Complexity, Risk and Innovation in education

Why understanding complexity leads to innovation

In Sweden as in many other countries in the west, education has been viewed as something waning, with failed systems and structures. Education reform has been on the agenda more or less over the past decade, and there have been many thoughts and ideas on what needs to be done to enable the educational system to thrive.

As a starter, Im still not convinced that the education system has failed. Perhaps the system just isnt designed towards the needs of todays post-industrial society. Perhaps the questions we ask and the goals we set arent fully in tune with the needs and wants of the society of today. Although there is serious cause for alarm when it comes to reading and mathematics for example, Im not at all convinced that the remedies and policies enacted in education today is the correct answer to the correct problem.

Complex and Complicated

Education is a complex system and there are no easy solutions to enhancing the quality of it. This is indeed a problem. Education tends to be treated as a complicated problem, but there is a difference in a complex system and a complicated system.

In the article “learning to live with complexity”, Gökçe Sargut and Rita Gunther McGrath explains the differences of complex and complicated. This is my take on the topic, from an educational systems perspective.

It is easy to mix up something that is complicated with something that is genuinely complex. If the educational system is managed as a complicated system, instead of being treated as a complex system, the cost of mistakes and mismanagement can be great. Lets have a look at the differences between simple, complicated and complex systems.

A simple system is one in which we understand the complete system and clearly see all potential uses of how it works or can be used.

A complicated system is one which has more parts and possible interactions. It is not easily understood without prior training or experience of it. But when the parts and possible interactions are mastered, one can predict all possible interactions and outcomes, and by doing so ensure that the system contains no risk.

A complex system is governed by rules that, when they interact, are extremely hard or impossible to predict. Think of the weather system or a flock of birds flying in a flock. A complex system which is broken down into pieces, where each and every piece is analysed, looks to be more like chaos than order. One has to view the complex system holistically.

The educational system is a complicated but foremost complex system. And that is why simple solutions will not and cannot solve perceived faults. In order to address issues and faults in complex systems, forecasting and analysis tools and simulations is one option. So far such systems have a hard time with such complex systems as the educational system. Another way forward might be to mitigate risk by continually investing in incremental and small development projects and approaches, which are analyzed and tested. These smaller development projects can have a high degree of risk within them. Most of them will fail or not produce results. Some on the other hand might produce great enhancements. An iterative, ongoing, participatory process of innovation, where the system lets high risk have its place in development, is a primary driver for innovation in complex systems.

The political solution

In times of elections the political system gears up towards delivering answers to the problems in society. When stakes are high and time and resources are limited, the political rhetoric tends to tilt towards creating catching, simple to understand and easy to deliver solutions. “Stability and Security!”, “More grades and testing!”, “Less grades and testing!”, “Smaller classes!”, “More money!”. And while it is easy to communicate and relate to, these simplistic solutions might just cause more damage than benefit. As resources are poured into catering for these simple solutions, the educational system twists, turns and churns in order to facilitate for the new political rhetoric of the day and its simple solutions. The amount of time and effort that goes in to a poorly executed eduational reform is hard to account for. Especially when the reform is designed to solve a poorly defined problem with the wrong, big, systems wide and costly solutions.

Instead of using the time, money and energy of the system to relate to, understand and cater for issues found within a complex system, everything goes to solving the equation of a complicated system.

When failure arrives

At some point the proposed solutions to the complicated problem will fail. Its most likely just a matter of time. And when this happens, voices are raised to bring order and structure to the educational system. New solutions are imagined to solve the percieved complicated problem, that have just as high chance of failure as well.

One thing that often happens is a call for security, stability and structure. Perceived fringe activity, creative out of the box experiments and local initiatives are addressed with scepticism. Conformity tends to be married with stability and structure and the iterative and experimental innovation processes are drawn to a halt.

Risk and Innovation

This is the really sad part of the story. In an effort to come up with new solutions to the complicated problems, the path towards handling the complex system becomes ever more hard to travel.

When faced with needs for development and change in complex systems, the way forward is to create an environment where innovation, design and development can take place, within the system, by the actors of the system. To trust the professionals to do their work, and to give them the resources and space to try out the bold and the new. To test, iterate, and test again. To see what works and share that knowledge with the rest of the educational system.

This is what I want to see. I want to se bold politicians and leaders in education placing their bets on the most important driving force of the system — the teachers and other professionals. I want to se spaces created where professionals can meet, interact, blend, test, try out and share their ideas and progress. To have resources and support to engage in small scale, local research and design, to innovate within their own practice. And have time to do so. Adding allocated resources for very practical documenting, sharing, researching and spreading knowledge within the system on a national level, would make local initiatives thrive and grow.

That would be awesome.