Three forces are pushing man toward a drastic shift in cultural values and basic premises. These are: 1) the existence of a world macroproblem which requires such a shift for its solution; 2) the "great refusal" of youth to go along with the values of the past; and 3) the questioning within science as to whether its classical "value-free" stance…

Today, the science of man's subjective experience is in its infancy. But if it gains momentum, its consequences may be even more far-reaching than those which emerged from the Copernican, Darwinian, and Freudian revolutions. The following propositions have accumulated an impressive amount of substantiating evidence: 1) The potentialities of the…

If man is to have a future which is desirable, it requires a drastic and prompt shift in the values and institutions of his society. The industrial-state paradigm of the last few hundred years was useful for that time, but for the future it has several crucial failings. These include failures: 1) to provide each person with an opportunity to…

Explains that the social paradigm underlying our dilemmas in education and in the society as a whole is changing, and offers some suggestions for how we should operate schools in a time of transition. (IRT)

Futures research, like anthropology, is an undertaking that can change the researcher by bringing to light doubts and questions most people prefer to ignore. A futurist discusses his intellectual evolution since he started to study the future 17 years ago, sharing insights that came to him along the way. (RM)

Educational planners and policy-makers make assumptions about the future in their work. The challenge offered here is to explicate, develop, and examine these in broader, more holistic fashion and in longer time perspectives than is often the case. (Author)

This paper, the last in a series of five on the current state of citizen education, forecasts likely societal futures and explores the effectiveness of specific citizen education interventions within varied societal contexts. The content is presented in four parts. The first part summarizes the tasks of citizen education in the preparation of…

The dominant values of a society determine the type of education offered its citizens. American education has until now been largely influenced by the values of individualism, science, material progress, and technological advancement. Recent widespread rebellion and dissent have provided clues evidencing dissatisfaction with a world built upon…

This publication attempts to provide a framework for thinking about the most complex educational issues of our day, and for clarifying what can reasonably be expected of the educational system (as compared with what can almost certainly not be accomplished by the schools alone). The paper begins with a summary of the present transitional state of…