The policy and practice of learning entrepreneurial skills and future qualities of ‘mind’
Gerald Lidstone
Goldsmiths University of London
Towards a new concept of arts education
Creativity in Arts Education
In the last 12 years there have been a number of guiding documents and major conferences initiated by UNESCO and others that have created new cultural and educational policy directions - from Stockholm in 1998 to Seoul 2010 including the adoption of the UNESCO convention on the protection and the Promotion Diversity of Cultural Expressions 2005 and the World Conferences on Education for Sustainable Development. Each of these landmark events has provided an impetus to rethink education policy and practice.
The groundbreaking work of Sir Ken Robinson in All Our Futures (i) made significant reference to the work of Howard Gardner with his classification of diverse intelligences. All our Futures is now just over ten years old however it is only now just beginning to have significant impact, it is essentially concerned with creative education – both learning and teaching creatively but also crucially recognising how to develop creative talent in students of all ages. On one level this has provoked a significant debate ( in a number of countries) on curriculum content; on one side an emphasis focusing on traditional mathematical and literacy skills the other on creative abilities developed around the Gardner intelligences, linguistic, mathematical, spatial, kinaesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. It is now necessary to move on from this debate ( although many countries have yet to fully understand or adopt the principals) to consider how the space in which creativity (ii) can flourish and be respected in all educational disciplines, can be can itself be created. This is essentially the teaching of entrepreneurial thinking ‘entrepreneurship education is a process which develops individuals’ mindsets, behaviours, skills and capabilities and can be applied to create value’ (iii) in a range of contexts and environments ( please note that this should not be confused with ‘enterprise’ - business thinking ). To return to Gardner, he now suggests five overarching qualities of mind for the 21st century. An expertise in a discipline, an ability to synthesize information and communicate it, the creating mind, an engagement with and a respect for diversity and finally to be able to act ethically. If these qualities or capacities (which sound very reasonable) are to be learnt effectively then they will need to be developed through a cultural lens. The ‘culture’ referred to is increasingly global in nature as it is often engaged with through digital means. The digital expert Jaron Lanier points out a key concern with culture in this form. The difference between real culture and fake culture is whether you internalise the thing before you mash (iv) it. Does it become part of you? Is there some way your meaning, your spirit, your understanding has touched this thing? Or is it just a touch of novelty for a moment to get some attention? Culture involves some work, some risk, some exploration, some surprise (v).
This paper will deal with the issues generated by learning entrepreneurial (self determining) skills and future qualities of ‘mind’ within the context of a global culture.
i KACES has translated the Ken Robinson book Out of Our Minds into Korean and the ideas therein are being disseminated.
ii It is understood that creativity can not be taught but the conditions for its development can be put in place.
iii Developing Entrepreneurial Graduates Putting Entrepreneurship at the centre of higher education Durham University 2009
iv A Mash (up) is a term in web development referring to an application or web page that puts together data or a function from different sources to create a new page or function.
v Jaron Lanier, author of 'You Are Not A Gadget' interviewed in the Observer Newspaper London 21/02/2010
Unesco & the Government of the Republic of Korea
World Conference on Arts Education
Seoul 25-28 May 2010
Identification form for the submission of abstracts on Arts Education
(research/case studies/experiences of best practices)
Surname: Lidstone
Name: Gerald
Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof: Dr
Past and present occupation (detailed description):
2008 - Director Institute of Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship ICCE
2004 -2008 HOD Drama Department
1985 -2004 University Lecturer
Organization/Institution/University:
Goldsmiths University of London
Address:
ICCE 114 Whitehead, Goldsmiths, Lewisham Way New Cross, London SE14 6NW UK
Telephone (+international code):
+44 (0) 207 919 7424
Fax (+international code):
+44 (0) 207 919 7413
E-mail Address:
[email protected]
Title of the Paper:
The policy and practice of learning entrepreneurial skills and future qualities of 'mind
