Abstract:
There is a significant shift in the provision of many social goods that are intended provide for benefit of individuals and communities. Health, social and even justice “systems” are pivoting towards models that are orientated towards co-design and user centred approaches.
While this language may seem at odds with some of the tropes of Education and School there is significant merit is looking at how we can reshape schooling experiences (Yunkaporta, 2023). There is prescient in open and free school movements, as well as approaches such Big Picture Learning Australia (an initiative that emerged from The National Schools Network (NSN) and the north American Big Picture Company) and other approaches that have sought to re-envision the practice of schooling.
This thinking looks to dimensions that are not foregrounded in visual learning agenda, nor easily captured in other curricula and pedagogic lens. This is not to repudiate or reject these transformative agendas but instead look to how they may be combined with genuine voice and experience of the key stakeholders in Education so that we can expand the remit form the typical orientation on employment and continuing education.
To fully realise the potential of a reform agenda informed and driven by students and communities we need to be able to address what does it truly mean to put the individual and the community at the centre? And what are mechanisms for generating alternative visions of schooling?
This presentation provides a theoretical orientation for transdisciplinary analysis and offers a brief exploration of research development avenues that aim to transcend traditional interventionist discourses. The application of constructs from the field of systems thinking (e.g. Gilbert ad Pratt-Adams, 2022; Jason and Spivack, 2023; Senge, Cambron-McCabe, Lucas, Smith, Dutton, & Kleiner, 2012) offers a means of developing the necessary conceptual infrastructure to facilitate change.
Systems thinking provides the possibility of distinct holistic and transdisciplinary approach to understanding the interconnections and interdependencies (Checkland, 1999; Laszlo, 1996, Thompson, 2010; Yunkaporta & Kirby, 2011) in teaching and learning. In the context of contemporary school systems, its application offers numerous potential benefits, including: gaining insight into the interconnections, relationships, and feedback loops present in teaching and learning practices; enabling comprehensive problem solving that identifies leverage points across various levels; prioritizing adaptive and sustainable innovations; enhancing collaboration and expanding communities of practice that have traditionally operated in isolation; and improving decision-making to foster greater resilience and adaptability.
While this language may seem at odds with some of the tropes of Education and School there is significant merit is looking at how we can reshape schooling experiences (Yunkaporta, 2023). There is prescient in open and free school movements, as well as approaches such Big Picture Learning Australia (an initiative that emerged from The National Schools Network (NSN) and the north American Big Picture Company) and other approaches that have sought to re-envision the practice of schooling.
This thinking looks to dimensions that are not foregrounded in visual learning agenda, nor easily captured in other curricula and pedagogic lens. This is not to repudiate or reject these transformative agendas but instead look to how they may be combined with genuine voice and experience of the key stakeholders in Education so that we can expand the remit form the typical orientation on employment and continuing education.
To fully realise the potential of a reform agenda informed and driven by students and communities we need to be able to address what does it truly mean to put the individual and the community at the centre? And what are mechanisms for generating alternative visions of schooling?
This presentation provides a theoretical orientation for transdisciplinary analysis and offers a brief exploration of research development avenues that aim to transcend traditional interventionist discourses. The application of constructs from the field of systems thinking (e.g. Gilbert ad Pratt-Adams, 2022; Jason and Spivack, 2023; Senge, Cambron-McCabe, Lucas, Smith, Dutton, & Kleiner, 2012) offers a means of developing the necessary conceptual infrastructure to facilitate change.
Systems thinking provides the possibility of distinct holistic and transdisciplinary approach to understanding the interconnections and interdependencies (Checkland, 1999; Laszlo, 1996, Thompson, 2010; Yunkaporta & Kirby, 2011) in teaching and learning. In the context of contemporary school systems, its application offers numerous potential benefits, including: gaining insight into the interconnections, relationships, and feedback loops present in teaching and learning practices; enabling comprehensive problem solving that identifies leverage points across various levels; prioritizing adaptive and sustainable innovations; enhancing collaboration and expanding communities of practice that have traditionally operated in isolation; and improving decision-making to foster greater resilience and adaptability.