Books in the Future Schools series

Schools acting alone cannot achieve the greatest possible improvement and transformation under the conditions that currently prevail. This book aims to help senior leaders re-imagine and transform the partnership between their school and its community, and develop the capacity to lead that change.

Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, formal schooling is frequently following rather than leading. The impression is given by central government that the education system serves as a ''thermostat'' restoring society''s settings in areas such as productivity, citizenship, health, sexual mores and behaviour. Educational reform over the last twenty years has clarified an existing educational process, reformatted the financial management of schools and resuscitated the inspection system. It has not, however, laid the foundations of a world-class future responsive educational system. Shaping a New Educational Landscape brings together writers considering a wide range of possibilities for future development in education and society from different perspectives. Exploring alternative scenarios and strategies, they are not engaged in making accurate predictions but in unsettling present thinking and stimulating discussion. Together they form a fascinating contribution to the growing debate about how we might generate an educational process that will sponsor new economic paradigms and create a bold participative society on the new global stage.

This book will address the leadership challenge of creating an environment for the development needs of 21st century students. These students need to be globally aware, flexible in approach, and to develop transferable, multi-skills across a wide spectrum of employment opportunities. They also need to be numerate, have highly defined social and communication skills and have an Information and Communication Technology skill base embedded within all that they do.  In order to create the appropriate learning environment, every organisation must address as a first priority the way it is led. Schools must second guess needs for the future and put robust structures in place to facilitate those needs. This book will show how such a culture change is possible, note the barriers encountered and the successes achieved, both within schools and other organisations. Schools are one member of a group partnership with parents, employers, society and the students themselves - all of whom are charged with making this change happen. For this reason, the book looks at a number of business organisations to see what leadership lessons can be learned by both sides in this process of transformation.