1993年，教科文組織組建了獨立的國際21世紀教育委員會(huì )，由雅克·德洛爾出任主席，委員和顧問(wèn)則來(lái)自世界各主要地區。其任務(wù)是引領(lǐng)創(chuàng )新思考，探討教育該如何讓明天的公民做好應對未來(lái)挑戰的準備。該委員會(huì )于1996年（教科文組織50周年）完成使命。
雅克·德洛爾（Jacques Delors）
前法國經(jīng)濟和財政部長(cháng)，1985至1995年間任歐洲共同體委員會(huì )主席。他已發(fā)表的著(zhù)作有《新型歐洲合唱團》（1992）和《我們的歐洲：法蘭西與歐洲未來(lái)》（1994）。
身處21世紀前夜的人們，正在緊張思考和討論人類(lèi)社會(huì )的未來(lái)問(wèn)題。盡管知識的增長(cháng)，尤其是科學(xué)技術(shù)的發(fā)展，為未來(lái)人類(lèi)的進(jìn)步帶來(lái)了希望，各種重大事件卻在日復一日地提醒著(zhù)我們，當代世界是多么容易偏離航向，遭際危險，有時(shí)還是極端的危險，又是多么容易引發(fā)沖突與戰爭。
作為我們時(shí)代特征的各民族和各國間的相互依存正在日益發(fā)展，為規?？涨暗膰H合作提供著(zhù)機會(huì )。但是，這一全球意識的出現，同時(shí)也暴露出了困擾我們世界的種種差異的程度，問(wèn)題的復雜，以及還有多少威脅存在，它們時(shí)時(shí)都有可能危及我們人類(lèi)現有的成就。
人們由之而正在對教育提出種種重大的要求，因為教育對人類(lèi)進(jìn)步的貢獻是那么地生死攸關(guān)。認為教育乃是塑造未來(lái)，或者用比較樸素的話(huà)來(lái)說(shuō)，是因勢利導，力避失誤地帶領(lǐng)我們進(jìn)入未來(lái)的最有力的手段之一，這種思想正在日益流行起來(lái)。那么，今日之教育正在為培養造就積極進(jìn)取的未來(lái)公民方面干些什么呢？
教科文組織首開(kāi)其端，起意用其了解的國際經(jīng)驗去對這一問(wèn)題施加影響?？偢墒沦M德里科·馬約爾先生要我出任國際21世紀教育委員會(huì )的主席，“研究和反映教育在未來(lái)歲月所面臨的挑戰，并以報告形式提出系統的意見(jiàn)和建議，好為決策者和高層官員提供行動(dòng)日程”。
根據委員會(huì )的這一職權范圍，以下問(wèn)題成了我們的出發(fā)點(diǎn)：“教育如何才能在為21世紀培養個(gè)人和改造社會(huì )的進(jìn)程中起到能動(dòng)和積極的作用? ”而這是在以埃德加·富爾為主席的另一個(gè)委員會(huì )也曾公布過(guò)一個(gè)至今依然是關(guān)注中心的報告之后——其標題意味深長(cháng)，叫《學(xué)會(huì )做人》——時(shí)光已過(guò)去了大約20年。
四個(gè)關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題
委員會(huì )竭盡全力于把思想集中到由全球化起主導作用的未來(lái)歲月上，竭盡全力于提出正確的問(wèn)題并制定出某些既適合各國的具體情況又適用于全球范圍的廣泛的原則性指導方針。我在這里想考察四個(gè)問(wèn)題，我認為那都是關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題。
第一個(gè)問(wèn)題，是教育體制要能通過(guò)完成經(jīng)濟、社會(huì )和文化這三重功能而成為發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵因素。人人都期盼著(zhù)教育能對建設一支合格的有創(chuàng )造性的勞動(dòng)大軍助一臂之力，以適應新技術(shù)的需要，并參與作為我們經(jīng)濟的推動(dòng)力的“智能革命”。同時(shí)，人人——無(wú)論南方北方，均相類(lèi)似——又都期盼著(zhù)教育能采用那樣一種方式去推進(jìn)知識的增長(cháng)，以使經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展與負責任地管理和使用物質(zhì)和人類(lèi)環(huán)境攜手并進(jìn)。最后，假如教育不能造就植根于其自身文化而同時(shí)又對其他文化開(kāi)放并對社會(huì )的進(jìn)步承擔義務(wù)的公民，則教育也就沒(méi)有完成其使命。
第二個(gè)關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題是教育體制適應社會(huì )新趨勢的能力。這促使我們提出了教育的一個(gè)根本任務(wù)，那就是必須為變化作準備，盡管與日俱增的不安全因素使我們的生活充滿(mǎn)了疑慮和不安定。
第三個(gè)關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題是教育體制與國家間的相互關(guān)系問(wèn)題。國家的任務(wù)與責任，它的某些權力向聯(lián)邦當局和地方當局的轉移，國立教育和私立教育之間有待達成的平衡——都只是一個(gè)問(wèn)題的某些方面，更何況各個(gè)國家的情況還各不相同。
第四個(gè)問(wèn)題是，對他人開(kāi)放和彼此理解的準則——一言以蔽之，和平準則——的傳播問(wèn)題。教育有權宣稱(chēng)自己是普遍的教育嗎?
創(chuàng )造一種人人都能使用的語(yǔ)言，就意味著(zhù)人們可以學(xué)會(huì )更便捷地進(jìn)行對話(huà)，但這一語(yǔ)言所要傳播的信息必須面對人類(lèi)的各個(gè)方面。
一個(gè)聲稱(chēng)要成為天下人共有的信息——教育的崇高使命之一——在傳播時(shí)卻必須充分考慮到人類(lèi)的無(wú)限多樣性而加以各種細微的限定。無(wú)疑，這是我們的主要難題。
教育的支柱
第一根支柱是學(xué)會(huì )認知。若想記住由于科學(xué)進(jìn)步和新形式的經(jīng)濟和社會(huì )活動(dòng)所帶來(lái)的種種迅速變化，就需要把廣泛的普通教育與在若干選修科目上的深造的可能性結合起來(lái)。在某種意義上說(shuō)，這樣的一種普通教育乃是終身學(xué)習的通行證，因此應當教導人們樂(lè )于學(xué)習并為將來(lái)能繼續進(jìn)行終身學(xué)習而打下基礎。
學(xué)會(huì )干事是第二根支柱。除了學(xué)會(huì )從事某種職業(yè)或行業(yè)外，人們還需要開(kāi)發(fā)其應付各種不同情況和在班組團隊中共同工作的能力，這是教育法中目前尚未引起足夠注意的一個(gè)獨特方面。假如中小學(xué)生在學(xué)習期間就有機會(huì )涉足職業(yè)工作方案或社會(huì )工作而使他們的能力獲得發(fā)展的話(huà)，就會(huì )更快更好地掌握這些技能。因此，應當更加重視各類(lèi)能使教育與工作交替輪換的計劃方案。
學(xué)會(huì )做人是1972年在教科文組織支持下發(fā)表的埃德加·富爾的報告的主題。該報告所提建議至今依然切中肯綮，因為到21世紀時(shí)，為了達到共同的目標，人人都必須訓練自己把更多的自主性與判斷力同更強烈的個(gè)人責任感結合起來(lái)。
這種新精神受我們彼此之間相互依存性與日俱增的共識和對未來(lái)的風(fēng)險與挑戰共同分析的引導，使人們去執行共同的規劃，或通過(guò)明智與和平的途徑去解決無(wú)可避免的沖突。
最后則是通過(guò)了解他人，了解他人的歷史、他人的傳統和他人的精神進(jìn)而學(xué)會(huì )與人共處。這或許會(huì )為開(kāi)創(chuàng )一種新精神提供基礎。這種新精神受我們彼此之間相互依存性與日俱增的共識和對未來(lái)的風(fēng)險與挑戰共同分析的引導，使人們去執行共同的規劃，或通過(guò)明智與和平的途徑去解決無(wú)可避免的沖突。有些人或許會(huì )說(shuō)這是烏托邦；但這是必要的烏托邦，實(shí)際上是一種富有生命力的烏托邦，假如我們希望擺脫那種靠憤世嫉俗的犬儒哲學(xué)和自滿(mǎn)自足來(lái)維持的周期性危機的話(huà)。
富爾報告中提倡的“終身學(xué)習”這一概念乃是走向21世紀的關(guān)鍵。人們用它來(lái)應付一個(gè) 迅速變化著(zhù)的世界。由于它具有適用于不同時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)的靈活性、多樣性和有效性諸特 點(diǎn)，而成為必不可少的東西。它同時(shí)也已遠遠超越了存在于初級學(xué)校教育和繼續教育之 間的那種傳統的差別。
應當重新考慮終身教育這一概念，擴大其內涵。除了適應職業(yè)生活的變化外，它還應當包括人格、知識和習性的繼續塑造，以及批判能力和行為能力的繼續塑造。
對于一個(gè)學(xué)習的社會(huì )來(lái)說(shuō)，基礎就是正規教育體制，每個(gè)人都要在其中學(xué)習許多不同形式的知識。建立在權威和對話(huà)基礎之上的這種師生關(guān)系是無(wú)可替代的。對此，研究過(guò)教育學(xué)問(wèn)題的經(jīng)典思想家們都曾不止一次地談到過(guò)。教師的責任就是要把人類(lèi)所獲得的有關(guān)自身和有關(guān)自然的知識，以及人類(lèi)創(chuàng )造發(fā)明的精髓傳授給學(xué)生。因而教育應當不斷地去適應社會(huì )的變化，并把人類(lèi)經(jīng)驗的成果、基礎與效益傳播開(kāi)去。
學(xué)習的階段和橋梁：一種新思路
委員會(huì )把注意力集中到終身學(xué)習這一概念上，并不是想表明，人們可以不去考慮教育的層次等級。事實(shí)上，終身學(xué)習使人們有了可能去重新安排教育的先后次序和行程路線(xiàn)，減少從一個(gè)階段過(guò)渡到另一個(gè)階段的困難，并且認識每一階段的價(jià)值。
讀、寫(xiě)、算，“三會(huì )”，在這里各得其所。傳統教學(xué)與校外途徑的結合將使兒童對教育的三大領(lǐng)域，即道德與文化、科學(xué)與技術(shù)以及經(jīng)濟與社會(huì )均有所體驗。
在全世界范圍內，應當為之提供基礎教育的計有九億成年文盲，一億三千萬(wàn)沒(méi)有注冊入學(xué)的兒童，以及一億多輟學(xué)者。這一龐大任務(wù)是通過(guò)國際合作途徑實(shí)施的技術(shù)援助與伙伴計劃的優(yōu)先考慮項目。
任何改革，出問(wèn)題的一個(gè)主要方面，都涉及到對結束初等教育后的年輕人所采取的政策。人們甚至說(shuō)在教育思想方面中學(xué)往往不受重視。它們是受到大量批評的目標，是招致大量失敗的罪魁。
失敗的一個(gè)起因是對中學(xué)教育的擴大化和多樣化的要求導致入學(xué)人數的急劇增長(cháng)和教學(xué)大綱的過(guò)重負擔。這造成了群眾性教育的某些典型問(wèn)題，對這些問(wèn)題，發(fā)展中國家無(wú)論在財政上，還是在組織方面，都不是輕而易舉所能解決的。加上還有畢業(yè)生的令人喪氣的問(wèn)題，他們面臨的是機會(huì )欠缺，又由于普遍流行的破釜沉舟式的高等教育情結而苦惱倍增。在許多國家，大批失業(yè)現象更加深了這種隱憂(yōu)意識。
擺脫這一困境的唯一途徑，似乎是應使人們可以獲得的學(xué)習類(lèi)型極大地多樣化。這應當包括兩個(gè)方面，一是更為注重抽象化和概念化的傳統教育，另一種方式則是讓學(xué)校與工作經(jīng)歷交相結合，從而產(chǎn)生其他能力和興趣愛(ài)好?？傊?，在這種種方法途徑之間都應有橋梁溝通，以使相當普遍的在方向選擇上的錯誤可以得到糾正。
此外，存在著(zhù)回爐再受教育或進(jìn)修培訓的可能，從而向每一個(gè)青年人證明了，他或她的命運并非就決定于14歲至20歲之間，因此，總的形勢將有可能獲得改觀(guān)。
對高等教育也應作如是觀(guān)。
許多國家都有與大學(xué)比肩而立的其他種種高等教育機構。其中有些是嚴格擇錄出類(lèi)拔萃者，有些則是為提供有特定目標的、高級職業(yè)培訓而設置的。這種多樣化顯然在國家和地方各級都是符合社會(huì )和經(jīng)濟的需要的。
在最富有的一些國家中，為緩減群眾性高等教育所帶來(lái)的壓力而進(jìn)行越來(lái)越嚴格的挑選，無(wú)論就政治或社會(huì )而言都是無(wú)法接受的。這種處理方式的一個(gè)主要缺陷是使許多青年人在他們能夠獲得一張得到認可的文憑之前就被排擠出了教育進(jìn)程，從而使他們感到處在一種絕望的境地，既沒(méi)有學(xué)位，又無(wú)法獲得適合于勞動(dòng)市場(chǎng)需要的培訓。
大學(xué)入學(xué)人數日益增長(cháng)的問(wèn)題需要結合中等教育改革一起來(lái)解決。
各類(lèi)大學(xué)可以通過(guò)各種途徑對此作出貢獻。如作為主要面向理論或應用型研究或培訓的科學(xué)機構和學(xué)習中心；作為提供職業(yè)資格證書(shū)，開(kāi)設專(zhuān)為適應經(jīng)濟之需要的各類(lèi)課程和內容的機構；作為終身學(xué)習的主要活動(dòng)中心之一；作為國際合作形式的主要合作伙伴，倡導交換教師和學(xué)生，并通過(guò)國際教授職位的設立，促進(jìn)在更廣泛的范圍內實(shí)現一流教學(xué)的可能。
這些建議對于大學(xué)要起決定性作用的窮國來(lái)說(shuō)更有特殊的意義。
長(cháng)期改革戰略
有助于教育改革獲得成功的是三大角色：地方社區（家長(cháng)、學(xué)校領(lǐng)導和教師）、政府當局和國際社會(huì )。
地方社區通過(guò)在政府當局與有關(guān)社會(huì )團體之間開(kāi)展對話(huà)的方式參與對需求的評估，這是拓寬教育途徑和提高教育質(zhì)量必不可少的第一步。通過(guò)傳媒繼續進(jìn)行這一對話(huà)、社區討論、家長(cháng)教育與培訓，以及在職教師的進(jìn)修，通常會(huì )喚起更高的覺(jué)悟，發(fā)展判斷力，并有助于地方生產(chǎn)能力的建設。
若沒(méi)有教師的合作和積極參與，任何改革均無(wú)法取得成功，委員會(huì )建議，教育者的社會(huì )地位、文化和物質(zhì)狀況，必須作為一個(gè)優(yōu)先事項，連同為提供高水準的教育所必不可少的手段，如圖書(shū)、現代傳媒以及與學(xué)校要求相適應的文化和經(jīng)濟支助，一起加以考慮。
如是，負責的國家政策當是改進(jìn)教育體制的一個(gè)必要條件。決策者不能想當然地認為，市場(chǎng)會(huì )補償體制的不足，或者認為只要別橫加干預就足夠了。政府當局必須提出明確的選擇，并在與所有有關(guān)各方進(jìn)行廣泛磋商之后作出決策，以為教育體制確定指導方針，打好基礎，并通過(guò)必要的調節而使之規范化、有條理。
所要作出的一切抉擇均應依據機會(huì )均等原則。
至于說(shuō)到國際社會(huì )，作為推動(dòng)教育改革成功的一種力量，委員會(huì )為之擬訂了若干建議，內容涉及：堅決支持和鼓勵女童和婦女教育的政策；發(fā)展援助款中資助教育的最低百分比配額（為總數的四分之一）；開(kāi)發(fā)教育債務(wù)互惠外匯信貸，以補償由于政策調整和降低內外收支赤字政策而對國家教育經(jīng)費造成的不利影響；把“信息社會(huì )”的新技術(shù)廣泛引進(jìn)所有國家，以避免富國和窮國之間產(chǎn)生新的差距；利用非政府組織的杰出潛力。
應當更多地從伙伴合作關(guān)系，而非援助的角度出發(fā)來(lái)看待這些建議。在經(jīng)歷了如許挫折，蒙受了如許浪費之后，經(jīng)驗把我們推向了伙伴合作關(guān)系。這是全球化所產(chǎn)生的必然結果。
結論
各國間的這種依存關(guān)系已允許，也要求國際合作出現一個(gè)新的規模，在所有領(lǐng)域廣泛開(kāi) 展起來(lái)。在這世紀即將交替之時(shí)，國際21世紀教育委員會(huì )是申明這一意向，并決心達到 這一目標的手段之一。
委員會(huì )沒(méi)有局限于純粹的說(shuō)明性工作，也沒(méi)有概論教育體制的基本原理，因為它的目標不是構思“未來(lái)的藍圖”，從而形成一整套清規戒律，束縛教育政策制訂者的手腳，它是要為決策者提供實(shí)際情況，以幫助他們擬訂教育政策，并引發(fā)出一場(chǎng)討論，不僅關(guān)系到教育界和教師，而且也關(guān)系到家長(cháng)、兒童、企業(yè)首腦、工聯(lián)主義分子，以及致力于提高教育實(shí)際作用的協(xié)會(huì )和團體。
相關(guān)鏈接
《教育與人類(lèi)的命運》
聯(lián)合國教科文組織《信使》，1972年11月
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000052670
《大學(xué)和“輕信者的民主”》
聯(lián)合國教科文組織《信使》，2018年1-3月
https://zh.unesco.org/courier/2018-1/da-xue-he-qing-xin-zhe-min-zhu
Training the actors of the future
In 1993, UNESCO established an independent International Commission on Education for the 21st Century. Chaired by French statesman Jacques Delors, the Commission’s eminent advisers were drawn from all regions of the world. Its task: to lead innovative thinking on how education could best prepare the citizens of tomorrow to address the challenges of the future. It completed its work in 1996, the year UNESCO celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Jacques Delors
President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, he was France’s minister of Economics and Finance from 1981 to 1984. His published works include Le Nouveau Concert européen, 1992, and L’Unité d’un homme, 1994.
On the eve of the twenty-first century, intense thought and discussion are being devoted to the future of human society. Whereas advances in knowledge, especially in science and technology, bring hope of progress for humankind in the future, events each day remind us how the contemporary world is liable to drift off course, how exposed it is to dangers, in some cases extreme dangers, and how vulnerable it is to conflicts.
The increasing interdependence of peoples and nations, which is the hallmark of our time, is providing scope for unprecedented international co-operation. But the emergence of this global consciousness also reveals the extent of the disparities that beset our world, the complexity of its problems and the number of threats that are liable at any time to jeopardize the stock of human achievement.
Great demands are consequently being made on education, whose contribution to human progress is so vital. The idea is gaining ground that education is one of the most powerful tools with which to shape the future – or, to use more modest terms, to steer us into the future by taking advantage of constructive trends and trying to avoid pitfalls. What is education doing today to prepare the active citizens of tomorrow?
UNESCO has taken the initiative of bringing the light of its international experience to bear on this issue. Its Director-General, Mr. Federico Mayor, asked me to chair an International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, mandated “to study and reflect on the challenges facing education in the coming years, and to formulate suggestions and recommendations in the form of a report that could serve as an agenda for action for policymakers and officials at the highest levels”.
The following question from the Commission's terms of reference formed our point of departure: “How can education play a dynamic and constructive role in preparing individuals and societies for the twenty-first century?” We were asking it some twenty years after another Commission, chaired by Mr. Edgar Faure, had published a report – which is still topical – under the significant title Learning to Be.
Four crucial issues
The Commission did its best to project its thinking on to a future dominated by globalization, to ask the right questions and to lay down some broad guidelines that can be applied both within national contexts and on a global scale. Here I shall examine four issues which I believe are crucial.
The first issue is the capacity of education systems to become the key factor in development by performing a threefold function – economic, scientific and cultural. Everyone expects education to help build up a qualified and creative workforce that can adapt to new technologies and take part in the “intelligence revolution” that is the driving force of our economies. Everyone – in North and South alike – also expects education to advance knowledge in such a way that economic development goes hand in hand with responsible management of the physical and human environment. And, finally, education would be failing in its task if it did not produce citizens rooted in their own cultures and yet open to other cultures and committed to the progress of society.
The second crucial issue is the ability of education systems to adapt to new trends in society. This brings us to one of the fundamental responsibilities of education – having to prepare for change despite the growing insecurity that fills us with doubts and uncertainties. (...)
The third crucial issue is that of the relations between the education system and the state. The roles and responsibilities of the state, the devolution of some of its powers to federal or local authorities, the balance to be struck between public and private education – these are just some aspects of a problem which, moreover, differs from one country to another.
The fourth issue is the promulgation of the values of openness to others, and mutual understanding – in a word, the values of peace. Can education purport to be universal? (...)
The creation of a language accessible to everyone would mean that people would learn to engage more readily in dialogue, and the message that this language would convey would have to be addressed to human beings in all their aspects. A message that claims to be universal – one of education's lofty ambitions – must be conveyed with all the subtle qualifications that take full account of human beings’ infinite variety. This is no doubt our major difficulty. (...)
The pillars of education
The[re are] four main pillars that the Commission has presented and illustrated as the bases of education. (...)
The first of these is learning to know. Bearing in mind the rapid changes brought about by scientific progress and new forms of economic and social activity, there is a need to combine a broad general education with the possibility of working in depth on a selected number of subjects. In a sense, such a general education is the passport to learning throughout life, insofar as it should teach people to enjoy learning and also lay the foundations that will enable them to carry on learning throughout their lives.
Learning to do is the second pillar. In addition to learning to practise a profession or trade, people need to develop the ability to face a variety of situations and to work in teams, a feature of educational methods that does not receive enough attention at present. These skills are more readily acquired if pupils and students have the opportunity to develop their abilities by becoming involved in work experience schemes or social work while they are still in education. Increased importance should thus be attached to all schemes in which education alternates with work.
Learning to be was the theme of the Edgar Faure Report published under UNESCO's auspices in 1972. The Report's recommendations are still extremely relevant, for in the twenty-first century everyone will need to exercise greater independence and judgement combined with a stronger sense of personal responsibility for the attainment of common goals.
Learning to live together, finally, by developing an understanding of others, of their history, their traditions and their spirituality. This would provide a basis for the creation of a new spirit which, guided by recognition of our growing interdependence and a common analysis of the risks and challenges of the future, would induce people to implement common projects or to manage the inevitable conflicts in an intelligent and peaceful way. Some might say that this is utopian; and yet it is a necessary utopia, indeed a vital one if we are to escape from the dangerous cycle sustained by cynicism and complacency.
Learning throughout life
The concept of learning throughout life advocated in the Faure Report is one of the keys to the twenty-first century. It meets the challenge of a rapidly changing world, and it is necessary because of its advantages of flexibility, diversity and availability at different times and in different places. It also goes beyond the traditional distinction between initial schooling and continuing education.
The idea of lifelong education must be rethought and broadened. As well as adapting to changes in working life, it should also comprise a continuous shaping of the personality, of knowledge and aptitudes, but also of the critical faculty and the ability to act. (...)
The basis for a learning society is a formal system where each individual is introduced to the many different forms of knowledge. There is no substitute for the teacher-pupil relationship based on authority and dialogue. This has been said time and again by the great classical thinkers who have studied the question of education. It is the teacher's responsibility to impart to the pupil the knowledge that humankind has acquired about itself and about nature, and the essence of human creativity and inventiveness.
Education should therefore constantly be adapting to changes in society, and also pass on the attainments, foundations and benefits of human experience.
The stages and bridges of learning: A fresh approach
By focusing on the concept of learning throughout life, the Commission did not intend to convey the idea that one could avoid reflecting on the different levels of education. The fact is that learning throughout life makes it possible to reorder the sequences and itineraries of education, ease the transition from one stage to another and recognize the value of each.
The “three Rs” – reading, writing and arithmetic – get their full due. The combination of conventional teaching and out-of-school approaches should enable children to experience the three dimensions of education – the moral and cultural, the scientific and technological, and the economic and social.
Basic education should be provided worldwide for 900 million illiterate adults, 130 million children not enrolled in school, and more than 100 million who drop out prematurely. This vast undertaking is a priority for technical assistance and partnership carried out through international co-operation.
One major problem area in any reform concerns the policies to be adopted for young people after primary education. One might go so far as to say that secondary schools tend to be neglected in educational thinking. They are the target of considerable criticism and provoke a considerable amount of frustration.
One source of frustration is a demand for expansion and diversification of secondary education, leading to rapid growth in enrolments and congestion in teaching programmes. This gives rise to some classic problems of mass education which developing countries cannot easily solve either financially or in terms of organization. Furthermore, there is the discouraging problem of school leavers who face a shortage of opportunities, their distress increased by a widespread all-or-nothing obsession with access to higher education. Mass unemployment in many countries has exacerbated this malaise.
The only way out of this difficult situation seems to be a very broad diversification of types of study available. The latter should include both conventional education, which focuses more on abstraction and conceptualization, and approaches that combine school and job experience in a way that brings out other abilities and inclinations. In any event, there should be bridges between these approaches so that errors in choice of direction, which are far too widespread, can be corrected.
Furthermore, the prospect of being able to go back to education or training would alter the general climate by assuring each young person that his or her fate is not sealed between the ages of 14 and 20.
Higher education should be seen from the same angle.
In many countries, other types of higher education institutions exist side by side with universities. Some are highly selective, while others were set up to provide specifically targeted, quality professional and vocational training. This diversification obviously meets the needs of society and the economy, both at the national and regional levels.
Increasingly stringent selection in order to ease the pressures brought about by mass higher education in the wealthiest countries is neither politically nor socially acceptable. One of the main flaws in such an approach is that many young people are expelled from the educational process before they have been able to obtain a recognized diploma and find themselves in the desperate predicament of having neither a degree nor training appropriate for the job market.
There is a need to manage increasing university enrolment in tandem with reform of secondary education. Universities would contribute to this process by diversifying what they offer: as scientific establishments and centres of learning leading to theoretical or applied research or teaching; as establishments offering professional qualifications, with courses and content tailored to the needs of the economy; as one of the main crossroads for learning throughout life; as leading partners in a form of international co-operation favouring exchanges of teachers and students and promoting the wider availability of first-class teaching through international professorships.
These proposals have a special significance in poor countries, where universities have a decisive role to play.
Long-term strategies for reform
(...) Three main protagonists contribute to the success of educational reforms: the local community (parents, school heads and teachers), the public authorities and the international community.
Local community participation in assessing needs by means of a dialogue between the public authorities and social groups concerned is a first essential stage in broadening access to education and improving its quality. Continuing the dialogue by way of the media, community discussions, parent education and training, and on-the-job teacher training usually arouses greater awareness, develops judgement and helps build local capacities.
In any event, no reform can succeed without the co-operative and active participation of teachers. The Commission recommended that the social, cultural and material status of educators should be considered as a matter of priority, along with the tools required to deliver education of a high standard: books, modern communication media, and suitable cultural and economic support for the school.
This being so, one requirement for the improvement of education systems is responsible public policy. Policymakers cannot assume that the market can compensate for the failures in the system or that laisser-faire is sufficient. The public authorities must propose clear options and, after broad consultation with all concerned, choose policies that set guidelines for the system and lay its foundations, and regulate it by making the necessary adjustments.
All the choices to be made should be predicated upon the principle of equal opportunity. (...)
As far as the international community is concerned, as agent of the success of educational reforms, the Commission framed a number of suggestions concerning: a policy of strong encouragement for the education of girls and women; the allocation of a minimum percentage of development aid (a quarter of the total) to fund education; the development of debt-for-education swaps to offset the adverse effects on state education expenditure of adjustment policies and policies for reducing internal and external deficits; the widespread introduction of the new technologies of the “information society” in all countries, to prevent the growth of yet another gap between rich countries and poor countries; enlisting the outstanding potential of non-governmental organizations.
These few suggestions should be seen in the context of partnership rather than aid. After so many failures and so much waste, experience militates in favour of partnership. Globalization makes it inescapable.
Conclusion
The interdependence of nations provides scope for – and requires – international co-operation on a new scale and in all fields. The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century is one of the ways of asserting the will to achieve this as the turn of the century draws near.
Without conducting a purely descriptive exercise or outlining a philosophy of education systems, its goal was not to construct “scenarios for the future” resulting in a set of precepts for educational policymakers, but to provide decision makers with facts to help them draw up educational policies and to spark off a debate that would go beyond the world of education and teachers, and involve parents, children, business leaders, trade unionists and associations engaged in giving education a more effective role.
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