Open AccessUsing Complexity Theory to Identify K-12+ Pedagogical Misalignment With a Security Mindset
Author(s) -
Holly Hanna,
Jane Blanken-Webb
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of the colloquium for information system security education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2641-4554
pISSN - 2641-4546
DOI - 10.53735/cisse.v9i1.154
Subject(s) - mindset , critical security studies , curriculum , computer science , engineering ethics , knowledge management , sociology , political science , pedagogy , computer security , engineering , information security , security service , artificial intelligence , network security policy
The current state of growing connectivity in society calls for a security mindset for K-12 and post-secondary (K-12+) populations. A security mindset offers an important approach to support security and can usefully be understood through the lens of complexity theory. Complexity theory also provides a helpful lens for identifying limitations inherent within some common pedagogical frameworks and practices in K-12+ education systems that may pose challenges for the cultivation of a security mindset. Hence, this paper brings awareness to examples of some of the most prominent pedagogical frameworks and practices that stand in potential misalignment with a security mindset when they are implemented in an imposing, monolithic manner. These include: rigid, prescriptive curricula; binary thinking, compliance, and standardized assessments; and disciplinary constraints. By identifying ways that common pedagogical practices stand to potentially undermine the cultivation of a security mindset, this paper contributes to clearing the way forward for K-12+ educational systems to design for emergence in support of building a more secure society.