Glenn Savage
@glennsavage.bsky.social
360 followers 81 following 29 posts
Professor of Education Futures at the University of Melbourne. Policy sociologist, researcher and critical pragmatist. I work with schools and systems to imagine, design and lead better futures.
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glennsavage.bsky.social
I would need a very long time to explain :) ... but, in short, they're the system in Australia closest to what Singaporean educator Pak Tee Ng calls "centralised-decentralisation". Steering from the centre but allowing educators freedom to exercise their professional expertise in context #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Since the Gonski report was released in 2011, a generation of young Australians has started kindergarten and finished Year 12 while we have failed to put in place the political arrangements needed to fully fund public schools in line with the national Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). #EduSkyAU
jacquiwilliamson.bsky.social
A6. Agreed - full funding asap is the first critical enabler. I observe wonderful school leaders spending so much energy and time finding ways to manage despite the funding limitations. This energy could be liberated to innovate and serve a whole generation of kids before 2034. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
And, on this note, it was a privilege to contribute to a story on last night's episode of ABC’s 730 by Norman Hermant and help bring national attention to this critical challenge. #EduSkyAU iview.abc.net.au/video/SEGS20...
glennsavage.bsky.social
Here's a crazy idea: Fund all schools to the minimum standard under Gonski FASTER, not by 2034. Delay is not neutral. It’s a political choice that deepens inequity. Let’s fast-track funding for fairness #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
The final Q for tonight's chat... c'mon people, tell me what you really think and want!: Q6. What’s one bold policy change you’d make today to better prepare our schools for tomorrow? #EduSkyAU
Reposted by Glenn Savage
glennsavage.bsky.social
The final Q for tonight's chat... c'mon people, tell me what you really think and want!: Q6. What’s one bold policy change you’d make today to better prepare our schools for tomorrow? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
The final Q for tonight's chat... c'mon people, tell me what you really think and want!: Q6. What’s one bold policy change you’d make today to better prepare our schools for tomorrow? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
It's hard if you are a system leader to lead in a way that recognises complexity and context. I really do feel that South Australia is getting this right at the moment. The leadership of Martin Westwell is currently swimming in a different direction to many other systems and it's working. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
I think that sometimes people think co-design is just a fashionable word to use. Having worked with co-design and participatory methods with educators and system leaders for many years now, I really do believe that it is a superior method for generating meaningful change #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
And... now Q5, which takes us to the heart of context and the communities in which education happens: How might we work with students, families, and communities to co-design education futures? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
In a few weeks, I'll be giving a keynote at the SAPPA Conference in Adelaide where I'll get into this topic, arguing that the most impactful leaders I’ve worked with think like designers, scientists, and gardeners—crafting change through iteration, experimentation, and care. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Having just come from a week of intensive work with school leaders in South Australia, this next question is very present in my mind: Q4. What unique role do school leaders play in turning future-focused ideas into action? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
I agree 100%%%%%%% #EduSkyAU
jacquiwilliamson.bsky.social
A2. For an innovation culture to truly take root, it has to feel safe to experiment and fail without negative consequence. Governments could examine how they might be making it unsafe for schools & educators to fail, and consider how they can encourage safe-to-fail experiments and learning #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
This sounds very interesting!
glennsavage.bsky.social
Ok, so I could stay on Q2 all night, but here's a third one that really is just as important: Q3. What role should evidence play in shaping education futures? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
And for me, there is a greater need to actually reframe the role of the state: rather than being the sole author of reform, governments can act as stewards and enablers—creating conditions that support local experimentation and shared learning. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
And you've probably all heard me say this before, but we need to shift focus from ‘what works’ to ‘what might work here’: Innovation needs to be context-sensitive. The best ideas often emerge from within schools and systems that are trusted to take risks and experiment and reflect #EduSkyAU
adrianodiprato.bsky.social
A2. Governments must shift from being gatekeepers of change to enablers of context-driven innovation. Provide flexible policy frameworks, protect professional agency, and stop measuring transformation with yesterday’s metrics. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
And you've probably all heard me say this before, but we need to shift focus from ‘what works’ to ‘what might work here’: Innovation needs to be context-sensitive. The best ideas often emerge from within schools and systems that are trusted to take risks and experiment and reflect #EduSkyAU
adrianodiprato.bsky.social
A2. Governments must shift from being gatekeepers of change to enablers of context-driven innovation. Provide flexible policy frameworks, protect professional agency, and stop measuring transformation with yesterday’s metrics. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Can I use this as a chance to plug my article that came out on Saturday with Pasi Sahlberg? #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Alrighty... this second one very close to my heart: Q2. How can governments better promote innovation in education, without imposing it from above?
glennsavage.bsky.social
I think this first question is really about future casting and backwards design. I find a lot of the work I do with school leaders when we apply these methods, it positions them to think differently about the future and their role in shaping it #EduSkyAU
jacquiwilliamson.bsky.social
A1. Schools that foster adaptive capacity in students, teachers and leaders. This might mean deliberately working together to re-imagine beliefs, roles, identities as well as practices and structures. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
I also think that this question is about the kind of citizens and societies we aspire to produce. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Yeah, and for me this is about being both "human-centred and purpose-driven". Start with the student needs, not the system needs. #EduSkyAU
brookssensei.bsky.social
For me, we must first ask the question, what is the purpose of the school of the future? For me, there must be an emphasis on intra & entrepreneurial skills. Schools must lean into student strengths. Schools must be personalised. Learning should be hands-on, connected and authentic. #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
Hey folks! I'm looking forward to this chat. Let's get the ball rolling... Q1 today is: "If we start from today’s emerging realities, what kind of future schools must we design?" #EduSkyAU
glennsavage.bsky.social
This is something I think about a lot. For example, I've been thinking a bit about how we must consider what kind of future we are designing for. How do we take a wellbeing and ethical lens to that? #EduSkyAU
adrianodiprato.bsky.social
A1. We must design schools that are responsive to complexity—not reactive to trends. Places where belonging precedes achievement, and curiosity is cultivated over compliance. Schools that prepare students to shape the world, not just survive it. #EduSkyAU