Watching (Robinson’s, 2010) video on changing education paradigms (watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U) was a challenge and made me think about how theories and the lens in which we view education and our approach to organisational structures and leadership.
(Kilicoglu & Kilicoglu, 2019) discuss the concept of metamodernism, formed by cultural theorists (Vermulen & van den Akker, 2010) to focus on educational issues and culture. The focus of the study by (Kilicoglu & Kilicoglu, 2019) was on Nordic countries, who lead the way in high educational outcomes for students. I found some of the leadership values and notions mentioned by this article interesting, considering the hierarchical structure our schools were formed by, hundreds of years ago.
- Nordic countries often have minimum authority/power distance between leaders and workers
- They have a high degree of gender equality
- People are encouraged to pursue their individual dreams
- They are high and early adopters of digital technologies and form strong bases of infrastructure for these new technologies.
Metamodernism seeks to situate itself between postmodernism and modernism – oscillating between both. If metamodernism can be described as ‘beyond’, ‘with’ and ‘between’, – being constructive (Lathan, 2015) and taking the best of what was in the past and adapting it for a new culture and time, then it makes sense that the changes in educational approaches and teaching are formed through the new pedagogies of digital technologies (Siljander, 2017).
The article further discusses approaches used in Nordic countries that embrace adaptive learning technologies, mixed reality and a focus on students being able to work both individually and with groups. These approaches seem to take the best of what has been done in the past and are aligning them with a modern culture that seems to me would be engaging for students.
In terms of its leadership model, (Mortimore, 2013) describes Nordic countries delegate and share leadership, rather than ‘heroic’ leadership. Futhermore, (Moos et al., 2013) describes school leadership in these countries as being based on collaborative decision making, with a focus on distributed leadership and team work.
This article and discussion did give me a boost as I often get disheartened by the apathy and lack of engagement in students that I see in my school, and by discussions with teachers in Australia. This serves to remind me why leadership and leading pedagogy is so important and critical in our schools – it provides the foundation and launchpad for everything else to follow.
More thinking is required on my part as I grapple with these issues and think forward in my own career as to what kind of educator and leader I want to be.
References
Kilicoglu, G., Kilicoglu, D. The Birth of a New Paradigm: Rethinking Education and School Leadership with a Metamodern ‘Lens’. Stud Philos Educ 39, 493–514 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-019-09690-z
Lathan, M. 2015. A poetics of postmodernism and neomodernism: Rewriting Mrs Dalloway. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Moos, L., K.K. Kofod, K. Hjort, and P.H. Raae. 2013c. Denmark: New links between education. In Transnational influences on values and practices in Nordic educational leadership: Is there a Nordic Model? (Chp 2), ed. L. Moos, 19–30. Dordrecht: Springer.
Mortimore, P. 2013. Peter Mortimore: Nordic leadership: Something worth keeping. In L. Moos (Ed.), Transnational influences on values and practices in Nordic educational leadership: Is there a Nordic Model? (Forewords, pp. vi–viii). Dordrecht: Springer.
Robinson, K. [RSA Animate]. (2010, October 14). Changing education paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
Siljander, P. 2017. School in transition: The case of Finland. In Schools in transition: Linking past, present, and future in educational practice, ed. P. Siljander, K. Kontio, and E. Pikkarainen, 191–212. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
van den Akker, R., A. Gibbons, and T. Vermeulen. 2017. Metamodernism: Historicity, affect, and depth after postmodernism. London, New York: Rowman & Littlefield International.