he 2022 Transforming Education Summit, convened by the UN, underscored a triple crisis in education: equity, quality, and relevance. The Summit emphasized the urgent need for systemic changes to make education more inclusive, equitable, and future ready. Progress toward this agenda requires leadership and action to transform existing systems, programs, and governance structures.
This recently published report by WISE and co–edited by the authors of this commentary explores instances of how collaborative leadership empowers efforts to transform education. Collaboration has power in multiple forms—all highly intentional and network–based—as a force for transformation. Collaborative leadership can shift dominant education systems to healthy learning ecosystems that foster individual and collective well-being, social cohesion, and economic prosperity, driven by the motivations of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
In New Zealand, for example, the government enacted a new education vision that has led to the emergence of collaborative leadership between the systemic level, local governance, schools, and communities, transforming the education system towards inclusivity, equity, and cultural vibrancy. In Colombia, San José de Las Vegas School designed the Medellín Challenge to unite students across borders to tackle local issues, fostering collaboration, empathy, and innovative problem solving for a better world.
These ongoing efforts to transform education through collaborative leadership are promising but require sustained commitment and innovation. One of the biggest challenges in practicing collaborative leadership is when people assume they are practicing collaborative leadership when, in reality, they remain unknowingly entrenched in traditional top-down or bottom-up models. By embracing an ecosystemic approach, we can create learning environments that adapt to current challenges and anticipate future needs. This transformation starts with genuine, intentional collaboration—one that begins with open questions, encourages exploration of the unknown, and requires the courage to hold space for new types of thinking and doing to emerge. As we move forward, let us prioritize intentional collaboration as both a critical component and a milestone in our journey toward educational transformation.
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Collaborative leadership for transforming education
Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash.
June 27, 2024
Ongoing efforts to transform education through collaborative leadership are promising but require sustained commitment and innovation, write Anthony Mackay, Asmaa Al-Fadala, Eva Keiffenheim, and Dominic Regester.
T
he 2022 Transforming Education Summit, convened by the UN, underscored a triple crisis in education: equity, quality, and relevance. The Summit emphasized the urgent need for systemic changes to make education more inclusive, equitable, and future ready. Progress toward this agenda requires leadership and action to transform existing systems, programs, and governance structures.
This recently published report by WISE and co–edited by the authors of this commentary explores instances of how collaborative leadership empowers efforts to transform education. Collaboration has power in multiple forms—all highly intentional and network–based—as a force for transformation. Collaborative leadership can shift dominant education systems to healthy learning ecosystems that foster individual and collective well-being, social cohesion, and economic prosperity, driven by the motivations of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
In New Zealand, for example, the government enacted a new education vision that has led to the emergence of collaborative leadership between the systemic level, local governance, schools, and communities, transforming the education system towards inclusivity, equity, and cultural vibrancy. In Colombia, San José de Las Vegas School designed the Medellín Challenge to unite students across borders to tackle local issues, fostering collaboration, empathy, and innovative problem solving for a better world.
These ongoing efforts to transform education through collaborative leadership are promising but require sustained commitment and innovation. One of the biggest challenges in practicing collaborative leadership is when people assume they are practicing collaborative leadership when, in reality, they remain unknowingly entrenched in traditional top-down or bottom-up models. By embracing an ecosystemic approach, we can create learning environments that adapt to current challenges and anticipate future needs. This transformation starts with genuine, intentional collaboration—one that begins with open questions, encourages exploration of the unknown, and requires the courage to hold space for new types of thinking and doing to emerge. As we move forward, let us prioritize intentional collaboration as both a critical component and a milestone in our journey toward educational transformation.
