The Global Search for

Education: A Life of
Learning
Sir David Watson, Professor and Principal at Oxford University, England, shares his views with C.
M. !"in a"o!t higher ed!cation and a life of learning.
"THE EVIDENCE IS STRONG FROM THE UK THAT THOSE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY WHO HAVE HAD A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE OF
POST-COMPULSORY EDUCATION LIVE HEALTHIER, HAPPIER AND MORE DEMOCRATICALLY TOLERANT LIVES." -- SIR DAVID
WATSON
Professor Sir David Watson (MA Universit of !a"bridge# PhD Universit of Pennslvania$ is
Professor of %igher Education and Princi&al of Green Te"&leton !ollege# Universit of '(ford#
England) Sir David began his career as an intellectual historian) %e has contributed *idel to
develo&"ents in U+ higher education) %e chaired the U+,s -n.uir into the /uture for Lifelong
Learning# and co0authored its re&ort# #earning $hro!gh #ife) %e *as 1nighted in 2334 for services
to higher education) -n 5663# he received the Ti"es %igher Education Lifeti"e Achieve"ent
A*ard) - had the o&&ortunit to get Sir David,s vie*s on higher education and a life of learning)
What kind of education system will permit a country to have the human skills needed
to compete globally?
-t see"s to "e that the 1e re.uire"ent of a "odern societ is a fluid# accessible and res&onsive
sste" of tertiar and lifelong learning) /oundations in co"&ulsor education are clearl essential#
and universal access to &ri"ar education has been correctl identified as a United 7ations
Millenniu" goal) %o*ever# there is no* global recognition that full &artici&ation in "odern life
re.uires continuing education)
-n 566405663# - *as &rivileged to chair a !o""ission on the /uture of Lifelong Learning in the U+)
-n our re&ort# #earning $hro!gh #ife# *e began fro" the &re"ise that 8the right to learn is a hu"an
right# connected *ith &ersonal gro*th and e"anci&ation# &ros&erit# grou& and co""unit
solidarit# as *ell as global res&onsibilit)9 More recentl# the third annual E"erging Mar1ets
S"&osiu" at Green Te"&leton !ollege (in :anuar 5625$ identified tertiar education as both a
8condition of sustained and e.uitable econo"ic gro*th9 and a vital ele"ent in creating the
conditions for a satisfactor and res&onsible national life)
What are your views about standardized tests and the university admissions process?
- a" not an e(&ert on testing in schools) - a% a believer in self0stud and bench"ar1ing# fro" a
variet of &ers&ectives# ranging fro" the needs of individual learners and those *ho su&&ort the"
(including their fa"ilies$ to the institutions in and through *hich the stud) Sensible# nuanced
understanding of ho* - (and *e$ are doing is a vital ele"ent of an atte"&t to 8"anage the future9 in
&ersonal or institutional ter"s)
Mean*hile# around the *orld# .ualifications for universit entrance var in t&e and de"and) We
have established in the U+ that *here and ho* such .ualifications are earned can disguise both
achieve"ent and &otential) -f this is not full a&&reciated# a 1ind of brittle# "eritocratic discourse
can hinder the role of higher education in assisting social "obilit and advancing social ;ustice)
As a conse.uence# - have real concerns about the 8"oral &anics9 that surround universit
ad"issions) -n the U+ *e tal1 about 8*idening &artici&ation9 as if it is the sa"e as so0called 8fair
access#9 and vice versa) The t*o are logicall se&arable &heno"ena) The first < getting "ore
students .ualified and to the starting gate < is a big &roble" in both develo&ed and develo&ing
societies) The second < *here the choose to a&&l# and are ad"itted < is a co"&arativel tin
&roble") Merging the t*o can also lead to e"&iricall *ea1 and sociall &atroni=ing conclusions)
Well0.ualified students *ith disadvantaged bac1grounds *ho choose non0standard routes through
the sste" are often "a1ing rational and life0enhancing decisions)
"THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES IN THE UK (AND I SUSPECT IN SOME OTHER COUNTRIES) ARE AHEAD OF THE WIDER
COMMUNITY IN DEMONSTRATING ETHNIC, CULTURAL AND NATIONAL DIVERSITY." -- SIR DAVID WATSON
Is there sufficient focus on critical thinking in todays education system?
What "a1es higher education s&ecial is its facilitation of conversations bet*een "ore and less
e(&erienced learners) A degree of inde&endence and self0confidence is vital) -n this conte(t - see a
nu"ber of encouraging things)
The &ublic discourse is heavil do"inated at &resent b a &erce&tion (*hether *elco"ed or
de&recated$ of student instru"entalis") What counts is 8e"&loabilit9 (even "ore than
8e"&lo"ent9$ and *hether or not students are &re&ared for it) Mean*hile# students the"selves
confound e(&ectation further: b returning to the liberal arts# b returning to volunteering (even
*hile the si"ultaneousl have to *or1 "uch "ore fre.uentl for "one than their &redecessors$#
and b reviving student0led &olitical activis" (all around the *orld$)
What can be done to better address the emotional and intellectual potential of the
individual?
- a" currentl *or1ing on a &ro;ect about 8transfor"ation clai"s9 "ade b and for higher
education) - a" intrigued b ho* varied these clai"s have been over the long histor of the higher
education enter&rise# but also b ho* strong and deter"ined the invariabl are) Essentiall "
argu"ent is that such clai"s re&resent a "oving co"bination of recurrent the"es# nearl all &resent
at the creation of the "odern universit# and liable individuall to *a( or *ane according to "ainl
(but not e(clusivel$ e(ternal influences)
Most of the clai"s about the &ur&oses and achieve"ents of higher education are irreducibl
individualistic: it *ill change our life# through conversion or confir"ation of faith# b i"&roving
our character# b giving ou "ar1etable 8abilities#9 b "a1ing ou a better "e"ber of the
co""unit# or si"&l 8ca&able9 of o&erating "ore effectivel in the conte"&orar *orld) All of
these .ualities scale u&# of course# but in differing *as)
/irst of all# the historical &ers&ective is i"&ortant) Al"ost all higher education institutions *ere
founded# and invested in b &articular co""unities and their re&resentatives to serve social
&ur&oses) Success in higher education has# of course al*as re&resented a &rivate good and
nor"all a 8&ositional9 advantage) %o*ever# it has also al*as incor&orated and resonated *ith the
conce&t of 8&ublic good)9
Secondl# a tra& to avoid is that of cultural s&ecificit) -n the course of a recent global investigation#
set out in our boo1 $he Engaged University, " colleagues and - found strong evidence of
universities in the South and East doing "ore *ith less than those in the relativel &rivileged 7orth
and West (>outledge# 5622$) - &erceive a stronger sense of societal &ull (over institutional &ush$ in
ter"s of the universities in that &art of the *orld) Too often Euro&ean (including ?ritish$ and 7orth
A"erican universities can rest on their laurels# and thin1 that the can achieve their goals ;ust b
8being there)9
"WHAT MAKES HIGHER EDUCATION SPECIAL IS ITS FACILITATION OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MORE AND LESS
EXPERIENCED LEARNERS." -- SIR DAVID WATSON
From a broader perspective does your countrys definition of educational excellence
take into account the quality of life of individuals and of society?
The evidence is strong fro" the U+ that those "e"bers of societ *ho have had a &ositive
e(&erience of &ost0co"&ulsor education live healthier# ha&&ier and "ore de"ocraticall tolerant
lives)
Above all# as *e argued in #earning $hro!gh #ife# a successful learning life0course i"&roves our
chances of ta1ing control of our destin)
What needs to be done to increase students knowledge and understanding of other
countries and cultures?
7earl all universit ca"&uses are no* 8global)9 Probabl "ost i"&ortant is the fact that the
universit ca"&uses in the U+ (and - sus&ect in so"e other countries$ are ahead of the *ider
co""unit in de"onstrating ethnic# cultural and national diversit) -n the U+ at &resent# a "a;orit
of %igher Education -nstitutions no* has students fro" over one hundred countries and several
have a "a;orit *ho are bi0lingual) Paul >a"sden# for"er head of the %igher Education Acade" in
the U+# has s&o1en about 8intercultural fluenc9 as a 8central goal of ever higher education
curriculu")9 Universities ta1ing u& this challenge *ill often find that the are follo*ing < not leading
< their student bodies)
Does higher education (in Martha 7ussbau",s ringing &hrase$ 8cultivate hu"anit9@ The si"&le
ans*er has to be that it canA that it doesn,t necessaril doA and that there are other honorable *as of
achieving the sa"e end) -t is# ho*ever# - believe# generall good at this i"&ortant ;ob)
PROFESSOR SIR DAVID WATSON AND C. M. RUBIN
Photos co!rtesy of P& Photocall and 'reen $e%pleton College, University of Oxford.
(n $he 'lo"al Search for Ed!cation, )oin %e and glo"ally renowned tho!ght leaders incl!ding Sir
Michael *ar"er +U,-, Dr. Michael *loc. +US-, Dr. #eon *otstein +US-, Dr. #inda Darling/
0a%%ond +US-, Dr. Madhav Chavan +(ndia-, Professor Michael 1!llan +Canada-, Professor
0oward 'ardner +US-, Professor 2vonne 0ell%an +$he 3etherlands-, Professor ,ristin 0elstad
+3orway-, 4ean 0endric.son +US-, Professor ose 0ip.ins +3ew 5ealand-, Professor Cornelia
0oogland +Canada-, M%e. Chantal ,a!f%ann +*elgi!%-, Professor Do%ini6!e #afontaine
+*elgi!%-, Professor 0!gh #a!der +U,-, Professor *en #evin +Canada-, Professor *arry Mc'aw
+&!stralia-, Professor . 3atara)an +(ndia-, Dr. Denise Pope +US-, Sridhar a)agopalan +(ndia-,
Dr. Diane avitch +US-, Sir ,en o"inson +U,-, Professor Pasi Sahl"erg +1inland-, &ndreas
Schleicher +P(S&, OECD-, Dr. &nthony Seldon +U,-, Dr. David Shaffer +US-, Dr. ,irsten Sivesind
+3orway-, Chancellor Stephen Spahn +US-, 2ves $he7e +#ycee 1rancais US-, Professor Charles
Ungerleider +Canada-, Professor $ony Wagner +US-, Professor Dylan Wilia% +U,-, Dr. Mar.
Wor%ald +U,-, Professor $heo W!""els +$he 3etherlands-, Professor Michael 2o!ng +U,-, and
Professor Minx!an 5hang +China- as they explore the "ig pict!re ed!cation 6!estions that all
nations face today.
$he 'lo"al Search for Ed!cation Co%%!nity Page
C. M. !"in is the a!thor of two widely read online series for which she received a 89:: Upton
Sinclair award, ;$he 'lo"al Search for Ed!cation< and ;0ow Will We ead=< She is also the a!thor
of three "estselling "oo.s, incl!ding $he eal &lice in Wonderland.
Follow ! "! #ubin on $witter% www!twitter!com&'cmrubinworld
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