How Do Knowledge Frameworks Influence the Way in Which We Lead in Schools? - A Response to Sir Ken Robinson's "Changing Education Paradigms" (2010)

Written By Abena Sey

July 10, 2022

How do knowledge frameworks influence the way in which we lead in schools? 

The knowledge framework upon which a school is founded will definitely influence how schools are led, in particular the choices that educational leaders make surrounding resources (both human and material), activities and events, students, and the community. While teachers are pressured to teach their students to meet provincial mandated curricular standards for subjects and to help their students attain growth on benchmark tests, educational leaders are also pressured to provide support and guidance to their staff to help them meet these demands, while also meeting the other obligations that come with leadership. In Sir Ken Robinson’s talk, “Changing Education Paradigms” he mentioned the three factors that guide educational reform, namely the economy, cultural identity, and globalization. These are certainly factors that are volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These factors change, and the problem that educational leaders face is reconciling the mandates and prescriptions from the school authority, while expecting accountability from staff who are tasked to teach and engage learners who may not value school. Robinson suggested that when paradigms are not changed to be in touch with the reality our learners live in, “they’re trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past and on the way they’re alienating millions of kids who don’t see any purpose in going to school” (Robinson 2010).

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