What Makes An Effective Education Reformer?
Reflections on International Lessons from Successful Education Systems course with Professor Pasi Sahlberg
By: Asmaa Elsayed, Ed.M in International Education Policy Candidate
Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
There is no silver bullet in improving education. Education reforms are complex, progress slowly, and results that matters the most are often difficult to measure. Education Ministers and leaders are rarely public figures whose names are remembered for their deeds. It is not a field for instant gratification and recognition. To be an education reformer is to pave roads for those whom you may never meet and plant seeds knowing you may never live to see the harvest.
As I reflect on the lessons I learned in International Lessons from Successful Education Systems course with Professor Pasi Sahlberg, a Finish educator, scholar, and a visiting Professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, I cannot help but wonder what makes an effective education reformer. It seems that there is not a single right answer but a blend of several qualities that yield effective education reformers.
Self-Awareness and Reflection
Education reform is a responsibility that requires great strength, moral compass, and the cultivation of an undefeatable sense of inner-validation. It starts with reflecting on oneâs own identity and purpose. In this process of self-awareness, the reformer may identify the core values he shares with the community he works with, where he sees himself fit within education reform processes, his theory of change, and what qualifies him to be an education reformer. As the reformer reflects on his position of power, he may start to question the very same privileges that positioned him as a leader in the first place.
While others consider reflection a luxury available only to those who are free or privileged, it is a daily practice for effective education reformers. A solid understanding of oneâs self is the foundation of becoming an effective education reformer. It cultivates consciousness, enables awareness of his frames of reference, the identification of any hidden biases, and it empowers him to capitalize on his strengths and unique experiences.
The goal of international comparisons in education is not simply the identification of the pros and cons of each education system. What is more important is the deep reflection process that happens when we start to examine and critically analyze our own education system. Because our practices are often rooted in deeply held beliefs, sometimes to change these practices is to change the incubator paradigm. For example, in many high-performing education systems, such as Finland and Singapore, every student, including students with special needs, has the right to education. âSpecial needs education is generally provided in conjunction with mainstream education[1].â Students with special needs are provided plentiful of resources, support, and guidance to help them succeed. This is a reflection of these countriesâ common belief that every child can succeed, regardless of his background or starting point. In contrast, special education in Egypt is largely inhumane. Students with special needs are often subject to physical punishment, humiliation, alienation and segregation from main stream education system. This is a reflection of a widespread misconception in Egypt that students with special needs are incapable or severely limited performers. They are considered a burden on society. They are to be seen not heard. Without this process of understanding and reflection on deeply rooted assumptions and beliefs towards students with special needs in Egypt, a quick fix or policy transfer is unlikely to create the desired effective and sustainable reforms in special education in Egypt.
Futures and long term thinking in education is under-developed.[2] It was once said that leadership without vision is merely management. Effective education reformers are visionaries.  They do not take otherâs visions for the future on their face value; they critique them and help others understand that the future they see is merely a product of their assumptions. Effective education leaders see the future as âa dynamic and emergent realityâŚa consequence of decisions taken today and in the past.â[3] They help others build connections between the past, the present, and the future. By doing so, they help change the paradigm of seeing the future as âsomething done to usâ into a process in which we can intervene, mold, and shape a better tomorrow.4
Our ideas about the future are important for education because they help âframe our assumptions about the possibilities, the limits and the purposes of education.â4 By exploring alternative visions for the future, effective education reformers help rewrite the relationship between education and the future4 in the hope of shaping more equitable, democratic, and just societies. This was especially relevant working on Sweden case study. âA vision attracts commitment, energies people, and establishes a standard for excellence[4].â
While effective education reformers build on the legacy of those who came before them and pave the road for those who will come after them, they donât shy away from knocking off a dam, and building a new road when a given map doesnât guide to the desired outcome.
Responsiveness to Communitiesâ Needs
Effective education reformers understand that education does not happen in a vacuum. They understand that education reform is too complex to reduce to individual compartments; every factor is interwoven and overlaps with other factors. The political and development realities of a community signal messages that cannot simply be rejected or validated through research. They have deep knowledge and understanding of the geo-political, historical and socio-economic conditions of the community where they work.
The common misconception in many developing countries is that âcopyingâ policies of high-performing education systems or the enactment of a new law are the only concrete ways to guarantee effective and sustainable education reforms. Yet, effective education reformers know that laws and policies are often changing and they are not optimum standards against which the value of education reforms should be judged. There were once laws that permitted slavery and child marriages.
In the âGlobal Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence,â Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley highlight the idea that âbeliefs change before practice when teachers work in a culture where the professional responsibility resides in the hands of these dynamos of change themselves.â[5] Effective education reformers avoid top-down mandates. It is easy to dictate rules and laws from an ivory tower but these are not the type of reforms that will create long lasting impact. They listen to the diverse needs of local stakeholders, try to understand what worries them, what they need assurance for, and provide them a platform to write their own narrative, define their own struggle and empower them to practice agency in overcoming that struggle.
Effective education reformers never forget that numbers on a statistics chart represent people. A lesson often forgotten by policy makers. They are attached to ideals and values rather than titles or organizationsâ missions and profits. They work for and with people. They have an open-door policy. They value contextual transfer and positive deviants.
Exceptional education reformers understand that aggregate change is the result of everyday individual changes. They may not be able to change peopleâs views by citing statistics or Harvard University research papers but do so by capitalizing on shared interests and values and building consensus so reforms are not seen as âforeignâ impositions for political agendas. Effective education reformers know how to build buy-in when reforms disrupt the status quo creating resistance to change. They tell and sell education reforms in a language that is inspiring, interesting and inclusive. They cater for everyone so that everyone feels, and knows, that they have a stake in the success of education reforms.
Leadership is fundamental to the success of any education reform. It was once said that âa teacher is the one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.â[6] By the same token, an effective leader creates more leaders. They are invested in the capacity building of others. They balance ensuring that the potential of every individual is maximized while allowing each individual to progress according to his own abilities. A leader leads by example. He carries himself with dignity and professionalism. He does not force others to respect him but understands that respect is earned. People may not agree with everything he says, but they will listen.
Leadership includes expanding opportunities for others to lead without fear of failure. I cannot forget the day when Professor Sahlberg talked about celebrating failure. It was one of my most profound moments in class. As someone who was raised and educated in a culture where failure is only a sign of weakness and mistakes are to be eliminated, the idea of not limiting studentsâ creative processes for the sake of âprotectingâ them from failure, or so I thought, was enlightening. I saw this lesson reflected when studying Albertaâs education success. For example, Dave Hancock, Former Minister of Education of Alberta, a high-performing Canadian province, said: âIf every project is a success, we are either not being honest with ourselves, or we are not experimenting enough.â[7] Effective education reformers encourage others to innovate and dare to fail. They balance self-initiated innovations with responsibility and foster a culture where failure is seen as a catalyst for learning. They develop networks of knowledge sharing, teamwork, collaboration, and accountability.
As I reflect back on my own journey, I cannot help but feel extremely grateful for the opportunities I sought, confident in the power of quality education in transforming lives, and eager to give back in the hope that one day every child has an equal opportunity to fulfil his potential.
Thank you Professor Sahlberg and Bryan Mascio (TF) for making it worth all the efforts!
[1] Â National Board of Education (2012). Finnish Education in a Nutshellâ. Helsinki: NBE. http://www.oph.fi/download/146428_Finnish_Education_in_a_Nutshell.pdf
[2] Â OECD (2015). Futures Thinking in Action: The Starter Pack. Paris: OECD. (Parts I, II and III). http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/38981492.pdf
[3] Â Facer, K. (2011). Learning futures: Education, technology, and social change. London & NY: Routledge. Introduction: pp. 1-16.
[4] Â Sylvia MĂŠndez-Morse, Research Associate, Services for School Improvement, SEDL.
[5] Â Hargreaves, A., & Shirley, D. L. (2012). The global fourth way: The quest for educational excellence. Corwin Press.
[7] Â Hargreaves, A., & Shirley, D. L. (2012). The global fourth way: The quest for educational excellence. Corwin Press.