The Future Search Conference as a Vehicle for Educational Change: A Shared Vision for Will Rogers Middle School, Sacramento, California

Abstract

This article presents an application of a future search conference in a California middle school. The future search conference, detailed by Marvin Weisbord in his book Discovering Common Ground, is an event where large numbers of people from across, down, and outside an organization gather to focus on an issue. In the case presented, the central theme was the clarification of the school's vision for the year 2002. In attendance were teachers, administrators, parents, students, district representatives, union representatives, business, higher education, school board members, feeder school teachers and principles, and school support staff. The article addresses the conditions that made the school receptive to action, the planning process, the conference design components(the past, the present, the future, and planning), successful outcomes, and lessons learned.

The use of (future) search conferences as a qualitative improvement tool ‐ Three Australian examples

“…• Health: in order to establish community food security (McCullum, 2002); to find common ground and action in relation to repetitive strain injuries (Polanyi, 2001); and to determine the future of dietetics education and credentialling in America (Parks, 1995). • Education: as a means by which to involve a local community in college planning (Casolara, Haynes & McPheeters, 1999;Quereau, 1995); to effect educational change (Bailey, 1992); and to plan school library services across a state (Baldwin, 1995). • Business: as a participative way to plan a merger (Large, 1998a); for strategic planning for a company (Cabana, 1995); and for the redesign of work (Axelrod, 1993).…”