About Designerly Schools
Too many Australian students leave school without ever being taught to think and act like designers. And too many teachers have never been supported to deeply teach or even to develop those capabilities themselves. Not because design isn’t valued, but because it isn’t taken seriously.
Designerly Schools exists to change that.
We are a community of educators, researchers, and advocates committed to building design capabilities for teachers and students, across all learning areas, not just one subject. We believe that design belongs at the heart of education, and that schools can and should be places where it thrives.
Designerly Schools is a gathering point for everyone who believes design in education deserves better. We publish, provoke, and actively invite your contributions.
If you believe design belongs in education, and that it deserves to be taken seriously, you are in the right place.
We are working toward three things:
Recognising design as essential - ensuring design is recognised and understood as essential across the system.
Making design capabilities a national priority - in curriculum, policy, and professional learning.
Embedding design in Initial Teacher Education - so the next generation of teachers are supported to develop their own design capabilities.
The Co-founders
Dr Nick Kelly
Nick is Associate Professor of Design Science at QUT. An interdisciplinary scholar, his research sits at the intersection of design and education, spanning design cognition, design thinking, teacher education, and the design of learning networks. With over 100 scholarly publications across journals, books, and public work, Nick brings two decades of rigorous thinking about how designers think and what that means for schools. For Nick, Designerly Schools is where his research into design and education meets his deepest conviction: that the purpose of school is to create a generation of brilliant designers.
nickkellyresearch.com | nick.kelly@qut.edu.au
Leighann Ness Wilson
Leighann trained and worked as a professional designer before moving into education, first in schools, then in Initial Teacher Education specialising in Technologies Education. She is now completing a PhD focused on how Australian pre-service teachers value design, and develop confidence and disciplinary capabilities in Design and Technologies. For Leighann, Designerly Schools is where her genuine enthusiasm for education that is creative, empowering, and design-led finds its purpose.
