A Quick Summary

In this episode of "Where's Your Head At" podcast, Deidre Fischer, an experienced educational leader and consultant, shares her profound insights into international education. The conversation explores her remarkable career journey, from a typing teacher to an international school leader and executive coach, while discussing critical challenges and opportunities in modern education. Deidre emphasizes the importance of preparing students for life beyond school, focusing on holistic learning, skills development, and challenging traditional metrics of success. 

We hope you enjoy this episode of WYHA, voted the number 7 international education podcast according to Feedspot. https://podcast.feedspot.com/international_education_podcasts/

Key Highlights:

• International Education Journey: Deidre's career evolved from teaching typing in small Australian country schools to leading international schools in Mongolia, Philippines, and Bali
• Educational Philosophy: Strong belief in preparing students for life, not just university, by developing transferable skills and helping students discover their passions
• Community and Wellbeing: Highlighted the increased focus on holistic community wellness, especially post-COVID, involving students, staff, and parents
• Challenging Success Metrics: Critiqued the overemphasis on numerical scores and university entrance requirements as limited measures of student potential
• Leadership Advice: Encouraged young leaders to be proactive, volunteer, gain diverse experiences, and be open to new challenges
• Coaching Perspective: Advocated for executive coaching as a critical support mechanism for school leaders to unlock their potential
• Future Vision: Imagined schools as places where students genuinely enjoy learning and are equipped with skills to navigate an evolving world

 

Bio

Deidre Fischer is a seasoned educational leader and executive leadership coach with extensive experience in International Baccalaureate (IB) education. As a former Head of IB Schools, she is trained to facilitate the IB Leadership series of workshops, demonstrating her commitment to educational excellence.

In addition to her extensive head of school experience, she has set up her own education consulting company, works half-time for the Council of International Schools (www.cois.org) as a School Support and Evaluation Officer and volunteered time for the EARCOS Board of Trustees (www.earcos.org), Basketball South Australia Commission (www.basketballsa.com.au) and Rotary International.

Deidre’s consultancy business offers a range of services, including executive leadership coaching, leadership and management training workshops, and professional learning sessions, both face-to-face and online. In her practice, Deidre emphasizes the importance of modeling the attributes of the IB Learner Profile, striving to be principled, open-minded, and reflective in her approach.

Recognized as an exemplary transformational leader, Deidre is mission-driven and strategically focused on fostering innovative practices among school leaders.

Show notes created by https://podium.page