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Education challenges facing us now and in the future…
… a focused ramble …
Address to the Nelson Principals’ Association Conference
October 2011Dr John Langley, Chief Executive OfficerCognition Education Limited
Ross’s Question
“In our own culture we have short historicalmemories. We think only in narrow bands of
time.Is it any surprise that we don’t learn lessons
fromthe past and have even less idea about what
thefuture should look like? Education is aboutchanging that – so how?”
Kath’s Question
“I know how important education is. I know what it
can achieve for all of us. So how come it works so
well for some but not for so many?”
Terry’s Question
“How come we can’t have genuine and intelligent
discussions about our challenges? Why do we spend
all our time taking positions and protecting the last
compromise?”
This ramble has three parts…
Ross’s question (the big picture)
Kath’s question (the slightly smaller
picture)
Terry’s question (your picture)
Ross’s QuestionCritical Trends (McDonald, 2011)
• Power shift – away from the “West” and to the “East”• Need to look both further back and forward to
understand the world – financial cycles, human society• Human society based on the rise and fall of “isms”
> Catholicism, Protestantism, Communism, Capitalism?? (Auribindo)
• Great divide between Communism and Capitalism – freedom vs equality
• Capitalism has been based on an assumption of continuous growth but now real barriers> Environmental sustainability
> Cannot continue to re-generate what we consume
THEREFORE – business as usual is a disaster.
So, what to do?
Adam Smith…• Capitalism is not about continual and unfettered
growth…• Three legs to the stool
> Theory of Moral Sentiment
> The Wealth of Nations
> Lectures on Jurisprudence
… the moral base, the market, the rules
… A successful capitalist economy cannot survive without a sound moral base and clear rules to protect citizens form injustice and injury
What does this mean?
• Changes needed . . . > Our view of growth – more qualitative
> Our view of competition – more collaborative
> Individual selfishness – “we can be better than mean-spirited global thugs”
• So . . .> Must move towards measuring things through
achievement and well-being (which is not about what we consume)
> Overcome short-sightedness, narrow-mindedness and shallowness and replace with foresight, broad-mindedness and depth.
Kath’s QuestionSo what does this all mean for
education?
“The issue is not about whether we are getting our money’s worth, but whether the money is making a difference to people’s lives.”
- Dr John YuChancellor, University of New South Wales
Where we are…How do we do?
On the whole we do well…
> 80% perform well on OECD standards
> 20% are underachieving
Over-representation of Maori and Pasifika Over-representation of children and young people from
“poor homes Likely to include gifted and talented children Variation between schools Considerable variation within schools
Where we are…Why the 20%
Deficit views of learning Not accepting that teaching and learning is a science Focus on sociological explanations about failure Lack of acknowledgment of the importance of the
teacher as an “agent” Indulging in a reform process that focused on the
wrong things Poor incentives for teachers and those who do the job
wellAND The challenge of diversity (160 ethnic groups in
Manukau City)
Future Challenges – National (us)
“Every person” The drive for research-based practice Research findings and community demands The political importance of education The role of teachers and schools (now and
future) What do teachers and teacher groups want
to be?
What this means…
“Teachers who will have a positive impact on students”
- Hattie, 2004
Focus on what research is telling us about the crucible for school-based learning
Shift teaching from the status of a craft to that of a profession
It is the dynamics of teacher-student, student-student and teacher-family interaction that provide the greatest scope for advance
Strategic Professionalisation Agenda (Aitken, 2006)
• Explicit statements about what quality performance actually means
• A review of the efficacy of current arrangements for professional development
• Much greater scope for the independent assessment of each teacher’s efforts to learn from reliable achievement data, and comment critically on what Helen Timperley and others call a professional learning community
Terry’s Question
So, what next?
First,• Clarify around the principles for developing
educational policy and practice...> What does success look like?> What do we know works in achieving success?> How do we know we’ve made it?> What next?
Secondly, confront the myths…
• Myth 1> Teaching and learning are so difficult that it is
impossible to isolate the key variables and measure them
• Myth 2> Opinion equals fact
• Myth 3> In education we discuss and debate things fully
and with an open mind
• Myth 4> The teaching profession is a community of equals
where values such as collegiality, unity and altruism flourish
• Myth 5> Education is always changing so it’s really hard to
do a decent job when the ground always shifts
• Myth 6> Education policy is a political football and that’s not
right
Your challenges…
What to do
• Learning is paramount to individuals and to society
• Everyone can learn - no excuses
• Learning is visible – we know what motivates learners
and what teachers must do to cause learning
• Educators are responsible for evidence-based,
transparent practices and for tracking improvement
• Educators must be professionally accountable for their
performance to those they teach and the communities
they service
How to do it
• We’ve got to JOIN THE DOTS between myth and
reality; between your school and ALL our schools;
between today’s reality and realising our expectations
for the future
• The focus of all work by teaching professionals must
be on student achievement – if its not, don’t do it
• Use valid and reliable information that is nationally
benchmarked and tools that not only tell us where
kids are but what next. Know and share what quality
performance is, how to measure it and how to use if
for your kids’ sake
How to do it
• Step up be the leaders we all need you to be. Do what
works and stop tolerating what doesn’t work
• Create and implement school-wide and profession-
wide strategies centred on improving professional
practice. You can influence this – in fact, without you
this cannot be done.
• Finally, involve public so where issues are difficult and
complex, seek to continually and respectfully inform.