IEI Seminar: David Baker on "Beyond the Schooled Society, a New Cognitive, Economic, and Demographic Space"

About the Topic: Only 150 years ago, the majority of the world's population was largely illiterate and unschooled. Today, not only do most people have basic reading and writing skills and have attended school, but 20 percent of the world's youth attends some form of higher education. It is clear that the education revolution has transformed postindustrial society in major ways, and that education is a primary rather than a "reactive” institution. What is less clear is what this sea change in exposure to formal education means for the future sustainability of society? Recent research points to a new type of human population with different sets of cognitive abilities, economic interests, and demographic behaviors, all of which will be a major social challenges for the future.

 

About the Speaker: David P. Baker is Professor of Education and Sociology and a research scientist at the Center for the Study of Higher Education and the Population Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University. His book The Schooled Society is the Winner of the 2015 AERA Outstanding Book Award. He is also coauthor of National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling (Stanford, 2005) and a frequent contributor to scholarly journals on education.