Spring Q 606

Ch. 4 - The Causes and Processes of Initiation
from Fullan, M. The New Meaning of Educational Change

Phases to the change process:

Initiation - process leading up to and including the decision
- decision can be by a single person or a group
- different sources, different reasons
- central components: staff, admin., curriculum, instruction, supplies, community support, monitoring, scheduling
- need an advocate -- most powerful is chief district administrator (superintendent?)
- principal is a critical source of initiation
- teacher advocacy
- community can support, oppose, apply pressure or be apathetic
-new policy and funds affect initiation

Ch. 5 - Causes/Processes of Implementation and Continuation

Implementation - putting ideas, programs, or structures into practice
- The more factors supporting implementation, the more change will be accomplished.
Key factors in Implementation:
- Characteristics: need, clarity, complexity, quality
- Local Characterisitics: school district, community, principal, teacher
- External Factors: government and other agencies
- The quality of working relationships among teachers is strongly related to implementation.

Continuation - continuing the ideas, programs, etc.
- lack of money, interest, support are reasons for noncontinuation
- principal is key, administators and teachers must be skilled and committed to change

Effective implementation depends on the combination of all the factors:
- makeup of the local district
- character of individual schools and teachers
- existence and form of external relationships.

To sustain programs successfully, you need:
- better implementation plans,
- to get better implementation plans,
- to know how to change planning and follow-through
- to know how to change planning process
- to know how to produce better planners and implementers

Educational change is the "science of muddling through" (Lindblom, 1959).