Leading for an Uncertain Future—Why Knowledge Still Matters
In a world increasingly defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, the role of educational leaders is crucial for preparing the next generation to engage with this environment productively. As we grapple with AI proliferation, climate disruption, and geopolitical tension, the question becomes: how do we prepare our students, not just for what we know, but for what we cannot predict?
The answer may lie not in the pursuit of more skills, but in the deliberate revival of knowledge. Deep, durable understanding stems from a knowledge-rich foundation. Far from being conservative or traditionalist, this focus on shared, cumulative knowledge is a democratic imperative. Without a shared foundation of background knowledge, students are excluded from the very discourses that define modern society.
While well-intentioned, focusing on developing a set of disconnected ‘skills’ is unproductive. This approach often overlooks a fundamental truth of cognitive science: skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and even reading comprehension do not operate in a vacuum. They are intrinsically linked to bodies of knowledge that have developed over long periods of time, sometimes thousands of years.
A knowledge-first approach is not at odds with future-ready education; rather, it is essential for it to succeed. Students need structured, sequenced exposure to bodies of knowledge that build schema, support inference-making, and promote understanding across disciplines. As educational leaders, our role is to defend and enact curriculum that gives every learner, not just the privileged, access to the cultural and conceptual capital they need to navigate complexity.
A truly modern curriculum ensures that students know a great deal of ‘stuff’ and can think critically with it. In this uncertain world, our duty is to equip young people not with superficial versatility but with intellectual depth.
A book to read: Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The knowledge revival (2025)
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The next Victorian event is Leading Regenerative Learning: a presentation by Dr Richard Owens
This event is aimed at leaders or those interested in leadership in education.
Imagine a school that helps build the capacity of young people to embrace complexity, engage with diversity, and develop compassionate, collaborative responses to real-world challenges.
This provocation will explore educational leadership as a compassionate, regenerative practice that nurtures renewal, adaptation, and innovation in schools. At a time where an epidemic of student mental health issues, teacher shortages, and burnout among school leaders converge with the broader challenges of climate change, inequity, and community polarisation, this interactive session presents a hopeful approach to transforming leadership in our schools
Dr. Richard Owens is the Director of the Woodleigh Institute, a global innovation lab dedicated to understanding and enhancing transformative approaches to learning and leadership. The Institute has a special interest in regenerative learning.
Richard has over 30 years of experience in teaching, senior leadership, and innovation roles. He has previously served as a teacher, curriculum coordinator, university lecturer, Deputy Head, and Head of School, and was the founding director of an international centre for leadership and learning in Singapore. He has worked with teachers, school administrators, academics, and system leaders from Australia, Asia, North and South America, and Europe.
Richard is the Convenor of ReimaginED, a unique nomadic festival of learning in the Asia-Pacific region, dedicated to exploring and shaping the emerging futures of education. He is also the Regional Lead for the Center for Systems Awareness in Australia, a global, community-based organisation focused on compassionate systems change.
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Ashley Pratt
ACEL Victoria Branch Executive Member