Sometimes it seems there's nothing education experts love more than a taxonomy. This offering (28 page PDF) from the World Economic Forum (WEF) seeks to identify "a comprehensive set of skills, attitudes, and values to prepare young learners for well-being in the economies of the future" where 'well-being' is measured in increases in GDP and skills required by employers. The real work is done by the second level, which include as 'aptitudes' cognitive, social and physical skills along with self-regulatory and societal aptitudes. The aptitudes especially reflect the values of a very particular perspectives and include such things as 'grit' and 'growth mindset'. It's not all bad, though; the most useful bit describes how "an abstract aptitude, such as problem solving, in practice should not be simply taught on its own, but rather through developing a particular competency, such as solving a particular real-world challenge or problem." This sort of work, if studied by researchers, might reveal an actual set of common skills and aptitudes, not merely those gleaned from a WEF consultants' workbook.
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