Leaders in Education Conference

Would you like to create a coaching culture in your school where trust and dialogue support professional growth?

What practical steps do schools need to consider taken as they embark on this significant, substantial and sustained cultural shift?

Drawing on more than 5 years of school coaching culture research, development and implementation with his team at British School Muscat, Kai will facilitate a discussion on the 5 steps that schools could take to create a coaching culture in their school(s) including:

1. Abandoning teacher judgement and graded lesson observations

2. Establishing a shared language to discuss teaching and learning

3. Creating time and space for coaching conversations

4. Growing a coaching team

5. Autonomy and accountability - finding balance as part of the workshop Kai will share resources, tools and references that will help schools looking to establish or strengthen a coach

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Peter Milne discusses the success of the global Beyond COP21 Symposium series and how the focus has always started with local community support.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

This session will answer the following questions: what does sustainability in schools look like, and how can we work together to catalyse systems change whilst engaging students to advocate for sustainable alternatives? 90% of a school’s environmental impact comes from four areas – transport, buildings, food, and uniforms. Making these sustainable requires a problem-solving approach at the systems level. Schools can have a significant influence and are much more likely to achieve change in these areas by working together rather than by acting individually.

As an agent of change, The Alliance for Sustainable Schools (TASS) harnesses the collective influence of its members, engages with their students, and partners with innovative organisations in their local communities to catalyse systems change in five focus areas – school food, school buses, school uniforms, school buildings and education for sustainability.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

In the ever-evolving leadership landscape, the qualities defining exceptional leaders have expanded beyond traditional managerial skills. Join David Harkin, CEO & Co-Founder of 8BillionIdeas, for an enlightening and empowering talk where he will delve into "The 3 E's of Leadership: Emotion, Energy, and Education." Leadership is no longer solely about commanding authority; it's about being aware of how our words and actions directly affect those around us, fostering a vibrant and motivated work environment, and embracing lifelong learning. In this engaging session, we will explore how these three interconnected elements are essential for modern leaders who aspire to excel personally and professionally.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Founder of Citizens School, Dr. Adil Alzarooni, will be discussing the importance of equipping future entrepreneurial teams with more than just the necessary business and job skills. Future entrepreneurs should also possess the vision and tools to improve their overall quality of life and well-being while making valuable contributions to the community.

Throughout his talk, Dr. Adil will share his mission of creating exceptional learning experiences for children and establishing a vibrant community space. A space that brings together educators, mentors, and parents to foster well-being, entrepreneurship, and creativity with an aim of creating an environment that supports the growth and development of individuals in a holistic manner.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

This session will delve into the art of team building in schools and will challenge you to think about how you can actively build an effective leadership team. Drawing on Dr Helen Wright’s experience in coaching and challenging school leaders for several years, this session will explore:

• Why a diverse school leadership team is a better team, despite the challenges it brings

• How leaders can develop individuals into team members, and why this starts with uncovering purpose

• Practical ideas to support the development of your leadership team

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

To ensure the future global society is one that is inclusive, sustainable and prosperous how can the arts serve the key priorities of critical thinking, digital literacy, diversity & inclusion and sustainability

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

The Schools of Tomorrow In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power Imagine you woke up tomorrow to a world of wonders, a world completely different and unthinkable from what we know it to be today, far from all our imaginations. And then suddenly you realise that, that tomorrow is not too far away from us, as the pace at which things are taking shape it’s not too far-fetched to see this scenario unfolding before our eyes. Now let’s take a breath and try to imagine, how would the schools of that world look like, what kinds of learning would be shaping the minds and hearts of the students in those schools. To get an inkling of the things to come let’s join Mr. Andaleeb Ishteyaq from JSS Private School, Dubai for an exciting talk wherein he would be deliberating on some of the most profound changes that are going to be the part of that world of tomorrow and how we as educators need to get ready if we are to remain relevant for that world.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Sharing the practical use cases of generative AI in education - how teachers can effectively use the tools to supplement their learnings and help students better understand the curriculum.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

In the presentation, the ten essential characteristics of a competent leader are explained step by step and enriched with successful practical examples from the school context.

The ten essential qualities of a competent leader focus on the following areas:

1. Communication skills
2. Active listening
3. Being able to set the right goals
4. Being diplomatic
5. Resolve conflicts
6. Ability to motivate
7. Decisiveness
8. Assertiveness
9. Authenticity
10. Accountability

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Discover how the Arabic Wikimedia User Group transforms education through collaborative content and community engagement. Dive into the significance of accessible Arabic data, preserving culture, and nurturing digital literacy. Embark on a journey showcasing the group's achievements, starting with Wikimedia's essence. Unveil the impact of bridging content gaps in the Arabic online realm, enhancing platforms like Arabic Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects. Our focus is on students and academia. Unearth a strategy fostering a dynamic ecosystem among students, creators, and researchers. Witness success stories reflecting our impact on skills, critical thinking, and information reliability. In this session, we'll discuss engaging schools. Delve into tailored edit-a-thons, vibrant Wiki Clubs, skill competitions, and internships. Our "Training the Trainers" program furthers accessible information, sparking advocacy. Embrace collaboration, education, and cultural stewardship.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

The press is filled almost every day with reports of increased stress and mental health issues that schools are facing and most focus on concerns about the wellbeing of students, while a smaller number seek to highlight the issues surrounding school leaders stress. Very few pay attention to the increasing challenges of the school leader’s role and the impact that school leader burnout may have not just on schools but also on society. Emotionally healthy teachers and education staff make effective learning possible. For school leaders, the pressure is real and unrelenting. Even if they are not adversely concerned about external scrutiny and league tables, the load they put on themselves to ensure they are doing the best possible job for the students in their care is often a cause of anxiety

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Language : English

Most of us have been taught to think and learn in subjects and disciplines, but what if we didn't? After all, it takes an interdisciplinary perspective to tackle most local and global challenges. In this talk, we'll examine how connecting the dots across disciplines can help us progress as individuals, organisations, and societies. We will be joined by learners who have been developing their knowledge, skills and mindsets in an interdisciplinary way.

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Matt Hagger is a free thinking entrepreneur, who struggled at school with forced academia. But when able to dream and apply problem solving to real life situations he would thrive as a child. Matt soon realised his creativity and ideas could be used to build products and services for the world, so from the age of 19, he built one of the biggest venture studios in Europe, assisting entrepreneurs and corporations with product development. 20 years later Matt decided that he wanted to create an opportunity for kids to find their genius and embrace their creativity. Matt would like to present his story and findings having launched TaleTree in silicon valley and how teachers in MENA can adopt these principles to bring a more creative purpose driven classroom with more love and empathy between kids and their teachers.

Language : English

Topic : Innovative Methods / 21st Century Teaching

Deep Breath ...and Jump! Leadership in the new world order...

Ever wanted to make your wildest leadership dream happen ...in fact, make it a reality whilst the world is watching? This is the story (so far!) of leadership opportunities beyond the boundaries of everything that most of us know or have ever imagined. A brand new giga city ... a brand new school and the first 'Proof of Concept' for NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

This presentation shares a 'walk on the wild side' of leadership, testing the mettle of the most resilient leaders to support a catalytic change for this part of the world! Sharing here 'Extreme Leadership' and the greatest leadership training of all - 'learnership'. 

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

Language : English

Topic : Early Years

To support students transitioning effectively into the rapidly changing 21st century workplace, educators must provide opportunities for students to apply, contextualise and situate knowledge. Authentic experiential learning, exposing students to collaborative, interdisciplinary teamwork and technology utilization, allows for exploration, learning from errors, and fostersr  adaptability, resilience, and creative problem-solving abilities.  Extending experiential learning beyond the classroom into real-world settings through work-based learning, apprenticeships, or professional placements further develops the skills and attributes students need to transition successfully into employment.

Language : English

Topic : Higher Education / Vocational

Just over a decade ago, a censorious book was published, claiming that the majority of students in American universities were not improving in their skills of critical thinking and writing as a result of their university education (Arum & Roksa, 2010). This text provided ammunition on behalf of the many critics of higher education, in particular the institutional constructs that permitted often comical but limited examples of academic freedom, excessive intellectualism from the liberal arts, and politically driven scholarship and teaching. It offered data to support the common assertion among employers, increasingly up to that point, that significant and troubling skill deficiencies existed among many university graduates. While many employer complaints were fully unfair--as employers have frequently passed the responsibility of on-the-job training to universities--this attitude had permeated the culture, often as a result of well-known entrepreneurs bragging that they had been successful without a university degree (e.g., Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg). Since that time, higher education has become much more adept at presenting itself as job-focused, amenable to lifelong learning. Universities talk about micro-credentials that allow for flexible delivery of timely skills. They boast about the employment rates of graduates.

They hesitate but still steadily adopt and adapt to technologies. In short, institutions of higher education are responding to the global critique that ivory tower institutional behaviours do not fit with fast-changing labour markets. But the core delivery mechanisms, including the institutions of academia (i.e. the disciplines), have not changed much. The term “institution” in this sense refers to the social constructs of a profession or system, in this case, academic faculty, who largely control the terms of delivery within universities and colleges. Compared to quickly adapting secondary curricula, which have over the past decade become more focused on generalizable skills and cross-disciplinary functions, such as the International Baccalaureate and the slow but steady movement away from rote memorization in Advanced Placement (American) and A-Level (British), higher education is still burdened by deep hierarchies that reinforce traditional modes of educational delivery. In a sense, the abrupt transition marker from secondary to tertiary education is a reminder that the social institutional constructs of school education and university education are in different spheres. This division does not need to persist. In my talk, I will briefly explore why this division exists and what both secondary and tertiary institutions (as well as regulators) can do to ensure that the generalizable skill gains from secondary curricula continue into tertiary institutions. 

Language : English

Topic : Higher Education / Vocational

Language : English

Topic : Curriculum

Rashid and Latifa Schools is the embodiment of a vision by Dubai’s leaders for the school to be a world-class institution that will be the training ground of the future leaders of the emirate and the UAE. Jodie Drew, Principal (Boys), Claire Crew, Principal (Girls), and Philippa Wraithmell (Assistant Principal, Digital Strategy, Learning and Innovation) will share

• How the RLS journey began and what education empowerment, research and vision-driven school development means for an educational institution that has lofty ambitions for the future of education in Dubai and the UAE, as well as the rest of the world

• What the student learning experience will be like at this visionary school, where STUDENTS LEAD their learning pathways, instead of mere participants in the learning process

• How the school’s innovative strategy will empower culture, digital fluency as well as data literacy, numeracy and reading literacy.

It is a journey that will be shared by three amazing women

Language : English

Topic : Leadership and Management

This talk focuses on ways to improve music education in schools in order to foster a strong and vibrant musical culture. The challenges that currently exist in music education in these schools are discussed as well as proposed solutions to overcome them. The talk will explore the benefits of a strong musical culture in schools, such as improved academic performance, enhanced creativity and self-expression, and increased social engagement among students. Examples of successful music education programs in other schools and how their models could be adapted to fit the needs of schools will be discussed. Overall, this talk aims to inspire and guide educators, administrators, and policymakers in their efforts to raise the bar for music education and create a thriving musical culture within schools.

Language : English

Topic : Music / Performing Arts / Sports

What distinguishes an Outstanding Teacher? A question asked in numerous interviews - and one that's much easier to ask than to answer. Many teachers will admit they don’t actually know what ‘Outstanding’ looks like. It's not about creating jazz hands lessons for a one-off observation, through 'prepping, stressing and box-ticking'. It isn’t something that can be achieved in a single lesson. It is a craft that needs developing like any other skill. Influenced by John Hattie's Visible Learning research, So…What does an Outstanding Teacher Do? provides practical guidance and opportunities for self-reflection for teachers who want to maximise their positive impact on students’ learning. Whether you are a PGCE Student, an ECT or a practising teacher, this is an accessible guide for any teacher who aspires to maximise their positive impact and become truly outstanding.

Language : English

Topic : Innovative Methods / 21st Century Teaching

Career readiness is about helping young people gain awareness of self, knowledge of the requirements for work, and the skills to reason for oneself to make career choices for their future. The efforts to help people identify with careers have been traced back to the fifteenth century. However, the responsibilities for career guidance and career readiness for adolescents are an ongoing debate between educators and policymakers. The assumptions about career readiness are that the responsibility lies in the hands of secondary education institutions and that young people are appropriately guided, making them career ready. However, factors such as accountability, curriculum constraints, and the skills gap contribute to young people's ongoing challenges, leaving them vulnerable, and unemployed. This talk will share my study that explored the assumptions, the bias, the expectations, and the multiple perspectives within the community of expatriate students impacted career guidance.

Language : English

Topic : Motivation / Coaching