How can education systems provide the stability that encourages learning and builds the confidence needed to make change?

That was the central question that three global education leaders and I explored at the opening session of this year’s Education World Forum in London, where ministers and policymakers gathered under the theme “Building stronger, bolder, better education together”.

Beneath that opening question that we tackled lies another: how can education cope with change? As I like to say, we are not simply living through an era of change - we are living in a change of era.

Children and families crave the safety of routine - the reassurance of stability. But in a world defined by hyper-speed transformation, the pace of global change - from artificial intelligence to climate challenges to evolving job markets - demands that education adapt.

Education and a changing world

Yet too often, when faced with these shifts, education systems retreat. That can lead to frustration. As one teacher recently lamented: “I’m so tired of change. There is so much talk about change and nothing really changes.”

Consider the rapid rise of AI: many schools’ first response was panic. “Students will use it to cheat,” they warned. Or take the global crisis of student wellbeing: when mental health challenges surged, many educators acknowledged the problem but felt it was someone else’s responsibility to solve. “Let us just teach,” they said.

But students are living with these challenges every day. They bring AI into the classroom, just as they carry anxiety and uncertainty into their learning environments. We cannot simply ban or ignore these forces - we must engage with them, thoughtfully and purposefully. That means creating safe spaces where students can learn not despite uncertainty but within it.

This is why I believe that wellbeing must become a life skill, embedded in the very fabric of our education systems. We must prepare students not just for exams but for the reality of constant change - equipping them with the tools to navigate uncertainty with confidence, creativity and hope.

Thriving in the face of uncertainty

Stability, in today’s context, does not mean resisting change. It means giving young people the capacity to adapt and thrive because of it.

We also need to be honest with students about the contradictions they face. We tell them that the current systems are driving climate change and inequality - and yet, in the same breath, we expect them to succeed by mastering those very systems. They see the inconsistency, and it makes no sense to them.

We must empower them to imagine and create different answers and solutions than we have, and we must give them the hope that they can make a difference.

Change in education is not just about policy. It’s about implementation. Governments and school leaders must ensure that teachers and principals are equipped with the skills to lead change - not just tasked with it. Too often we expect schools to be on the front line of transformation without giving them the tools to do the job.

Let’s remember that learning happens in the connection between the learner and the world. Our role is to make that connection strong by providing a safe environment where students can engage deeply with the complex, often challenging world around them.

Accelerating and braking

To help them do this, we need to teach them to use the brakes and the accelerator at the same time. By that I mean embracing new technologies such as AI while also setting clear boundaries to ensure that learning remains focused, safe and meaningful.

Ultimately, the goal is not to shield students from the realities of the world but to prepare them to shape it. The task in education today is helping students to live with uncertainty - without lowering expectations - by supporting their wellbeing and their sense of agency.

We owe it to the next generation to help them thrive not despite the challenges ahead but because they are ready to meet them.

Olli-Pekka Heinonen is the director general of the International Baccalaureate

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