Studies by cognitive scientists and anthropologists in the past decade or two have reinforced Dewey's view by showing that people are more likely to be able to use academic concepts if these concepts are related to practical application in the first place. Now we are in another period of rapid change. At times like this, more education helps. Earnings have grown faster for college graduates than for high school graduates during the past two decades. College graduates are favored by employers who must adapt to changing technology and market conditions.
More educated people are also better equipped for self-employment.
To prepare students for a world of accelerating change, a growing number of high schools are now trying to give all students the necessary academic foundation to pursue further education, including a bachelor's degree or more. Even for students who go to work full time after high school, the option of going back to school later is important. More than in the past, adults have to keep learning to deal with new information, ideas, and technology at work, in family life, and in the local and global community. That is why high schools are putting more emphasis on learning to learn. And because this need for continual learning arises from practical situations where people have to make decisions and get things done, high schools are developing the capacity for lifelong learning by giving students more opportunities to learn in practical contexts.