What Is Knowledge? Epistemological Debates in Contemporary Education

Across the world, education systems are grappling with a quiet crisis — not just of content or curriculum, but of epistemology. What do we mean when we say a student is “knowledgeable”? Is knowledge a static body of facts, or a way of thinking, questioning, and constructing meaning? These questions, once the domain of philosophers, have now become central to curriculum design, teacher development, and national education policy.

In a time of information overload, contested truths, and global complexity, knowing what to teach — and how — is not straightforward. As we explored in Eduettu’s Global Education Trends 2025, questions about knowledge are becoming political, cultural, and pedagogical flashpoints in countries as different as Australia, South Africa, the United States, and Vietnam.

Disciplinary Knowledge vs Competency-Based Learning

One key tension lies between traditional disciplinary knowledge and the rise of competency-based education. Advocates of the former argue that students need a strong foundation in academic subjects — history, science, literature — to become critical thinkers. Without shared knowledge, they claim, there is no shared culture, no civic discourse, no intellectual rigor.

On the other hand, reformers champion a more flexible, skills-based model. In this view, transferable competencies like collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity matter more than memorising content. Frameworks like the OECD’s Learning Compass 2030 and UNESCO’s Reimagining Our Futures Together propose holistic learning goals that go beyond subject boundaries, preparing students for complexity, uncertainty, and lifelong adaptation.

Both sides share a concern for the future, but differ sharply in what students need to navigate it. This epistemological split — between knowledge as inheritance and knowledge as construction — plays out daily in classrooms, textbooks, and teacher training colleges.

Whose Knowledge Counts?

Epistemology is not just abstract theory — it is deeply tied to power. Around the world, calls to decolonise education challenge the dominance of Eurocentric curricula and ask urgent questions about whose knowledge is legitimised, whose histories are told, and whose ways of knowing are excluded. South Africa’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) has attempted to integrate indigenous perspectives, while Aotearoa New Zealand’s history curriculum now mandates the teaching of Māori histories alongside European ones.

These reforms challenge the longstanding assumption that knowledge is neutral or universal. They suggest, instead, that knowledge is situated — shaped by context, culture, and power dynamics. The question is no longer just what we teach, but whose knowledge we teach.

Knowledge in the Age of AI

The rise of artificial intelligence further complicates the epistemological landscape. With generative tools like ChatGPT, students can access surface-level information instantly — but this raises questions about depth, discernment, and originality. If knowledge is freely generated, what becomes of the process of learning?

Some argue that this accelerates the need for “epistemic literacy” — the ability to critically assess sources, understand knowledge construction, and distinguish between data, information, and insight. As outlined in the World Economic Forum’s education brief, tomorrow’s learners need to move beyond content mastery to epistemological awareness: not just what is true, but how truth is made and challenged.

This echoes Eduettu’s emphasis on teaching students to be thinkers, not just knowers. In an era where information is abundant but wisdom is scarce, epistemology becomes a survival skill.

Rethinking What It Means to Know

To meet this moment, education must do more than revise content — it must revisit its foundations. Epistemology matters not because it is abstract, but because it shapes everything: what we assess, how we teach, how we define success, and who gets to be heard in the classroom.

Some schools are experimenting with interdisciplinary inquiry models that prioritise big questions over rigid subjects. Others are training teachers to facilitate “epistemic dialogue,” encouraging students to explore how knowledge is created in different traditions — scientific, spiritual, artistic, indigenous. Still others are asking students to critique their textbooks, question dominant narratives, or co-create curricula. These aren’t fringe experiments — they are signs of a deeper shift.

In this context, education is not just the transfer of knowledge — it is the formation of epistemic citizens: young people who can navigate contested knowledge, challenge epistemic injustice, and contribute meaningfully to a shared future.

Perhaps the most powerful idea in contemporary education is not certainty but humility. Recognising that knowledge is always partial, always constructed, opens the door to deeper learning and dialogue. As systems evolve, epistemology must move from the margins of theory to the centre of practice.

How often do your students — or colleagues — ask not just what they know, but how they know it? Let us know in the comments below.

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