In our quickly changing modern world, education cannot prepare for the future using only lessons of the past, says the OECD’s latest Trends Shaping Education report.

According to the report, there are three mega-trends affecting the future of education:

• Globalisation: As international mobility continues to rise, education systems will be under more pressure to integrate diverse students from all backgrounds. This is already one of the biggest challenges for teachers and this challenge will increase in the next 5-10 years. Also within the next ten years, the majority of the world’s population will consist of the middle class, a trend that is largely driven by China and India.  This will increase pressure to provide better education for more people and place higher expectations on education from more demanding customers.
• Digitalisation: Education is already behind the digitalisation curve says the report. It must do more to take advantage of the tools and strengths of new technologies while addressing concerns around potential misuse, such as cyberbullying, security and privacy issues. “We need to think more about how human skills can complement the artificial intelligence of computers.”
• Ageing: Life expectancy continues to rise across the 34 OECD countries and the share of people aged 65 or older is expected to grow significantly. The pressure will rise for access to lifelong learning: high-quality re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities.  There is also an increasing need for digital literacy not just for young students.  In many countries, older adults have inadequate skills to manage digital information.

Trends Shaping Education explores major economic, political, social and technological trends affecting the future of education.  It aims to inform strategic thinking and stimulate debate on the challenges facing education.