A conversation with Pasi Sahlberg and Adrian Piccoli.
The recent release of the ambitious Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (Gonski 2.0) report has Australia buzzing about what the future holds in reforming Australian education.
Will we see an end to NAPLAN or the HSC?
How will teachers' work change in planning for individual student needs?
Will these reforms lead us to the more equitable system we desire?
Professors Adrian Piccoli and Pasi Sahlberg will respond to various aspects of the recommendations put forth in the recent Gonski 2.0 report, discussing insights, questions, and the way forward.
Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator and author who has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland. Sahlberg has studied education systems, analysed education policies, and advised education reforms around the world. He has written and spoken widely about how to improve learning in all schools and why strengthening equity and equality are the best ways to build school system where all children can succeed. He is author of award-winning book Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland and his latest book with William Doyle is Let the Children Play: Why more play will save our schools and help children thrive. He is a Professor of Education Policy at the Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW and lives in Sydney with his wife and two children.
Adrian Piccoli served as a Member of NSW Parliament for 19 years and as the NSW Minister for Education for 6 years from 2011 until 2017. Adrian is widely respected by the Australian education sector. He led the political campaign to reform school funding in Australia. He has strengthened and enhanced the teaching profession in NSW through his “Great Teaching Inspired Learning” reforms and has consistently championed a greater focus on the learning needs of disadvantaged children particularly those living in rural and remote Australia. In 2017 Mr Piccoli was made a Professor of Practice in the School of Education at UNSW and has also been made a Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. Mr Piccoli is currently the Director of UNSW’s Gonski Institute for Education.
