Driving Meaningful Change!
The education sector is progressing in addressing the growing demands for innovation, inclusivity, and global perspectives. It is essential in shaping individuals and societies, providing lifelong learning and empowerment tools. Education influences personal growth, professional success, and societal progress by nurturing knowledge and critical thinking. The industry’s transformative potential makes it a fundamental pillar in developing equitable and enlightened communities. With changing learner needs and societal expectations, education demands adaptable, insightful, and committed leaders to continuous improvement. This context calls for strategic thinking and innovative approaches to redefine the future of learning.
Angela Fitzgerald, an esteemed Educational Leader, demonstrates such qualities with her dedication to advancing this sector. Her approach combines compassion, creativity, and a focus on collaboration. Angela’s leadership reflects a unique ability to balance structure with empathy, ensuring policies and people thrive under her guidance. She consistently prioritizes cultivating inclusive environments that nurture growth and innovation. Angela’s focus on team dynamics and her belief in accountability inspire those she works with, making her a respected voice in the field of education. Her leadership highlights the importance of vision, adaptability, and inclusivity in shaping meaningful change.
As a prominent educational leader, Angela brings a visionary perspective to education, aiming to create lasting impacts through her work. She strives to integrate cultural contexts into educational practices, recognizing the diverse needs of learners worldwide. Angela’s goals revolve around empowering educators and learners, highlighting creativity and practical application. Her dedication to mentoring others and exploring global perspectives positions her as a driving force in reimagining education’s role in a connected world. Through her initiatives, Angela seeks to ensure education remains a catalyst for personal and societal transformation. Her work underscores the value of authenticity, adaptability, and a relentless commitment to making a difference.
Let’s explore Angela’s strategic leadership in advancing learning:
Discovering a Passion for Education
Angela was not one of those who always thought they would be teachers. She went back and forth between many ideas in her final year of secondary schooling, but teaching was not on her radar. Following the final exam period, there is a set period to identify preferences for university entrance.
On the final day to lock in options, she woke up that morning and decided to opt for a double degree that included education. She had a naïve but strong sense that learning to become a teacher would help her see the world and provide her with a skill set to help others. On the surface, these drivers seem very shallow and obvious, but in their more refined form, they make a lot of sense to her and the decisions she has made in her life.
Her purpose, personally and professionally, is to make the most difference she can and experience the ‘world’—locally and globally—as profoundly as possible. As a result, her career path in academia has undoubtedly not been linear or traditional. But going back to the initial decision, after her first teaching placement around two months into Year 1, she knew she had made the right decision… teaching was just the right fit.
Decision-Making with Compassion
She lives by the mantra—tough-minded on the process, tender-hearted with people. Angela is always mindful of working within and being guided by policy, procedure, and process when making decisions. But within these black and white bounds, Angela does see gray. Angela turns their mind to how to best support the people they are working alongside to be guided by the process but acknowledges and addresses their needs as humans.
In making decisions, Angela tries to hold both things as valid and valuable. As a leader, the juggle is undoubtedly real! Angela tries to work across the various elements of any leadership role by continuously re-evaluating the priorities (What is most pressing? What needs to be timely? Alongside considering the idea of ‘how can help,’ Angela is not holding others up in their jobs. Angela tries to use ‘daylight hours’ to do the people’s work and follow up with more administrative tasks outside these premium time slots.
Collaborative Creativity in Research
Angela realized creativity and motivation peak when undertaking and writing up research in collaboration with others. There are a couple of aspects to this. Working collaboratively provides energy and enthusiasm, pushing Angela to think differently about any idea or insight being explored. Conducting research alone does not stimulate and push Angela in the same way.
Additionally, being accountable to others keeps Angela moving. Deadlines are rarely missed if it means avoiding letting others down or putting the team behind. A colleague once termed this ‘cultivation,’ which works for Angela. Being part of a team encourages continuous progress, which has become increasingly important when juggling multiple responsibilities. Productivity is significantly enhanced by the camaraderie and support that working with others provides.
Mentorship and Professional Growth
She has had a nontraditional career trajectory within a traditional profession. While some colleagues have felt that various twists and turns would ‘damage’ the career, Angela has never seen it that way. Every decision has been in the pursuit of growth, and the sum of these parts has undoubtedly been more significant (and more enriching) than the whole. Angela started a career in academia much earlier than most in the broad field of Education, landing her first lecturing position a few months before turning 30.
Most early-career academics walking alongside were a decade or two older. Angela feels compelled to support those who seek to take the less-trodden path through academia and start at an earlier point. The linearity of higher education is slowly progressing. The handful of amazing women seen as mentors have entirely shaped Angela’s professional growth. Their utter trust and support have given Angela the confidence to be bold and brave and make moves that most don’t. When someone wholeheartedly believes in Angela, anything feels possible.
The Impact of Cultural Contexts
Angela is an awe-seeker. Seeing the world through different lenses and perspectives gives Angela life and enables rethinking and reimagining what is possible. Opportunities to live, work, and learn in other countries have exposed Angela to different ways of understanding education and helped her to work with wonderful people, all with the same goal of using education as a vehicle for change.
The notion of education is not the same everywhere. Context and culture are key in guiding what matters in education and what it can look like. One of the great things that Angela’s decision to become a teacher has enabled—as the naïve 18-year-old self had hoped—is to experience the world wholeheartedly.
Supporting Growth through Mindfulness
She believes that, in the end, she is a flawed human and certainly not perfect. However, using the values of generosity and kindness as a guide works as a compass in guiding decisions and actions as a person and a leader. With these two values as a guide, Angela prioritizes people as much as possible in everything they endeavor to do as leaders, teachers, and contributing members of various communities.
This essentially means giving others as much time as possible and as they need, whether to talk something through or help with a task that assists their work. Angela also tries (not always successfully!) to be more mindful of bringing others along on any project, innovation, or initiative they might be fortunate to be a part of. Angela strives to be increasingly conscious of boosting others to support their growth and career trajectory.
Balancing Work and Personal Fulfillment
Angela often thinks about walking the earth as someone interested and interesting. Angela certainly cannot be interesting if all they do is work. Experiencing life as fully as possible brings Angela utter joy and energy. It could be as simple as having a lovely breakfast at a new café, being in nature, or seeing a movie. These activities add to Angela’s perspectives and ways of seeing the world.
Angela knows they are in a low place when they have been working too much and start to feel flat and two-dimensional. When Angela starts to think they cannot possibly stop working as they will get behind, that is when they need to stop. Over the years, Angela has become aware that they often need to slow down to speed up. Angela must step out and immerse themselves in life to reenergize and refuel.
Valuing Teacher Voices in Educational Development
She reflects on the tension that can exist when considering innovation and imagination alongside practicality and transferability, particularly in education. It can undoubtedly be a critique of education academics that their ideas are entirely removed from the realities of a classroom.
Angela thinks it is essential to try and walk this fine line. If academics are not pushing and informing educational trends, who is? But in reimagining the boxes (rather than just thinking outside them), it is essential to consider applicability, function, and use, especially if the end users are to be teachers and school leaders. To come back to an earlier point, this is where collaboration is key. When teachers’ voices and ideas are valued alongside teacher educators, amazing things are possible and happen.
Trusting Yourself in Education and Research
Angela advises aspiring educators and researchers who aim to make a meaningful impact in their fields to “be yourself and believe in yourself.” Angela believes the most impactful events in her career did not feel like a big hustle or a slog because the work somehow meant something to her and her life experience.
It involved working from a place of vulnerability and connection to understand better or highlight something that might be problematic or challenging to bring about a different way of thinking and acting. A project is most compelling and convincing when it profoundly and truly means something to the individual. There is no need for a hard sell to bring others along; it just all makes sense.
Angela advises finding these nuggets of gold in one’s life—everyone has them—and being brave in seeking answers to make sense of this lived experience. These moments of truth-telling or uncovering do not feel like work and are incredibly important to the surface, as they will likely resonate with others. Angela encourages trusting one’s gut and going for it.
Finding Value in Authenticity and Change
She highlights that the next month is one of discomfort with the unknown and trusting (and deep down knowing) that it will lead to growth. After just six months in the current role, Angela decided to step down and move on, as the organizational fit was not right, along with increasing concerns about ongoing professional growth and development opportunities.
Stepping out of a job she loves with an incredible team (after having relocated halfway around the world!) into having no plan or opportunity on the table is scary but also freeing. As the dust settles on this departure, she is looking forward to thinking deeply about where she can be and be most valued for her authentic self so that she can make the most difference with the skills and time that she has.
Angela started out as a teacher over twenty years ago, so she feels like she is probably at the midpoint of her career. What will the next twenty years bring professionally? She is excited to do the hard thing, step back, and re-envision the next steps.
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