THINKING BACK FROM THE FUTUREStephen Murgatroyd, PhD

SIX CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLS

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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…

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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?

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ABOUT THE FUTURE: CONTEXT

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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

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Futu

re T

HIN

K /

SCH

OO

LS

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Dem

ogra

phy

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Glo

bal E

conom

y

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Futu

re o

f Work

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Technolo

gy S

hifts

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NOT ALL NEW TECHNOLOGY IS GOOD

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Enviro

nm

ent

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Changin

g C

om

munitie

s

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Identity

& M

eanin

g

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Schools fo

r a D

iffere

nt

Futu

re

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SCHOOLS HAVE TO KEEP CHANGINGBut Some Things Need to Stay The Same

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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?

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The Future……

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The In Between Time

We’reinthemidstofasignifica ntchange.A..

InBetweenTime

TimeandtheInvestmentofEnergyandEffort

System

Maturity

IndustrialFormofSchooling/3rdWayPolicies

21stCenturyforofPersonalizedLearninginSchooland

Community/4thWayPolicies

ParadigmShi

TheFutureSchoolintheInBetweenTime

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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”

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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

A GREAT SCHOOL FOR ALL…THE FUTURE SCHOOL

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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 …

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Future Schools Are Already Here…

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SIX BIG CHALLENGES

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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..

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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!

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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!

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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..

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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.

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Be strategic….

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Responding to These Challenges Requires Us..

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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

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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

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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

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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

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My Contact Information

murgatroydstephen@gmail.com

Murgatroydsteph

(Twitter)

www.stephenmurgatroyd.com

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