School of Education

The School of Education’s Professor Christopher Chapman recently delivered the keynote speech to students of the Masters in Educational Inquiry and Innovation at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Education of the University of Chile.

In his talk, which was conducted via videoconference, Professor Chapman addressed ideas and experiences for the construction of a networked learning system, based on his work with teachers and the context of the United Kingdom and Chile.

In his talk to the masters students, Professor Chapman explained that the pandemic in education left learnings and challenges, in the face of which the current arrangements have proved insufficient, so that key dimensions that can support the development of more equitable education systems must now be rethought and reframed. "We need to rethink leadership, collaboration and networking to address these challenges," he said.

He added that if you are going to work by adopting an inquiry approach, you need leaders who are adept at skilful communication, networking, strategic guidance, problem solving, and self-management, among others.

"This new leadership needs a new approach. If we think about inquiry, we need them to be able to communicate with different perspectives, because now the hierarchy is not so clear. This type of leadership needs to be applied through collaboration with others, through networking, through understanding the context, in different contexts. That will improve the outcome for young people," he said.

In that sense, he explained that the way you create more equitable systems is to network learning systems. "A networked learning system is a partnership between research and practice that is connected through networks and crosses boundaries, whether physical (e.g., classrooms, organizations or territories) and/or professional," he said.

He added that, "it is driven by design-based research and collaborative inquiry to innovate, test and refine practice and build leadership capacity through professional learning."

He explained that it is key to move from an individual research focus toward inquiry as a collaborative inquiry stance.

"We can create a better future by rethinking leadership, crossing diverse boundaries and conducting inquiry projects, adopting an inquiry stance to our work," he concluded.

The Master's Program in Educational Inquiry and Innovation of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Education of the University of Chile is aimed at early childhood educators, teachers and principals who work in the school system and who seek to innovate and improve their practices through systematic inquiry on problems they identify in their work, with a preferential focus on equity.

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Iamge By Sisib Universidad de Chile - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113596052@N02/11799724286/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37245883

First published: 14 August 2023