A New Social Contract for Education: Advancing a Paradigm of Relational Interconnectedness

This paper looks at recent calls for “a new social contract for education” through the lens of a relational ontology for humanity and a living planet. Through a critical view of social contract theory, the paper looks at how this call can be an entry point to a deeper paradigmatic shift in framing questions of justice, social organization, and education itself. It proposes a shift from a rules-based transactional model to a relationship-based model grounded in understanding and appreciation of interdependence and interconnectedness. In order to shape more just and sustainable futures for humanity and the planet, a new social contract for education will need to transcend atomistic, transactional, and adversarial social dynamics and instead be organized around relational interconnectedness.