A man in a dark suit stands in front of a wall of international flags at an OECD event, holding a flag. The setting appears to be a formal conference or meeting space, with a sign reading 'OECD' and 'Better Policies for Better Lives'.

Connecting practice, research and policy.

Using the future to shape the present.

About

Dr Jason McGrath has recently returned back to Australia after working as a Policy Analyst with the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. Working at the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), he helped lead the design of an innovative methodology for education systems to co-construct preferred scenarios for the future of teaching as part of the OECD’s New Professionalism and the Future of Teaching project.

Jason has been a teacher for over thirty years, including principal of a large Kindergarten to Year 12 school in NSW. He has also worked in state and regional positions to support school and system development.

Jason completed his PhD on the topic of “What if compulsory schooling was a 21st century invention? A Counterfactual Study of Future Schooling” and a Masters of Education (Research) on the topic of “’Collaborative Teaching Partnerships’ – Team Teaching to Support New Teachers”.

My strengths connect practice, research and policy. I have expertise and experience working at the macro (international), meso (regional/ state) and micro (school) levels.

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Examples of keynote presentations and workshop titles

ConnectED, (2025, NSW Australia)

(Keynote 1) What if… we reframe thinking about the profession of teaching to create preferred futures?

(Interactive workshops) What if… we think about preferred futures to change the present?

(Keynote 2) What if... we create space to collectively think about the future and develop new ideas?

(Interactive workshop) What if… we take a Whole Teacher Approach to nurturing the future of teaching?

Leerpunt (2024, Ghent Belgium)

(Keynote) Constructing Scenarios for the Future of Teaching in Flanders

ResearchEd (2024, Rotterdam Netherlands)

(Interactive workshop) Co-constructing Preferred Scenarios for the Future of Teaching

V Jornadas de Internacionalización Feria Internacional de Educación (2024, Canary Islands, Spain)

(Keynote) They Joy of Teaching

Selected Publications

For all publications, see my Google Scholar profile.

Connect

Professional Learning (PL)

Working with leaders and teams. Meaningful, interactive PL linked to current needs. Connecting theory and practice.

Independent Researcher

Literature reviews, supporting action research, corporate research.

Evaluation and Strategic Planning

Future focused, participatory approaches that support positive and sustainable forward looking directions.

Keynote speaker and workshops

Have presented across multiple countries. Interactive workshops that encourages reframing thinking around topics.

Futures approaches

Applying strategic foresight in education. Using the future to shape the present.

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Contact

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