The knowledge and skills that students need to contribute effectively to society are changing constantly. The dilemma for educators is that the kinds of knowledge and skills that are easy to teach and test are exactly the skills that are also easiest to digitise, automate and outsource.

Digitalisation connects a majority of the world’s population in ways that vastly increase our individual and collective potential. But the same forces have also made the world more volatile and more complex. However, the disruptive implications of digital technologies for our economic and social fabric should not predetermine societal outcomes. Education will play a key role in determining how the next decades will play out for individuals, nations and the planet. But this requires preparing students to look towards the future, not the past, and that is why smart educational policies are so important nowadays.

School systems need to adapt to economic and social changes to equip students with the relevant skills, knowledge, attitudes and values needed for success in future life and work. The expansion of technology, particularly the advent of digitalisation, presents new opportunities and challenges to prepare students to be lifelong and lifewide learners. Students now need to not only learn information but also understand how to use it, they need to interact successfully and respectfully with others, and take responsible actions and work together towards collective well-being. Equipping students with these skills requires innovation and a change in the approaches towards teaching and learning. Teachers are key actors in creating this context for learning and growth and can help establish effective learning environments. As we move into the future, new forms of educational provision will be needed that recognise the essential role that teachers play in transforming classrooms and to support them in their endeavour. This chapter explores the implications of the digital transformation on education systems and explains how teachers and policy makers can work together to harness its potential.

Schools do not operate in a vacuum. Successful schools depend on the resources and support of their communities and schools at the centre of their communities are often the most successful schools. In turn, schools are vital to the social health of their local communities. What can policy makers with teacher unions and the teaching profession do to strengthen links with communities? Given the importance of schools for disadvantaged communities, how can system support for teachers and education staff be strengthened in these schools to drive quality and equity? What can we learn from schools that partner with businesses, educational services and cultural bodies in their community and excel at driving business and social innovation in their communities? How can schools engage the local community and contribute to social responsibility? These are some of the questions for the first session of the 2018 International Summit on the Teaching Profession.

At the heart of education is pedagogy. Many teachers have a good sense of the kind of pedagogies on which 21st century learning hinges, but there is a major gap between intended and implemented practices. How can education systems create the conditions for encouraging and supporting teachers to initiate, share, and evaluate innovative pedagogies and curricula, including new technologies? What are the implications of new pedagogies for the roles of teachers and students? What are the implications of pedagogical innovation and innovative learning environments for the roles of governments and the profession/unions? What are the implications of new pedagogies and curricula for school and system evaluation? These are important issues that the 2018 International Summit on the Teaching Profession seeks to tackle in its second session.

The Summit now focuses on teachers themselves. There is a growing recognition that for teaching and learning to be at its most effective, teachers should have high levels of well-being, self-efficacy, and confidence. This mirrors increasing evidence that students’ well-being, efficacy, and confidence are vital for their learning. How does teacher well-being relate to teacher effectiveness and student well-being? How should teacher wellbeing feature in priorities for public policy? How can governments, in partnership with teacher unions, create evidence-informed strategies on well-being, efficacy, and effectiveness as part of their teacher policies? This is the theme of the third session of the 2018 International Summit on the Teaching Profession.