26.055 - What's New? Challenges and Possibilities for Educational Innovation Around the World

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium explores the challenges and possibilities for developing innovations in education in different international contexts. Cases discussed include the adoption of an Innovative School Model in Finland, the development of “future schools” in Singapore, a new pedagogy based on tutorial relationships in Mexico, and the use of mobile-phones to support data-based decision-making in Africa. Presenters will discuss the conditions for innovation in their location with a focus on access to resources and materials (technical capital), availability of high quality preparation and professional development programs (human capital), and extent of trusting relationships (social capital). In the process, the symposium will raise questions about “what’s new” and “what works” in fulfilling the purposes of education in a variety of settings.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Educational Change

Chairs

• Thomas C. Hatch, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Deirdre Faughey, Teachers College, Columbia University

Papers

• How Do School Sites Support the Adoption of Educational Innovations in the Finnish Context? - Jari Lavonen, University of Helsinki

• Diffusion Models in Singapore Schools: Dialectics of Centralization and Decentralization - David Hung, National Institute of Education/Learning Sciences and Technologies; Paul M. Chua, Nanyang Junior College

• Conditions That Enable Large-Scale Instructional Innovation in Mexican Public Middle Schools - Santiago Rincon-Gallardo, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

• "Real-Time" Data to Improve "Real-Time" Education Decision Making: A View From Practice - Radhika Iyengar, Earth Institute, Columbia University