The Future of Education
Unlearning: Transformative Education for Sustainable Futures
Rona Fugaban Puntawe, FuturePACE Global (Australia)
Abstract
The pace of global change is accelerating as multiple crises intensify, underscoring the critical role of transformative education in fostering adaptability and sustainability1. This paper positions unlearning as a transformative tool for navigating a rapidly changing world, with broad implications for education, policy, and social change. It introduces the Unlearning Mandala (UM), a novel framework developed through Constructivist Grounded Theory2 research, which conceptualises unlearning as a multidimensional, temporal, and contextual process across individual, organisational, and societal levels. At its core lies the Yin-yang concept of unlearning and learning as integral to each other. The UM framework identifies five pathways for change—questioning norms, modelling patterns,
experiencing difference, choosing alternative paths, and mobilising action—supported by six enabling conditions and five iterative phases. This theory is grounded on autobiographical data and interviews with transformative educators, including my personal journey as an immigrant from the Philippines to Singapore, Australia, and the United States. As a mature postgraduate student participating in the Erasmus Mundus mobility program across Scotland, Estonia, and Malta in Adult Education for Social Change, I confronted deeply held preconceptions about education, society, and self. This transformative process enabled me to overcome initial academic struggles and graduate with distinction, demonstrating the potential of unlearning to drive personal and professional growth. The findings illuminate the interconnectedness of global challenges and propose that unlearning is a critical competency for flourishing amidst complex geopolitical, socio-economic, and technological shifts. The UM framework offers practical guidance: for educators to integrate unlearning into curricula, for policymakers to create inclusive and accessible conditions, and for changemakers to normalise unlearning to foster critical reflexivity and adaptability. By providing principles for adaptive unlearning, this study contributes to reimagining education for a sustainable future and highlights the need for further research on the long-term impacts of unlearning in diverse global contexts.
Keywords: Unlearning, Transformative, Education, Sustainability
REFERENCES
1. Laininen, E. (2019). Transforming Our Worldview Towards a Sustainable
Future. In J. W. Cook (Ed.), Sustainability, Human Well-Being, and the Future of Education. Palgrave MacMillan.
2. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Sage Publications.
