"Building Schools for Tomorrow: Future-Focused Leadership with Dr. Jason McGrath"
I am grateful to have this opportunity to share some stories about the amazing school leaders, teachers, researchers, policy makers and other educational partners that I worked with across the OECD. The work explores the future of teaching/ schooling through a multi-stakeholder approach that places "teachers as professionals" at the heart.
Having just returned back to Australia, it was a great opportunity to connect these experiences to my time as a school leader as well as my PhD research on the future of schooling.
The link to the podcast is Building Schools for Tomorrow: Future-Focused Leadership with Dr Jason McGrath .
Building Schools for Tomorrow: Future-Focused Leadership with Dr Jason McGrath
Thu, 07 Aug 2025 05:00:00 +1000 ◦ 73 minutes
What if we reimagined education from the ground up? Dr Jason McGrath, recently returned from the OECD in Paris, takes us on a fascinating journey through global education systems that are planning decades ahead while others remain trapped in short-term thinking.
The conversation delves into how countries like Wales, Malta, and Finland are transforming education through long-term visioning—creating 20-year workforce strategies and "foresight sandpits" where stakeholders can test innovative ideas before implementation. These approaches allow educational leaders to make bold short-term decisions aligned with thoughtful long-term goals rather than implementing band-aid solutions that ultimately hinder progress.
At the heart of this transformation lies a radical rethinking of teacher professionalism. McGrath introduces the concept of "connective professionalism"—where professional identity forms through meaningful relationships with students and families rather than through isolated expertise. This shift challenges school leaders to view all decisions through the lens of "teachers as professionals," empowering staff to contribute their unique strengths. McGrath's powerful metaphor of "bamboo scaffolding" perfectly captures this approach—providing flexible, temporary support that can be removed once no longer needed, rather than building rigid structures that limit growth.
The most thought-provoking insight may be the simplest: creating space to collectively think about preferred futures. When educators move beyond immediate problems to imagine possibilities, transformative thinking emerges. For principals feeling overwhelmed by daily demands, McGrath offers practical starting points—from six-word future scenarios to exploring how different staff members might respond to potential changes.
This episode illuminates how bridging classroom innovation with system-wide policy creates "policy from the middle" rather than top-down approaches. Through examples like Ireland's "Beacons Model" and Estonia's approach to educational technology, McGrath demonstrates how teacher expertise can drive meaningful change when properly elevated and supported.
Ready to rethink what's possible in education? Subscribe now and join the conversation about creating schools that truly prepare students for tomorrow's world.
Links to Dr Jason Mcgraths work:
Dr Jason McGrath Google Scholar profile and publications, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wbYO9v0AAAAJ&hl=en .
Links to educational and instructional leadership work
Dr Jason McGrath – Published works (Reseachgate.net) (home page)
Global Lessons, Systematic Connections, Schools' Support and Teachers' Work (OECD article)
OECD Education Working Papers No. 296 (OECD article)
