ABSTRACT
The concept of knowledge society is derived from the seminal work of management scientist Peter Drucker 0968,1993). Central to Drucker's conception is the idea ofknowledge work, which he portrayed as gaining ascendancy over manufacturing work, just as manufacturing work at an earlier time gained ascendancy over agricultural work. A difference highlighted by Drucker is that the learning required for an individual to shift from agricultural to factory work is relatively slight, whereas a shift from manufacturing to knowledge work requires extensive learning. Hence the escalating importance of education: "Education will become the center of the knowledge society, and the school its key institution" (Drucker, 1994, p. 53). This conviction was reiterated by the 30-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development: "Education will be the centre of the knowledgebased economy"(OECD, 1996, p. 14). The importance of both formal ("codified") and informal ("tacit") knowledge has been recognized and even the connection between the two: "Tacit knowledge in the form of skills needed to handle codified knowledge is more important than ever in labour markets" (OECD, 1996, p. 13; emphasis in original).
