Thrive : The Purpose of Schools in a Changing World

Humanity has entered an unprecedented age of disruption: schools need to be a part of the response. Thrive set outs the real challenges and opportunities that young people have now. This book will be of interest to parents, policy makers, professionals in schools, and academic researchers in education reform.

Every generation faces challenges, but never before have young people been so aware of theirs. Whether due to school strikes for climate change, civil war, or pandemic lockdowns, almost every child in the world has experienced the interruption of their schooling by outside forces. When the world we have taken for granted proves so unstable, it gives rise to the question: what is schooling for? Thrive advocates a new purpose for education, in a rapidly changing world, and analyses the reasons why change is urgently needed in our education systems. The book identifies four levels of thriving: global – our place in the planet; societal – localities, communities, economies; interpersonal – our relationships; intrapersonal – the self. Chapters provide research-based theoretical evidence for each area, followed by practical international case studies showing how individual schools are addressing these considerable challenges. Humanity''s challenges are shifting fast: schools need to be a part of the response.