Knowledge socialism in the COVID-19 era: A collective exploration of needs, forms, and possibilities

Abstract

The inspiration for this collective writing project began with a digital conference entitled ‘Knowledge Socialism, COVID-19 and the New Reality of Education’ held at Beijing Normal University. In this conference and through this article, multiple researchers spread across six continents have engaged in the collaborative task of outlining emerging innovations and alternative contingencies towards education, international collaboration, and digital reform in this time of global crisis. Trends associated with digital education, knowledge openness, peer production, and collective intelligence as articulated by Michael A. Peters’ conception of Knowledge Socialism are given careful analysis and exploration. Some of the members of this collective endeavor to identify problems, others, begin to draw boxes around potential solutions. Overall, this article engages with real world challenges and innovations that look beyond dominant neoliberal trends in the knowledge economy to build bridges toward novel possibilities in this era of rapid digital change.

Keywords:

• Collective intelligence
• gamification
• indigenous knowledge
• knowledge socialism
• knowledge socialist pedagogy
• MOOCs
• peer production
• virtual education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel E. Crain

Daniel E. Crain is a graduate student at Peking University’s School of International Studies, a Zhi-Xing US-China Student Leadership Fellow, and a part-time researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences. His research interests mainly revolve around contemporary Sino-US relations, constructivist international relations theory, and the vast sociopolitical implications of society’s (post)digital transformation. His current work focuses on the political and relational complexities emerging from changes in digital information ecosystems in China and the US. Before pursuing an advanced degree, he worked for 3 years at an international school teaching social science in Southern China.

Stephanie Hollings

Stephanie Hollings Stephanie is a recent PhD graduate of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University. Her research interests are mainly focused on international education, global citizenship, and global competences. Recently, her work has explored an array of topics including international schools in China, gamification, indigenous knowledge, and aspects of knowledge socialism.

Hazzan Moses Kayode

Hazzan Moses Kayode is a seasoned scholar in educational management and history from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. His areas of research interest are eclectic and cut across personnel administration in education, global and African educational assessments, secondary and higher education, human resources development, intellectual history, African history and epistemology, African historiography, and studies on intergroup relations. His current research interests focus on teacher personnel and student academic achievement in Southwestern Nigeria.

Moses Oladele Ogunniran

Moses Oladele Ogunniran is a postdoctoral Fellow for the International Science and Evidence-based Education (ISEE) Assessment project. The ISEEA is meant to re-envision the future of education and feed into UNESCO’s Futures of Education report at the UNESCO, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP). With expertise in the economics of education and educational policy and management, his current research focuses on comparative and international education, educational leadership and policy, and the labor market. Using education and economic development theory, human capital, and human flourishing theory, his latest work is concerned with the mismatch between skills acquired and skills expected among tertiary institution graduates in Nigeria and China.

Yodpet Worapot

Yodpet Worapot is a PhD candidate at Beijing Normal University’s Institute of International and Comparative Education, a Chinese government scholarship recipient, and a part-time research associate. His areas of interest include international cooperation in education, China-ASEAN educational policy, and education for sustainable development. He has worked via the UNESCO Youth Leadership Workshop on Global Citizenship Education and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) academic fellowship. Recently, his research has focused on higher education cooperation mechanisms in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) between China and Thailand and improving the effectiveness of international cooperation.

Paola Guañuna

Paola Guañuna is a PhD candidate at Beijing Normal University’s Educational Administration and Innovation Department and a member of several Latin American associations in China (ASEEC and ALOCH) to promote cultural and academic exchange between China and Latin America. Her research interests focus on Sino-Latin American cultural and educational cooperation, internationalization of higher education, and online education. Her current work focuses on the cooperation agreements between Chinese and Latin American HEIs and online education.

Tahira Yasmeen

Tahira Yasmeen is a PhD student at Beijing Normal University’s School of International Educational Leadership and Policy (Comparative Education). Her research interests focus primarily on the comparison of higher education institutions (HEIs) at the national and international level, as well as the implications of the digitalization of traditional education. Recent work by Tahira focuses on the transformation of traditional education into a digital education system due to COVID-19. She is also the Vice President in the International Student Union Faculty of Education (ISUFoE) and a monthly contributor to the Monthly Timeline newspaper in BNU’s School of Education.

Anum Riaz

Anum Riaz is a PhD student at Beijing Normal University, a MPhil graduate in Leadership and Management, and a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She was recently nominated for the Outstanding Leadership Award for ISA, Dubai. Currently, she works as a lecturer with a particular focus on educational leadership roles in educational institutes.

Artem Samilo

Artem Samilo is a PhD student of Comparative Education at Beijing Normal University’s Faculty of Education. He has a master’s degree in international economics and now primarily focuses his research on comparative education, economics, policy, and the practice of gifted education in Ukraine. Artem’s current research explores knowledge socialism and the knowledge economy within the field of education.

Ogunyemi Folasade Bolanle

Ogunyemi Folasade Bolanle is a graduate of the MA in Comparative Education program at Beijing Normal University. Her research interests focus on educational leadership and management. She has worked in several schools in Nigeria before beginning her degree.