Session Outline
At a time when school leaders face a relentless array of new and enduring challenges, where is hope to be found? This presentation touches on the unfounded assumptions, unhelpful binary distinctions and untested simplistic solutions that dominate the current field of school improvement. It highlights how inspiring hope among educators requires more than blind optimism and wishful thinking. Nurturing hope depends on evidence of genuine change brought about by processes that respect school leaders, teachers, and their work. This argument is illustrated with evidence from rigorous research that puts pedagogy at the centre of educational reform. It demonstrates positive effects on teacher morale and efficacy, teacher collaboration and collegiality, school culture, the quality of teaching and, most importantly, student achievement and equity. Conceptually, hope matters. Practically, it can be realised.
Speaker Profile
Laureate Professor Jenny Gore AM, FASSA, FAERA | University of Newcastle
Laureate Professor Jenny Gore is Director of the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre at the University of Newcastle. Her research tackles persistent educational challenges through comprehensive programs of research on teacher development, pedagogical reform, enhancing student outcomes, and the formation of student aspirations. Jenny’s ongoing work on Quality Teaching and Quality Teaching Rounds, conducted with colleagues over the last decade, has shown how this framework can effectively support teacher professional development, increase teacher satisfaction, enhance teaching quality in schools, and improve student achievement while also narrowing equity gaps. She has been awarded more than $38 million in research funding and her publications have been cited more than 18,000 times. A recipient of the Paul Brock Memorial Medal in 2018 for outstanding contributions to social justice and evidence-informed policy, practice, and research, Jenny was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW in 2021, recognising NSW leaders in their fields. She has also been recognised by the Australian Council for Deans of Education for outstanding contributions to education reform and as an elected Fellow of the American Educational Research Association for her expertise across diverse research traditions and as a Fellow of The Academy of the Social Sciences
in Australia. Jenny was named Australia’s leading researcher in 2022 in the field of teaching and teacher education, an award that filters for both quality and impact, and was most recently awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for significant service to tertiary education.
Event Details
Event |The Power of Hope for Educators
Date | Tuesday 28 April 2026
Time |4pm – 5pm
Location | The Learning Centre at Hills Grammar or Online
Register | Click here to register by 21 April