ABSTRACT
Chapter 8 explores in more detail the possibilities for schools. In the previous chapter, the larger picture was painted with the aid of Peter Drucker who coined the term ‘knowledge society’ and others, including William Bridges, Dale Spender and Jeremy Rifkin. The place of this epic transformation among the great movements in society over centuries was established. The challenges and the opportunities for schools are as exciting as they are profound. The darker side of the picture was then exposed, for there is the prospect of polarization when it comes to employment and work. It is more a chasm, and it is getting wider and deeper, with elite knowledge workers, including the ‘new professional’ in education on one side, and the permanently unemployed on the other. Rifkin’s vision of the ‘civil society’ must be included in the larger picture if the outcomes are not to be catastrophic in human terms. There are important opportunities and responsibilities for schools.
