In this newsletter I will share some reflections from the national conference and highlight upcoming events for the rest of the year.
National Conference Reflection
I have just returned from the ACEL 2024 National Conference – what an experience! The conference theme was Reimagining education, with subthemes reimagining educational leadership; reimagining schooling; reimagining our profession; and reimagining our future and planet. There were so many inspirational speakers, so many new and deepened insights, and so many moments of connection with likeminded educators from across the country, but mostly I am returning overwhelmed with a renewed sense of hope for the future of education. I will share two highlights in this newsletter.
Tamara Doig, Principal of Rostrata Primary School and ACEL WA Branch Executive Member, captured her reflection on the session by Professor Martin Westwell, CEO of the Department for Education South Australia (a similar role to our Director General). Over the past few years South Australia has been engaging in a radical reimagining of education, including changes to their K - Y10 and their Year 11-12 curriculum, piloting the introduction of a senior secondary learner profile and transforming their whole education system culture to an agile learning organisation.
Tamara writes: “My thinking has been challenged, I’ve been inspired and connected widely. Loved spending some time with some of our amazing WA branch exec over the past few days. Incredible to learn from the system level change being co-designed by the Department for Education South Australia with students, staff and the community.
Martin Westwell, CEO of the Department for Education SA has opened Day 2 of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) National Conference, sharing the visionary strategy behind their shift towards a reimagined curriculum framework, aligned with the Australian Curriculum.
The dispositions and capabilities needed to be successful are elevated in the SA Curriculum Framework and the system is doing the heavy lifting and identifying the specific dispositions and capabilities required for particular learning areas.
Martin shared a great example for the Mathematics curriculum. In Maths, SA has mapped the relevant dispositions needed to be successful in that discipline – being resilient, resourceful, reflective. The capabilities are: problem solving, developing understanding, fluency & flexibility and reasoning.
Martin challenged the status quo on teachers beginning to plan with content first. While acquiring knowledge sequentially is important, he shared, 'Why couldn't you begin planning through dispositions and capabilities rather than going straight to the content?
If you know your students are fragile and give up easily, start with resilience and use the problem-solving capability to develop that resilience so they then have more success with acquiring the content. What is the consequence of not teaching through resilience? They might achieve great test scores, but they can't persist with difficulty or show resilience when they come across a really difficult problem. When we link back to the purpose of education, what we want is for students to learn and thrive.
The PISA data analysis that Martin shared backs up this notion; when students experienced high teacher support, a sense of belonging, positive student-teacher relationships, ability to persevere and high indicators of curiosity, their student achievement was significantly higher than those who did not answer positively to these factors. Martin was very clear that there is a strong emphasis on quality teaching, but that knowledge alone is not enough, by also focusing on other areas of impact such as dispositions and capabilities more effectively while also cultivating a positive sense of wellbeing, this significantly boosts students’ ability to thrive and learn.”
Another inspirational speaker was Dr Briony Scott, the outgoing ACEL President, who bookended the conference with an opening and closing address. At the start of the conference Briony reminded us that we lead in incredibly complex systems. The ceiling of the conference room was like a starlit sky (see photo). Briony shared a reflection that we can think of the stars as the things that happen to us; we cannot control them. But the constellations are the stories we tell to interpret the things that happen to us. She explained that leadership is about helping those around us make sense of the world around them. We must lean into the complexity, listen to the stories people are telling, pause to hear the constellations and listen to the stories we tell about education. We are called to educate, empower and build up.
At the end of the conference Briony returned to the theme of reimagining education and navigating through complexity. She reminded us that, as educational leaders, we can never lose faith; after all our profession is a hope-filled profession. She reflected that there are a multitude of roads, or constellations, to get us to a reimagined future. So perhaps our north star is not a destination, but a way of being. Briony suggested that the nature of our discourse and our ability to have conversations around really challenging things courteously, courageously and kindly, may matter more than a single destination. Maybe it is our manner, our leadership, and our modelling that is our greatest hallmark. She reminded us that schools were originally set up to replicate society, but in a post-truth, divisive world, we have to engage in counter-cultural role-modelling, so that people can look at schools as the way of behaving. That may be our greatest calling in life. She sent us off with this mandate: “May you be a beacon of hope to those around you and role model what it means to be a wonderful human being.” That is why I am returning from the conference inspired with hope.
Upcoming events
National Indigenous Education Summit
ACEL is partnering with Third Sector in supporting the 5th National Indigenous Education Summit to Perth**,** scheduled to take place from the 29 Oct to 1 Nov 2024 at the Pan Pacific, Perth. This event will bring together educators, policymakers, and community leaders to address the educational disparities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It will be a wonderful opportunity to hear from a wide range of inspiring leaders and learn how to drive systemic change in Indigenous education.
Leading Innovation in Education Network
On Tuesday the 22nd of October, 1pm – 4pm, we will be hosting our Term 4 Leading Innovation in Education Network, where different presenters will share with us how they are leading improvement, innovation and change in their respective contexts. Speakers for the event are:
- Eleanor Hughes, Principal, Joseph Banks Secondary College
- Adam Selwood, Head of Sport Development and Performance, Perth College
- Jette Oksis, Pedagogical Practice Consultant, Catholic Education WA
- Gaile Racey, Pastoral Care Leader, Hale School
This will be an exciting event, hosted at the new Science Space Academy at Joseph Banks Secondary College, so prepare for some fun suiting up for space. The Leading Innovation Network events are free, but please book your spot here to let us know you are coming.
Educational Leadership Book Club
We have chosen our next book to read: “Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't” by David Marquet. The date for our next book club discussions in Perth and Margaret River are still to be confirmed for early next year, but why don’t you start reading or listening to the book so that you can join the conversation. I have already started diving into the book with my leadership team. Here are some quotes of what others think about the book:
“Drawing on a wide variety of examples from all kinds of organisation, David Marquet has written an impressive and engaging book which is not just thought-provoking, but offers simple, actionable ways of escaping the traps that our words lay for us.” ― Stephen Bungay, author of The Art of Action
“Full of compelling advice on how to lead more effectively by choosing your words more wisely.” ― Adam Grant, author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“In Turn The Ship Around, Marquet challenged us to change the way we lead; Now, in Leadership is Language, he challenges us to change the way we talk as leaders by dropping the archaic language of command and control and learning the language of creativity, collaboration, and commitment.” ― Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers
I hope to see you at one of our future events.
Keep leading with hope!
Mathilda Joubert
ACEL WA Branch President