Education and New Technologies by Kieron Sheehy

Author:Kieron Sheehy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317290254
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

7

TEACHING ABOUT ABILITY EXPECTATION AND ITS GOVERNANCE

The issue of STEM

Gregor Wolbring

Background

In 1853, the New York Times argued that power comes with the ability to obtain knowledge, and that the exclusivity of knowledge is often used to oppress the ones who lack the knowledge (Wolbring and Yumakulov 2015). Access to the right to education as a means of challenging oppression is the theme of many international documents, such as Article 26 of the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UN General Assembly 1948) and Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations 2007). Education encompasses many different aspects that address oppression and social justice issues. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focuses on Education for All (EFA), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Education for Human Rights (EHR), Inclusive Educations (IE) and Adult Education (AE) (Burke and Wolbring 2010). Education for sustainable development remains a main aspect of the global sustainability agenda (Jucker 2011; UNESCO Conference on Education for Sustainable Development 2009), as is education for sustainable consumption (Mackay and Wolbring 2013). Citizenship education is another area that has been debated for some time (Keating et al. 2009; Wolbring 2012a), including a focus on active citizenship (Hoskins et al. 2008; Hoskins and Crick 2010).

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a significant focus of education (Kuenzi 2008). STEM advancements impact on how we teach, with different impacts on different social groups (Fabry and Higgs 1997; Volman and van Eck 2001). Indeed, this book covers various scientific and technological products used to teach within educational settings. Advancements in STEM knowledge also impact on the nature of what we teach, bringing with it social consequences (for example, later in this chapter the linkage between the appearance of the first satellite, Sputnik, changes in the ability expectations of pupils and students, and the appearance of the term ‘learning disability’ in the USA is highlighted (Wolbring and Yumakulov 2015)).

Indeed, education can be seen as fulfilling society’s changing ability expectations of others and oneself. As for the ability expectations one may have of oneself, some might cherish the ability to be competitive in sport or to be able to buy the newest phone or newest trend in clothing, others won’t. Some might cherish the ability to build friendships, others won’t. Some might cherish the ability to obtain a lot of money, others won’t. Ability expectations people have of themselves appear endless, change often and are within a hierarchy of which ability expectations are relatively more important to themselves than others. As for the expectations others have of them, if one wants to have a job, then one has to have learned the abilities required for the given job. Consequently, the abilities one has to learn change constantly (Wolbring and Yumakulov 2015). These individual ability expectations reflect cultural and historical developments. For example, having the ability to read was not seen as essential a few hundred years ago whereas being able to use a computer is a more recent ability expectation.

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