Education in the Anthropocene. Between Possibilism versus Utopia

Abstract

This paper is a reflection on education within the framework of the Anthropocene, accepting as key educational challenges the problems which justify assigning this name to the current geological epoch. The urgent need to train citizens, who are actively committed to the principles and values of sustainability, derives from these problems. The focal point of this issue has two main aspects: The first focuses on transformative action as a nurturing dynamic of the training process; the second considers the competencies that education should aim to promote. On the one hand the paper reviews the updated typology of competencies which, described as transformative , are included in the Learning Compass 2030 (OECD, 2019). This adds complexity to the training proposal of the DeSeCo model (OECD, 2005). On the other hand, there is an analysis of the significant aspects of the typology of key competencies for sustainability, as promoted by UNESCO (2014; 2018a). From a reflective consideration of both typologies, the lack of elements (capacities) necessary to reach a critical awareness of species whose training significantly affects what each individual can become is evident. The so-called existential competencies of Edgar Morin (2016), which point to the most radical core of the human being, are then proposed as complementary to strengthen the consistency of the model. These competencies are not explicitly included in the, otherwise laudable, initiatives which international organisations and institutions are deploying to bring the Education 2030 agenda to fruition. However, it is necessary to focus attention on them within the framework of a truly transformative quality education. Therefore, incorporating them into the competency model dominant on an international level is imperative in order to radically address the gravity, and urgency, of current socio-ecological problems. Anthropological substrate, provided by a biocentric humanism, is required to carry this out. This is a substrate committed to the moral responsibility which requires preserving the dignity of life in its extraordinary diversity.