"Learn to know" in the information society: the school specific role and its challenges

Abstract

In a society in which the production and circulation of information reach extremely high levels and speed, discourses which discredit the school in relation to its role of promoting the acquisition of knowledge by students become common. According to these discourses, learning is easier, faster, and more appealing outside school. However, to what extent can outside school learning actually substitute for the learning that takes place at school? Using data from empirical and bibliographic researches, the objective of this paper is to develop a reflection upon the specificity and relevance of the cultural actions of the school in the contemporary setting, as opposed to other means of having access to information and knowledge. It also raises a reflection on some of the challenges to the development of this cultural action, posed by the “information society” to the school.