Yes, every country needs to set challenging yet realistic targets for reading, writing, numeracy. But you also need:

(a) clear frameworks describing student growth and learning in these areas

(b) a repertoire of strategies and resources for teachers to use that are appropriate for their students

(c) targeted and multi-faceted professional learning for teachers with different needs including training, specialist support, action research, collaborative time, coaching etc

(d) well-informed and supportive school leaders who can create the environment for the above to flourish

(e) departments and sectors/systems to appropriately fund, research and facilitate the above without imposing the latest fads, political directives and off the shelf programs on schools – or just stay out of the way of good schools doing good work.

Over many decades funding has gone to reducing inequities in schooling like the Karmel Committee in the 1970s recommending targeting funding to address ‘disadvantage’ with programs “for Aboriginal education, migrant education, isolated children, socio-economically disadvantaged schools and schools in country areas, teacher training, and special education for students with a disability”.

As a teacher in low SES school communities in the 1980s I had the advantage of working with marvellous kids and dedicated staff and lots of federal government funding like the Priority Schools Program where we introduced innovative programs for socio-emotional development, building enterprises and enterprising behaviour. Everything except unfortunately building student’s literacy and numeracy skills. Despite this and subsequent forays and funding over the next decades targeting educational disadvantage little has changed and with little focus on improved student learning beyond international test results and few mechanisms for monitoring program impact.

The research is correct. We need to move beyond in school reforms and look at wider systemic change to achieve a high equity system.

The challenges for education identified here would be familiar for many developing nations. For example, developing and retaining qualified and quality teachers, renewing an out-of-date curriculum, nurturing a skilled workforce for job prospects in relevant industries, improving literacy rates, mitigating the urban-rural and digital divides, and enhancing inclusivity in schools.

They become even more difficult and problematic to resolve when considering the DRC’s decades of conflict, ethnic tensions, corruption and human rights abuses and violations.

The government’s response to the education challenges, at least on paper, has some merit:

• equity of access to quality education irrespective of background, gender, geography, learning needs
• curriculum aligned to international standards integrating critical cross curriculum competencies
• quality training, in-person and online, in high impact pedagogy with integration of technology
• sustainable infrastructure and facilities, including high-speed internet connectivity, e-platforms, and interactive digital learning tools
• engaging local communities in collaborative partnerships to support school programs.

How and how much can be achieved in the current climate of civil and political unrest is uncertain.

It’s important that connections are made between:

• the science of learning involving research and evidence-based strategies (e.g. active learning, spaced repetition, retrieval, phonics instruction, metacognition, differentiated instruction, growth mindset, constructive feedback across disciplines);
• the valuing of skills beyond discipline areas (eg curiosity, motivation, creativity, collaboration, social intelligence, critical thinking);
• the importance of a curriculum that encompasses the above with explicit content (knowledge, understanding, skills) to be taught, learnt, and that can be assessed; and
• the manifestation of all of this as excellent pedagogy by high-quality teachers.

With some available research and anecdotal evidence, hybrid work does seem to have benefits for employees and with little downside for employers.

Of course, it does not necessarily suit every industry or worksite in the same way nor are the parameters of hybrid work the same for all workplaces. All this is negotiable.

Also, even though many people now are more comfortable with working and meeting remotely I believe it is helpful, where possible, for team members to be on site together at least once a week or fortnight to complement ongoing collaborative and team building opportunities.

School leaders are pivotal to the successful running of schools, academically and operationally.

This leadership is located in classrooms, in heads of department and coordinator offices and in the school front office.

Effective school leadership requires investment in recruitment, retention, succession, development, recognition and accountability processes.

Only after this investment with the commensurate output, can we begin the journey of having autonomous school leaders responsible for, and trusted with, academic, financial and staffing decisions.

Standardised testing is helpful.

The first four points provide a sound rationale.

For me the jury is out on the last two points. You?

For me, primacy must be given to teacher judgments using their repertoire of assessment evidence.

As a general proposition, given the lack of consistency and comparability of teacher’s judgements, we must pore resources and support into making them better and building everyone’s confidence in them…rather than doing more or different testing.

Only based on this article, a number of issues are identified – insufficient education spending, “trifocalised” education system, centralised top-down bureaucracy, poor underdeveloped Tech/Voc. Ed., heavily subsidised higher education, standardised test results and student outcomes, poor student health and nutrition, and need for greater K-12 student skills focus. The challenge with any education reform agenda is attempting to “fix” all things, not prioritising and lacking focus. I believe the key focus should remain the students and by doing so work on the elements important to the success of education reform and practice e.g. research, consultation, capacity building, policy frameworks, curriculum review, localisation and teacher/leadership development, so that they are aligned and work together to improve student outcomes and create a high performing education system. These elements should then converge to focus budgets, structures, governance and accountabilities.

One challenge for schools and education systems is to meet the needs of students, particularly in the senior years, by incorporating online courses and instruction (synchronous and asynchronous) as an integral part of their course offerings. For example, if a school or system does not have the teachers or resources to offer particular subjects requested by students, then students should have the opportunity to access rigorous and accredited courses and instruction via remote, online delivery. Another example would be in relation to enabling students and teachers to access high quality digital and interactive resources and learning platforms in the delivery of blended models of teaching and learning.

Given everything else that comes with teaching young people, teachers can be overwhelmed by the speed and lack of guidance of a digital or any other reform. What I like about this case study is that it provides a good example of how schools and teachers can be supported and guided responsibly by others including district leaders and support staff, university researchers, and professional associations. Teachers are given the time, room to experiment safely, professional learning, reasonable policy and guidelines, feedback, and good examples of practice. #AIin schools #teachersupport

Across the globe, the challenges associated with access to quality schooling for children manifest in different forms and may come as a surprise to those of us fortunate enough to live in a society with universal access. Here is one such example where just in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan, with 170,000 teachers and two million students (about half the numbers for the whole of Australia), there is a lack of continuity in schooling, inadequate contact time, and an overall lack of a standardised academic calendar. These challenges can and should be addressed locally where in many cases there are positive intentions and aspirations - but may require funding or other support to build local capacity and to enable their translation into policy and practice.

These are a great start! I really like that there are a set of coherent frameworks for both students and teachers! Students cannot develop competencies in any area unless they and their teachers have access to clearly defined competencies, with a shared language to discuss their meaning and application, and with clear well-researched progressions of how students can grow and develop. At the same time, there must be a continued focus on developing teachers’ skills and understandings in relation to these competencies. Over time, with greater use and a more comprehensive research base, these frameworks will get even better.

It makes perfect sense to say that different strategies are appropriate and work with different students at certain times in their growth and development and over a certain period of time. As opposed to a counter position by others elsewhere that one approach is categorically better than another for all students.

Yes, there are many examples of innovative local solutions that attempt to overcome minimal or no connectivity for schools, young people and communities. In many cases they are “better than nothing” but also unsustainable.

As long as this remains the situation i.e. “32% of the global population – still lack internet access, with 1.8 billion of them living in rural areas…[and] 60% of primary schools, half of lower secondary and a third of upper secondary schools globally are not currently connected to the internet”, digital learning cannot be a tool for inclusion, and the divide will widen.

Can we not fix this in 2025?

Some great insights to inform all leaders and organisations in their thinking moving forward. Top lines include:

1. Unlike previous transformative technologies like the internet, smartphones, and cloud computing, AI can shift the way people access and use information to reason, dialogue, and make choices resulting in more efficient and effective problem solving.
2. AI is becoming far more intelligent and with the advent for broader reasoning, enhances its capacity for complex decision making and the ability to create step-by-step plans to achieve goals.
3. Employees in some workplaces (or students in schools) tend to be more ready to embrace AI than leaders (or teachers) may imagine. They are more familiar with AI tools, want more support and training, and are more likely to believe AI will benefit their work.
4. AI technology is advancing at record speed. ChatGPT was released about two years ago and OpenAI reports that usage now exceeds 300 million weekly users - the internet did not reach this level of usage until a decade after its inception.
5. People are increasingly using AI in their personal lives i.e. about an hour of daily activities like leisure, sleeping, fitness or chores; and are also starting to use conversational and reasoning AI models for counselling, coaching, and creative expression.

I have an idea! How about we stop with expert reviews and re-definitions and put funds into supporting (morally and legally) teachers and school leaders in the front line to reduce and hopefully eliminate what we can see as deliberate repeated aggressive behaviour by some students against others in the classroom and the school yard, so that everyone can enjoy a safe, secure, fun learning environment. And, how do I say this…parents need to take their share of responsibility.

AI powered textbooks? Not sure. Horse before the cart? Of course, we need upskilled and confident teachers in the knowledge and application of education technology.

But let’s be clear first about what the problem is we are trying to solve, and is AI (or any form of technology) the most appropriate and equitable solution and how do we know?

Also, can we stop with this notion that this too requires teachers to become “facilitators of learning” – they are more than that, they are teachers!

Whatever you call these skills – transversal, cross-curriculum, competencies, capabilities, soft – communication, collaboration, team work, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking improve your life chances and employability…so yes, in any field I would say, “graduates with strong soft skills have a significant advantage in the workforce, as their communication and collaboration abilities help them build relationships, adapt to new environments, and excel in their careers”.

A challenge raised here for countries like Pakistan and many others is not just about the digital divide, urban-rural divide or the socio-economic divide, but also about the quality of education divide between public and private (including international) schools.

This is in terms of not just teaching and curriculum but also resources, infrastructure, and the overall public perception (real or not) of quality product and delivery.

Many countries that have acknowledged this discrepancy in the quality of public schooling have developed strategic plans and with the help of regional and international organisations and other education providers begun a journey of reviewing, developing and aligning evidence-based education policy and frameworks with quality curriculum, assessment and pedagogical practice. #https://www.yanosconsultancy.com/

This is the perfect example of how teaching “fads” or pedagogical approaches can be treated or viewed as a zero-sum game. But all sound teaching strategies are useful or helpful depending on what content is to be learned, where a student or students are in their learning, and so on. For example, it makes sense that explicit teaching, knowledge and comprehension of new concepts is followed by application with higher order thinking, analysis and problem solving. The art or science of teaching is multi-faceted and requires teachers to have a repertoire of strategies to suit their contexts and classes. One supposed new teaching “fad” cannot simply replace another – they are all part of the teacher’s repertoire. #goodteaching

There is little doubt that performance management generally is not done well. I like this notion of it being a “combination of supportive accountability within an environment of managed autonomy”. For me, this means in concert with line manager/supervisor, the employee (or teacher) sets realistic, well-defined goals couched to meet the developmental needs of the individual and as needed the organisation (or school); the feedback and subsequent reflection is timely, regular, constructive and focused on continuous improvement; and value is placed on “embedding habits through deliberate practice”.

Education system leaders are only effective and necessary if they can support their schools, teachers and leaders with resources, professional learning, coaching and mentoring to help translate policy into practice that is meaningful for their students and community. This requires them to understand how schools work, and the complex nature of teaching and learning; to know about high impact teaching strategies and effective assessment practices; and to be skilled in facilitation and communication. It also requires a system that sees schools and classrooms as having the locus of control for improving student outcomes (not the central or district offices) and that understands and acts in ways that demonstrates that any education reform serves the best interests of students and teachers in their local contexts, is driven and owned by teachers, is embraced by school leaders and is well understood by students and their parents. Unfortunately, there are many instances where this sophisticated combination of high performing system leaders and system values and governance does not exist. The system and the system leaders then become for schools at best a non-entity and at worst, a block, burden or constraint.

The combination of these unique AI digital textbooks leveraging a transformation in pedagogical approach makes for an interesting education reform initiative. At a strategy level, the key elements for successful implementation of such an initiative seem to be there i.e. a regulatory framework with standards and guidelines, investment in the necessary infrastructure and support personnel, resourcing for teacher training and learning communities, staged implementation over four years, and a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework. I do wonder however (without judgment) about the readiness and engagement of teachers and school leaders to participate in such a reform, particularly given the magnitude of change expected in teachers’ practice. #AIinschools #educationreform #teacherpractice

This approach to teaching and learning for all students makes sense. That is, break knowledge and skills into its parts and engage in explicit teaching, scaffold learning with ongoing opportunities to practice, provide timely quality feedback leading to guided independent learning. Eventually students can engage independently in creative and deep reasoning. The proposition in teaching gifted students also makes sense. That is, that the same approach applies but the amount of time spent on explicit instruction is a lot less with fewer repetitions, prompts and scaffolding and students moving straight into more independent application and problem-solving.

How does the first world “crisis” of some students not doing well on a one-off national or international test compare with these catastrophic crises of escalating poverty, conflict and war, sexual and gender-based violence, and lack of safety and security, and their devastating impact on children’s ongoing learning? Its good to put things in perspective sometimes.