Techno-optimism of Malaysia education blueprint (2013-2025) and its effect on the local sustainability education narrative

Abstract

Given the increasing dominance of technology across various sectors, it is not surprising that education has also adopted narratives supporting and sustaining its importance in humanity's daily lives. In Malaysia Education Blueprint, narratives partial towards technology, known as techno-optimism, are commonly sighted. The concern with these narratives lies in the environmental impact a techno-optimistic education blueprint would perpetuate; that is, a partiality that enables the continuity of a consumptive status quo that induced the climate crisis in the first place and the maintenance of an unrealistic expectation of continuous comfort in an increasingly challenging ecosystem fuelled by misplaced optimism on technology. To break free from such a lifestyle and promote sustainability, education must support the effort by providing an alternative perspective that prioritises the sustainability of Earth and the well-being of its people. This paper argues for the Malaysia Education Blueprint that serves to guide the nation after 2025 to be based on a holistic approach that takes into account the sustainable interdependence between humans and the environment, as well as the cultivation of a mindset that fosters mutual flourishing.

Keywords

• techno-optimism
• sustainability education
• malaysia education blueprint
• neoliberalism
• critical policy discourse analysis