The Future of Education

This article integrates complex adaptive systems theory (Uhl-Bien, Palmberg, Heifetz) and design thinking (Brown, Linsky) into a framework that explains how sustainable educational change emerges and how leadership can facilitate that change process. The complex adaptive design framework will then be overlaid on successful school reform efforts. Current educational reform efforts apply simple, linear and mechanistic “quick fixes,” reducing the complexity of problems to technical issues managed by algorithms of efficiency, prediction and control. This is evidenced by current reform practices such as the standardization of teaching practice, test- driven accountability measures, and privatization.  The results of these reforms have not improved standardized measures of achievement, but have widened achievement gaps, stifled innovation and creativity, and homogenized learning outcomes, teaching practices, and educator preparation. Complex adaptive systems theory provides an alternative framework to restructuring education that acknowledges complex problems are messy, ambiguous, uncertain and nonlinear. It suggests, a shift in understanding organizations “from the industrial age,” dominated by an ethos efficiency, prediction and control, “to the knowledge era,” characterized by nonlinearity, interdependency, self-organization, co-evolution, emergence, adaptation, and innovation. Design thinking is an iterative process that takes a human centered approach to problem solving, operating within the spaces between inspiration/empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping and implementation. A team of culturally and cognitively diverse individuals begin by gathering insights to better understand the needs of the people they are serving and reframe the problem as an opportunity. The group then develops as many ideas and creative solutions as possible to address the problem. Small teams then work quickly to create prototypes of potential solutions for implementation.  Complex adaptive design integrates these ideas to provide a non-linear process of radical collaboration. It begins by assembling a diverse team of stakeholders at the problem source. The team develops a shared vision/goals and defines problems or impediments to success. A process for assessing and developing the talents of the team (knowledge, skills and research) is initiated. The team brainstorms creative ideas and solutions that address the problem. Models and prototypes are created, assessed and modified, A select prototype(s) is implemented, monitored, evaluated and revised.

Keywords: Complex Adaptive Systems, Design Thinking, School Restructuring;