Top 10 trends for schools

Top 10 trends for schools in 2012

Know what’s ahead and how it’ll affect our schools.

The increased use of data will continue down to the individual teacher. The analysis and comparison of stateby-state, district and school-wide data will extend to fi ner analysis than before at the teacher-by-teacher and class-by-class level. More emphasis will be placed on “value added,” where the results of individual students are compared over time. The emphasis on “value added” will be confronting for some schools and teachers in affluent suburbs. Whilst their students appear to be successful, the impact that the school or teacher makes is less than that of many other schools or teachers. Sensational value adding in some schools will be lauded and attempts made to analyse and duplicate their strategies. Putting teachers under an accountability “microscope” will add additional stress to teachers. The increasing average age of teachers, additional stress and a demanding society will contribute to higher levels of teacher absence and stretch existing resources.

Quality assurance and accountability expectations will continue to rise significantly for teachers. Principals will be expected to more closely monitor the quality of teaching. Establishing a culture of feedback will be challenging as efforts are made to de-privatise teaching. The benefi t of principals working with teachers to be “the best teacher they can be” will be distracted by a call for performance pay for teachers. The issues must be kept separate.

Further emphasis on data will lead to calls for more teaching time. Options pushed will include extending the school day and decluttering the timetable. This will lead to an inevitable call for the K.I.S.S principle as staffs continue to suffer change fatigue. In many schools the number of excursions and school events will be questioned. Uninterrupted teaching time is a valuable asset to be pursued and protected at all costs.

In response to increasing demands on teachers, there will be increased calls for smaller classes. The debate about whether or not class size makes an impact on student achievement is likely to reopen again. Whilst many bureaucrats have told me that research does not support smaller class sizes having an impact on student achievement, that just doesn’t make sense.

I am convinced that the better that teachers know their students (and their families), the better the student’s learning outcomes. There will be an increase in “creative class” confi gurations including lecture style classes teaching multiple class groups in secondary schools, followed by smaller break-out tutorial groups.

Increasing demands will be placed on schools to address the rising incidence of childhood obesity. Additional demands are often placed on schools to “solve” society’s issues. In this case schools will be expected to help address the health concerns associated with increasing number of sedentary children.

The Medical Journal of Australia reports that 24 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls aged 7 to 15 are overweight or obese. This is a signifi cant increase over the 1985 fi gures of 11 and 12 percent respectively. We have already seen many schools become a focal point for action to address this. Are the programs working? Are they making a difference?

It will be interesting to see if schools in Australia and New Zealand follow some schools in the United States who measure the height and weight of students at key year levels. They are currently debating whether to include the information on the student’s report card.

The increasing use of school grounds and facilities after hours by outside groups and government departments is an attractive alternative that should be pursued. School staff can’t be the answer to every society issue but many school facilities are under utilised.

Increased transparency will lead to the questioning the value for money of a number of private schools. Tough economic circumstances are already putting signifi cant fi nancial pressure on some families who are having to review their spending.

Online courses through webinars will fl ourish as schools scramble to continue to offer a wide range of options outside of the core subjects.

Cloud computing will lead to more collaborations across classes, schools and countries. The use of blogs to demonstrate knowledge will expand. The use of cloud computing will reduce the need for expensive software. The need for technical support in schools continues to rise exponentially and will continue to be a signifi cant issue as iPad (and other tablets) will continue to explode into thousands of classrooms with a plethora of apps for all ages. The use of e-readers will explode (I love the highlighting function!)

The “outsourcing” of parenting will continue to increase. The percentage of children who have both parents working has risen to 60 percent in 2007 (from 54% in 1997). This is evident in the number of children in childcare. Whilst this increase isn’t huge, if this trend continues the impact will be.

The number of waking hours that parents actually have with their children, and therefore their opportunity for “parenting” is very limited. This appears to have led to the “outsourcing” of parenting and leaving many parents with a huge sense of guilt. They want to be better parents but are time poor.

Schools will be expected to ensure their services are “family friendly” and provide additional programs to support the development of parenting skills. The number of schools making home visits to get to know the students’ families and circumstances will increase in coming years. Whilst it is a huge commitment of resources and time, the benefi ts in terms of partnerships with parents and understanding students’ needs are signifi cant.

The importance of the 0 to 5 age group will receive greater emphasis. This will be accompanied by a call for a multi-agency approach to support parents at this vital stage, particularly where additional welfare support would be benefi cial.

The research of Fraser Mustard highlights the importance of the 0 to 5 years period on children’s learning and development. Nelson shows the importance of this 0 to 5 window clearly in this graph.

As teachers, it is vital that we do whatever we can to support the development of children, not just from when they enter our schools, but also in this vital 0 to 5 window.