Future Proofing Our Children

Abstract

Adelaide Festival of Ideas session, Hetzel Lecture Theatre, 11:30am, Saturday 8th October, 2011. Chaired by Garry Costello, poetry read by Ian Gibbins.

How can we use our education system to prepare our children to cope with a range of possibilities and build a successful society? We know for sure that the future is uncertain. As the world changes faster, so the role of education in meeting the economic, social and cultural needs of young people is thrown into flux. How is education responding to this fluidity and the consequent uncertainty? What evidence do we have or need to make good decisions about contemporary and future education? How might our conceptions of intelligence and creativity need to change in such unfamiliar territory?