About The Academy
In a field that is constantly evolving and complex, the need for innovative and adaptable education systems has never been more critical. The Education Futures Academy initiative embraces this challenge head-on, offering a dynamic and inclusive community where the learning sciences flourish, boundaries are pushed, and new educational paradigms are born.
Our vision is to co-create the future of learning and develop sustainable pedagogies that work for your context. At the heart of our academy lies a foundational belief: Education is a collaborative journey, woven together by the collective efforts of educators and researchers.
As a community of educators and researchers working together to apply the learning sciences, we foster a culture of lifelong learning that is in accessible, engaging, and tailored to the needs of the 21st century.
Let’s grow together.
Comprised of teachers, school leaders, educators and researchers, our community shares scalable and sustainable pedagogies
Research Based Design
The Education Futures Academy is guided by four principles:
Futures-Oriented
We prioritise forward-thinking approaches that anticipate and shape education futures, so our students can thrive in the world of tomorrow.
Learning Sciences
Grounded in on-going research from the learning sciences, we are researchers, teachers and educational leaders working together to understand how to implement better learning in everyday learning environments.
Navigate Complexity
Students are evolving learners in evolving contexts, and we want to understand and navigate this system together.
Two-Way Process
We are all necessary for change. Practice informs research, and research translates to educational design.
Join the Community
The EFA is a relatively informal community held together by a common interest in the future of learning in complex, real world environments. The academy is not an incorporated body, and this website is maintained by staff at the University of South Australia (Adelaide University coming in 2026). ‘Membership’ of our community, therefore, is really just about participation. There are a number of ways to participate:
EFA Community
We invite everyone in the wider educational community to access the research-informed curriculum materials and teacher professional learning on this site. Some of these materials are free, some come with a small charge to support future work.
TFP Associates
Supported by the Australian Government, we provide an employment-based pathway to teaching. People who accept a place in this pathway work in one of our partner schools while they undertake their Initial Teacher Education Degree and complete their first year as a graduate teacher. Along the way, they deepen their knowledge of how learning works through participating the EFA’s Pragmatic Adaptive Tlabs. They also become Associates of the EFA.
Professional Fellows
Highly accomplished teachers who are looking to drive the future of learning are invited to join our community as Professional Fellows. They can do this either through participating in our Pragmatic Adaptive Leadership program, or by taking a supporting role within our Future Teachers Pathway. This involvement normally takes place in the context of a formal partnership between the University and the teacher’s school.
Researchers
As we’ve noted, the EFA is a relatively informal Community of Practice. The community is driven by the Learning Sciences team at the University of South Australia, but research membership is really just about participating in the collaborative projects undertaken under the EFA banner. Researchers will normally also maintain membership of a formal research centre within their university.
Senior Professional Fellows
Teachers who are released from face-to-face teaching to work on our projects are referred to as Senior Professional Fellows and are appointed as adjunct staff of the University.
Graduate Researchers
People undertaking a PhD or Masters by Research (PhM) are Graduate Researchers within our community.
Find Out What We Can Offer You
With a range of professional development opportunities, highly engaging incursions and excursions as well as research informed curriculum linked units, find out more