Reimagining music education as education for uncertainty: A philosophical exploration

The multiple crises shaping today’s world challenge not only politicians and political systems but also education: How can we prepare young people for an uncertain future and its challenges? Schools have long faced the dilemma of teaching knowledge derived from the past in the hope that it will remain relevant in an unknown future. However, the complexity and urgency of contemporary crises call for transformative changes in education. It is no longer sufficient to transmit past knowledge alone—we need a new, future-oriented approach that explicitly acknowledges the need to prepare young people for uncertainty. Research (Beghetto, 2023) suggests that this involves moving beyond the traditional question-and-answer model of schooling, in which teachers already know the single “correct” solution. Instead, education should emphasize open-ended tasks and opportunities for students to engage with uncertainty, thereby fostering creativity and divergent thinking. While educational approaches such as progressive education and critical pedagogy have long stressed the importance of learning without predetermined answers, more recent concepts—such as education for uncertainty (Beghetto, 2023) and pedagogy of the possible (Glăveanu, 2023)—are built entirely on the premise that young people must experience open-endedness and uncertainty to develop as self-determined, critical, and creative individuals. At the heart of these approaches lies the understanding that uncertainty is not a threat but a realm of possibility. It invites learners to imagine and explore alternative ways of thinking and acting, thus being creative. Within this context, arts education gains a new significance, as creativity, imagination, and the experience of uncertainty lie at its core. The multiple crises of our time can only be addressed by people who are both creative and unafraid of uncertainty. This keynote explores, from a philosophical perspective, what education for uncertainty means and the role music education could play.

References:

Beghetto, R. (2023). Uncertainty x design: educating for possible futures. Cambridge University Press.

Glaveanu, V. (2021). The possible. Oxford University Press.