It’s strange the number of articles, books, papers and assorted media suggesting that there is a huge need to teach systems thinking.  In the 2023 report Innovative Learning Solutions to Navigate Complexity: Adapting Systems Thinking to Future Classrooms the observation is made “education in systems thinking approaches is limited or non-existent in many learning institutions” (World Economic Forum).  But is this actually true or is it that there is no evidence of formal systems thinking methods being in taught, such as systems dynamics, cybernetics, soft systems methodology and the tools associated with them?

As has been discussed many times, there are multiple definitions of systems thinking and that a consensus has yet to be reached on what systems thinking is or what methodologies can be considered “systems thinking”.  For reference the World Economic Forum defines systems thinking as “an approach to problem-solving that emphasizes understanding the relationships and interactions among the components

of a system rather than focusing on the individual components in isolation. By looking at a system as a whole and examining how the different parts work together, systems thinking can help individuals better understand complex systems”.  This seems to miss some key fundamentals of systems thinking such as emergence and multiple perspectives, which only serves to reiterate the point that there is no shared definition of systems thinking.

So,when we talk about the new to teach systems thinking, are we ignoring the fact the fundamentals of systems thinking are already being taught, just not in a way which labels them explicitly as “systems thinking”?  A fascinating paper on the subject was written by Assaraf and Orion (2009) which explores systems thinking skills at an elementary level.  This paper expands on their 2005 paper where they introduce the Systems Thinking Hierarchical (STH) model, where they identified eight emergent characteristics of systems thinking, which are as follows:

(1) The ability to identify the components of a system and processes within the system.

(2) The ability to identify simple relationships between or among the system’s components.

(3) The ability to identify dynamic relationships within the system.

(4) The ability to organize the systems’ components, processes, and their interactions, within a framework of relationships.

(5) The ability to identify cycles of matter and energy within the system—the cyclic nature of systems.

(6) The ability to recognize hidden dimensions of the system—to understand natural phenomena through patterns and interrelationships not seen on the surface.

(7) The ability to make generalizations—to solve problems based on understanding systems’ mechanisms.

(8) The ability to think temporally: retrospection and prediction. Understanding that some of the presented interaction within

Rather than getting drawn into an unhelpful debate about how valid STH is a methodology, what is key is that it talks about teaching fundamentals of systems thinking rather than a methodology.  In fact, Assaraf and Orion (2009) observe, “although system thinking is regarded as a high order thinking skill, it can be developed to a certain extent in elementary school”.  This can be interpreted that skills in using systems thinking fundamentals can be obtained at an early age.

Moser (2016) says that we should leverage the natural curiosity and tendency to ask questions to help children develop the skill of analyzing and creating systems as mastering system thinking skills will help them in school and beyond.  This does not mean that there is a need to teach a methodology but simply a need to teach the fundamentals.  This is not to suggest that learning about methodologies isn’t important, as it is, but that it should be done at an appropriate level.  Adam Mackenzie-Jones, a civil servant who won the Operational Research Society President’s Medal in 2023 is a strong advocate for systems thinking but in a blog post on the UK Governments website in 2020, Adam observed that his journey into systems thinking came through reading The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge and being able to access Operational Researchers who had significant experience with applying the principals. I would argue that this introduced him to a systems thinking methodology – systems dynamics – and that either prior to this, or as part of the journey, Adam became familiar with the fundamentals of systems thinking.

So rather than seeking to teach people systems thinking, whatever that means, would it not make sense to embed the fundamentals of systems thinking within the education system and then making the methodologies associated with systems thinking available as part of an appropriate programme of study?  In this way we may not be creating systems thinkers but rather people that can use systems thinking within the wider context of their lives.  To provide an analogy, we teach people how to do chemistry when we teach them to cook or make a cup of tea, but that is not the same as creating a chemist.  Instead, what we’re doing is providing people with the skills they need to be successful in life.  And surely that is what we should be aiming to do in regards to systems thinking.

References 

• Adam Mackenzie-Jones (2020), Why systems thinking isn’t a fad
• Orit Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Nir Orion (2009), System Thinking Skills at the Elementary School Level
• Tatum Moser (2016), How to Practice Systems Thinking in the Classroom
• World Economic Forum (2023) – Innovative Learning Solutions to Navigate Complexity: Adapting Systems Thinking to Future Classrooms