A Specialised Journey

“We live in an era of post-role-work, where the narrowing of human possibility represented by the becoming a single thing characterised by skills and repetitive labour (to be an engineer, a teacher, a baker) has been replaced by the insecurity of being nothing but transferability and flexibility itself”. Nina Power (2016)

Perhaps a provocative way to start, but what a difference it makes for students to be able to do what they are good at and interested in at school. You may point out that AI might replace some of these career pathways, but hasn’t AI already replaced the generalist in being able to provide quick overviews and perform general tasks at the touch of a button? However, the specialist areas of physical labour and cognitive labour have not been replaced by machines or AI yet.

Yes, a broad education may serve most, but why force students who have found their vocation down the same pathway? Over the last 12 years, I have been pleased to set up educational programmes with like-minded partners that meet the needs of students for whom a broad education would have gotten in the way. Firstly, I set up a joint programme with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and then with the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts (HKAPA), the Hotel Tourism Institute (HTI)/ International Culinary Institute (ICI) and Build Something Different (BSD). Now, in Taipei, I have seen our first graduates come through with SCAD and the World Academy of Sport (WAoS), and these students found some impressive university placements (some with handsome scholarships). This has all happened under the umbrella of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Career-related Programme (CP). These students shone because they did what they enjoyed in an area where they are talented.

It really seems that we are close, given technological advances, to being able to provide a bespoke education for all students, whether this is a broad programme or a specialised programme. Whatever this may look like, let it be an education for our students that supports them and doesn’t impede them.

Power, N. (2016). Nothing Special. In D. Blamey, Specialism. London: Open Editions.