From the Director of Strategic Initiatives

Part 2 - When the Evidence Raises More Questions than it Answers

In my last newsletter item, I wrote about the growing body of educational research and how despite seemingly bottomless pits of information, education in Australian results are broadly stagnant. There are deep and lengthy guides on ‘what works’ based on particular case studies and I pointed out that if we treat schools like machines which are replicable and predictable, we lose context and the specificities that we value.

While I am certainly not saying we should ignore education research, I am advocating that we should critique it, and in contrast to treating schools like machines, we should tweak and adjust more. We should act and think like a gardener who adjusts their planting, watering, fertilising etc. based on local conditions and what they are seeing in front of them, not just following what is outlined on Better Homes and Gardens. 

I finished my last newsletter item saying I would expand on the ways we should be handling educational research this week. If you haven’t read the piece from 15 August, then that may give more context.

Context and Teacher Knowledge Are Keys

The evidence used to say ‘what works’ in schools should be more of a guide than a prescription. In his article, Associate Professor Glenn Savage discusses the marketplace for monetising change initiatives in schools. We’ve reached a point where the people driving change are often outside schools, rather than within them and while I am not questioning their motives, it’s important to recognise that teachers themselves are experts, with the knowledge and experience to create meaningful evidence from their own practice. If we truly want to address the challenges in education, we must look at them in concrete, specific contexts not in vague or generalised terms, or in how they worked in very different conditions. Yes, we should keep looking at research as Blue Mountains Grammar School does, but let’s contextualise it. 

To do this we need to make sure that our people - teachers, families and leaders know what is happening both in the research sphere, but also on a local level in classrooms and in staffrooms. 

Sameness ≠ Equal 

Savage goes on and points out a common mistake in education reform is the push to make all schools look and operate alike. We have same some schools where ‘What Works’ does indeed bring about sustained and meaningful improvement and then we try to replicate these across the board. However, while sameness may seem efficient and helpful from a policy and compliance perspective, it overlooks the reality that every school community is different. Even over a number of years the same school can change dramatically with leadership and enrolment patterns.

There is a point that I agree with that ‘sameness’ can come quality control, that if we are going to see system level change, we need to see some common markers, but it is not as black and white as this. To argue to sameness because we can’t manage what we have spent our professional lives doing does a disservice to our teachers.

At Blue Mountains Grammar School, we believe diversity is a strength. We don’t accept enrolments based only on academic or on high-stakes testing. We want our school to be a place where the arts, sciences, physical capabilities and humanities are all valued as they bring a robustness to our community. We value community and seek to broaden rather than narrow perspectives. Schools are not factories producing identical outcomes; they are living communities that thrive when they can respond to their own context. Of course, shared standards matter to ensure every child has a fair go, but too much uniformity risks stifling creativity, professional expertise, and local solutions.

Time is the most valuable resource

Savage’s writing speaks more about systems level change which I will not go into here, but what he advocates for too is time. Time in schools to build relationships. Time to get to know students and how they learn. Time to work with families to reinforce what one another are doing. Time to work with colleagues and hold professional, high level conversations about how to improve our day to day work. 

I began last week’s and this week’s newsletter pieces asking ‘what do we do when the evidence raises more questions than it answers?’ We personalise. We dig into who we are, what we stand for and where we want to go. With eyes wide open we look at what has been successful elsewhere and with the wisdom of many, many years of teaching and educational leadership we step boldly forward, act decisively, evaluate creatively and adjust humbly.

Let’s continue to think about our school as a garden that is continually tendered to, not just a machine that is replicable and standard issue – we are far more than this. 

Christopher Sanders

Director of Strategic Initiatives