Affiliation:
1. University of Calgary, Canada
2. UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, India
Abstract
There is general recognition that ‘Education has the power to transform the world' and equip young people to build a sustainable and peaceful world. As a step towards understanding the current state of education and collectively reimagining the future of education, a series of focus group discussions were conducted with students, teachers, and parents from all over the world. Eight prominent themes emerged from the participant discussion as follows: (1) education as a means to an end, (2) external influences on education system, (3) test centric system of education, (4) constrained curriculum and teaching practices, (5) education as a social and emotional activity, (6) school climate and power dynamics in the classroom, (7) educational infrastructure, and (8) technology and remote learning. Based on participant insights, the major issues in education, emerging innovative solutions, and recommendations for the future are discussed.