What is futures education? (To open click here)

This is one version of a generic paper that evolved over time. It covers some of the core aspects of this vital, but often overlooked, topic. These include sections on: the substance of futures study, the origins of FS in education, elements of a rationale, content, process and implementation. This version appeared in Futures for the Third Millennium, Prospect Media, Sydney, 1999 pp 73-82.

Why schools should be scanning the future… (To open click here)

This short piece covers four critical topics: enabling the shift from past to future, using the Future Scan technique in educational settings, developing proactive leadership and taking the lead in the 21st Century context. It was written for The Practical Administrator, Melbourne in 1997.

Futures studies: from individual to social capacity (To open click here)

This generic paper has stood the test of time. It tackles one of the core questions of FS i.e. how to ensure that ‘futures thinking’ is taken up more widely. It proposes a series of five ‘layers’ or steps that begin with individual capabilities and lead toward a fully installed capacity for social foresight.

Futures in education: catalyst for our times (To open click here)

This piece considers implications of the failure of a government agency to follow though on the development of a futures curriculum: Futures Personal, Social, Global that was abandoned during its trial period in schools. In the light of this it takes a fresh look at why FS remains a vital focus and, in particular, what futures in education offers young people. Find out more about this innovative program on the videos page here

Futures education: a gift for our times (To open click here)

Concise overview of the role of futures education in the early 21st Century. The paper was published in Learning Matters, 12, 1, 2007, pp 47-50, Catholic Education Office, Melbourne.

From fatalism to foresight: educating for the early 21st century (Read more)

Schools are complex, intense and exacting places to work in. Educators therefore tend to focus inward. Yet both are embedded in a process of dynamic global change.  In order to fulfil their responsibilities to individuals and society, they need to address that context and to develop an informed view of the early twenty-first century. The monograph begins with a critical review of so-called ‘megatrends’ partly because so many educators and others have used them as a kind of shorthand guide to the future. It then considers a range of more in-depth work.