can ensure future readiness.
💡More opportunities for experiential learning: Experiential learning involves learning by doing. This can be done through internships, apprenticeships, and project-based learning. Experiential learning helps students develop the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful in the workplace.
🤔A focus on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills: The ability to think critically and solve problems is essential for success in the 21st century.
Good News! Boundless Education is laser-focused on the future.
Not only this ⬆️, Boundless Education was created with these future challenges in mind. Let’s take a look at just a few of the ways we are helping prepare our Explorers for their future. !
Technology: Sometimes controversial, but undeniably relevant.
“The overnight shift to digital education during the pandemic highlighted both the promise of technology and how far we have to go before we can effectively and reliably capture that promise. Technology, done well, has the potential to enable personalised learning for students, support teachers, provide broad engagement opportunities for parents, and inform educational policies for school leaders and policymakers.”
McKinsey & Company
However, without appropriate and complimentary educator support, technology can lead to lower learning outcomes. This is because human guidance and social interaction, which are essential parts of the learning experience, are difficult to replicate with technology.
We are very conscious of striking the right balance to ensure that technology is used in a very intentional way within our Foundation years and above (7+), and recognise it to be a tool not a crutch when it comes to ensuring optimal learning outcomes.
Introducing Boundless Care: Our programme dedicated to social and emotional development and well-being.
Our Boundless Care programme focuses on the holistic development of our Explorers. It covers so many of the skills that they will undoubtedly need in later life - in the workplace and beyond. These include empathy, conflict resolution, creative and critical thinking, research-based analysis, cognitive agility and problem-solving skills. The global citizens of tomorrow will need all these skills to navigate the complexities of our increasingly interconnected world and become champions of change.
All of these essential skills are further nurtured by the unique and culturally diverse settings of our locations - and the opportunity to be amongst other students from all over the world!
Experiential project-based learning
BIG tick in this future-proofing box!! Our Explorers take part in a new ‘Quest’ during each of our cohorts.
In summary, our Quests are interdisciplinary projects that our students (Explorers) work on for the full duration of a cohort. They explore real-world phenomena and issues and encourage children to learn beyond the content and find individualised and purposeful connections and purpose for their learning.
Our end-of-cohort Learning Celebrations allow our Explorers to proudly showcase their findings and project outcomes.
Our Quests are based on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Also referred to as Global Goals, these are environmental, social, and economic topics and issues that are used as age-appropriate learning themes in our curriculum.
Our Quests - and indeed all of the Boundless Education curriculum - are super-boosted by our carefully curated (and regular!) field trips and our Extracurricular Activity programme.
So, not only is our approach aligned with the future, but our learning outcomes have real-world relevance to our Explorers’ futures as agents of change.
Individualisation
Our Boundless Hour is just one of the ways we foster an individualised approach. This is based on Google’s 20% rule and allows children ample time to explore their personal passions and create bold works that are meaningful to them.
Learn about how Boundless Education differs from traditional education.
Sing it loud, sing it proud!!
What better way to sum up our approach to education than with our very own Boundless Cheer which has been sung by our Explorers, educators and parents alike since our very first cohort opened in February 2022.
“Be Bold and Resilient,
Innovate and Make Connections,
With Open Hearts and Curious Minds,
We Can Make Change Happen,
We’re BOUNDLESS!!”
Future - we are ready for you!
1 The Skills Revolution and the Future of Learning and Earning
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organisations realise sustainable, inclusive growth.
If you would like your children to become pioneers in an education revolution, talk with us to learn how to get started!
