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Dirk Van Damme reports back from the:
European Council of International Schools (ECIS) Administrators conference, held in Cascais near Lisbon, Portugal on the 16-18 April 2009
The European Council of International Schools (ECIS) Administrators conference, despite its name, this is a global organization of institutional leaders of international schools worldwide.
I was invited to talk about trends affecting schools, with also a special look at the impact of the crisis. I mainly used material from the OECD Trends Shaping Education publication and on the impact of the economic crisis. The title of my talk was: ‘Trends affecting schools – challenges and opportunities in the quest for excellence and equity‘. The following abstract summarizes my main argument:
Schools are operating in very different circumstances than a few decades ago, when leaders of contemporary societies have been educated. Demographic, economic, social and cultural transformations are affecting the environment in which schools are operating. Schools and teachers are faced with new demands, while old demands seem to ask ever more professional expertise, resources and commitment. As the return on education in contemporary knowledge societies still is very high and may be expected to remain high or even increase in the future, the majority of students and families still are heavily investing in education, but more disadvantaged groups in society seem to show a decreasing motivation towards schooling. All this creates huge challenges for schools striving for excellence. But as the outcomes and benefits from schooling remain to be deeply determined by economic and social backgrounds of students, school systems are challenged to guarantee equity and to maintain to function as engines of meritocracy and social mobility. Teacher shortages are affecting recruitment and quality of teacher inflow in some countries, while in all developed nations new demands put pressure on the professional profile and identity of teachers. Drawing upon recent research in OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, an overview will be given of the main trends affecting schools today. Briefly, the effects of the current financial and economic crisis on schools will be discussed as well. How are schools transforming in responding to the challenges and opportunities created by these trends? In thinking about the schools of the future, various scenario’s can be formulated. The best scenario probably will combine the traditional quest for excellence with a strong drive to innovation.
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