Learning to plan and planning to learn during turbulent times

Nations everywhere are experiencing turbulent times. Rapid, dramatic societal changes associated with globalization are implicated. Turbulent times bring formidable challenges and offer timely opportunities. Either way, leaders need to take notice and get ready for a shift from an enduring focus on implementation. A twentieth century management guru, Peter Drucker, emphasized that planning for the future requires a theory of planned abandonment. School-higher education partnership proposals structured to facilitate simultaneous learning, improvement and redesign follow suit. Isolation has another important meaning as planning for the future commences. Turbulent times generated by rapid, dramatic social change have been instrumental in the development of new models for what a school is, prioritizes, and does. While priorities for academic learning and achievement remain, departures from the inherited twentieth century model are visible in many nations. Educators worldwide are asking and addressing generative planning questions about schools’ missions, goals, operational structures and desired outcomes.