Education 4.0: The Concept, Skills, and Research

Abstract

Introduction. With Industry 4.0 and Work 4.0 entering the world, modern education is undergoing transformations in terms of educational practices, skillsets and competencies, teaching and learning methodologies (including flipped classroom, blended learning, self-regulated learning, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, student-centred pedagogy), digital tools used at all educational levels, as well as barriers and challenges. This string of changes is covered by the new buzzword “Education 4.0”. It is not so far finally defined. There are various explanations of the concept. Most align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Industry 4.0. The JLE editorial aims to overview the emerging research field of Education 4.0 aligned with Industry 4.0, outlining the potential lines of research for JLE authors. Industry 4.0. The transformation of production at large is beginning on the basis of a set of innovative technologies and completely brand-new processes. Their combination constitutes the underpinning of Industry 4.0. Skillsets in Education 4.0. There are numerous views of the skills needed for graduates ready for Industry 4.0. One of the most replicated lists embraces the 10 skills offered by the World Economic Forum in 2016 with later updates. Most researchers outline numerous technical, communication, digital, and cognitive skills as a skillset of Industry 4.0. Teaching and Learning in Education 4.0. The traditional pedagogy or face-to-face learning, still dominant worldwide, is going to combine with innovative approaches, including, e-learning, and blended learning as a mixture of e-learning ang face-to-face learning. In addition, all student-centered technologies add to the future pedagogical landscape: self-regulated learning, project-based learning, flipped classroom, etc. Research on Education 4.0. The authors searched the Scopus for the documents related to “Education 4.0” to find that the total of 483 results unevenly distributed from 2010 to 2023, with a high of 137 in 2022. The analysis of the publications on Education 4.0 proves that the research field is developing fast, though publications authored by researchers from the developing countries prevail in the search results. At the same time, most of the selected publications came out in the Scopus-indexed low-quartile or discontinued journals. A disproportionately low number of articles published by the authors from the OECD countries depletes the quality of the research field. Conclusion. The editorial overview of the concept of Education 4.0 may serve as a topical guidance for researchers at large and potential JLE authors focused on educational research. Further studies in the field may cover skillsets and competencies for Industry 4.0; teaching and learning approaches in Education 4.0; new educational frameworks and environments.