Michael Fullan is well known, especially in the compulsory/forma school sector, for his work on "Deep Learning". His work is especially relevant given the challenges posed by the rapid changes in society due to the 'fourth industrial revolution'. This has brought about shifts in how work is constituted across many occupations and although the percieved wisdom at the moment is for many occupations to have changes in job tasks, many occupations may remain. However, there are occupations that will cease to exist and the future workforce has to be ready to adjust to these disruptions rapidly as jobs wax and wane.
Fullan's latest report discusses the 'right drivers for shifting the monolithic educational systems across many countries. The drivers are capacity building, group quality, pedagogy and systemic. Opposed to these 'right' drivers are processes with impede accountability, promote only the individual, focus only on the technology and fragmented changes/processes.
He stresses the need for all four 'right' drivers to be put into motion and each, on their own, will not create the great shift required to move educational systems. To achieve the right drivers requires focusing also on well-being and learning, social intelligence, equality investment and 'systemness'. Opposed to these are processes requiring challenging and change. These include obsession with academics (content) and measurement (standards), reliance on machine intelligence, austerity measures and fragmentation of decisions.
The paper makes for thought provoking reading and sets a high bar on the need and urgency for change. The complexities required to shift educational systems is not under-estimated. However, delaying change will only lead to dire consequences for the current cohort of students. Political leadership is required to bring about the integrated and holistic changes called for. Some countries have already started to take some steps, albeit perhaps not in the consolidated way proposed by Fullan. Forecasting for future needs will always be problemmatic but the various indicators so show that the future of work, and in turn, preparation of the workforce, requires important attention by all governments.
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