Education

Overview

NOTES:

• Most of the increase in education spending per person will go to suppliers other than traditional schools and colleges. That is, traditional schools and colleges will hang onto their current market, but they will not expand to meet new demands for education services. Both internal and external pressures will make them slow to adopt new techniques based on cognitive science, so that competing providers will step in to fill the gap. Radical innovation in general tends to come from the fringe, as William Baumol and others have argued, and this is likely to be the case with education
• Parent-driven schooling will increase. As parents start to acquire knowledge derived from cognitive science, they will become more confident about giving input and making decisions concerning education strategies for their children. Parents will make more use of personal educational consultants and other non-school-based resources. Home schooling and traditional schooling will become less of a dichotomy and more of a continuum. http://www.techcentralstation.com/061504B.html
• Online learning is passing from the first phase of trying many different formats and ideas, to consolidating around a few standards that fit with the technology currently available. One of the leading software packages is Blackboard, partially owned by Microsoft, that has substantial (thousands) license fees. An alternative, that seems to offer equally good facilities, is Moodle. Here is a comparison: http://www.humboldt.edu/~jdv1/moodle/all.htm. There are a number of Irish organisations using Moodle: http://moodle.org/sites/index.php?country=IE

Business As Usual

• Home schooling becomes more common as internet schools are established. However, this remains limited as those parents who might prefer this option to public or private education are working and are not available to supervise their children.
• The number of third level centres remains high providing choice for students across the country. Courses are focused on service industry and the knowledge economy.
• Third level courses change only to incorporate new technology, the assumption that the future looks similar to the past.

Enlightened Transition

• Home schooling becomes more common as internet schools are established. However, this remains limited as those parents who might prefer this option to public or private education are working and are not available to supervise their children.
• Third level centres introduce studies of environmental and social sustainability into all their courses.
• A Centre of excellence in new energy technology in created with the aim of stimulating industry in Ireland.

Fair Shares

• Government funding is available for primary and secondary education only. Businesses sponsor employees to attend vocation training.
• Home schooling, both full-time and part-time becomes popular particularly at secondary level.
• A Centre of excellence in new energy technology in created with the aim of stimulating industry in Ireland.
• Most primary school children still attend local schools, many of which are private schools started by local people.

Localisation

• Home schooling, both full-time and part-time becomes popular particularly at secondary level.
• Most primary school children still attend local schools, many of which are private schools started by local people.
• Funding for education is very limited and much of the responsibility has been left to the parents to educate their children using resources available.
• Third level education as we know it is only available to the rich. Instead life long learning with students controlling their own education, using the internet, is a choice for most people.