When looking to the future, leaders need to keep in mind that when dealing with change, challenges and opportunities continue to evolve. The dynamic ebb and flow of cultural, social, and economic issues play a role in the school context, which requires ongoing attention to pedagogy, technology, and content and knowledge. Predicted future collaborations and program content will focus on global competencies causing a shift toward campus administrators serving as lead learners with staff, and encouraging teachers to implement innovation in disciplined ways, while keeping an eye to ongoing assessment to meet school improvement needs. Time should be devoted to personalized professional learning through coaching and reflection incorporating voice and choice. Chapter 5, devoted to global perspectives, examines the state of personalized professional learning opportunities in varied contexts.
TopThe Future Is Now
Teacher development appears to be gaining renewed interest worldwide because of the role education plays in the global information age. Country and community leaders seek educators that possess the necessary skillsets to reflect and evaluate their own approaches, then innovate and modify, or adapt, classroom practices accordingly to address student needs (OECD, 2014). Hargreaves and Shirley (2012) suggested a “Global Fourth Way of educational change” (p. 175), which includes teachers as a part of shaping the future of systems and nations. This idea of creating a global citizenry united for a common good is a mandate for educational systems. National economies should provide enough resources to support and extend a system’s capabilities, encourage innovation, build capacity for self-change, and permit some local control (Fullan, Rincon-Gallardo, & Hargreaves, 2015; Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012). Seventy percent of employers in high achieving nations, including the United States, require specialization of skills and knowledge to be effective in the workplace (OECD, 2014). Other requirements include problem solving skills, communication skills, and the ability to analyze information for a variety of purposes (Darling-Hammond, 2015). With constant data and informational streams, ever-changing technological advances, and rapidly advancing international competition, the United States must focus on human capital by creating learning spaces for deeper learning opportunities with properly equipped teachers. Other global nations are re-structuring their educational systems and revising curricula to meet the needs of the 21st century. If the United States is to continue to be educationally competitive, then there is a need to develop “professional capital, strong professional associations, collective responsibility, teaching less to learn more, and incorporate mindful use of technology” (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012, p. 176).