|
|
|
by J. P. Keeves |
|
|
This is the Final Report of the Flinders University Institute of International Education high-level seminar on the UNESCO Report Education: The Treasure Within (the Delors Report), held at the University on 17 November 1998. The Institute has undertaken as one of its key tasks the dissemination of the idea of Lifelong Learning as a master concept for the planning and management of education at all levels. We believe that this concept, advocated not only by UNESCO but also by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and advanced in key public statements by the European Union and by the British and other European governments, offers the only sure way for Australia and South Australia to become full participants in the knowledge based economy which will characterise the 21st century. Equally, the notion of lifelong learning charts a course by which the new economic order can be built within a fulfilling and inclusive social context. It is a key theme of the Delors Report, and of the seminar proceedings outlined here, that only by following all four pillars of learning &endash; learning to be and learning to live together, as well as learning to know and learning to do &endash; that societies can truly access the 'treasure within'.
The purpose of the seminar was to bring together senior members of all sectors of education with representatives of business and the community to examine the UNESCO Report on Education for the 21st Century (the Delors Report).
Learning: The Treasure Within further developed and up-dated the concept of Lifelong education popularised by the famous UNESCO (Faure) Report of 1972 (Learning to Be). The Delors Report extended the original idea of Learning to Be into four pillars underlying education and life: • Learning to Be In April 1998 a successful conference in Melbourne examined ways in which the Delors principles could be applied to education in Australia and its region. The report of that conference, Education for the 21st Century in the Asia Pacific Region, was taken as a foundation for the South Australian seminar, which set out to examine how the insights of Delors, and of the Melbourne Conference participants, could be applied within South Australia. The procedure adopted was to develop seven themes from the Melbourne Conference Report and to ask seminar participants with appropriate expertise to frame discussion within a South Australian context. (In the event two themes &endash; Education and the Economic Future of South Australia and Education and Work &endash; were discussed together).
The Institute was fortunate to attract Mr Geoff Spring, then Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Victoria and a member of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, as keynote speaker. Not only does Geoff have a deep understanding of the Delors concepts, but as his address illustrates, he has a keen sense of how a conceptual breakthrough can be implemented through innovative policy and practice. The Institute is grateful for Mr Spring's significant contribution. May I also extend thanks to the South Australian Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Hon Malcolm Buckby, MP, who delivered a thoughtful opening address and to the Vice Chancellor of the Flinders University of South Australia, Professor Ian Chubb, who personally extended the University's welcome to participants and also contributed to the seminar's discussion.
This final report also contains some material prepared in conjunction with the seminar but not delivered on the day, which we judge will assist readers not fully familiar with the detail of the Delors report and the discussions surrounding it. Robin Ryan has prepared a brief history to bridge the Lifelong Learning developments of the 1990s and the earlier vision of lifelong or recurrent education, popularised in the 1970s. I have prepared a general introduction to the ideas of the Delors report and commented on some themes which seem to be particularly important. Bob Teasdale has expanded his introductory comments at the seminar, with special emphasis on schooling in South Australia, for a follow-on meeting of Superintendents and Assistant Directors in education and children's services. We hope that this additional material will help readers use the report as a comprehensive introduction to the ideas of the UNESCO Report on Education for the 21st century.
John P Keeves Chair Flinders University Institute of International Education
|
||
|
|
 |
|
