Conference Agenda

Globally, education systems are having to navigate how best to respond to rapid changes and challenges to ensure they serve the needs of all children and young people. In this keynote, I argue for the importance of placing a concern for humanity at the heart of educational improvement. This concern for humanity is two-fold. First, the vital role of the education profession in developing the future of humanity through supporting children and young people to learn, to thrive, and to contribute in their education, lives, and world. Second, the necessity of valuing the humanity of the people who work in education by prioritizing approaches to support their professional lives, work, learning, development, leadership, and expert judgement. The keynote will provide evidence to discuss approaches to educational improvement through professional learning for student learning by discussing several recent projects and research studies, including the National Discussion on the future of Scottish education, Education International’s Teacher-led Learning Circles for Formative Assessment project in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia, South Korea and Switzerland, and a review of leadership for reflective practice in Wales. Implications for the future of education system improvement and school improvement research, policy, and practice will be highlighted.