THINKING BACK FROM THE FUTURE Stephen Murgatroyd, PhD SIX CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLS INTASE APRIL 2015
Jul 17, 2015
THINKING BACK FROM THE FUTUREStephen Murgatroyd, PhD
SIX CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLS
INTASE APRIL 2015
Who is this Stephen Murgatroyd Guy?
• Professor / Dean / Vice President at UK, Emirates and Canadian Universities
• Teacher – Special Needs
• Writer – Over 40 Books, 600 published papers and articles
• Television / Radio
• Journalist
• Getting old…
INTASE APRIL 2015
What’s this Keynote All About?
• What is the context in which we should look at the future school?
• What are the key frameworks in which the future is being positioned?
• What are the SIX BIG THINGS we should see as challenges?
• How can we begin to lead for the future, given these challenges?
INTASE APRIL 2015
Not all You Hear About the Future is Helpful..
• Some predictions are really awful
• Some predictions are based on what policy makers hope eventually to be true
• Some predictions make about as much sense as sending a monkey to parliament and hoping for better government
INTASE APRIL 2015
Singapore’s School System – Phases…(Thanks Pak Tee Ng)
1965 – mid 1980’s: Standardization
Mid1980’s – 1990’s: Local Accountability
90’s – Today: Diversity & Innovation
2018 – 2030: What’s Next?
INTASE APRIL 2015
The In Between Time
We’reinthemidstofasignifica ntchange.A..
InBetweenTime
TimeandtheInvestmentofEnergyandEffort
System
Maturity
IndustrialFormofSchooling/3rdWayPolicies
21stCenturyforofPersonalizedLearninginSchooland
Community/4thWayPolicies
ParadigmShi
TheFutureSchoolintheInBetweenTime
INTASE APRIL 2015
The In Between Time Is…
• Messy and uncertain
• Full of fasle starts and failures
• A time of frequent (often poorly thought through) innovation
• A time of competing claims about truth and performance
• A time of “The Many Gurus”
• A time of exploitation – especially from private sector and entrepreneurs who have “the answer” (but not to a question anyone is asking)
• A period paradox and tension – lots of competing “evidence”
INTASE APRIL 2015
Two Solitudes for Educational Policy
Global Education Reform Movement
• Reduction of curriculum to STEM and Competencies
• Standardized Testing
• De-Professionalization
• Analytics and Technology All the Time
• Lowering Costs per Completion through Markets and Competition
• Teach and Test More, Learn Less
Equity as Policy
• Broad based curriculum – STEAM
• Formative Assessment leading to Summative Assessment
• Strengthening teachers collaborative autonomy – enhance collaboration
• Appropriate technology at the appropriate time
• Differentiated instruction / special needs
• Teach Less, Learn More and Keep PlayINTASE APRIL 2015
Five Other Characteristics
• Future schools have adaptive capacity – nimble, creative and resilient
• Future schools have support for students struggling with learning, self and meaning – all students are “special needs”
• Future schools are places where teachers learn alongside students –powerful places of professional learning
• Future schools are networked and connected to other like-minded schools around the world – they are hubs for collaborative and collective autonomy
• Future schools develop not just cognitive skills, but empathy, compassion and balance for all …
INTASE APRIL 2015
Challenge 1: BOHICA
• Don’t be seduced by the next “big thing”
• Don’t be seduced by vendors
• Don’t be seduced by “innovations coming from the “top PISA” jurisdictions” - don’t develop PISA envy
• Be strategic, be determined and be responsive to your own community and networks..
• Learn to live with paradox – rules versus innovation, change versus consistency, excellence for all schools, not just some..
INTASE APRIL 2015
Challenge 2: Technology
“If technology is the answer, what kind of question are we asking?”
• The future is about pedagogy – about great teaching and learning
• The future requires us to understand the learning journey and landscape the learner is navigating
• The future requires teachers to know where they can make a difference and where they can’t
• The future can use technology to support great teaching, but technology is just that – a support
• Technology is not the answer, pedagogy is!
INTASE APRIL 2015
Challenge 3: Public Assurance / Parents
• We can now assess and measure many more things than we could 30 years ago – but do we need to? Just because we can, doesn’t mean we have to
• Shift from public accountability to public assurance needs to happen
• We need to engage, not distance parents but also hold them accountable – they are critical determinants of student success.
• We need to have fewer standardized tests and more conversations to that we can increase public satisfaction…
• Remember: teachers make almost no significant difference to PISA scores!
INTASE APRIL 2015
Challenge 5: Privatization and Capital
• Worldwide, private education is growing much faster than public education. In some countries, private education accounts for 60%-80% of schools and higher education.
• The challenge is not the fact of private education, but the undue influence capital has in educational decision making.
• As public spending on school education tightens around the globe, the voice of the private sector gets louder.
• Neo-liberal values (competition, markets, de-professionalization and antiunion, deregulation) start to permeate systems..
INTASE APRIL 2015
Challenge 6: Irrational Innovation
• OECD warned that a great many innovations are innaprorpiate for the education system they are applied to and are not evidence based – its like homeopathy for education.
• Only 1 in 10 of the 450 “reforms” have impact according to OECD
• Grounded innovation – done by teachers with the support of leaders is what is needed, coupled with evidence and assessment.
• Networks of schools, collaboration within and between nations (e.g. Alberta-Finland, Norway-Canada) can be a base for genuine, mindful innovation.
INTASE APRIL 2015
So What? 7 Actions for Future Schools
1. Work Towards a Shared Vision
2. Develop a foster Partnerships – See Collaboration as the DNA of the future school
3. Share Leadership – teacher leadership, student leadership, community engagement
4. Work to Build a Common Language – sing from the same songsheet
INTASE APRIL 2015
5. Work in Innovative and Adaptive Ways – Resilient Schools Change Because They Need to Respond to Something, Not Because Someone has been on a course or conference!!
6. Make the Work of Teaching and Learning Simple and Transparent – stop inventing new acronyms and double speak..
7. Keep the Work Rigorous, Focused and Mindful
INTASE APRIL 2015
Three Last Thoughts
• “The future isn’t what it used to be” – Yogi Berra
• “You cannot cross a chasm in two short leaps”
• “When you are done changing, you are done!” - Dan Quayle
INTASE APRIL 2015
I am not here to promote my book..BUT
• It is available• From Lulu.Com as a paperback
• From Kindle as an e-book
• From Barnes and Noble as an e-book
• From Kobo as an e-book
• From Lulu.Com as an e-book
INTASE APRIL 2015
My Contact Information
Murgatroydsteph
(Twitter)
www.stephenmurgatroyd.com
INTASE APRIL 2015