Innovating for 21st Century Schools Clientele 24th June 2010

 

"No amount of skillful invention can replace the the essential element of imagination" Edward Hopper

As I return from another cruise vacation on a 160,000 tonne superliner I cannot help but marvel at the sheer technological advancements in cruising which have taken place over recent years, whilst reflecting on the increasingly slow pace of innovation transformation in our education arena. 

To think you can be ice-skating with international friends, rock climbing 200 feet above the ocean, body boarding and surfing on the back of a ship, enjoying a West-End show in a 3 storey theatre, whilst savouring 5 star culinary delights, all whilst the ship is cruising through the Straits of Gibraltar!  Where in education can a person experience such diverse and rich experiences, and where else in the world can you see over 70 different nationalities co-operating, co-habiting, working, sharing and enjoying life together as one for the benefit of you and I?

Innovation has appeared as part of education pedagogy for many years, albeit in several guises ranging from TVEI and economic understanding to vocational education.  Most recently Innovation has been anchored into the Howard Davies Review of Enterprise and the Economy in Education (2002) which paved the way for a national entitlement for all students in secondary schools to receive an enterprise education now a national entitlement for all learners between the ages of 5 and 19.  The CBI's most favourable response to the review set new parameters and expectations of the learning and skills agenda to ensure our young people are at least employer ready, and at best &lsquoinnovative, creative and enterprising' in what they do and how they do it.


The education arena, like the cruise industry, has seen radical and sweeping changes in line with an inherent move towards a client focused &lsquocustomer-driven' focus.  With the advent of imagineering and personalisation of learning in the early 21st Century, led by Professor David Hargreaves, the customisation of the cruise experience continues to further deliver massive leaps in technological innovation and customer experience.  If you don't believe me, check out the new vessel &lsquoAllure of the Seas'.


With a greater devolvement of leadership, management and control handed back over to all schools in England, and the recent invitation for them to become &lsquoAcademies' under the new government's education reforms, every school in the land now has been handed a mandate to innovate its vision, mission, curriculum provision and resources.  I wonder how many of our education leaders are minded to innovate, and how many of us are risk averse? Indeed, to what extent have such leaders and our teachers ever been encouraged to take risks, be creative, be innovative in what they do and how they do it? 


To pick up on my colleague's previous analogy in his blog, I wonder how many &lsquoPioneers' and how many &lsquoScouts' are in our education landscape?  I rather suspect there to be many more &lsquoSettlers' and &lsquoRednecks' as they continue to sit tight and gaze into the sea of education innovation, to watch carefully for any Pioneers passing by.  Surely, if we are to serve our young people well, we must equip all education professional and support staff to learn how to engage with and successfully apply innovation.


Don't get me wrong, I wholly advocate that everyone has the ability to take risks, be creative, and to innovate.  However, the degree to which they do so will depend largely upon the extent to which they have been placed in challenging contexts in not only their learning, but most importantly throughout their life.  How challenging is our education provision, and how innovative are our education leaders in responding to the enterprise imperative for a new 21st Century Pedagogy?


As employers constantly tell educators that they are tasked with re-training any new employees, hence the recent &lsquofunctional skills' agenda as part of the 14 to 19 Education Reforms, I ask the question, &lsquoAt what point does a person become functional in their use of English, Maths and ICT?'  From the moment they speak?  At what point does a child lose their inhibitions, experience their own enterprising adventure, throw caution to the wind and fly?  At what point does the education system clip their wings before they enter the factory of life? 


As I reflect on my 15 years of leading enterprise education in schools, and more latently as national leader, it seems we are all aspiring to facilitate the innate enterprising attitudes, behaviours, capabilities and skills of our young people so that they can be successful in learning and in life.  To what extent are we pulling together in our cost cutting competitive profit driven society?  It is interesting to note the increasing emergence of co-operative models of school leadership and education provision, in response to the rather volcanic education landscape.  How interesting at the time when we approach the 250th anniversary of Robert Owen's birth, the utopian realist and social entrepreneur who pioneered infant schools and the International Labour Organisation, the oldest specialised agency of the United Nations.


Education professionals are the social entrepreneurs, imagineers and innovators of society......aren't they?  If not, then what is their purpose?


Paul

Paul Delbridge-Smith FRSA MA(Ed)