FutureMakers Newsletter 1 August, 2025
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Tēnā koe Michael
Today I’m in Melbourne with my colleague, Maurie Abraham, facilitating the final day in our Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme that we’ve been running for a group of educators here over the past 20 weeks. Check out details on our website of dates for this programme being offered in 2026!
This week’s newsletter contains the usual variety of topical links and articles – hopefully something here to keep you occupied over the weekend 🙂
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Learner Agency – Thinking Beyond Individualism.
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The traditional promise—work hard, get qualifications, secure a good job, accumulate wealth—is dissolving. AI threatens jobs, endless growth hits planetary limits, and the “job for life” has vanished. So what ARE we preparing our students for?
My latest blog explores why true learner agency isn’t simply about individual freedom—it’s about collective responsibility.
The students in our classrooms will inherit the problems we’ve created. They deserve better than an education focused on consuming finite resources. |
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The Aotearoa Futures Barometer is a research project carried out by Tokona te Raki, Think Beyond and Truwind Research. This is a fabulous project, and the report well worth a read – not a lot of dense words, but loads of statistics and findings presented in a really accessible manner.
A key finding that stood out for me is the level of concern young people have about the future – the survey reveals that over 50 percent of those who completed it are increasingly concerned about how we meet their needs. |
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Why Standardised testing & streaming doesn’t work.
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| Welby Ings being interviewed by Jack Tame – if you missed this it’s worth watching. Ings argues for a reconceptualisation of school and schooling based on a deeper understanding of what intelligence is. |
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Shaping the Future of Teaching
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| I had a chance to browse through the Teaching Commission’s (UK) report on Shaping the Future of Teaching this week. It begins by asking, “How should teaching be transformed so that teachers are valued, motivated, fulfilled, supported and rewarded for the essential work they do?” In her opinion piece about the report, Baroness Mary Bousted, Chair, The Teaching Commission focused on the issue of teacher workload as a key driver here, observing, “Our teachers more than double their working hours working on classroom-adjacent activities.” The report also offers significant and thought-provoking recommendations for school leaders. In particular, that teachers must be treated as adult professionals and their views on areas of their professional expertise taken into account. |
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What You Need To Know About Recent Changes
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| I thought this recent report from RNZ sums things up pretty well – and could be a useful reference when speaking with parent or community groups. Titled What you need to know about recent changes to schools and education the article highlights of just some of the major announcements we’ve seen in 2025 that will affect students and educators. It’s easy to become overwhelmed (understandably) by the pace of change that has cascaded down on us since the new government took office – this article provides a handy reminder of the scope and scale of what that has been! |
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| As I learned through my work at CORE Education over the years, evaluating the impact of ICT use on learning outcomes isn’t straight forward. In his exploration of the opportunities and challenges of evaluating EdTech, Dr Ralph Saubern, Deputy CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research explores whether the integration of technology in schools has led to improved outcomes for learners. It’s a balanced perspective – and highlights for me the problem with the ‘positionalism’ that goes on with people trying to defend or attack the use of ICT in our schools. |
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| It’s taken me a while to work through these resources – and all I can say is ‘wow’ – what an incredible wealth of wisdom, advice and support they provide. Te Uru Amokura | Springboard Trust’s ‘Leading Through a Crisis’ online resources offer practical tools and insights to help school leaders, and indeed leaders across all sectors, navigate complex challenges with clarity and compassion. I’d encourage any leader to become familiar with these resources – perhaps as part of a PLC where you can unpack and discuss the relevance in your own context. |
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Join Me In October on an Educational Tour to the US
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Looks like a great team on their way with me to attend the Fullscale Symposium (formerly Aurora Institute Symposium) in New Orleans and then on to visit innovative schools in San Francisco before returning home to NZ. I can promise this will be an exciting opportunity to link up with many transformational leaders, and to see great ideas in action!
There are just three places left – if you’re keen check out details here – or email me. |
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Please encourage others to subscribe so they can receive this newsletter free into their mailbox each Friday. |
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| I’m always interested to hear your feedback or ideas about what you’d like to see included in future newsletters – please use the link below to email me with your suggestions. |
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