The Future of Education: My notes from a recent conference presentation

On Monday, I attended the VAIS (Virginia Association of Independent Schools) Annual Conference.  One of the sessions I attended was a lecture titled, The Future of Education given by John Martin, President/CEO of Southeastern Institute of Research.

Mr. Martin presented some intriguing research findings that led his organization to make a host of suggestions and predictions about the future of education.

Here are the highlights per my notes.

"Tailwinds" for the future of education

• Growing population in the United States (predicted growth of about 24% by 2030)
• Inability of public schools to push past the status quo due to bureaucratic processes
• College graduates becoming one in a million - potential for certification programs to become as valuable if not more in some markets
• Growing number of parents who want to "parent right" and provide their child with every advantage possible

"Headwinds" facing the future of education

• New consumerism - making more of what you have, a desire to focus more on needs than wants
• More questions about the value of education, especially private school education
• Growing number of low cost alternatives to traditional schools
• Growing number of highly customized, free content and learning tools
• Increasing levels of diversity

21st Century Skills (from his research)

• Critical thinking
• Entrepreneurship
• Social impacts
• Collaboration
• Global awareness
• Ability to acquire new skills quickly (New Gen Flux)

Imperatives for the future of education

• Deliver a superior outcome
• Create a unique selling proposition - do not be defensive, but rather focus on quality of outcome over price (quality/price = value)
• Use the future as your point of reference
• View 21st century education as being a part of a network
• make your school a "gateway" into that network
• Package your 21st century program
• Track and report outcomes