Exploring Education and Education Reforms from the Complex Systems Point of View

Abstract

The main motivation for this paper is that a negligible number of reforms in education systems, initiated all over the world, proved to be successful in terms of bringing desired results in promoting educational practice and its final goal - the promotion of students’ learning and knowledge. Regarding the education system and its reform a change of paradigm has recently happened. In some cases, changes were made gradually, whereas in other cases it was completely abandonment of treating them as complicated systems with simple interventions and solutions toward the recognition and respect of their true complex nature. So, this reviewed paper explores new insights and tools derived from the theory of complexity. They can help to better understand and navigate the education system and its reform. Becoming familiarised with methodological implications of viewing the education system and its reform as complex system is recommendation for different stakeholders included in education system, such as teachers, students, researchers, administrators and policy makers. Advance awareness of both urgency and opportunities of analysing and respecting the education system as a complex system would contribute to better understanding the essence of dynamic wholeness of education and, for sure, would provide desired results of educational reform. For all of us that means more successful coping with the world characterised by a growing number of complex systems with growing intensity.