The problems with educating a quadriform society

I've recently seen an inspiring video on social evolution (Ronfeldt, 2012; thanks to Harold Jarche for the link) which gives incredible insight into the problems that our society faces today. Ronfeldt presents his model of society by classifying human organisations into four distinct forms: Tribes, Institutions, Markets and Networks (TIMN). Each form brings benefits for survival and cultural development, but can lead to its own problems. In this model of progression, societies tend to adopt the forms in the T - I - M - N sequence (though not always rigidly) resulting in an increasingly complex society, where problems created by the dominance of earlier forms of organisation are solved by the successive forms as they become more effective through information technology revolutions. The network form is now starting to gain increased power through the adoption of internet technology.

The addition of a new form of organisation can cause widespread social disruption, but ultimately brings about benefits. The addition of the market form to western civilisations has brought great gains to society, but not without risks, as evidenced by the ongoing and widespread economic downturn. It follows that the addition of the network form of organisation, resulting in a quadriform society, brings the potential for new solutions to our problems. These possibilities are still an unexplored country, and there will be continued barriers to their adoption. However, with a growing realisation hitting home that networks are important, we finally have a model for understanding why they are important.

Relevance to current situations

The reason that this model has such resonance for me is that I see links with the current situation for the education system in the UK. We are currently organised by a mixture of institutional control and market suppliers. The government and its agencies ensure consistency of standards, whilst acknowledging the need for freedom of choice in exactly how services supporting that education are to be provided. Recent events have brought to light the potential for corruption (Garner, 2011; Orr, 2011), and weakened faith in our education system. In particular the accusations tend to rest on how market forces are undermining the integrity of education. The natural reaction of our society is to demand tighter institutional control, and yet this runs contrary to the progression that Ronfeldt describes.

What are the solutions?

It would follow logically from the TIMN framework that allowing networks to play an increased role in our education system could repair the damage and allow new efficiencies to be realised. These networks are yet to be realised, and the future is uncertain, but it is an avenue that might free our education system from the current conflict between institutional control and the undesirable effects of market-based education. As global citizens, we must take it upon ourselves to go forward into this new territory. For my own part I intend to build on this line of enquiry as a subject for my dissertation, in the hope that it might provide a piece in a much larger and evolving puzzle.

References:

• Garner, R. (2011). Profit motive has created corrupt education system, say teachers. The Independent [online] 9 December. Available at: <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/profit-motive-has-created-corrupt-education-system-say-teachers-6274531.html> [Accessed 5 August 2012]
• Orr, J. (2011). Exam boards: examiners suspended in 'corrupt practices' row. The Telegraph [online] 8 December. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/8943300/Exam-boards-examiners-suspended-in-corrupt-practices-row.html> [Accessed 5 August 2012]
• Ronfeldt, D. (2012). TIMN in 20 minutes: social evolution – past, present, and future. [video online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBulH9_04vc&feature=player_embedded> [Accessed 21 June 2012]

Blog 2.0

I've been having a think about the emphasis of my blog and my motivation for using it, and decided it's time for an overhaul and to refocus my reflections.  Whilst I started this as a foray into social media, this stems from a wider interest in all things to do with online learning.  I'm suffering from a little social media fatigue, perhaps due to a deliberate attempt to fully immerse myelf in the medium to better understand it.  Whilst I've learned a lot from the experience, and about myself and my learning preferences, it has to be part of the bigger picture.

I'm studying education to complement my role at work, and I've come across the idea that social presence is needed for effective learning to take place, online or offline.  We cannot learn effectively in complete isolation, we have to contextualise the learning.  For much of my life I tended towards being a solitary learner, and I think I suffered from having insufficient experience to develop my learning into professional expertise, and also had no safety net when things didn't work according to plan.  With my current studies, I'm able to relate pretty much everything to my professional practice, accessing course materials and continuing online discussions in the workplace where this furthers business goals, and shaping course projects around the needs of our business.  Reintegrating work and learning in this way is a win-win situation for me and my employer, because I'm boosting my own learning and contributing directly to departmental objectives.  My reflections from this point will look more generally at my experiences with online learning, and will also be a foundation for my Masters dissertation.