The set of eight futures skills has been defined at the Finland Futures Research Centre of the University of Turku during 2019-2020. The theoretical background of futures skills is in futures studies methdology, with a link to the concepts of futures consciousness and futures literacy.
Futures skills consist of the following cognitive, emotional and functional capacities: 1) envisioning multiple futures, 2) systemic thinking and perceiving complexity, 3) development of time-perspective, 4) critical thinking, 5) non-linear thinking and creativity, 6) proactive and responsible action, 7) accepting uncertainty and unknown, 8) reflection and value reflection regarding assumptions and feelings about the future. The principle is that futures skills are something that can be taught and that one can developed.
In this presentation we will present a pragmatic experience of a 10 ETCS teacher training module for secondary level teachers, implemented in Finland during 2022-2023. The training module is built around the eight futures skills and the basics of futures studies in the context of sustainable development. The training module included detailed explanation of each skill, experiential exercises, as well as techniques for developing and assessing the futures skills. We additionally provide ideas for further enhancing and assessment of these futures skills.