A common phrase suggests that more than half of the jobs that our children will perform today have not yet been invented! This means that we need generations equipped with the necessary skills to face an uncertain future, and this is the role of education, which is not limited to transferring knowledge but building minds capable of adaptation and innovation.
In most of our Arab countries, educational systems still contribute to stifling young minds, confining them to narrow circles that prevent them from venturing into the realm of thinking and creativity. This is achieved through the “triangle of destruction;” its first side being “rote memorization and recitation,” neglecting the development of critical and creative thinking skills. The second side manifests in fostering a culture of “conveying minds” rather than creative and innovative minds, resulting in individuals lacking critical thinking skills and living within a culture of conformity. The third side is the failure of these systems to keep pace with major transformations such as the digital revolution and artificial intelligence, which hinders the preparedness of youth for the future labor market.
Developing the minds of our youth requires a new educational philosophy that focuses on fostering critical and creative thinking.
As a result of this decline, our schools and universities are producing stagnant minds and limited abilities. The role of education in shaping young minds and building critical and creative thinking skills has diminished. It has become necessary to reimagine education to align with contemporary demands and comprehensively and sustainably enhance human intellect.
Developing the minds of our Arab youth requires a new educational philosophy that focuses on fostering critical and creative thinking through promoting scientific methods and analytical thinking. Additionally, educational policies should align with digital transformations and artificial intelligence, linking them to the regional and global labor market.
Importance and Challenges
Science is not merely knowledge that is transferred and inherited but rather comprehensive development of all necessary life skills. Through it, an individual gains the ability to think outside the box and find innovative solutions to problems, cooperate, and work in teams. It elevates the mind and enhances communication and negotiation skills. Education is not just a means to obtain certificates but an investment in the future, creating minds capable of building advanced societies.
Education plays a vital role in shaping an individual’s character and developing self-awareness and social consciousness. It provides the knowledge and skills necessary to understand oneself and one’s capabilities, build self-confidence, and make informed decisions. It also contributes to instilling values of good citizenship, tolerance, and cooperation and raises awareness of societal issues, preparing individuals to actively contribute to building more prosperous communities.
Young people in most of our Arab countries face numerous challenges that hinder their access to quality education. The most prominent of these challenges can be summarized as follows:
- Digital Gaps: These pose a significant barrier to quality education. When millions of young people lack access to good internet services or possess outdated and low-quality devices, it certainly hinders their ability to learn through the modern technologies necessary for advanced education. Moreover, many suffer from a lack of essential digital skills to interact with new education systems.
Major Challenges in Education in Our Countries: Digital Gaps, Weak Curricula, Lack of Resources
- Weak Curricula: This is one of the most significant issues that most Arab countries have not overcome. Most curricula are stagnant and lag behind contemporary developments, focusing on rote learning rather than critical and creative thinking. They lack periodic updates, making them poor and insufficient to meet labor market requirements, thus weakening the readiness of youth to create or even face the future.
- Lack of Resources: In many developing countries, a lack of resources leads to poor-quality education, starting from a shortage of qualified teachers to deteriorating school infrastructure and a lack of basic educational materials. This negatively impacts the educational process as a whole, resulting in generations incapable of contributing significantly to human progress.
Stimulating Young Minds
Amid the enormous challenges facing our Arab world, developing young minds emerges as a top priority for building a promising future. The youth are the backbone of the nation and the ones capable of creating solutions to contemporary problems. To achieve this, experts recommend creating an environment that stimulates young minds and develops their creative abilities through various strategies, including:
- Constantly exposing the mind to new ideas and experiences, which acts as a mental exercise enhancing its capabilities. Reading, for instance, opens wide horizons and develops critical thinking. Additionally, listening to different opinions and engaging in intellectual discussions broadens our perspectives, increases our mental flexibility, and confronting new experiences consistently enhances the mind's flexibility and ability to learn and adapt.
- Engaging in sports: It is not just a physical activity but an investment in brain and mental health. Studies indicate that physical exercise significantly improves brain functions by enhancing circulation and increasing oxygen flow to the brain, thereby boosting its thinking and analytical abilities.
- Breaking the daily routine and trying new ways of living is a powerful stimulant for the mind. When we change our daily path or try new activities, we push our brains to work in different ways. This change forces us to think creatively and adapt to unexpected situations, enhancing our mental flexibility and problem-solving abilities.
We are in dire need of a generation of youth with intellectual flexibility and the ability to learn and develop continuously.
Our era desperately needs a generation of youth with intellectual flexibility and the capacity for continuous learning and development. This is where the importance of a “growth mindset” comes into play, believing that abilities and talents are not fixed but can be developed through effort and perseverance.
According to psychology professors, those with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are limited and unchangeable, while those with a growth mindset believe they can continuously improve themselves through effort and perseverance. This difference in belief significantly impacts their motivation and self-confidence.
Psychologists assert that when young people adopt a growth mindset, they view failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, boosting their confidence and driving them to exert more effort. They understand that success requires perseverance and hard work, not just innate talent.
Adopting a growth mindset contributes, according to psychology experts, to instilling a spirit of initiative and innovation in youth. The intellectual flexibility characteristic of this mindset drives them to think outside the box and seek unconventional solutions to challenges, transforming them into a driving force for creativity across various sectors, from entrepreneurship and technology to cultural and social fields.
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- “The Impact of Using a Growth Mindset on Motivation for Learning and Productive Thinking,” Al-Azhar Journal of Education: A Peer-Reviewed Journal for Educational, Psychological, and Social Research, 42.199 (2023), 1-30.
- “Challenges of Digital Education in the Arab World (A Foundational Vision),” The Arab Journal of Specialized Education 4.12 (2020), 91-108.
- Report: “The Brain Needs Exercise to Grow... Here Are Ways to Improve Mental Performance,” Al Jazeera website.
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