21 st Century Learning in New Zealand: Leadership Insights and Perspectives LEON BENADE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Transcription

1 21 st Century Learning in New Zealand: Leadership Insights and Perspectives LEON BENADE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

2 The research problem School leaders (and their school communities) are currently challenged by the focus on 21 st century learning, which demands a shift to digital pedagogies, increasingly enacted in flexible learning spaces, and the demand for the curriculum to be a vehicle for developing new skills and competencies.

3 The study a larger, Auckland University of Technology funded study What is the influence of the concept of 21st century learning on the work of teachers and the strategic actions of leaders at a selection of New Zealand schools? a qualitative study that explores, interprets and seeks to gain greater understanding of the relationships between 21 st century learning, pedagogy, teacher reflective practice and the strategic actions of schools

4 The research approach Influenced by phenomenology, critical hermeneutics and critical theory Ontological: how people experience their world valorises the personal, lived experiences of people in the world Epistemological participants interpret; make sense of their perceptions previous experiences, world-view and personal history new perception and interpretation leads to new understanding and the creation of meaning thus influencing and shaping a person s beliefs, world-view and self-concept. The researcher: Interpretation must lead to action founded on social justice and democratic principles Is self reflective Has a personal history and interpretation

5 The research design a multiple case study. Case studies straddle approach, strategy and method. They cross ontological, epistemological and methodological boundaries They enable the contextualisation of the phenomenon of interest Useful where the phenomenon of interest is complex and highly contextualised Sampling: (a) schools established as futures focused; (b) schools shifting, from traditional cellular spaces and pedagogies to flexible spaces and pedagogies influenced by e learning and future focussed concepts; (c) schools retaining the use of traditional spaces and more conventional pedagogies (which could range from teacher centred to learner centred). Method: Interviews focus group on line journals analysis of documents

6 Current progress Three school case studies Interviews: 3 principals 3 senior leaders 5 teachers Focus group 3 previous school leaders

7 This presentation Focuses on the insights and perspectives of the principals of schools type (b) and (c) The research question What is the influence of the concept of 21st century learning on leadership in a selection of New Zealand schools?

8 The policy context In its 2013 Budget, the current government outlined a Quality Teaching Agenda, a package of interconnected initiatives designed to lift the quality of teaching and strengthen the teaching profession (Ministry of Education, 2013). This agenda includes the intent to better understand the nature of teaching and learning in the 21 st century key competencies outlined in The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) New Zealand Ministry of Education seeks to achieve a world-leading education system that equips all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills, and values to be successful citizens in the 21st century. (2014). modern, flexible learning environments provided for in new schools, and, retrofits, or upgrading of older schools. Enhanced digital technology, including UFB and NFL

9 Please discuss What does the term 21 st century learning mean to you? Is this different from futures education and the futures focus principle in the New Zealand Curriculum?

10 The literature Critique of the past (simple); recognition of the complicated and complex present; suggests an unknown and unknowable (chaotic) future Calls for pedagogical shifts Calls for changed power structures Introduces new concepts

11 Please discuss How do you as a principal (or principals you know of) respond to the 21 st century learning orientation in education? What are the changes to teaching practice that have been brought on by the use of technology in your school, or schools you know of? In what way does physical learning space play a role in the development of these amended practices? What are the demands placed on school leaders to lead, co ordinate and resource these changes?

12 Findings (1) Principals views of the demands of 21 st century learning on teachers: pedagogical shifts are critical New attributes required Reflectivity is important BUT it is not easy to encourage teachers to shift their thinking They are challenged by technology

13 Findings (2) Principals strategic actions the principal is technology director and leader of pedagogical innovation. create an IT strategic plan frequent visits to a range of schools established as future focus schools planning of staff wide strategies to allay staff fears of the unknown importance and value of school wide professional learning as way of bringing teachers around to seeing their role differently. parent curriculum workshops to familiarise parents and families to the concepts around 21 st century learning the underlying vision and values provide the direction and stability required to navigate the changes.

14 Findings (3) Innovative leadership use of online digital tools to encourage collaborative sharing used in context of appraisal and planning find ways of enabling students to help teachers make the shifts required

15 Discussion of findings (1) Making the most of the opportunities offered to 21 st century schooling by digital media. Recognising the tenuous position of certain, disciplinary knowledge Emphasising instead the attainment of certain key skills by students and teachers Teachers must engage students in envisaging a new future for themselves Prepare them for a future that is different from the present or the past. Economic instrumentality is absent in their discourse, Emphasised instead the personal flourishing of their students in the future as important.

16 Discussion of findings (2) A recognition that the shifts are difficult Rubbing up against some resistant teacher attitudes Uncertainty and insecurity in the face of crumbling certainty Support teachers by modelling the attributes they expect to see Shifts are slow, difficult, problematic Developing reflective practice is a source of stress for some teachers Nevertheless, many substantial signs that teachers had shifted significantly, even if they did not recognise this themselves. Digital technology does not make a difference on its own Both demonstrated a commitment to sharing these burdens of leadership with their senior colleagues

17 Conclusion (1) Richard Slaughter, a now retired futures scholar and expert, writing in 1987, distinguished between futures in education, and futures of education. The slide from in to of parallels the immensely greater investment in controlling the future as compared with the more convivial task of facilitating human development in order to create it (p. 342). the concept of 21 st century learning implies economic instrumentality and a notion of education for human capital futures education points to the challenges and opportunities for holistic human flourishing in the 21 st century futures focus in education can have the educative ideal of envisaging futures that may evolve in the lifetime of students or becoming better prepared for that future.

18 Conclusion (2) Certain ideas advocated as 21 st century learning (such as empowerment of students, and the greater democratisation of the learning process) are not different from the points that were being raised by critical thinkers in the 20 th century (such as Dewey, Freire, Illich and Postman & Weingartner). What differs now, however, is the power of digital tools that connect young people with each other and vast storehouses of knowledge in the wider world. even in the face of some of the most radical challenges to the ways in which the work of teachers, school leaders and schools is conceptualised and conducted, certain characteristics of exemplary leadership remain constant.