If we look to make significant changes to our education system, what might they be?

There are undoubtedly calls for reform of education systems all around the world but simply talking about it will just add to the frustration and it is important to start implementing change and being more proactive in engaging with the stakeholders who have a vested interest in what we turn out from our schools, i.e. business.

A recent post of mine on LinkedIn has received some fantastic responses and insights offered by people from around the world who are already taking proactive steps.

I have put together some of my own thoughts about the kinds of initiatives that could be explored and also identified those that others are already doing, not just in the UK but around the world.

1. Collaborations between schools to address global challenges such as climate change, economic challenges, modern slavery, equality and societal issues. These collaborations could take place in settings akin to the Model UN, Youth Speaks, European Youth Parliament, The World Schools Debating Championships). Whilst these issues could be done by individual schools, independent of any collaboration, working with other partners would heighten awareness and debate by enlarging the numbers of those involved and could be done at a regional and national level.
2. Direct collaborations with businesses who can run workshop events or offer speakers to provide insights into the world of modern business. This is not a new concept but it needs to be developed and become part of the fabric of an educational offering.
3. Developing a coaching programme for pupils that challenges them to respond to questions rather than accept what they are told. A coaching culture creates opportunities for personal growth through on-going reflection and this also develops creativity and resilience as well as strong listening skills.
4. Continuous assessment rather than end of course exams through tasks that require practical application of what has been learnt. It would be fantastic if businesses could even set these assessments. Such a proposal perhaps requires additional departments within businesses who could review the tasks but the potential to discover new ideas and approaches could unearth some extraordinary individuals who will unlikely be able to convey their ideas as effectively in conventional exams. It is also starting to emphasise the partnership that needs to exist between educational and business establishments.
5. Encouraging micro-credentials that instil the concept of ongoing education beyond the age of 18 but are relevant to the jobs (and done alongside the job) and encourage a continued love of learning and enhancement of skills.??
6. Providing e-learning modules for pupils that allow them to respond to their individual interests and provide them with an ever-growing portfolio of certificates and qualifications. These could be created by businesses along the lines of aptitude/profile tests.
7. Direct input from businesses to the Department for Education to identify the skills that they are looking for and also work with Universities to review entry criteria (not purely dependent on standardised exams) to study for relevant qualifications. Whilst this could lead to stretching demand on the education system to be versatile and adapt what is being taught, the reality is that this is the world in which we now live. Education used to determine what businesses received but it now needs to be the other way around.??
8. Openground at Westlake Boys High School (NZ) provides a pathway between academic theory and learning and the practical reality of running a business with a specific focus on developing critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, teamwork, resilience and working independently. During the course the pupils are mentored by business leaders and have the chance to participate in multiple ‘Dragons Dens’ to pitch in the hope of gaining start-up funding to make their businesses a reality.
9. Mini-MBA programmes to provide practical application of learning and encourage creativity and understanding of business models.
10. Psychology and media courses that foster greater awareness of how the media have the ability to shape events and understanding
11. Whilst maintaining the core GCSEs (or comparable qualifications in other countries), developing complementary courses from aged 13 that take pupils out of the traditional curriculum to look at climate change, economic impact of world events (such as pandemics, war) etc.
12. Conferences that specifically bring together education and business leaders are essential for education to evolve. They just don’t happen but they need to and this is where the DfE and larger organisations could take the initiative.
13. Development of Cultural Capital (or Global Capital) skills to ensure that pupils are competitive in global society and the workplace. The Global School Alliance are encouraging schools to connect and do projects with peers around the world that can develop these skills through their free online community the Global School Alliance (www.globalschoolalliance.com). A lot of the projects are based on the SDG's (Social Development Goals).?
14. Mini-apprenticeships, perhaps to be run during the summer (with suitable recognition and credits/UCAS points) in collaboration with recognised external partners. This would also get Universities involved in the dialogue with schools and businesses.
15. Genuine opportunities to embrace AI technologies ( CENTURY Tech , Atom ) and understand these better, alongside more courses in robotics and engineering, coding and the digital economy.

These are just some ideas to get the ball rolling and I hope people will engage with their own ideas to continue to challenge the conventional norms of our education systems.

Susie O'Rourke , Mark Leppard MBE , Tyler Moore , Aidan Carr , UWC South East Asia , Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy EdD MCC ACTC MP ITCA ESIA , Laurence H. Brown, Prof. EdD. FRSA. , Toni Camilleri , Andy Kemp , Susan Hannam , Pencka Gancheva CMgr FCMI MIMA CeMAP CeRER , Mary-Ellen Fimbel , Serj Solarpunk Hunt , Gilda Scarfe PhD , Raju Basumatary , Richard Griffiths , Chris McShane , Learning 3D Ltd , Ian Lovely , Helen Sundaram , Mark Herbert , 查尔斯木 , Priya Lakhani OBE , Tom Sherrington , Dr John Price , Daisy Christodoulou , Brendan Law , Andrew Lewer , James Cleverly , ISA Heads , HMC (The Heads' Conference) , The Society of Heads , Penny Hooper BSc (Hons), MSc, MBCS, ACSFS , Guy Holloway , Euan Blair , Sara Davies MBE , Irfan H Latif FRSA , Dr Phil Cummins