Trends in education for 2025

As we do every year, here at the eLinC we have carried out a trend analysis to identify the main areas of interest in teaching and learning. This year, we have selected the 6 key trends in education for 2025, in a context dominated by the rise of generative AI, which is consolidating its impact on multiple processes both inside and outside the classroom. Among these trends, those relating to employability and the global socioeconomic environment stand out due to their profound influence on the educational experience of students around the world. Similarly, the adoption of new technological resources is transforming both student learning and the role of the teacher. Below, Desirée Rosa Gómez Cardosa and Guillem Garcia Brustenga present the most striking trends for the coming year.

1.   Active learning

Description

We use the term active learning to refer to a set of educational methods that aim to stimulate the dynamic participation of students in their own learning process, thus increasing their level of engagement.

Importance

Institutions tend to explore active learning methods such as gamification, question-based learning or project-based work to ensure that students play a more prominent role in their learning. The teacher’s role is then to accompany the student in a process in which their motivation increases in line with skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and decision-making in settings where learning is experiential and the concepts learned will serve the students in the real world when they perform tasks related to the discipline studied.

Example

One example is role playing, where students are offered the opportunity to take part in activities that recreate scenarios related to the academic subject or discipline, and encouraged to think more critically and see situations from a different perspective (Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), 2012). Barnard College has launched the game Reacting to the Past, in which students are assigned the role of a character with specific goals and must communicate, collaborate and compete effectively to advance their goals.

2.   Personalization of learning

Description

Nowadays there are different ways to personalize students’ learning experiences, from enrolment, to where and when they want to study, the type of course and qualification they want to focus on, and the way they engage with the learning resources. Some institutions offer students diversified, adaptable pathways on their curricular journey so they can achieve their educational objectives while meeting their learning needs.

Importance

In today’s competitive world of education, students have a wide range of programmes and courses to choose from, and the number of people demanding tailored learning to complete their skill set is increasing. In the future, AI recommenders could play an important role in this personalization, creating ad-hoc learning.

Example

An example of personalization would be the flexible degrees offered by the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds, which are made up of compulsory modules that provide a solid scientific foundation for the first year, introducing students to practical laboratory techniques and theoretical learning. From the second year, students can choose from a wide range of modules that allow the degree to be adapted to the student’s area of interest.

3.   Lifelong learning and microcredentials

Description

Lifelong learning is the continuous process of acquiring knowledge, skills and competencies throughout a person’s life, allowing them to adapt to the changing demands of society and the job market. In this context, microcredentials offer flexible and specific tools to certify the acquisition of specific competencies in given areas, responding to the immediate needs of both individuals and companies.

Importance

Lifelong learning is essential to adapt to technological and sociological changes in the job market, as it allows people to update competencies, certify them and manage their professional career according to their needs and the opportunities that arise. Partnerships between industry, businesses and higher education are key to linking training to market needs, and increasing student employability, business talent and society’s capacity for innovation.

Example

Examples include educational programmes that allow students to acquire and certify the skills necessary for the world of work, such as the UOC Skills Lab. These short UOC courses offer microcredentials that allow students to show the professional competencies they have acquired.

4.   Teaching resources enhanced by AI

Description

Teaching resources are the materials and means used by education professionals (from teachers in the classroom to complex publishing processes) to facilitate and enrich the teaching and learning process. These resources can include text and graphics, videos and interactive materials that are designed meet the needs of students and educational objectives. Alongside tech developments, the use of digital authorship tools has also allowed for increased personalization and interactivity in the creation of these resources.

Importance

Thanks to advances in generative artificial intelligence (GAI), production of teaching resources is undergoing a second revolution. This technology has transformed the way in which educational materials are developed, providing an unprecedented level of speed and ease to create high-quality text, graphic and audiovisual content. Educators and institutions can generate personalized and innovative materials in a matter of minutes, ensuring a more agile response to the needs of students and improving the learning experience.

Example

There are numerous tools that allow us to create materials using GAI, including presentations, images, infographics and even videos. Especially significant in this regard are tools integrated into the major platforms, such as Google Vids, a new video generation tool for companies powered by AI (Google Gemini) and integrated into Google Workspace.

5.   Digital literacy and the risks of AI

Description

Digital literacy is the ability to understand, use, and create digital information critically, responsibly, and effectively. It includes the skills required to navigate the internet, manage data and communicate through digital platforms, and to understand the risks and opportunities associated with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. The main risks of AI include breaches of privacy (including exploitation or misuse of personal data), hallucinations (incorrect or invented answers generated by AI models), and biases (when algorithms reflect or amplify prejudices present in the training data).

Importance

The use of tech, and AI in particular, not only requires technical skills; critical thinking and reasoning skills are also essential. These are fundamental to understanding and addressing key issues such as privacy, responsible use, and the limitations inherent to AI systems, including content and gender biases, and other forms of discrimination. Digital literacy that incorporates this critical perspective is essential to ensure conscious and ethical interaction with these technologies.

Example

The AI competency framework for students developed by UNESCO represents a global response to the urgent need to prepare young people for a world increasingly affected by artificial intelligence. This framework seeks to promote education that transcends the passive use of technology, empowering students to be active co-creators of AI and responsible citizens who understand the ethical, social and technical aspects of this technology.

6.   Education for sustainable development

Description

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is based on how teaching and learning processes can be used to overcome the challenges of meeting the global development goals and foster positive change for society and the environment.

Importance

Topics relating to social and environmental engagement are increasingly being included right across the curriculum. The skills related to these areas are also gaining in importance, as reflected in the definition (UNESCO 2024) of ESD as advocating for learning that is cognitive (improving how we think and understand information), socio-emotional (building social skills, empathy and emotional intelligence) and behavioural (encouraging positive actions and behaviours).

In relation to the global introduction of ESD, UNESCO has also produced The Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development.

Example

GreenComp, the European sustainability competence framework is one of the policy actions established in the European Green Deal to promote learning about environmental sustainability in the European Union. It identifies a set of sustainability competencies to be introduced into educational programmes in any learning context to help students develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote ways of thinking, planning, and acting with empathy, responsibility and care for our planet and public health. GreenComp comprises four interrelated areas of competence: a) embodying sustainability values; b) embracing complexity in sustainability; c) envisioning sustainable futures; and d) acting for sustainability.

Conclusions

In a global context marked by wars, economic crisis, the challenges of globalization and evolution of an emerging tech market that threatens to undermine or even eradicate many jobs, education is immersed in constant change and bears a great responsibility to citizens. It has to guarantee adequate and rapid training that is based on skills and resilient to tech innovations.

The trends detected show how educational institutions are responding to social, business and government demands. To face these challenges, institutions are adopting educational methods that focus on the student as the protagonist of their learning, while providing them with critical and ethical thinking skills in areas such as artificial intelligence and technology. Likewise, teachers can take advantage of advances in AI to create resources that facilitate their teaching.

Meanwhile, interdisciplinary curricula are being introduced that allow knowledge to be adapted to the current global challenges, emphasizing social awareness and environmental sustainability, which are essential to successfully face the problems of the present and the future.

References

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2012). Role playing. An Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Available at https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide

UNESCO (2024). What you need to know about education for sustainable development. Available at https://www.unesco.org/en/sustainable-development/education/need-know