My theory of change

As the Forum for the Future of Education draws closer, I find myself speaking to a variety of professionals, parents and students who work in education who are passionate about change. Their common question to me is how can we make this change happen, and my answer is simply “together”. I know that together we can make change happen.

As part of my conversations, I chatted to the wonderful Professor Keri Facer who helped me to reflect further on why I am so convinced that now is the time for change. She agreed with me and pointed me towards Duncan Green’s important book How Change Happens. Having now read the summary (I wish I had time to read the full book, but time is a luxury right now) I can safely say that the time is exactly now and we must not miss this opportunity.

For those who haven’t read his work he identifies 4 key factors in change that I believe are met by the current situation.

1. Systems change is not linear and is often driven by a critical juncture in history (for us this is the COVID crisis)

2. We cannot plan for change but respond to the complex systems and situations. (the government’s handling of education during the crisis is the pinch point here)

3. Change comes from the people and from their collective power, not from people who hold power over them and want to sustain that. (people have been galvanised by their dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of education during the crisis)

4. Power comes from working together in coalition (organisations from across education and beyond are coming together for this event)

I believe we have reached the sweet spot for change in education and if we miss this opportunity, we may fall back into normality and conformity in a system which is not fit for purpose. We need to harness the ground swell of desire for change we are experiencing and come together to have our voices heard. 

The Forum for the Future of Education is different from other conferences. Our focus is on people coming together to discuss their concerns and ideas, it is about empowering grassroots stakeholders to recognise their agency for change and that together they can bring about the change that they and millions like them need. We are also very proud to be collaborating with Citizen’s UK who will be taking the results of the event and doing what they do best, working with the people involved to mobilise them for change.

Join us for this important event, you can buy a school 4 delegate tickets for ￡96 or an individual ticket for ￡30 here. Please remember that this event is a not-for-profit event. Every single penny we raise will go towards hosting the event, analysing the discussions and sharing the results with the press, action groups and the media. However, if access to money, to buy a ticket, is stopping you from registering please do get in touch and we will see what we can do to support you. Money should never be a barrier for change!