Key education trends to watch out for in 2019

As 2019 is expected to be an interesting year for education in India – several trends of previous years will pan out strongly and hopefully accelerate India’s march towards becoming a ‘knowledge economy’, writes Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran

The value of education in any society is uncontested—in fact, its relevance in today’s world is possibly far greater compared to most aspects of human life. It is probably for this reason that the World Development Report 2018 published, in a first, focussed solely on education.

It is a very gratifying experience for anyone associated with education to go through this report as it delves into systemic issues that impact education and areas of future focus. In the Indian context, the report is extremely relevant given the strides we have made as a nation in the space of education. Yet there are issues that need to be addressed, making education quite fundamental to our nation’s future growth agenda. Below are the key trends to watch out for in 2019:

Growth of integrated learning solutions: While on one hand it is fascinating to see schools, mainly in urban centres, adopt technology with alacrity, a very large number has yet to experience its benefits owing to connectivity and infrastructure issues, and therefore rely on the traditional ‘chalk and talk’ model of education. India needs bespoke education solutions that align with its socio-economic-technological landscape. Integrated learning solutions that seamlessly combine print books with digital learning aids appear to be a great fit for India, and their demand is expected to surge significantly in the coming years.

Adoption of formative assessment solutions: The last few years have witnessed a lot of debate on the importance of learning outcomes. As a result, there has been increased focus on assessment as a theme. The catch however lies in choosing the right assessment solution. The routine assessment solutions adopt a cookie cutter approach by just testing for basic recall, that too at the end of the term. On the other hand, formative assessment solutions are designed to analyse social and personal competencies and test the learners’ progress alongside curriculum delivery, and hence are more suited to ensuring that learning makes an impact. Formative assessments are also adaptive, giving the learner a personalised feel of outcomes.

Learning through regional languages: Ours is a nation of varied languages, and hence rendering anything via one language alone will be rather ineffective in terms of reach. Learning through regional language content and/or bilingual content will only grow as a trend in the coming year, ensuring coverage of a wider learner base.

Increased demand for teacher professional development: It is important to familiarise teachers with 21st century competencies and skills, new teachinglearning pedagogies and augmenting their lateral thinking abilities through professional development programmes.

Source | Times of India | 17^th December 2018

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