Journal Review: High Schools at a Crossroads by Ed Coughlin

Dana Schafer

EDER 619.90 Leading for Enhanced Capacity

July 25, 2016
Journal Review: High Schools at a Crossroads

The reality is the education system is evolving to match the changing demands of the

world we are preparing students for. This means that the basic structure and functions

of schools must also evolve and change to best suit this new reality. In Alberta we have

moved forward into an era of High School Re-design where the high school

experience is being reimagined and reinvented. Schools have been released from the

constraints of traditional school structures and within a given framework have been

allowed freedoms and choice to reinvent what school looks like. This is an exciting

time for students and teachers as many schools embrace this initiative but has left many

in education to ask the question If schools can be whatever, what should they be?.

In his article High Schools at a Crossroads published in the 2010 edition of

Educational Leadership Ed Coughlin describes the two possible futures for schools as

they redefine their role. He argues that schools need to provide curriculum that focuses

more than just on content and 21st century skills can no longer be considered soft skills

and ignored but must be weaved into the learning experience. Collaboration, critical

thinking and self direction are all qualities that have more direct contribution to the

student success in future education, life and careers. He warns that if the role of high

school in our society remains that of transmitting academic content to students, schools

will find themselves in direct competition with the growing universe of diverse, engaging

resources. Because of what he calls information emancipation he predicts that

schools will need to switch their focus from that of the traditional gatekeepers of

knowledge and information into a place of collaborative, relevant learning environments

where students build complex skill sets to prepare them for a connected world.
Journal Review: High Schools at a Crossroads

High School at a Crossroads describes the two distinct paths for high schools in the

future. Coughlin outlines the issues that schools will have to overcome to avoid

becoming certification mills that are simply there to verify student learning. He worries

that if students can access content and curriculum outside of the classroom from a

variety of sources there will be little use for schools other than a place to offer

assessments and remedial services. Coughlin implores schools to embrace the ever

increasing amount of knowledge rich content available to students and blend that with

an environment that encourages authentic rich work. He truly believes that if schools

can make this transformation then there are powerful possibilities for the future of

schools.

As the school experience is being reimagined so to is the role of the school leader.

According the Principal Quality Practice Standards (20) the focus of the school leader

during this time of change now has to turn to the core purpose of the school. Leaders

not only have to have the knowledge and competency to deal with the management of

the school operations but now more than ever they must have a deep knowledge of

teaching and learning and the implications that has for students in a new system.

Leaders need to embrace and leverage the resources that are so readily available and

lead a team towards more promising possibilities for their school. They need to create

and nurture structures that support an increase in the overall capacity of the school in

order to best serve the students. School based leaders will face challenges that

traditionally they have not had to confront, they must find ways to avoid cultural pitfalls

and navigate the changes with ease. They now have the responsibility to influence the
Journal Review: High Schools at a Crossroads

way a learning community responds and behaves to the changes that are needed to

improve our schools.

Many high schools in Alberta face somewhat of an uncertain future and without strong

leadership and clear vision these schools could fall prey to what Coughlin alludes to as

the bleaker less promising future. High school redesign is more than just a

reconfiguration and restructuring of the timetable and the abolishment of the Carnegie

model. It will be when the school becomes a true orchestrator of complex learning and

cognitive development that schools and leaders will have successfully navigated the

change and created a learning environment that prepares students for our evolving

world.
Journal Review: High Schools at a Crossroads

References
Coughlin, E. (2010). High Schools at a Crossroads. Educational Leadership, 67(7),
48-53.