This futures-oriented research maps the strategic needs of South Africa’s basic education system. Funded by the National Education Collaboration Trust and Kagiso Trust, it combines a PRISMA-based systematic literature review, stakeholder engagement across government, academia, the private sector, educators and learners, and a Theory of Change to strengthen risk management and foster proactive strategies for the Department of Basic Education.

The work identifies the global drivers that make a futures education framework necessary, reviews international and local competency frameworks against them, and translates the findings into policy and strategic recommendations with operational actions. It equips decision-makers with tools to navigate uncertainty and seize opportunities for systemic transformation in basic education.

A two-phase qualitative design, with the literature and stakeholder evidence triangulated into a single Theory of Change.

Basic education decisions are made under deep uncertainty about the skills, technologies and economic conditions learners will face. This research gives decision-makers at the DBE a structured, evidence-based way to anticipate those shifts, manage the risks they bring, and act on the opportunities for systemic transformation in basic education.

The project was delivered by the Centre for the Future of Work at the University of Pretoria, with master’s-level research support and sector-specific expert guidance. A reference letter from NECT, dated August 2025, accompanies the final deliverable.