1. Current educational research and thinking

1. Current educational research and thinking – Leaders' Day library

1.1 – Fullan, M (2021) The right drivers for whole system success

Read the right drivers for whole system success.

Drivers are those policy and strategy levers that drive system reform. This paper discusses what could the drivers be post-covid?

The four right drivers, ‘the human paradigm’, constitute a new model for governing the future of education.

The four wrong drivers are not completely wrong. It is just that if left alone they take us in a negative direction.

The right drivers’ paper is a call for action—essentially to help the right drivers ‘rise,’ and to ‘dampen’ the effect of the wrong drivers. It presents a framework to transform the system and it invites educators to take action in her or his situation, guided by the right drivers.

Go deeper

Watch a video of Anthony Mackay and Michael Fullan discussing the right drivers for whole system success.

"There must be an explicit commitment to serve all students underscoring anti-racism, and anti-classism – all of which is easier to do when the four right drivers are working in concert." (Fullan, M. 2021)

1.2 – Hannon, V and Mackay, A (2021) The future of educational leadership: five signposts

Read the future of education leadership: five signposts

This paper explores and reflects on the nature of the educational leadership post-covid and argues that a new form of leadership is urgently needed, taking into account how our schools fit with and relate to the economy, technology innovations, and the broader society. The authors offer and discuss five ‘signposts’ to indicate the direction that leadership should take:

Lead the creation of a New Education Narrative (co-developed narrative)
Lead within ecosystems (ecosystemic engagement)
Lead for equity (a relentless campaign to drive equity and redefine it) Lead for innovation (responsible commitment to experimentation)
Lead for futures literacy (the evolution of futures literacy).

Go deeper

Watch a video of Anthony Mackay and Valerie Hannon talking about the future of educational leadership

"Leaders in the future need to be advocates for inclusion and diversity, for racial equality; fiercely anti-racist and anti-sexist; agents of change, activists intervening to attack institutional barriers to equity and achieve the power shifts that are necessary to produce justice for all." (Hannon, V. and Mackay, A .2021)

1.3 – Tucker, M (2021) The world’s best-performing education systems: what would it take for them to adapt to what might be a very different future?

Read the world’s best-performing education systems: what would it take for them to adapt to what might be a very different future?

Marc Tucker, Founder and President Emeritus of NCEE, argues in this paper that education systems all over the world are out of date and unable to provide the kind of education all young people need to succeed in the global economy of tomorrow.

By considering a variety of strategies that nations could use to greatly improve education outcomes and exploring the possibilities and pitfalls of implementing them, he lays out a framework for a debate including:

The ‘Optimisation Option’: How likely is it that studying and redesigning systems based on top performing system will enable the top performers to avoid the ‘steadily increasing-cost-with-no- improvement-in-results’ trap?
Could the tech giants lead the way to transformed education systems?
Could nations contract with privately owned and managed school systems organised to operate high-performance schools at scale?
The ‘Greenfield Option’: Could nations working together accomplish what none could accomplish alone?

Go deeper

Watch a video of Anthony Mackay interviewing Marc Tucker

“If the first question is what the future holds, then the second question is whether our education institutions are up to the challenge, whether they have the capacity required to pull off a vast improvement in outcomes with little increase in cost.” (Tucker, M. 2021)

1.4 – Loble, L (2022) Shaping AI and edtech to tackle Australia’s learning divide

Read shaping Al and edtech to tackle Australia’s learning divide

This paper explores the question Can AI-powered edtech help disrupt entrenched education disadvantage?

Leslie Lobel AM, identifies three key conditions that must be met for optimum impact of edtech in reducing disadvantage:

the quality of the tools
their effective use and integration into teacher-led instruction
the network of policies, institutions and incentives that shape the fast-growing edtech market.

This report identifies model practice in the independent evaluation of edtech initiatives based on their quality and impact. The caveat is that only edtech that is properly designed, used and regulated can have a demonstrably positive impact on learning outcomes for disadvantaged students.

The report outlines ten recommendations (within four themes) to ensure any edtech that is proposed for use within Australian education priorities, helps to close the digital divide, and is assessed for its proven ability to lift outcomes for all students, especially those with complex needs.

Go deeper

Read Leslie’s response to recent media in The Conversation rise of ChatGPT shows why Australia needs a clearer approach to technology in schools

Watch a video of Leslie talking about the report’s recommendations

“Australian students deserve the best quality edtech, proven to deliver learning progress, aligned with our curriculum standards, and meeting or exceeding expectations for learning outcomes and social equity”. (Loble, L. 2022)

1.5 – Masters, G (2022) Building a world-class learning system

Read Building a world-class learning system

The National Centre on Education and the Economy (NCEE) and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook a joint study to understand how five jurisdictions (British Columbia, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea) are approaching school education and its transformation. Despite their relatively high performances on traditional metrics over the past two decades, these five jurisdictions have all been working to redesign their school learning systems. This study explored aspects of the ‘learning systems’ and how these jurisdictions are now redesigning their learning systems to address the following challenges:

to better prepare young people for future life and work
to ensure that no student is left behind in their learning, and that every student learns successfully and achieves high standards.

Go deeper

Watch a video of Tony Mackay and Geoff Masters discussing the issues

“In these jurisdictions it is possible to see the beginnings of an alternative way of thinking. Central to this alternative is a view of learning as a continuous, cumulative, and potentially life-long process that transcends institutional arrangements, fixed time periods, and locations.” (Masters, G. 2022)

1.6 – Leadbeater, C (2022) Learning on purpose – ten lessons in placing student agency at the heart of schools

Read Learning on purpose – ten lessons in placing student agency at the heart of schools

This paper presents lessons participating schools learned from the three-year Student Agency Lab project in South Australia involving a set of schools that wanted to explore how to make agency central to their ethos and their work. The ideas generated were at the heart of the Global Learning Futures Symposium, held in Adelaide and London on 2 May 2022. The 10 lessons include:

Student agency is about pursuing learning for a purpose. It is about understanding the connection between the why and how of learning.
It is a dynamic capability where knowledge gets turned into action. Agency does not depend on any one body of knowledge. It becomes the way to integrate knowledge from across disciplines... to see challenges and opportunities from many vantage points.
Schools that cultivate agency create a strong connection between philosophy, product and practice.
Student agency only really takes off when students themselves bring it to life.
It is impossible for students to develop agency unless teachers themselves are agents.
Student agency requires creating new patterns.
To develop agency, students and teachers need reliable ways of recognising and developing it, showing it in action to employers and collaborators… this involves new approaches to assessment.
Schools need to be led by the possibility and potential of their students and teachers rather than a rigid plan. The most effective strategies for change quickly build on sources of energy and momentum within the school.
Developing a compelling narrative for collective change is probably the most important strategy.
Whole school leadership - The role of school leaders is to promote leadership as learning across the school.

Go deeper

Watch a video of Tony Mackay interviewing Charles Leadbeater about learning on purpose

“Time and again participants told stories of how students had shown them the way forward by showing what was possible when they were given more scope to design the way they learn and what about.” (Leadbeater, C. 2022)

1.7 – Behr, G (2023) Remake learning: insights and actions to shape a post-pandemic future of learning that is just, equitable and learner centred (video)

Read the remake learning playbook

Gregg Behr is a co-founder of Remake Learning, a network that aims to ignites engaging, relevant, and equitable learning practices in support of young people navigating rapid social and technological change.

In this video, Gregg discusses:

the future of education and how communities, including Pittsburgh, are beginning to see and utilise all the people, places, resources, and experiences that help young people learn as part of a learning ecosystem
the Pittsburgh principles – 8 core ideas, key mindsets and design elements of the learning ecosystem in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh principles are:

Meet the neighbours – Learning ecosystems thrive on relationships, to grow a learning ecosystem, you need to cultivate relationships with businesses, libraries, artists, scholars, designers, etc.
Learning already happens everywhere – learn from and lift up what’s already working.
Don’t forget the grownups – It’s the adults that are the ones who need to make a profound shift in mindset.
Make it normal – Bring innovation into the everyday
Make lots of little bets – Make change through the cumulating impacts of many small efforts.
Tell your story – Stories help up make sense of change.
Open many doors – Make it as easy as possible for people to find a path that works for them – or help them blaze a new one.
Never stop learning – Learning ecosystems are in constant flux, accept the dynamism and complexity.