Futures Learning and Futures Guidance
The concepts and models of futures learning and futures guidance are developed and processed at the Finland Futures Research Centre. Underlying these concepts are heroes and ideas of personal futures thinking, futures consciousness as well as choices and decision making regarding future. These are combined with current perceptions of learning and guidance (such as experiential, exploratory, expansive learning, and socio-dynamic guidance).
Futures guidance is about achieving consciousness and understanding of an entity consisting of past experiences, present needs and hopes, and future possibilities. Futures consciousness is not about planning the future but exploring and assessing possibilities from various perspectives. On a personal level we can call this futureness, i.e. the future being present in us and for us. Developing futures consciousness and learning for the future merge to a transformative process aiming to enhance the abilities for:
- critical evaluation on one’s social context
- independent
contemplation
- perception of one’s role and significance
-
self-reflection of one’s inner processes and external relations
The models and concepts of futures learning and guidance have been used in developing tools and processes for young people and students as well as guidance professionals:
- Get a Life!
- a future work-life simulation
- PFP
(Personal futures paths) guidance process
- Little Big Choices game
(in Finnish)
- a live simulation: A Foggy Adventure (in Finnish)