Professor Trevor Cairney

Director, Centre for Regional Research & Innovation (CRRI), University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The role of Education in the Development of Communities of Learners:
Laying the Foundation for Knowledge-based Economies

Abstract

One needs only to open a newspaper to be struck by the broad acceptance that we live in an age in which knowledge is seen as a key commodity for economic success, personal growth and community enhancement. Economists, social commentators, industrialists and government bureaucrats that the Knowledge-based economy is upon us all, tell us. However, as a concept, the Knowledge-based economy is loosely employed and embraces a number of quite different visions of the economy and society. One view sees it as bound up with the high skills/high performance/high value added scenario as the only way for firms to compete in a globalised economy. Another view, found principally in the scientific and technical community, tends to see it more narrowly as applying to knowledge intensive industries where knowledge itself is the core competence (e.g. software and internet companies, computer hardware and chip manufacturers, biotechnology).

A third view, the one that will be explored and applied in this paper, is that there is an intensification of knowledge occurring that cuts across all sectors of industry, government, business and indeed life. Knowledge is seen as a potential generator of productivity improvements in areas as diverse as quality, customer service, variety, speed and technical improvement, as well as innovation in products, processes and organisational structure and behaviour. The enhanced status and role of knowledge has numerous social implications, impacting on the way we structure industry, define employment, organise work and leisure and how we respond to environmental, health and equity issues along the way.

My work in this area has been driven by an understanding of knowledge and skill where the unit of analysis is neither individuals nor organisations, but rather, socially distributed activity systems'. That is, knowledge has been viewed not as something that resides in the heads of individuals, but rather as something that it is mediated, situated, provisional and pragmatic.

Recast in this way, knowing (rather than simply knowledge as commodity) is:

* manifest in systems of language, technology, collaboration and control (i.e. mediated);

* located in time and space and specific to particular contexts (i.e. it is situated);

* constructed and constantly developing (i.e. it is provisional); and

* purposive and object-oriented (i.e. it is pragmatic) (Blackler, 1995).

The learning theories that inform this work are activity theories (e.g. Engerstrom) and social learning theories (e.g. Lave and Vygotsky). Our theoretical approach inevitably directs attention towards to different social constructs as part of our investigations, including networks or clusters of companies/enterprises, 'communities of practice', and communities of learners.

An important outcome of our work has been to recognise that more attention needs to be given to the role that education and educators play in our rapidly changing world. While there has been much written about the need to enhance skills and knowledge in workers, far less attention has been given to the role that education plays in a world in which knowledge and knowing are more significant than in the past.

Drawing on recent research that examines the impact of the Knowledge-based economy on the nature of work and training as a 'back drop' I will examine the role that educational institutions at all levels might play in the development of communities and regions. Specifically, I will consider the role that they might fulfil in the development of innovative communities of learners able to transform the economic and social conditions that they experience in their daily lives. The paper will consider three dimensions to this role: the contributions of innovative teachers as community leaders; the role of educational institutions in developing innovative lifelong learners; the contribution of institutions to the development of innovative communities.

Bionote

Professor Trevor Cairney is Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for Regional Research and Innovation (CRRI) at UWS. His previous appointments include Dean of Education, Pro Vice-chancellor (Research) and Director of Regional Development and Partnerships. He is involved in a variety of research projects concerned with the development of communities and regions. His research interests bridge two major areas - education and regional development. His current research and writing interests include the role that education and training play in the development of lifelong learners, the relationship between educational institutions and their communities, and the building of regional and community capacity for innovation, change and advancement.

Presentation Type
30 min. Paper

Presentation Equipment and Other Requests
OHP

Speaking Date/Time Restrictions

Country
Australia