Professor Sandra Leaton Gray | One one-and-a-half-hour session | Spring: 10:00 - 11:30 (UK time) Wednesday March 25

NB: This course accrues 1 training point.

Please note, the tutor would like to record this session to be viewed by other IOE Doctoral students at a later date. If you are unhappy with this, can you please let the tutor know at the start of the online session.

This 90-minute training session is designed for doctoral students specialising in education futures research methods.

The session begins with an overview of five key futures research methodologies: scenario planning, trend analysis, the Delphi method, backcasting, and Causal Layered Analysis (CLA). The session will introduce these methodologies and explain their applications in understanding and anticipating the future of education.

The focus will then explore a recent EU foresight study into the future of education within Europe, which draws on these methods. It will then discuss the technical aspects of CLA, as discussed in the book Teachers Under Siege, demonstrating the four layers of CLA—litany, social causes, worldview/discourse, and myth/metaphor—and their relevance in exploring the challenges faced by educators.

Ethical considerations in futures research, particularly regarding its influence on policy and practice, will also be addressed. The session will end with a brief practical exercise, including a group activity where participants will experiment with scenario planning in relation to a contemporary educational issue of their choice.