The Education We Need for a Future We Can't Predict

Thomas Hatch (@tch960) is a Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST). His research includes studies of school improvement efforts at the school, district, and national levels. His latest book, The Education We Need for a Future We Can’t Predict (Corwin, 2021), focuses on efforts to create more powerful learning experiences both inside and outside schools in developed and developing contexts. He is also the founder and managing editor of internationalednews.com. He previously served as a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  His other books include Managing to Change: How Schools can Survive (and Sometimes Thrive) in Turbulent Times (Teachers College Press, 2009); Into the Classroom: Developing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Teachers College Press, 2005); and School Reform Behind the Scenes (Teachers College Press, 1999). Learn more about Tom and keep up with his latest blog posts at thomashatch.org.Jordan Corson is an assistant professor of education and affiliated faculty member of immigration studies at Stockton University. He recently completed his doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he defended his dissertation, Undocumented Educations: Everyday Educational Practices of Recently Immigrated Youth Beyond Inclusion/Exclusion. Jordan has published research in the fields of education and philosophy, educational change, and teacher education. His research takes up ethnographic and historical methods to interrogate issues of transnational migration and curriculum studies through anti-colonial and abolitionist praxis.Sarah Gerth van den Berg is a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the design and theory of curriculum involving nontraditional spaces, materials, and processes. She has published in the fields of curriculum studies, participatory arts-based practices, and out of school learning.

For decades Tom Hatch has been engaged in school reform as an observer, researcher, and participant—as well as the involved parent of three children. He has surveyed efforts across the United States and much of the world—notably Norway, Finland, and Singapore—sympathetically but not uncritically. In this magisterial work, he presents the lessons he has learned and offers sage advice to those who seek to improve our schools—anywhere, everywhere.

• List of FiguresList of ProgramsPrefaceAn Education in SchoolsAn Education in School ReformWhy This Book?AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsIntroductionSchool Improvement in (Norwegian) PerspectiveImproving Schools and Transforming EducationDesign and OrganizationPART 1: WHY SHOULD SCHOOLS CHANGE?Chapter 1: Increasing Access and QualityWhat Has Improved in Schooling in the Developing World?What Has Improved in Established Educational Systems?Improvement Is Not EnoughThe Bottom LineChapter 2: Establishing Equitable Learning OpportunitiesEquity, Opportunity, and EducationThe Vicious Cycle: Economic Inequality + Inequality of Educational OpportunitySeparate and UnequalHow Inequality Adds UpThe Bottom LineChapter 3: Learning With PurposeWhat Are Schools For?The Power of Unanticipated LearningThe Education We Need for a Future We Can’t PredictThe Bottom LineKey Ideas From Part 1PART 2: WHY DON’T SCHOOLS CHANGE?Chapter 4: The “Grammar of Schooling” Always Pushes BackThe Possibilities of Incremental ImprovementThe Challenges of Radical ChangeWhat It Really Takes to ImproveChapter 5: Beliefs Endure, but Times Change“Real School” and “Real Learning”Real Differences in ValuesTurbulent ConditionsImproving in “Niches”Key Ideas From Part 2PART 3: HOW CAN SCHOOLS IMPROVE?Chapter 6: From Common Concerns to High-Leverage ProblemsIdentifying Common Needs and ConcernsFrom Common Concerns to High-Leverage ProblemsHigh-Leverage Problems and Foundational SkillsFrom High-Leverage Problems to Systemic ImprovementLooking for Leverage: Finding Productive ProblemsChapter 7: Solving Problems and Developing Micro-InnovationsMicro-Innovations for Teaching and LearningExpanding the Power of EducatorsMicro-Innovations Across the SystemMicro-Innovations Beyond the ClassroomAn Abundance of Needs and PossibilitiesKey Ideas From Part 3PART 4: HOW CAN EDUCATION CHANGE?Chapter 8: The Conditions for LearningPlugging Into SchoolsFinding the Right FitScaling Into School SystemsChapter 9: From Possibilities to PracticeBuilding the Infrastructure for New Forms of LearningEvolution and Expansion of the Infrastructure for LearningSpandrels: Planning for Unpredictable OpportunitiesCreating the Conditions for ImprovementKey Ideas From Part 4PART 5: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE SCHOOL SYSTEMS?Chapter 10: Capacity-BuildingInvesting in Expertise and MaterialsRelationships and Social NetworksFrom “Best Practice” to Comprehensive SupportChapter 11: Coherence and Common UnderstandingWhat Does Curriculum “Renewal” in Finland Really Entail?Coherence Inside and Outside Schools in SingaporeBeyond AlignmentChapter 12: Collective ResponsibilityTrust in SocietyAccountability, Answerability, and ResponsibilityBuilding the Capacity for Collective ResponsibilityImprovement in a Norwegian ContextThe Mechanisms That Can Support Education Into the FutureKey Ideas From Part 5PART 6: CONCLUSION/REPRISEChapter 13: From Improvements to MovementsPursue a Series of High-Leverage ProblemsDevelop New Approaches to Critical ChallengesTake Small Steps to Make Big ChangesKey Ideas for Creating the Education We NeedCondense Schooling and Increase LearningChapter 14: The Problems and Possibilities for Improvement in Every SystemImprovement in ContextSteering Toward the FutureBetween Nudges and DisruptionHigh-Leverage LeadershipReferencesIndex