A national discussion on education – so what for school leaders?

As the dust begins to settle on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many education systems around the world are considering what next? The pandemic has been a major interruption to the education of children and young people with ongoing significant consequences for their well being and mental health (Creswell et al. 2021). Hence, it would now seem appropriate, if not essential, that educators everywhere, including those leading and managing schools, address the important question of who and what matters most in the next phase of education. One thing is clear, it would be a huge, missed opportunity to simply revert to the norms and practices that defined the boundaries of education, in various countries, before the pandemic took hold. While the debate about ‘learning loss’ has dominated much of the discourse about education during COVID times, it is also clear that much has been learned and gained from the most disruptive period in contemporary history. If anything, as we move through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, this should be a time to pause and reflect on exactly what type of education is fit for a future that will inevitably hold new challenges for those learners who are in education now, and the generation about to enter school. As Fullan (2022) notes ‘the decades from 2020 to 2050 will be the battleground for the next period of civilization for our 8 billion people, and all living things’. Major technological strides will offer children and young people many more choices around the nature and configuration of future learning and teaching. The rights of children and young people will be central to the configuration and delivery of education in the future. The voices of children and young people need to be heard in planning for educational change as ultimately, they are the ‘changemakers of the future’. Currently, the OECD is working on education scenario building for 2030 through wide consultation with different groups including students from around the world. They have developed a Learning Compass 2030 that elaborates different types of learning, within a broad structure, that acknowledges that learning does not only happen in schools. This is an evolving framework that is intended to generate and support discussion about future education possibilities. The OECD learning framework or compass offers a broad vision of the types of competencies students will need to thrive in 2030 and beyond. It also develops a common language and understanding that is globally relevant and informed, while providing space to adapt the framework to local contexts.