he question of education’s purpose has never felt more relevant. Or more urgent.
For decades, most systems have focused on two goals: preparing young people for the labor market and shaping them into good citizens. But in a world shaped by climate breakdown, conflict, displacement, and rapid technological shifts, these aims feel increasingly out of step with reality.
Learning doesn’t begin in the classroom. It begins at birth, arguably even before. The science is clear. The early years are where the foundations for learning, wellbeing, and development are laid. Yet many systems still treat early childhood education as an optional add–on rather than the essential starting point.
That has to change. If we’re serious about transforming education, we need to begin by supporting the adults who shape a child’s earliest experiences—parents, caregivers, and early years professionals.
Children today are growing up in turbulent times. The tools and methods we still rely on—memorizing facts and standardized testing—don’t prepare them for a world where AI can generate information in seconds, and where navigating misinformation and polarization is part of daily life.
So we need to ask better questions. Not just how we educate, but why.
Education must help learners make sense of the world and their place in it. That includes nurturing skills not traditionally thought within the realm of education: empathy, curiosity, critical thinking, and the confidence to imagine and shape better futures. These aren’t soft skills. Today, they’re essential.
We also need to rethink what counts as core learning. Literacy and numeracy matter. But so do climate literacy, digital awareness, emotional understanding, and media discernment.
And we must value how children learn. Learning through play builds the creativity, problem–solving, and social connection that young people need to thrive. It’s not a luxury. It’s the most natural and effective way to learn.
If education is to meet this moment, we must return to purpose—and put children, families, and humanity at the center of everything we build.
a global affairs media network
Question of education’s purpose more relevant than ever
Image via Adobe Stock
September 21, 2025
As we rethink education’s purpose amid growing, overlapping pressures, we must begin by better supporting children’s earliest learning experiences and the adults who shape them, writes Euan Wilmshurst.
T
he question of education’s purpose has never felt more relevant. Or more urgent.
For decades, most systems have focused on two goals: preparing young people for the labor market and shaping them into good citizens. But in a world shaped by climate breakdown, conflict, displacement, and rapid technological shifts, these aims feel increasingly out of step with reality.
Learning doesn’t begin in the classroom. It begins at birth, arguably even before. The science is clear. The early years are where the foundations for learning, wellbeing, and development are laid. Yet many systems still treat early childhood education as an optional add–on rather than the essential starting point.
That has to change. If we’re serious about transforming education, we need to begin by supporting the adults who shape a child’s earliest experiences—parents, caregivers, and early years professionals.
Children today are growing up in turbulent times. The tools and methods we still rely on—memorizing facts and standardized testing—don’t prepare them for a world where AI can generate information in seconds, and where navigating misinformation and polarization is part of daily life.
So we need to ask better questions. Not just how we educate, but why.
Education must help learners make sense of the world and their place in it. That includes nurturing skills not traditionally thought within the realm of education: empathy, curiosity, critical thinking, and the confidence to imagine and shape better futures. These aren’t soft skills. Today, they’re essential.
We also need to rethink what counts as core learning. Literacy and numeracy matter. But so do climate literacy, digital awareness, emotional understanding, and media discernment.
And we must value how children learn. Learning through play builds the creativity, problem–solving, and social connection that young people need to thrive. It’s not a luxury. It’s the most natural and effective way to learn.
If education is to meet this moment, we must return to purpose—and put children, families, and humanity at the center of everything we build.
