the learning society

Knowledge and Learning Societies:Paradigms,

ChallengesL J Haravu

The origins and concept of a knowledge economy and society

Characteristics of knowledge as a resource

Relationship between learning andknowledge

Concept of a learning society and its characteristics

Challenges and possible future

Outline of talk

Industrial revolution - Technological definition◦ Cluster of Macro inventions leading to

acceleration in micro inventions◦ Macro inventions created the seeds for the

gradual: Diffusion, adaptation, improvement and

extension of the techniques developed

Knowledge Societies - origins

Created a mind set that accepted and eagerly welcomed :◦ invention and innovation◦ New products and services

Created the social values that made possible the new industries

Created the ‘Technologist’ and Entrepreneur

Social Effects of the Industrial Revolution

Recognition that economic progress/power depends on sustained industrial growth◦ such growth depends at least partly on support to

scientific research and R & D Scientific research in academic centres and

R & D received active support in UK first and in Europe and USA in the 19th century

Political effects

Growth in the volume of scientific and technical information (STI)

In the 20th Century, we saw:◦ New levels of investment in R & D as a result of

the world wars◦ Intense rivalry for military supremacy by the

power blocks during the wars and in the interim between the wars

◦ The cold war after the second world war◦ The push for nuclear supremacy◦ The push for supremacy in the Space sciences◦ And now in the Biotechnology and IT areas

Technological effects

Management of the ever increasing ‘flood’ of STI became an important issue◦ Resulted in the development of tools, theories and

techniques The birth of another trigger technology, viz.,

the Digital Computer in 1946 The computer along with other

microelectronic inventions (the transistor, Integrated circuits) were like macro inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Emergence of an Information Society

Computers led to the emergence of a totally new industry, the Software Industry

Unlike industries in the Industrial revolution, the Software Industry is built on the soft skills/knowledge of people.

Initial use of computers was predominantly for scientific and numeric work

Its potential as an Information Processing machine was realized only when computers became cheaper and more capable

Information Revolution

Scenario in the business world in the 1960’s and onwards◦ Increased competition◦ Larger scales of operation◦ Increased multinational presence ◦ Greater respect for international standards◦ Reduced barriers to trade and commerce

The Business world of the mid 20th Century

Businesses, industries needed to acquire and manage a wide range of information

Information became a product in its own right

Information became an important element in decision making in business

This again fuelled the search for better methods in information management


Businesses, manufacturing and service industries sought to apply computers and communication technologies in the 1960’s and 1970’s for data and information processing

IT was seen not only as a resource but as a business environment


Global interdependencies and pace of change demanded that businesses become:◦ More flexible◦ More adaptive

Application of IT, it was hoped would help:◦ Decrease vulnerability by reducing cost of

expected failures◦ Enhance adaptability by reducing cost of

adjustment


Drucker (1985) defined organization as “ a structure in which information is the axis and central structural support”

Organizations began to restructure to take advantage of IT

Experience with IT was mixed among businesses. Returns were not always commensurate with investments

IT and the Business World

The development of microcomputers during the 1970’s heralded yet another trigger technology

This led to an ubiquity in computing and an explosion in application software

Rapid technological developments pushed prices down and increased capabilities

The software industry became the driving force Microcomputers truly democratized computing

and put it in the hands of virtually everyone

The Information Revolution

A new class of professional, viz., called the Knowledge Worker by Drucker emerged. This resulted from the preoccupation of business/industry with information management

Relative contribution of knowledge workers to GDP in the developed world has increased over the last several years

Knowledge Workers

The Internet was opened to the world in the 1980’s◦ The emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) as

an application riding the Internet and based on commonly agreed language, protocols, software, standards.

The Internet and WWW added a new dimension to the Information world

The microcomputer made computing ubiquitous; the Internet made access to information produced anywhere globally accessible

The Internet and its impact

Led to the explosion of information of all kinds (text, images, graphics, sound, video)

Internet and the Web may also be seen as macro invention that spawned a number of micro inventions

The true impact of the Information Revolution began to be felt by mid 1980s, e.g., ◦ The emergence of the Internet as a major

worldwide distribution channel for goods and services, and jobs (or E-Commerce)

Effects of the Internet

Not only made information globally accessible, it:◦ Facilitated one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-

many interactions between like-minded people◦ Virtual communities of all kinds proliferated

worldwide thanks to email, chat, netmeeting, discussion forums

The Web is much more than an information network because it:1. Allows sharing of knowledge 2. Collaboration, sharing and cooperation as opposed to

competition are the paradigms on which new developments are predicated


E-Commerce is to the Information Revolution what the railroad was to the Industrial Revolution

E-Commerce was a totally unprecedented development and is rapidly changing economies, society and politics


In the new ‘mental geography’ created by the railroad, distance was mastered; in the ‘mental geography’ of E-Commerce, distance has been eliminated (Drucker 1999)

In E-Commerce there is only one economy and one market

Consequences:◦ Every business must become globally competitive

even if it manufactures and sells locally◦ The traditional multi-national may become

obsolete◦ There are neither local companies nor distinct

geographies


The Web is much more than an information network because it:◦ Allows sharing of knowledge ◦ Distributed resources become equally accessible◦ Permits collaboration

Collaboration, sharing and cooperation as opposed to competition are the paradigms on which new developments are predicated

Characteristics of the Web

Information Overload is a negative consequence of the Information revolution ◦ a critical factor in the productivity of knowledge

workers This is driven not only by ready availability

of vast quantities of information but also because professionals need more information in their jobs

Choosing what information to gather, share and process can be overwhelming

Consequences of Information abundance

People are increasingly concerned with the quality of their choices around information

We are beginning to grapple with the relationship between information and knowledge

Information overload has created a new kind of competition, the competition for people’s attention

‘Information absorbs the attention of the recipient. Therefore an overabundance of information creates a deficit of attention’

Where are the nuggets of knowledge in a sea of information?


Globally competitive business Information saturated society Businesses need to be constantly alert Businesses need to be constantly competitive Need for means to make good choices/decisions

in an information overloaded world Led to:

◦ Realization that the key to being constantly competitive is to be constantly innovative in all aspects of a business

The key to being innovative is KNOWLEDGE


World Bank:◦ For countries in the vanguard of world economy,

the balance between knowledge and resources has shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has perhaps become the most important factor determining the standard of living – more than land, than tools, than labour. Today’s technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge-based.’

Knowledge Economies

√ Alvin Toffler: √ Knowledge as the source of the highest quality of

power and the key to the powershift that lies ahead. There is a battle for the control of knowledge and the means of communication.

√ Peter Drucker argues that in the new economy, knowledge is not just another resource alongside the traditional factors of production – land, labour and capital. – but the only meaningful resource

Knowledge Economies

Neo classical economists recognized only 3 factors of production: land, labour and capital. Knowledge was seen as an exogenous factor

New Growth economists (Joeseph Schumpeter, Paul Romer and others) see technology and the knowledge on which it is based as an intrinsic part of the system

Economists views

New Growth economics differ from earlier theorists in the following ways:◦ Knowledge is the basic form of capital.

Economic growth is driven by the accumulation of knowledge

◦ While any given technological breakthrough may seem to be random, these rather that having a one-off impact, can create technical platforms for further innovations and this technical platform effect is a key driver of economic growth.

Economists views

According to New Growth economics◦ a country’s capacity to take advantage of the

Knowledge Economy depends on how quickly it can become a ‘learning economy.’

◦ Learning means not only using new technologies to access global knowledge, it also means using them to communicate with other people about innovation

Economists views

According to New Growth economics◦ In the ‘Learning Economy’ individuals, firms and

countries will be able to create wealth in proportion to their capacity to learn and share innovation.

◦ Formal education too needs to be less about passing on information and focus on teaching people how to learn

Economists views

√ Most countries today are investing in the becoming knowledge driven via:√ policy initiatives, √ technology√ Infrastructure√ Seeking new approaches in higher educational systems√ Open universities and distance education√ Open learning, open access, open standards, open

source√ Collaboration among different stake holders: public,

private, NGOs, International agencies

Knowledge economies

√ Knowledge and information are not the same although we speak of these as though they are synonymous

√ Information alone does not often have the capacity to resolve uncertainty.

√ Knowledge gives the capacity to act effectively in order to produce desired outcomes in a complex, uncertain and fast changing environment

Knowledge can and should be evaluated by the decisions and actions to which it leads

Knowledge –vs- Information

The capacity to act effectively requires considering and understanding a broad variety of factors in any situation, making effective decisions, and enacting them

This capacity is exclusive to human beings Information is something which can be digitized,

while knowledge is intrinsic to people Digitized information can be stored indefinitely,

duplicated, communicated Knowledge has to be transferred either directly thru

socialization or by delivering information which people can internalize as their personal knowledge

Knowledge –vs- Information

√ Personal knowledge √ includes certain pieces of information and bits of data, √ also contains a wealth of experience and memories

unique to each one of us. √ These flavour, filter and shape what we know and

understand.√ Our knowledge is:

√ A constantly shifting configuration of memory, context, patterns, associations and relationships.

√ Continuously evolving through constant exchange with our environment.

Knowledge –vs- information

Assumption Traditional thinking or Newtonian worldview

New thinking or quantum physical worldview

Scientific Foundation

Newtonian Physics Quantum Physics

Time Is monochronic (one thing at a time)

Is polychronic (many things at a time)

We understand by Dissecting into parts seeing in terms of the whole

Information is Ultimately knowable Infinite and unbounded

Growth is Linear, managed Organic, chaotic

Managing means Control, predictability Insight and participation

Workers are Specialized, segmented Multi-faceted, always learning

Paradigm shifts

Assumption Traditional thinking New thinkingMotivation is from External forces and

influenceIntrinsic creativity

Knowledge is predominantly

Individual Collective

Organization is By Design EmergentLife thrives on Competition Cooperation,

CollaborationChange is Something to worry

aboutAll there is

Paradigm shifts

Yesterday TodayHierarchy was the model Synergy is the mandateLeaders commanded and controlled

Leaders empower and coach

Leaders demanded respect Leaders encourage self-respectEmployees took orders Teams make decisionsProduction determined availability Quality determines demandValue was extra Value is everythingEveryone is a competitor Everyone is a customerShare holders came first Customers come firstNatural resources defined power Knowledge is power

Paradigm shifts – another view

Learning can be defined as gaining knowledge, comprehension or mastery through experience or study.

Learning by individuals, organizations, including educational institutions is vital to their continued well-being, survival, and growth in the Knowledge Economy

Relationship between Knowledge and Learning

Alvin Toffler: In the twenty first century an illiterate person is not one who cannot read or write, but one who will not learn, unlearn and relearn”.

Equally true of organizations Many organizations are seeking to become

learning organizations as this is the only way they can hope to remain relevant, competent and competitive in a fast changing world.

Learning Organizations

Formal education too needs to be less about passing on information and focus on teaching people “how to learn”.

An overarching philosophy, policies and support systems are needed for people to lean on.

Such a support system has been called the Learning Society

Learning Society

Donald Schon provided a theoretical framework linking the experience of living in a situation of an increasing change with the need for learning. society and all of its institutions are in continuous

processes of transformation. We cannot expect new stable states that will endure for our own lifetimes.

We must learn to understand, guide, influence and manage these transformations.

In other words, we must be able not only to transform our institutions, in response to changing situations and requirements; we must invent and develop institutions which are ‘learning systems’

Learning Society

Torsten Husén, another early contributor to the concept of learning societies:

“it would be necessary for states to become 'learning societies' - where knowledge and information lay at the heart of their activities”.

Learning Society

Husén's vision of a relevant educational system for Learning Societies include the following:

Education is going to be a lifelong process. No fixed points of entry and 'cut-off' exits. More a continuous process within formal education and in its

role within other functions of life. Will take on a more informal character as it becomes

accessible to more and more individuals. In addition to 'learning centers', facilities will be provided for

learning at home and at the workplace To an ever-increasing extent, the education system will

become dependent on supporting systems to produce teaching aids, systems of information processing and multi-media instructional materials.

Learning Society

Three key strands in the notion of a learning society◦ The learning society is an educated society,

committed to active citizenship, liberal democracy and equal opportunities. This supports lifelong learning.

◦ A learning society is a learning market, enabling institutions to provide services for individuals as a condition for supporting the competitiveness of the economy.

◦ Learners adopt a learning approach to life, drawing on a wide range of resources to enable them to support their lifestyle practices

Learning Society

Key attributes• values and fosters habits of lifelong learning• socially inclusive and ensures that all of its members

are part of its learning communities• It recognizes the importance of early-childhood

development as part of lifelong learning and develops organized ways of enhancing the development of all children.

• It views information technologies, including new interactive, multimedia technologies, as tools for enriching learning

Learning Society

Globalization and new patterns of working and living are increasing the demand for specialist skills and knowledge. But to be “knowledgeable” will no longer be good enough:◦ A new set of 21st century skills, will also be

essential to flourish.◦ Many more people than ever before need to

have advanced capabilities for critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving

Learning Society and Technology – some views

Traditional education systems alone are simply not capable of serving the world’s growing and changing needs.

The knowledge explosion, driven by the power of the network to connect people and spread ideas, has changed the very nature of learning.

Need to innovate and develop new modes of learning, both formal and informal

Learning Society and Technology – some views and ideas

the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century demand citizens with a global perspective and the capacity and passion to engage with the world’s problems both at home and abroad

New technologies increase possibilities for learning throughout life, have the potential to improve access, and intensify and spread the process of knowledge creation

Learning Society and Technology – some views

The future of education is through formal and informal networks.

Using the full power of video and mobility, people can collaborate to create and share knowledge as well as develop new ways of teaching and learning that captures the attention and imagination of learners anywhere, anytime on any device.


We can now see examples of the Learning Society in the adoption of new technologies. Examples include:

the rise of social networking, edutainment, the open source movement, and new trends in educational technologies.

Learning as an activity not a place, where it is wide open to new people with new ideas.

Learners “pulling” learning toward themselves rather than teachers “pushing”

spread far beyond school and involve learners and parents as contributors as well as customers - outsourcing


Learning needs to be organized on a different set of principles requiring a new learning system that is characterized by: ◦ new ways of organizing learning, new forms of

assessment and credentialing,◦ different models of investment and funding, and a

fit-for-purpose infrastructure.

Organizing principles

The Learning Society needs:◦ strong leadership from a coalition of

governments, businesses, NGOs, and social investors

◦ a mixture of learning providers—public, private, and third sector

◦ organizations and individuals who provide content◦ Telecom providers (supported by governments)

must help ensure access to a shared learning infrastructure

The Possible Future

The Learning Society needs:◦ That employers and unions encourage their staff, their

members, and their communities to take advantage of learning opportunities,

◦ To develop legitimate, standard certification systems that offer the prospect of portable qualifications that are recognized around the world,

◦ To fund a diversity of innovators—from spreading known models to experimental work on high-risk and high-reward projects

The Possible Future

All formal educational systems should inculcate the thought and put in place practices that:◦ They are an integral part of the Learning

Society◦ They can contribute to it as well as benefit from

it◦ They need to innovate and use technology

towards developing new ways of encouraging learning

Conclusion

Where is the information that we have lost in data?Where is the knowledge that we have lost in

information?Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the life we have lost in living?

T.S. Elliot

The Last Word