Mónica Edwards-Schachter, Phd.moed@ingenio.upv.es

7th International Conference on Interdisciplinary SOCIAL SCIENCES25-28 June 2012- Universidad Aba Oliva CEU, Barcelona (Spain)

Educ

Past

FUTURE

Turning point? Fritjof Capra (1982)

Education& action

FUTUREEducation& action

Past

Turning point? Fritjof Capra (1982)

OUTLINE

THE GAP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION

SOCIAL INNOVATION :THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW

PARADIGM

SI & SUSTAINABILITY DISCOURSES

FINAL REFLECTIONS (AND EDUCATION: QUO

VADIS?)

EDUCATION:

THE GAP BETWEEN

KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION

“At the beginning of the last two decades of our century, we

find ourselves in a state of PROFOUND, WORLD-WIDE

CRISIS. It is a complex, MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CRISIS

whose facets touch EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES. It is

a crisis of intellectual, moral, and spiritual dimensions; a

crisis of a scale and urgency UNPRECEDENTED in

recorded human history. For the first time we have to face

the very real threat of EXTINCTION OF THE HUMAN

RACE and of all life on this planet”

Fritjof Capra (1982). The Turning point.

1962

1972

1992

2012!

Has there been a decline in commitment to

sustainability?

Rio+20 provides an (other) enormous opportunity to

move forward to a new development paradigm …

The big contradiction

Economic growth and SD= positive correlation?

Humankind’s path is a continuous evolution of social networks that build the “Web of Life” in our planet, which seeks self-knowledge and understanding of their own existence …

… of our individual identity

… of our awareness about our existence on the planet

… and building new concepts and theoretical ‘constructs’ (dignity, human rights, innovation, sustainable development, ‘smart’ growth …)

“the net which we throw out in order to catch the world - to

rationalize, explain, and dominate it”

Karl Popper. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery, London: Hutchinson, p. 26.

Rather, our knowledge of reality is formed by the perception

of a real situation and by the interpretation, i.e. the image ...

(Thomas Theorem).

DIFFERENT THEORIES = DIFFERENT NETS = DIFFERENT REALITIES

WORLD VIEWS IN FORMAL EDUCATION

“Learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions,

and to take action against the oppressive elements of that reality” (Freire, 1974)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 4 4.1 4.2 4.2* 4.3

1992-2000

2000-2009

Biology and Geology Science Books, N= 69 de 1992-2000 and N = 54 de 2000-2009

Perceptions and images of the planetary crisis: an example

http://lsg.ucy.ac.cy/esera/phd/abstract107.html

SD

• The multi-crisis (environment, economy, society, governance, ethics …)

• Liquid modernity, liquid times, liquid life … (Bauman, 2000, 2005)

• Living in an age of uncertainty and risk … (Beck, 2002)

• Don’t worry, be happy (market without frontiers, consumer society, planned obsolescence in industrial design, individualism …)

• An example: The shock of the rapidly rising phenomenon of the graduate unemployment

‘the profound change which the advent of 'fluid modernity' has brought to the human condition’ Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity.

CRISIS AND SOCIAL DISCOURSES

• ‘Smart’ growth or … de-growth?

• Transition to a green economy

• The search (or emergence) of a new social order?

• Innovation: the magic potion

In education

• The cognitive revolution (we need to learn with our ‘all’ brain, Robinson, 2005)

• ITCs and the increasing of non-formal and informal learning (‘invisible learning’ - Cobo and Moravec, 2011); connectivism –Downes …)

CRISIS AND SOCIAL DISCOURSES

Dialogues: ‘The future we want’

don’t worry: be happyhttp://www.earthsummit2012.org/news/1064-book-launch-only-one-earth-the-long-road-via-rio-to-sustainable-development

SOCIAL INNOVATION:

THE EMERGENCE OF A

NEW PARADIGM

21

hidden INNOVATION

22

SOCIAL

innovation

F. Moulaert

J. Howaldt

J. Hochgerner

G. Mulgan

A. Hubert

A. Rodríguez & Alvarado

J. Echeverría

S. Conger

A. Gurrutxaga

B. LévesqueD. Harrison

‘social innovations are innovations that are social in both

their ends and their means. Specifically, we define

social innovations as new ideas (products, services and

models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more

effectively than alternatives) and create new social

relationships or collaborations. They are innovations

that are not only good for society but

also enhance society’s capacity to act’

Hubert (2010, p. 7)

DEFINITION OF SI

The SOCIAL shape of

TECHNOLOGICAL innovation

The technological shape of SOCIAL

innovation

≠ Social IMPACT

OF INNOVACIÓN

≠ DIFFUSION

of innovation

What is DESIRABLE

to users?

What is viable in the

MARKET?

What is POSSIBLE with TECHNOLOGY?

What is the most

PROFITABLE?

Which are the real REAL NEEDS?

What SOCIETYdemands?

Is TECHNOLOGY

useful or an enabler …?

What VALUES produces?

‘TRADITIONAL’ TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

SOCIAL INNOVATION

SI &

SUSTAINABILITY

DISCOURSES

INNOVACIÓN

SI

SI

SISI

SI SI

SI

SI DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT

TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

SI?

Innovation is at the core of the EU 2020 Strategy where

is presented as a key element to achieving smart,

sustainable and inclusive growth

‘smart growth’ is used to mean ‘developing an economy

based on knowledge and innovation’

Transforming innovation for sustainability

(Leach et al., 2012).

New words … new discourses

FINAL

REFLECTIONS

(AND

EDUCATION: QUO

VADIS?)

PLANNew

paradigms

Projects

Long life learning

e-portfolio

Blogs

Curriculum

TIC, e-; b-;m-learning

PBL

Webquest

Skills and competences

Active learning

Assessment

Scholar violence

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATIVITY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION COMPETENCES

LEARNING

# EDUCATION

Future?Where is the change?

SI is a multi-faceted concept which can be placed at the intersection of spontaneous and rationally organized movements at the micro, meso or macro levels of society (bottom-up). Not all SI is bottom-up …

Globally, the mainstream sustainability agenda is mostly about eco-efficiency and consumer demand

Greening actions and transformation of local consumption can contribute to changes in local social order

SI start at grassroots level around the world …

Some final reflections

Continuing with adjustments to adapt to the changed context, as has frequently been the case in last years ?

We need ...

… openness to new ways of thinking about education

… incorporation of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship competences together with competences for ‘sustainability’ (‘partial’ solution)

… integration between formal, in-formal and non-formal education

(others places and environments? Embbedding in community?

… other kind of structures! (re-thinking the formal institutions of

education)

Education for sustainability AND innovation

THE SOCIAL IMAGINATION Wright Mills, C. (1959)

ANDREW, C. and KLEIN, J. L. (2010). Social Innovation: What is it and why is it important to understand it better. ET10003. CRISES.

BAUMAN, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Polity Press: USA. BAUMAN, Z. (2005). Education in a liquid modernity. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and

Cultural Studies Vol. 27(4):303-317. BECK, U. (2002). La sociedad del riesgo global. Madrid, Siglo XXI. BROOKS, H. (1982). Social and technological innovation. In Lundstedt, Sven B. and Colglazier, E.

William, Jr. (Eds.), Managing innovation. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 9-10. COBO ROMANÍ, C. and MORAVEC, J. W. (2011). Aprendizaje Invisible. Hacia una nueva ecología

de la educación. Col·lecció Transmedia XXI. Laboratori de Mitjans Interactius / Publicacions I Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona

DOWNES, S. http://www.downes.ca/ EDWARDS, M. (2005). Activist Science Education. The Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and

Ethics. Editor-in-chief: Dr. Carl Mitcham. Associate Editors: L. Arnhart, S. Bird, D. Johnson y R. Spier. Ed. MacMillan. USA

EDWARDS-SCHACHTER, M., MATTI, C. and ALCÁNTARA, E. (2012). Fostering quality of life through social innovation: A living-lab methodology study-case (forthcoming)

EDWARDS M., GIL D., VILCHES A. and PRAIA J., (2004). La atención a la situación del mundo en la educación científica. Enseñanza de las Ciencias Vol. 22 (1), pp. 47- http://www.oei.es/catmexico/ensenanza_de_las_ciencias.pdf

EUROPEAN UNION/THE YOUNG FOUNDATION. (YF) (2010). Study on social innovation. Report prepared by the Social Innovation eXchange (SIX) and the Young Foundation for the Bureau of European Policy Advisors.

References

HOCHGERNER, j. (2011). The Analysis of Social Innovations as Social Practice. Published in Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (ed.). 2011. Pendeln zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis. ZSI-Beiträge zu sozialen Innovationen. Vienna and Berlin: LIT. 173-189.

HOWALDT, J. and SCHWARTZ, M. (2010). Social innovation: concepts, research fields and international trends. Report of ESF, EU and Aachen University. Dortmund, May 2010.

HUBERT, A. (2010). Empowering people, driving change: Social innovation in the European Union. http://ec.europa.eu/bepa/pdf/publications_pdf/social_innovation.pdf

NUSSBAUM, M. C. and SEN, A. K. (Eds.). (1993). The Quality of life. Oxford University Press.

POLANYI, K. (2001). The great transformation. Boston: Beacon Press. ROBINSON, K. (2005). The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes

Everything. London: Penguin Books. VAN DEN HOVE, S.; MCGLADE, J.; MOTTET, p. and DEPLEDGE, M. H. (2012).

The innovation Union: a perfect means to confused ends? Environmental Science & Policy Vol. 16:73-80.

WAPNER, P. (2011). Civil Society and the Emergent Green Economy. Review of Policy Research, Vol. 28(5):525-530.

WRIGHT MILLS, c. (1959), The Sociological Imagination, 'The Promise', Chapter 1. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~johnthorpe64/Mills.html

References