New Paradigms of Education: A Comprehensive Review

“Can education “fix” problems of poverty, hunger, illness and homelessness? Has it ever?” Throughout human history, education has always been viewed as a primary tool for achieving social change. Much of the success of the past several decades has been attributed to education as a solution to poverty, as well as a vehicle for societal progress. This simple fact has often been taken for granted; until recently, most people still assumed that there is no more vital or urgent topic to pursue in education than serving the education needs of impoverished students. Until very recently, however, a number of confounding variables, including a number of long-standing ideological, social and economic paradigms, have stood in the way of an accurate and nuanced understanding of how education can and should be used to address the most pressing problems of the world. In this research paper, I identify these paradigms, explain how they shape current knowledge about poverty and education, and describe several new paradigms that are gaining popularity and have the potential to help solve society’s most persistent challenges. Thus the title of this article: Can education “fix” problems of poverty, hunger, illness and homelessness? Has it ever? After several decades of teaching, I have come to believe that yes, yes it has. At least to the extent that it can be done in a culturally and emotionally engaging way. All things being equal, students who are socially conscious are better at learning. These students also are more resilient and better prepared to achieve their greatest potential.