The occurrence of the not-yet-seen in education - linearity, becoming & difference

In comparison with the past, the fact that the future does not yet exist makes it a difficult object to study (von Wright 1993 ). Because of its inevitable elusiveness space is given for expectations, misgivings, and valuations (Alm 2008), but also for dreams, creativity, and imagination. Above all, the future could be seen as a potential source of change in relation to the already existing present. Traditionally, this has mainly been expressed through ideology and religious convictions (Skovdahl 2011). Visions of the future constitute an indirect questioning of the already existing. In a society many label as postmodern, grand narratives have lost their importance – there are no ready-made packages or pre-formulated values and visions of the future to aspire to. According to this perspective, the individual has to develop their own set of values, aims, and visions (Bauman 2002). At the same time, the school system which both explicitly and implicitly claims to educate citizens for the future has an educational content which emphasizes the past, with experiences representing what often seems to be an objective, comprehensive history. This suggests a linear, progressive time view, which denies the potential multiplicity of the future (Deleuze 2010). Which possibilities does the school give the students to develop aims and visions about the future? How do the students conceptualize the not-yet-seen? This paper presents the results from several focus group interviews made with final year students in Upper Secondary School, where the students are given the opportunity to talk freely about a distant future within their expected life-times. The pilot study shows that the students have clear difficulties when articulating expectations as well as misgivings of the future, especially in terms of society. Although expressing pessimistic views of the future, the students are questioning the negative environmental discourses and the possibilities for joint global action, at the same time as they put great trust in technological progress. This suggests that a discussion about future potentialities and the multiplicity of the not-yet-seen is missing in the educational system