This is the second edition of a book first published in the spring of
2009. Since then it has gone through a number of reprints. Its message
has resonated with readers around the world: given the right kind of
guidance and support, our institutions of education are perfectly
capable of instigating the kinds of radical changes they need to make in
order to prepare our young people for an uncertain future. The authors
can say this with some confidence because the insights, tools,
suggestions and recommendations in the pages of Transformative
Innovation in Education are rooted firmly in practical experience. The
'three horizons' framework on which it is based allows everyone free
rein to share their concerns about the present system, to admit deeper
aspirations that might be frustrated or under-realised today, and to
design a 'second horizon' transition strategy to shift the system in
that direction. This is not 'blue skies visioning' but hard-headed
engagement with often uncomfortable facts about changes in the real
world. But it also allows space for inspiration. In partnership with the
Scottish inspectorate of schools, Education Scotland, IFF worked with a
wide variety of educationalists, practitioners, policy makers and others
to explore how transformational change might be achieved. As a result,
IFF has developed significant new resources to support transformative
innovation in a highly decentralised, bottom-up, system-wide approach.
Powerful frameworks for moving from insight to action developed by Jim
Ewing are described in a substantial new addition to the original text
on 'practical approaches to transformation'. The permissive policy
framework set in Scotland by Curriculum for Excellence, which invites
transformational change in the education system, has now attracted
positive attention in different parts of the world - particularly the
US, Asia and Australia. But the question remains: how can we make it
work? How can government and other agencies best support a permissive
programme of radical innovation in education? How can schools themselves
take the lead? This book explains how. It tells a story in six
sections: - a widespread international story of disappointment in
educational reform - the three horizons framework for thinking about
longer-term transformational change - the limitations of international
models of 'standards-based reform' - developing a transformative
framework in Scotland - an outline of the tools and processes that are
shifting the Scottish system into the future - recommendations for a
policy framework to encourage transformative innovation in education:
'making shift happen'.
