Learning society

Learning society is a philosophical concept that promotes lifelong education as the key to economic and cultural success. It emphasizes not only formal learning in a school setting but also informal learning through exposure to new experiences and environments. It also encourages the use of informal learning centers located in towns and cities as ways for people to gather and learn about topics of interest, other cultures, current events, and so on.

Much of contemporary society considers education to be a phase of life that begins in childhood and ends in the late teen or early adult years. Proponents of a learning society see continuous and ongoing education as an essential part of cultural development and societal success. These proponents also see it as necessary for promoting understanding between cultures, protecting natural resources, and encouraging the ongoing development of all the world’s people. The learning society concept had its origins in the late 1960s. It was endorsed in the 1970s by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organizations.

Background

Anthropologists studying ancient societies have determined that for many centuries, the children of the hunter-gather societies explored their environments and observed the adults. In this way, they learned the skills they would need to fashion weapons, tools, and other implements and the knowledge they needed for hunting and finding food through their play and exploration. The child’s natural tendencies towards play and make-believe activities served as an education.

This began to change as society switched from primarily hunting and gathering to agriculture. Instead of finding enough food for a short period, people began tending large plots of land and caring for animals. These changes resulted in simple, routine work activities, many of which could be performed by young children. Instead of spending their days in play, many children began working for the family business and caring for younger siblings.

The move to an industrial society only increased these differences. Entire families, children included, worked long hours virtually every day in factories, mines, and other workplaces. They were often mistreated, and diseases were rampant. Education for children and adults was largely limited to what would make them productive in the work environment and teach them to be subservient to their bosses or overseers.

While there had been some interest in compulsory education for children beginning in the sixteenth century, only in the eighteenth century did the movement gain significant momentum. In the earliest days, religious authorities often encouraged education because they wanted children to be able to read and understand the Bible. Over time, political leaders also saw the benefit of having educated citizens to help encourage love of country and participation in national affairs. However, most educational efforts were still focused on what would mold young minds to the benefit of society, and not education for the sake of broadening minds. Children were generally taught to learn by rote memorization and punished severely for failing to learn how to repeat what they had learned.

The contemporary concept of education developed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While the harshness and some of the rote memorization that characterized earlier educational efforts began to disappear, the idea of education being the “work” of children and young people did not. A general concept evolved in which education began in early childhood, was compulsory up until the late teen years, and was completed when a young person acquired high school or college degrees.

Overview

The realization that education needed to change from a process relegated to the childhood years to one that could and should continue into adulthood began to grow in the days after the conclusion of World War II (1939–1945). As the countries involved in the war began to recover and create new social and political policies to deal with the war’s aftermath, people became aware of the deficiencies in a system that ended education in a person’s twenties or earlier. During the 1960s, educators began to raise awareness about how the rapid changes in society indicated a need for a change in this long-standing educational model. Technology related to communication, transportation, manufacturing, and many other fields had undergone significant transformation in just a few decades and the pace of change was increasing. Skills taught early in life were no longer valid for a lifetime in a world where people could travel around the world in a matter of hours and were beginning to venture into space.

American college professor Donald Schon was among the first to write about how this rapid societal transformation required changes in how people learned and were taught. Schon was an expert in urban planning who proposed the idea of learning systems that include employers as well as government and social organizations. He promoted the idea of organizational learning that emphasized education as an ongoing process in order to fulfill the needs of society.

Others who endorsed similar concepts included American educational philosopher Robert M. Hutchins, Swedish educator Torsten Husen, educator Roger Boshier, and author Richard Edwards. Hutchins proposed that the increased availability of technology that freed people from many menial tasks created a society like that of ancient Greece, where societal changes meant that people both needed to learn more to continue advancing and had the free time to pursue learning.

While Hutchins looked to the past, Husen looked to the future and anticipated that technology would continue to change at a rate that would require ongoing learning. He foresaw the need for increased use of technology in learning and the resulting changes that technology would require of both the scope and methods of the educational process. Boshier emphasized the need for life-long learning as a key to fostering economic and societal improvements. He saw the increased need for education for adults as a key to increasing democracy throughout society. Edwards wrote extensively on the learning society concept and set forth definitions of some of its most important aspects.

In the years since the concept was first proposed, the idea of a learning society gained acceptance as a crucial part of how society can grow and thrive. It is seen as essential to economic and cultural development and as vital to fostering changes needed to protect the resources and environments all people need to survive. As a result, the idea of a learning society where education is an ongoing process conducted by multiple aspects of society has been embraced by many organizations with an interest in international affairs.

The learning society concept is considered to be an integral part of the four pillars of education. The pillars are identified as “learning to know,” “learning to do,” “learning to live together,” and “learning to be.” “Learning to know” incorporates the idea of learning how to learn as well as the wide base of knowledge generally associated with a liberal arts education. “Learning to do” refers to the occupational and social skills a person needs to work and interact with others while working. “Learning to live” together refers to the cultural understanding people need to live with others from different backgrounds. “Learning to be” refers to an individual person learning about their physical and mental abilities, responsibilities, and potential so that person can maximize their role in society.

In order for a learning society to exist, several key aspects must be in place. Several of these were the focus of the writings of Richard Edwards, including a 2009 book he co-wrote entitled Rethinking Contexts for Learning and Teaching: Communities, Activities, and Networks. Edwards emphasized the need for an integration of educational institutions and employers in enabling workers to meet a country’s economic needs. In this way, business creates a market for educational institutions to be successful and the institutions, in turn, help promote the success of the businesses.

As a result, Edwards noted, this increased level of education creates people who are better equipped to be productive citizens and have greater economic opportunity, both of which benefit society as a whole. This is further supported by other organizations, such as social and governmental entities, that provide other opportunities for education not specifically related to employment. These opportunities can include cultural, environmental and ecological, and philosophical issues. These also enhance the ability of people to be active, involved, and satisfied members of society, which benefits all involved.

Experts suggest that there are several ways to help foster a learning society. These include emphasizing a person’s real-life experiences in the learning process; encouraging the development of various communities derived from groups people are already involved in, such as professional organizations, neighborhood groups, religious organizations, and others; encouraging diversity and acceptance of other cultures and worldviews; and encouraging learning for the benefit of the entire person, not simply as a means of increasing financial prosperity. In this way, both individuals and society as a whole can grow, experts say, and people can be better prepared for future changes.

Bibliography

Davies, Kate. “A Learning Society.” University of Brighton, arts.brighton.ac.uk/‗‗data/assets/pdf‗file/0018/6129/A-Learning-Society.pdf. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

“Education for Sustainable Development.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, en.unesco.org/themes/education-sustainable-development. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

“The Four Pillars of Education.” Info Collections, 2022, collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jh1767e/3.1.html. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

Gray Peter. “A Brief History of Education.” Psychology Today, 20 Aug. 2008, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/200808/brief-history-education. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

“Learning to Be: The World of Education Today and Tomorrow.” United National Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1972, unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000001801. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

“The Theory and Rhetoric of the Learning Society.” INFED, infed.org/mobi/the-theory-and-rhetoric-of-the-learning-society/. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.