AN ETHNOGRAPHICSTUUYOF FACTOh S THATELEMENTAR YSCHOOL PRINCIPALS PERC EIVE CONTRIBUTE
TO INCREASED GRADESIXMEANCO ~,1POS ITESCORES ONTHE CANADIANTESTS OFBASIC SKilLS
OVER ASIXYEAR PERIOD
BY
@GERALDNEILJAMESMERCER, B.A.(Ed.)
Athesis submitted10 the Schoolof Grad uateStudies inpartialfulfilmentoftherequirements forthedegree of
Master ofEducation
Faculty of Education Memorial Universily 01New foundla nd
1993
SI.John's Newfoundl and
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ABSTRACT
The Govern ment01 NewloundlandDepartment01Educationhas administeredthe CaoadjaJTestsQIBasjcSkilh10 gradesixstudentsevery thre e yeerssince1976.Newloundla ndschoo lsIraditionallyscore below Canadian normson these tests andstriveto improve by implernenunq revised polici es,guid elines,andup-d atedcurricula publishedby theDepartm ent01 Education. Yet,only31schools inthe provin ce have succeededin registorino ameancomp osite score incre asebetween1985and1988andClgain between 1988and1991.Followingcase studymethodology reported byVin (19811)and Merriam(19 88),anexploratorystudywasunderlaken10iden hlycom mon teetersthatschool principalsperceivehave contributed 10the gradesix increasedmean compositescores.
DuringMay andJune1992,a surveywas distributedto31school principa ls.Seventy-lourperc ent of the surveyswere returned.Theanalysis01 the datarevealedlivedistinc tthemes:StudentAlIjl!!desInwardSchool;
Innov atjon and PlannedChange;Resource-basedLea rning as anInnovaljon; pub licperc ept iQosQISchoo! !jle;andpUbliCSyppor tQOd principal
~.These themeswereexplored lurtherinlourcas estudy Interviews.
A sample01lour surveyresponde ntswasid entified usinga purposive
iii samplingmethod(Merriam,1988).InFebruary and March1993,fourfocused ini...rviews (Yin,1984)were conducted andrevealedlive themes reflecting commonprincipalperceptionsand/orschool practices.The lourschools:
t. implementedinterventions with an aim to fosterpositivestudent annucestowardschool;
2. implementedinnovations thatrenect current educational thought andrespond toneedsidentified byteachers andadministrato rs working together;
3. have supportforscnocr-«..ida innovationsfromeducatorsand membersofthecommunity;
4. serveparents who support their children's educationalendeavou rs and a public that feetsschoolis beneficial for childr en;and 5. have a stallthat is committed to the educational welfareof
students and topersonalprofessionaldevelopment.
The researcher recommen dsthatfuture studies continu e toexplorethis phenomenon.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wouldliketoexpress my sincere aporecraucnfor the suppon.
understanding, andguidance givento me byprofessors,colleagues,and tmnily members.
To Dr.G.Koski,a respectedadvisor.I extend a hand 01epprectauon andthanks for his encouragement. patience, and guidance.
To theprincipals who gaveoftheir valuable timeto participateinthis study,rextenda sincere thanksandcongratulationsfortheir leadershipand visions that impactpositively on the students in theirschools.
To my colleagues employedby the ConceptionBay SouthImeqrateo School Board,Iextendmygratitudelorrecognizing the valueotthisresearch.
To mywife,Daphne whosepatience,understanding,commitment, encourageme ntand love supportedandsustainedmethroughoutmygraduate studies,Iextend a specialthanksand my love.
To my two wonderfulchildren,Rebecca and Andrew,born duringthe yea-s 01my graduatestudies,Ipromise not to go to worksomuch.
TABLEOF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. LIST OF TABLES r.HAPTER
1. NATUREOFTHE STUDY Introduction
Backgroundtothe Problem•.
Signilica nceof the Study. LimitationsottheStudy. Summary.
. .... ... ... ..ii
. ..viii
....1 .1 ... .1
. 6
.... 6 ....7 2. REVIEW OF RELATEDLITERATURE... . •. ....9
The CanadianTests ot Basi c Skills. ...9
AnHistorical Perspective ..• .... ... . . .... . . , •9 TheNewfoundla ndGradeSix Perspective ...11 HistoricalPerspecnveof Elfective SchoolsLiterature .. .15
Introduction , ,.... . . ...15
The Search tor Effective Schools 15
The SearchlorDetermin ants 01Effective Schoo ls ... ... .18
Effective vs.SuccessfulSchools .,.20
Effectivevs.EfficientSchools. . 20
Eltective SchoolAttributes. ... .... .. . ,.21 TheValueof theEffective Schools Move ment.. .... 25
SchoolImprovem ent
from Planned Change toEducational Reform
lnrroducttcn .•29
Innovation andPlannedChange ... .30
PlannedSocialand Education'l l Crange•... •.•. ••.. . . •. . • . .31
The Process 01PlannedEdUCdtionalChange 38
ThePlayersinthe Process andtheirRoles. . 44
ConvergingLiteratures 57
SchoolImprovement.. .•. .58
Betorm:A CalllorRestructuringthe Education System ...67
Summary. .. .. ..68
3. METHODOLOGy .
ResearchDesign. Research Phases The First Research Question TheSurvey•.
Developm ent 01 the Instrument Administration 01 the Survey Data AnalysisProcedures., The SecondResearchQuestion.. The Case Study...
CaseStudyProposilions..
Unit 01 Analysis .. .
The logiclinking theDatato the Propositions and Criteria lor InterpretingtheFindings
TheInte rviewStrategy.
SampleSelection .
Administration01 the CaseStudy.
.70 .70
·70 .70
·7\
..71 73 .74 ..74 ..75 . .•. •75 . ...76 ..76 ... .78 ..79
·8\
4, REPORT AND ANALYSIS OFRESULTS. Introducti on.
Organization of the Findings.
vii ....83 ....83 ... .83 PhaseOne:Survey Information . . . .. ... . . ... . . ... . 85
PartI:Community Change ". ...85
Part Ii:CurricularChanges ,.,86
PartIII:CommunityFactors ...87
PhaseTwo: Case Study. ...88
Th e Four Schools . .91
StudentAttitudes Toward School 94
InnovationandPlannedChange ....98
Resource-basedLearning as anlrmovanon .101
PublicPerceptions of School Ufe 105
PublicSupport andPrinci palAccessi bility 108 OtherFactors ... . .... ... .... ... ...112 5. C,DNCl USIONAND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary Conclusions.
Summary
...115 ... 115 ...116 119
Recommendations 120
BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX A APPENDIX8 APPENDIXC APPENDIXD
.... ....121 .. ..127 134 137 ... . .... ... . . .. . . . ... . ..•...139
viii LIST OFTABLES
Table1 PercentileRanks lor GradeSixStudents in Newfoundland1976·1991 .... Table 2Percentage 01Respondents Agreeing and
Disagreeingwith Statements Table 3Percentage ot RespondentsAgreeing and
Disagreeing withStatements Table4 PercentageofRespondents Agreeingand
DisagreeingwithStatements Table5 GradeVIMean CompositeScores onCTBS
and IncreaseOrganizedby School. Table6 StudentPopulations
..13
86
.APPENDIXB•134
APPEND IX C·137
89
" 90
Table7 Principals'Qualificationsand Employment Data.. . .. . . .. . •. . •.91
CHAPTER ONE Natureofthe Study
The purposeofthis studywas toexploretheperceptions 01elementary schoolprincipalsastheyrelate toteeters thatcontributedto anincreasein gradesixcoropoeuoscoresonlhe CanadianTests ofBasic $kjlls(hereafte r referredto as GTBS)over a six-year period.
Backgroyndto the Problem
In the Newfoundlandand labradorGovernment Departmentof Education publication ennued.The AjmsQfPyblic Edycatjon (1984), there existsa listot objectivesthattranslates abstract aimsof education lntoobjectives thatguide expected oraotlce.Objectivesix stales, "to ensurethat all pupils masterthe fundamental skillsof learningtotne limit01their abllltles"(p. 6). These tunoamentatskillsof learning can bereferredtoas 'taslc skills".Schoolsin Newfoundland strive 10 buildlearning environmentsthai are conducive 10 masteri ng these basicskills.
To achievetheseaims.theNewfoundland GovernmentDepartment of Educationprovid es supportandguidance for educators employedby school
otstrfcts . Curriculum and policyguides are written and distributed inanetten to improvethe meansbywhrctschoolprogramsaredelivered. These oocun-entsare based on currentresearch,Department01Educationpolicies , and educationalneeds in the province of Newloundla nd .
One such publicationentitled,LearningtoLearn,was authorizedby the Minister01Educationin1991.The document contains"policies and guidelines for theimplementationofresource-based learning in Newfoundlan dand LabradorSchools"(cover).The 1990 publicationentitled,.E.arJy~
program Guide isanother tbarreuectscurrent resear chand educati onalpolicy forctassrocn. practice in primaryschools. By pUblishingdocume ntssuch<IS these, the DepartmentofEducation attempts toprovideguidancelorthe instruction in theprovi nce's classrooms,supportitseducators,and ensuretbr u studentslearn the skills that enablethem to become independent, IiIBlong learners.
In an effort to assess one aspect of the euecuveness 01 provincial schools, theDepartment ofEducation administersthe eTaS to studentsin gradesfour,six,andeight· one gradelevel on a rotatingbasis,annually.In Octob er,each studentcomp letesthe age-appropriate battery oftests. Student response sheetsaresubmitted\0the Department01Ed ucationlorcompu ter andstatisticalanalysis.The resultingdata areanalyzedandreportedin two ways:
1.specrncstudent anddistrictdata are disseminated10respective school boards lor discussion;and
2.a govornmentdocument entitled,TestingSljln dilCds.is pubtlshedand dislribuled tothe public,the intent of which is10 present anddiscuss provincialresults.
The Governmentof Newfoundlandand labradorhas providedschoolsand school districts with directionforimprovedcurriculum delivery,up-datedornew policies.andregularreportsofbasicskill achievement.yetthebasic skills of Newfoundland students,as measured ontheeTaS remain unacceptable tothe DepartmentofEducation andto thepublic whose tax dollarssupport this system. Generally,recentcomposile scores on Ihe CTaShavebeenbelow Canadiannorms.
In the199 1 administrationoftheCanadianTests ofBasic Skills(e TaS), our Grade 6students placedat the 371h percentilein overall achieveme nt Thismeansthat the averageperformancewas better than 37% 01the stodents inthenorm group.(Government 01 Newfoundland.1991.p.l)
TheGovernment01Newfoundland andLabradorhasrecognizedtheneed to improve theeffectivenessofschoolsin the province.InJanuary1990.it publishe d the repon 01 theSchoollmprovemenVEllectivenessCommittee entitled. ChallengelorExcellence. Thisreport~;; kn owledgesthe challenge of elfe clingimprovementinour province'sschools:
In Newfoundlandand labrador,aselsewhere,schools diller in the
degreetowhichtheymeet therealneed s ofstude nts.Some wouldsay thatourscnoorsvaryin theirlevel01excellen ce.whilecttrer more critical observersquestiontheirbasicertecnvenes s.Perhapsthe mostrele va nt observation Is that our schools vary sign ificantlyin theircommitmen tto narro wingthe gap between whatthey shouid00 and what theyare.In eftect.our schoo lsvaryintheir commitmen ttoimprovementinitiatives whicharedesignedto enhance their overall ettecnveness in educat ing ouryouth. (pp. 1-2)
Thisdocum e ntattem pts10provid eappropr iateration ale anda planofactionto impro v e
me
elfec tivenessat schools inNew foun dland.Theprcouct01 millions01tax-payer dollars isdis enchanting . Th e Depar tment01Educa tion has atte mpted toprovidequldance'orimprove d curricul um delivery and a means lor tra cking student basic skillachievemen t, yetmost schools in ourpro vince have failedtoprovid e programsand jnstrucnonthat teeter impro ved basicskillperformanc e.
Thereexistsapositive corollarytothis dism alsituation.Inthis province,a relativelysmallnumber01schoolshav e ellected a positivechangeinthemean compositescores onthe gra desixCT BSovera sixyearperiod.Th is pheno menontorms the basisof thisstudy.Itwoufdbebeneucattcexplore the tactor s that have contributed10thepo sitive basic skillincrea ses asme asur ed byCT8S
Newfoundl and studentsin grade sixwrotethe
eras
in 1985,1988,and 1991. To ide ntifythegroupthat hasdemonstr atedmean com posit escore im prove m e nt over thesixyears 01testing,the auihc r request edandreceivedfromthe Government of NewfoundlandDEpartment of Educationappropriate datasorted by school,year 01testing,andnumberof studentsparticipatingin thethirdyear,1991.These data wereanalyzedto identifyschoolsthat reuected the fOllowing twocriteria:
1. the 1991grade six population was greaterthan five students;and 2.the mean composite scoresbetween 1965 and 1966 and again
between1988 and 1991Increased.
01the originaldata, thenumber at schoolsreportinglive or more students writingthe CTBS was 288. Otthese schools ,31schools met thepopulation andimprovementcriteria delineatedforthe study. Analysis 01the circumstancesand/orlactorsthat lead to school improvementmayreveal informationthat could enhanceschool performance.
Theschoo l principalisthe personwhotheoretically isresponsib le for planning, leading,organizing and controlling school lite(Sergiovanni,1991,pp.
17-21).The principalguides and balancesresponse to changing curriculum, use at funds,teacher deployment,communityliaison,and otherpertinent aspects01administeringthe schoolenvironment.Thisperson Isthe one who is in controlof andisintune withthefactors thatanect thedallyperformance of students.
Anincreaseinthemeancompositescores overtimesuggeststhat some tactors orinterventions,whetherpassiveor active,havecontributedtobringing
aboutthe increase.The tceonucancnct tactorscommonto otverse school environmen tscouldbe beneficialto othervision aryeducatorswho wouldlikean insight intoother schoolsthathavesuccessfullyfostered an increaseinstudent basic skillcompete ncies.
Sign jlicancBof theSl1Jdy
Hakim(1987)sta tes,"Qualitative researchmaybe usedfor preliminary exploratory workbefore mountingalo;-!:i':: ~scaleor more complex stu dy'(p.28).
TheIntent 01 thisstudy was tousequalitativeresearchmethod ologyto exptcre principals' perceptio ns01teetersthathave con tributed10increasesinIho qrnd e sixmean composite scores on theGTBS overa six-year period.No sludywas foun dthat ha s explored thisphenomenon.Thesefinding s couldform aba sis lorinitiatingalarger,more comprehensive Sludy.
Iim itationsQI!he Study
The following lim it ations wererecognized intheplann ing ot
uus
study:1.The data collectedthrough the admin istrationof the GTBSislimited to thebasicskillstestedbythestandard ized test.
2. Thisstudy expl oresthe perceptions ofthe schoo lprinc ipaland
thereforethe findingsare limitedto thatgroup of educato rs.
3.The numberofprincipa lsinvolved in thesecase studieswas four and conclusions can be madeinrelation onlytothose wnoparticipated.
4.The survey instrument,usuallya quantitativeresearch tool,servedas a focus for the designof thecase studyinterviews. Given thesmall number of schoolsthat displayed a grade sixmeancomposite score increase over a six- yearperiod,lhevalue 01designing aquantitative studywas questionable.
Therefore,giventhat a controlgroupwas not identilied,quantitative statistical analysis could not be appliedtothedatacollectedIrom the surveyinstrument.
Thfsthesis reportsthe Iindings of a qualitativeresearchstudyconductedin the spring01 1992 and the winter 011993.It identilledschoolprincipals' common perceptionsoffacto rs that contributedto gradesixmean composite score increase son the CTBS between1985 and1991inthe provinceof Newfoundland.
ChapterTwo of this thesispresents an overviewalthahistoryand developmentof theCTBS, effective schools literature,and plannededucational changeliterature.
ChapterThreereports themethodology and the procedures followed to
ccn.p.etethe case studies 01four elementaryschoolprfncipats.
Chapter Four presen ts,in summary form,the data conecieo in each phase of the research andan analysis of that data.
Chapter Five reports the findingsof the study,and alist 01 recommendations lor furtherresearch projects.
CHAPTER TWO Review of RelatedLiterature The CanadianTflsts 01Basic Skjlls
An HistoricalPerspective
The Canadian Tests of Basic Skjlls (hereafterreferredto as
eras)
is a battery 01teststhai measures educational growthanddevelopm ent in the areas 01 vocabulary,reading, language arts,work-study skills,and mathematics.Based on theIowa Tesls of Basic Skjlls and firstpublishedin1955 bythe Nelson Publishing Company,the tests are intendedto assessth e generalized educational achievement01Canadian schoolchildren (Gallivan,19S6). Scores are interpreted using norms establishedusing a standardization sample representing over100 schools from everyCanadian province and territory.
The CTaS has a historyof contentand standardiza tionchanges.The originalversion, publishedin1955, included primaryandelementarysections.
An elementary battery was publishedin1966.Content and standar dization changes occurred in 1974 and1982. A primaryballery was addedin 1972.
Metricversionsbecame availablein1976 and a high schoolversionwas added in198 1 (GaJlivan,1986).
The elementaryversion ofthe eTBS can be administered by classroom teachers. It takes live hoursto completethe test in the classroomsetting.11 is
10 recomm ended thal lhetimed individualtestsbe schedu ledin four\0eight sessio ns overetleast alour day period.
The test is divided into variouslevels.Theselevels allow students\0 begin readinget anappropriate point ollhetest determined byschoolcrad e.Sraoe sixstudents begin atlevel 12. Alllestitems arepresentedin multiple choice format. Students arein structedto readeach test itemandrepo rtresponses by fillingina bubbleon theanswe r sheet. The elementarybattery attheCTBSis comprise dofelevensublesls:onevoc abulary subtest thatme a sures isolated and contextualwordcomprehension;onereading comprehens ionsubtestlnat measurespicture,sentence,an dstorycomprehensionskills; lo ur lang uage skillssubteststhatmeasuresp elling,capitalization,punctuatio n ,andusage ability;two work studyskillsau btests referredto asW-1 thatmeasure s map, graph,and table interpretationskills,and W-2 thatmeasuresreferenc e material s utilizationskills;and threemathematics subtestsreterredto asM-I thatmeasures the know ledge 01 thenumbersystemand basicarithme tical terms andoperations,M·2 thatmeasuresthe abilityto solvaproblem s present ed in verbalterm . and M-3thatmeasures the ability10 solveproblem s presented outof context.
Thetests arescoredforeach studenteithermechanicallyor byhand.
Normsbasedon a nationalstandardizationsampleselectedfromover100 schoolsineveryCanadianprovinceandterritory areincludedwiththetestin g
11 packag e .Individual student scorescan bereported eubtest-by-eubtestin the formofa raw score,a gradeleve l equivalency,anda nationalpercentile . Compositescores derived Iromthe elevensubtestscanbe calcu latedtor each student.
The New foq nd landGradeSix Per spe cti v e
Th e GovernmentofNewfound land Departm ent of Educatio npublish es a summa ry 01findings entitled,Test ing Standa rdsin eachyear that the CT BSare administered.Thefollowingdiscu ssionis based ontheDepartme nt of Education's perspective asreported by th e1988and1991editio ns.
Gradesjxlesl ingye ar s.
Newfoundlandgradesix stu dentsweretestedusingthe CTSSin1976, 1979,1982, 19 85,1 9 88,and 19 91.
Reportingco mp os ile scores,
Th e mean composite scorelor gradesix students in Newfou ndland schoolsis repo rtedin two distinct forms: a gradeequiv alentanda nati ona l percentil e rank.
'wnen
thetest s were normedinOcto ber,1980,the scoreat the 50thpercentile(themedian score) inGrade 5was assignedthe gra de- equivalentscore0152.0,themedia n score in thegrade6groupwas assigne d12 the valueof 62.0"(GovernmentofNewf oundland TestingStanda rds.1986, p.
3). Gradeequivalentis reportedsomewhatdilferentlyin the 1991 document.
"Gra deequ ivalentscoresindicate the grade levelat which thetypic a lstud ents makethe raw score.For example,it a stude ntis assigned a grade equivalent of6.2,itmeansthatthe numberofitems (s)hehas correctis equal 10that whichan averagesnroentinIhe secondmonth (October)of Grade 6 would havecorrect" (p.3).
The198 8 data.
Tha actualscoresreported in thedocument lorNewfoundland studen tsare 60.0(Grad e Equiv alent )and 45(National PercentileRank).Thesescores translateinto a sliqhtlybelowaverageperfo rmance ,The documentexplains theimplicationsofthisanalysis:"II eachstudentin Newfoundlandhad had one more item correcton eachsubtest,the provincia!meancomposite scorewould have been at the national norm"(p.5).
The19 9'data.
The actual scoresrep ortedin the document forNewfoundlan d studentsare 5.8 (GradeEqUivalent) and37 (NationalPercentileRank). The document suggeststhat thesesc ores translateintoa belowaveragerange whenaverage is definedas 40th 10 60thpercentile .Thedocum entexplains,"Onthe
13 com plete battery ct rest
Ls.ic.J,
however, the average performanceof Newloundlandstudentswould hav ehadtoincreaseby20itemsforour perf orman ce\0approximate thenationalnorm"(p.5).Gene r a/trendsincoror o sUescoresfro m1976.199 1.
Table1presentsthe compositescore s,reported as percentileranks,from eachofthe gradesixtesting)ears.
Ta ble 1
per ceo ljle Ranks1m GradeSixStll dents inNewfO!!O dla n d1976·1991
Comp osit e Scores 36 45 41 46 45 37
.lic..tf:.. The se scoresaretaken 'rom the 1991 and19B8 ecncnsof the Governmentof NewrcundlandDepartment01Educationpub~calioilsenuueo.TestingStandard s.
A distrncttrend canbe seen. Towardthelate 19705,therewasageneral im provement inthe meancompositescores derived from the datacollected tro mgradesixstudents. This tren dlevelle don in the1980s.In199 1,the me an com positescore declinedsignificant ly.Inthe1980sNewfoundland s~'..centshadnotimprovedintheirgeneralbasic skillscompetenci esastested byCT8~- In tact.students wr;UngtheCTBSin 1991wereregisterin gbelow av e rage mean compositescores whencomparedtonational norms.
14
Inthe summary01the 1991 documententitled.IilSljogStandards,there existstatementswhich reportth e Government 01 Newfoundland 'sperspec nve on the phen omenon.Firsl, there are criticismsaltha
eras
·CanadianTelli s 01Basic Skillsare frequently criticized becausethey do net takeinto accountthe process e s thatstudentsgo thro:Jghas they learn" (p.45)."Thelan guage subt ests arecriticizedbecausetheydo notme asure how wellstudentscan write-(p.45)."Fromamathematicsperspective, the criticism locuseson the incl usionofoperation swithfraction
ls.i..c.l
whichreceiveno emphasis in our primar yand element aryproqrams"(p. 45).Theauthor01 the docume n t counters each altha criticismsbut the last. It is acknowledged thai the difficu lties identifiedin themathema tics portion01the CTBS mu st be addressed if im p rovementsaretobe seen.The finalparagraph01 the summaryrenectstheqeneratview 01theuseof CTB Sin the provinceofNewfoundla n dandlabrador:
Althoughthe acquisitionof basic skills in~an importa ntobjective 01 thesch ool progr am, there areman y otherimportantobjectives ,suc has moraland spiritualdevelopm en t that areneteasilymeasured. No attemp t is madeto measure prog re ss towardtheachievem entofthese objectives.Consequently,the Canadia n Tests 01 Basic Skillsca nbe regardedas animportant but nota comple temeasure ol the producti vity 01theNewfound land schoolsy stem .(pp.45-46)
15
~$Qecl iveofEffecli y e Schools litera ture
RonaldEdmonds (1982)wrote, "E ducatorshave become increasingly convincedthat thech aracteristics of schoolsareimportan tde terminant s 01 academicachievement"(p.4). Thisis an opposingview 10 thoseheldinIhe 19605 andearly1970 5when theColemanReport (19 66) sentshock waves Ihroughlhe educationa l com mu nities of theUnitedStales.
IbnSearchtorEffectiveSchOQls
Th e searchforways10build effective sc h oolsisdecadesoldandhas takenplacenotonly in NorthAmerica.butinEurope and Australia.Holmes (1989 ) identifiedsources of euectlve sc hoolre search thatdate backto the 1930sand1940swhenspecif icprojectssug gested practice s that could leadto schooleffectiveness. ThelaunchofSputnikin1957 lncceda plethora01 criticis m 01 the education alsystemin the Un it e d Stateslorit was generally believedthat the U.S.S.A.was quickly becomi ng techn olog;c allysuperior (Nicholls,19 83,p.10).The publicfelt that the educationalsystemwas to blame;Itwa s notas effectiveasitsh o uld have been.
Educationalresearchersbegan to pursuea magicalre ci pe thatwould makeevery school in NorthAmericaeffective. Purkeyand Smith(1983)
16 cauftcnec agains tthis. They recognizedthatthere was no simple recipe or an easy-to-assemb lemodelthat would produc e an effectiveschool. Descriptive lists of cha racterist icsof eflecliveschools continue dto emerge. Sergiovann i (1991)commentsan theproper use 0' this literatu re:
indiscrimina t e application01school-effectivenessresearchfindingsand, in particula r , the developmentof gener iclists 01correlatesorindicators ttat are subsequentlyapplieduniformly to schools pose serious questio ns abouttheproper use ofresearch andcanresult in nepaftve . unan t icipatedconsequencesforleach ingan dlearning.(p.91) The direction that the literaturetookwasdescript ive, yellhere remained an underlyingdesiretocreatemore effective schools .The reasonslor this canbe traced back tothe mid 1960s.
The catalyst foravast amountof themost recenteffectiveschools research was the 1966J.S. Coleman,E.Campbell,C.Hobson ,J.
McPartlan d,A.Mood,F. Weinfield,andR.Yorkreport01a surveyof educationalopp o rtunityin the UnitedStatesof Americaentitled.~ Educationa! Opport unity(forexamplesee Block.1983,p.15;Robinson,1985, pp. 1-3). Thisre port, referredto inthe lite ratureas"The Coleman Repor t"alter its primaryauthor James S.Coleman,was written inresponse to section40201 the Unite dStatesof AmericaCivilRightsActof1964.The actspecifically calledfor a survey"concerning thelackofavailability01equaleducational opportunitiesforallindividualsby reasonofrace, color,religion. or national origin in public educational instit utions". A conclusioncitedinthe Coleman
17 repor t slatesthat:
schoolsbringlittleinfluen ceto bearona child 's achievement that is independent of his backgroundand generalsocia lcontext;andth at this verylack of an independenteffectmeansthattheinequalities imposed onchildrenbytheirhome, neighborhood,and peer environmentare carriedalong tobecome Ihe inequalitieswithwhichtheyconfront adult life et Iheend ofschool.(p.325)
This conclusion dealt a severeblowto theeducationalestablishment forit suggestedthai scho ols, tea chers,and Iheamountofmoneyspenton education hadliltleim pact on theacademic achievem ent ofits students.Instead, socioe conomi cback grounds , location ofschool facili ti es, peer influence,and racia lelhnidly . allteetersth"lcouldnot be controlledwithinthe educational hierar chy-determinedthestudent'srate of success(Davis&Thomas, 19a9;
Robinson,1965; Block.1983).
TheColeman Reporthad devaslatingeffectsonthe educational community. Sinceit found that the schoolhad littleimpactonstudentsuccess.
thenacademicexcellence had tobe determ inedby factorsthatcould notbe manipulatedby educators. This led tolowered expectationsfor students, despondency,and decreased confidencein the importanceof publiceducatio n (Robinson,1965).
Duringthe yearsthat followed therelease of the Colemanreport,critics 01 Coleman'smethodologyemerged.Block's 1983 summary of effective schools research reporteda synthesis ofthese critiquescitingshortccmhosinthe areas
ie
01survey responserate, validityof measures ,the cross-sectionalnatureofthe survey,use of schoolanddistrictaverages,and statisticalprocedures.
StiU, therewere schoolswhoselower socioeconomicpopu l;lIions were perfor ming at higheracademic levels(Sizer,1985).Thequestionlollo wed,
"Werethese schoo lsaberrationsor werethere other teeters thai helped determineacademicexcellen ceandultimatel y success fulschools?"
TheSearch forDete rminants01Elf ectj veSchools
Researchers who investigatedcharacteristics01 euecuveschools traditi onallystudied schools whose student pop ulation s performedsignificantly high erthanthe statist icalaverage in academicendeavou rsandon basic skil!
standar dized tests. Sergiovanni(199 1) suggested that onereasonfor the pop ularity of usingstudentoutcomes onstanda rdizedtestswasthe ease 01 obtai ni ng thedata.Researcher s obtained this data andcomparedounrere. thoseschools whosestudentpopulationsscoredconsiste ntlylower tha nthe statisticalmean withthosewhose populations scoredsignificantl yhigher than the statisticalmean (Purkey & Smith, 1983).Other re searchersused case studymetho d ology to explore the characteristics01 theseoutlierschools (Beare,Caldwell,&Millikan,1989).Many studiescomparedhighlyeffective and highlyineffective schoolsmatchedon socioecon omiccriteria(Davis&
Thomas, 1989 ). In anycase,thedeterminantof aneffective school was
19 unidim en sional-academic ach ieveme nt.
Pur keyand Smith(1963)suggeste dthatco mpari ngeffectiveand ineffec tiveschoolswithaverage schoo lswas morevaluabl ethancomparing culliers.Ineffe cti ve schoolsbestben efitfromknowing whytheyhave been deemedlnettecnve andnet average.By comparingoutlierineffective schools 10outlier ettectlve schoo ls difl er ences are highlig hted.These differences,while heral ding the effec tiveschool,may beunattaina blefor the ineffectiveschool.
Purkey andSmithsuggested tnatit would bemor ebenefi cialforeducatorsto identityfactors thaI make ineffectiveandellective schoolsoutliers.
The literaturecitesmanycritics of therese archwho define effective ness by theunidim en sional criterion 01highacademicachievement(see Sergiovanni, 199 1;BeareataI., 1989). Ed uc ationa l philoso ph ers warned01the retu rn to an early19 00s styledcurric ulum where effectiveschoo ls wouldprovide inst ruction in are as deemedappropriateto effect iveschools; of universitybase d programs that wouldlocus on basic skillsin readi ng,math ematics,and science wh ile neglectingthe arts ;of fixedpro motio n po licies;andofafocus onmere ly the academic(Bea re at aI., 1989). While there rem a ined a conse nsu sam o ng membe rs01the public that academicach ievem entwas importa nt, therewere othertactorsthat had to be conside red when affix ing to anysc h oolthe effective schoolseal 01approval.
20 Effective ys Successful Scbopls
More recent authors have found il necessary to separateIhe nolion of an effective schoollromthat of a successful school. Sergiovanni(1991) states that the termsettectlve and successful"are often used interchangeably to describe thesame school or 10 communicate the samelevelof accomplishment"(p.76). The two, he suggests, are distinctly dluerent.
Sergiovannidescribesthe accepted notion of an ellective school: "An ettecttve school is understood10 be a schoolwhose students achieve well in basic skills as measuredbyachievement tests."(p.76). The term successful schools communicatesa broader,more comprehensiveview of effectiveness.It includes a multi-dimensional approach to describing high quality schooling.
Effectiyeys Efficient Schools
Before one can considerthe features 01 an effective school,one must be cognizantof the school environment and its resources. Itcould be hypothesized that the idealschool-one with unlimited resources,highly trained teachers,low student/teacher ratios, state-of-the-artequipmentand facilities.
and a supportivecommunity- could graduate studentsready to tackleany challenges thatface them. In the realworld few,ifany, ideal schools exist.
Instead,administrators struggleto otter effectiveprograms. They balance finite numbers of resources,teachers with variedexperience and training, varied
21
stuo ent/teacber ratios ,questionableequipmentand facilities,and com munity representativeswho challenge educationaldecisions.
Itistruethen,thatthere must be a distinctionmadebetween effectiveand efflclentschools. Though both words arederived from the sameLatinroot, theyrepresentdille rfngcircumstances. The word"effective"suggests thai goals are accomplished.Be are at at.(1989) report,"the word .'efficient',implies productivity ,accomplishingan end without waste 01 effort or resources;it impliesgettingvalue for money'(p.11).
Schoolscanbe effective,butnot efficient. Perhapstoo much money is spentto gain100littleproduct.Schools canbe efficient, yetnot effective.The school wastes tittle,yetthe productorthe school'sendeavoursIsnot ableto meet the challenges01 society.Anappropriatebalance mustbe obtainedth at maximizeseffective nesswhileensuringetliciency.Thisbalan cemust be recognizedwhen searchinglor the attributes01aneffective school.
EffectjveSchool AIlrjbutes
Therrnnn-dim.mslcnatviewofeuectlveschoolsbegan to develop inthe 1970s.Researchersinthe1980s synthesized researc h proje ctstoide ntify scecmc attributesthat typifiedeffectiveschools.Listsbegan toemer ge.For thepurposes
0'
thisdiscussion, three01thes e listswillbereported.RonaldEdmonds embarkedon a group
0'
studies inthe middleto tate22 19705 that led to theidentificati onof five otsr'nctfeaturesofettectiveschools.
These featuresaretangible and indispensable.Edmond s (1984) describedthe features asfollows:
a) Effective schools have stronqa omlntstranveleade rshi pandhave aprincipalwho pays particu larattention 10instruction al quality.
b) Ell ecliveschools have aclear setofachievementexp eclations belowwhichnostude ntispermitted 10tall.
c) Effective schoolspossess an "orderly,safeclimate"whichis conducive10 learn ing.
d) Effective schools have awelldefined inslructionallocus.Schoo l resourcesand energ iesare divertedto supp ort thattccus.
e) Effectiveschools have establis hedstudentmonitori ng systems which ensurethat instructional goals areachieved by its students.
Purkey and Smith(1983) reportedthatthe compone ntsof etfectrve schoolsarefoundintwonested layersestablished within the structureofa school. Layertwo relies uponthe strength and the commitmen t01Ihose resp onsible lorthe com pone nts inlayer oneto accomplishim provementgoals.
The componentsof thefirst layer are loundin the orga nizationandstructureof a school.They canbemanipulatedreadily by administ rativeandbureaucratic interventions. Theseinclude the followingcomponents'
1. The adm inistratio nand standeterminethemeansbywhich nee dsareaddressed.
2. Instructional leade rsworkto maintainimprovemen tinthe
23 instructional process.
3. Staffskeeptogether andremain stable.
4. Especially inthe secondary school, curriculumis articulatedand organized.
5. Schoolwideataft development altersteacher attitu desand behaviours while providingne w skills andtechniques.
6. Parents are involvedin and eresupportiveofthe schoo l'swork.
7. There is schcclwderecognition of academic success.
8. Learning time is maximized.
9. The schooldistrictsupportsthe school.
The second layer 01effective schools componentsincludes'process variables"and helpstodetermin e school climateandculture.Thecom ponents eraconceived bythose workingin the schoolandarenour ishedby inte rnal accomplishmentand notby bureauc raticmanipulation.These second layer components,identified byPurkey andSmith(1983). are :
1. The staff engages in collaborativeplanning andsharescollegial relationships.
2. There existsa senseof community.
3. Commonlysharedgoals andexpectations are clearly statedand guide the decision makingpr.ocesses within the schoolstructure.
4. Orderand disciplineare expected.
Reid, Hopkins.andHolly (1987) compiled an extensivelist of stud y
24 findings whichserved as information for educators.The Jistwas organizedinlo 11 specific categor iesoffindingswhichincluded:schoolleadersh ip. school manag em ent,school ethos,discipline,teachers andleaching,thecurriculum.
student learning,reading , pupilcare, school buildings,and schoolsize(p p.24·
29).Fromthatltst,Reid ata1.compileda 14point summaryofeffectiveschool findings :
1. The leadership roleof the principalandseniormanfl']ement team is critic al.
2, Schoolsmustbe well-managed .A content ,well-managed,Dod unitedstaffis crucial.
3. Theschool is characterizedby afavourableschoolethosor positiveclimate.
4. The school,bo-hinside and outside classrooms, is oroerfvat all tim es.
5. Themostim portantfa ctor of successfulschools isthe quality01 theteaching stall.
6. The school'senergy mustbe onteachingwhilepromoling empathetic pupilcare andlearning-centred approaches.
7. The curriculumis as importantlor low aswellashighachievin g students.
8. Studentsne ed regularfeedback on performance.
9. Academic demands mustbelinked 10 traditionalacademicand behaviouralvalues.
10.Teachers must renecthigh professional standardsatalltimes.
11.Allclassroomteachingtimemustbe used properly.
25 12. Schoolsmust emphasize "traditional" subjects,the basic skills
01reading, writing,and mathema tics.
13.Studentsshouldparticipateinrunning andorgani zing their school.
14.Schoolstructureshould nol makestuden tsfeel out-o f-placeor lost. Studentsleel morecomfortableinbuildings whichare cleanandwellcaredfor.
The listspre sentedintheliterature identitied and describe dtra itsof ettecnve schools.Themes emerged that emphasizedthe com ponentsat the curric ulumandteaching;the impac t 01an energatic.effectiv eprincipalwhose leadershiplocuseson classro om instruction;andthededication ofa highly trainedstaff that assumes responsibilitylorthesuccesses and failur es 01 studen tlearning.In light01these descriptivelist s, critics ofthe effective schoolsmo vemen t emerged.
Th e Val u eQI th eEffgctiveScho ols MQy em e nt
Siro tnik(1985)wrotea scathingreviewoftheschooleftect'v ene ss movement in whichhe questio nnedtheenergythat hadbeen expan ded 10 iden tifycommontraits of effective schoolswhen educators alreadyknew what worked.Thetitle01his article,School Elfecl jyeness'ABand wagonjnSearch l2l...a....IIJ..adequatelysumm arizedaconcernthatwasgainin g mome ntum .In the same year,Sizer(1985) labelledthe'indingsofeffecti veschoo lresearcher s
26 as commonsense.He summarized his views bystating, "A goodschooldoes not emergelikea prepackage d frozendinnerstucktor15 seconds in aradar range;itdevelopsnomthe slowsimmering 01carefully blendedingredients."(p.
22).Theprofesso rsof the ettectlve schools movement were,themselves, relatingcautionarymessages. PurkeyandSmith(1985)slated, "educators shouldapproacheffectivenessprescriptions cautiously"(p.355).
Thisemerging caution signalled a change anccdifferingview at Ihe effectiveschoo lliteratu re.Instead ofmerely acceptlngdesc,;:,!live listsofIhe conditi ons that existedinhighly effective schools.educa torsapplied these lists to theirown situationsin an attempttoeffect improvem ent. Critics suggested caution whentheselists were usedas prescri ptionsfor righting the wrongsof the educatio nalcommunity.
Holmes(1989) states:
The followingfactors seem toberelated to schoolettecnvenesswith respect to academic achievement:academicclimate of high expectati on onthepart ofteachers and students; universalistic discipline;an orderlyatmosphere;freque nt and immed iatereward s lorgoodperformance;regular monitoringof achievement; stro ng communitysupport;strongleadership. Allsuccessfulschoolsdonol of coursepossess allthosecharacteristics.(p. 9)
Holmesconti nuesto expresstheprobtemofschooleltecuveoessstudies: Itisonethingtodiscove rrelationshipsbetwee n certain schoo l variablesand certainoutputvariables inexistingenvironments. Itis another thingentiretytoreprod uce suchcharacteristics in other schools,let alone changes inoutputs,inveryouterentsituations.(p.
101
27 It bec ame clearthaischoolsneededa "quickfix'fortheirunique circumstanc es and werewilling toprescrib e effectiveschools research findings,eventhough there were no guarantees thaieffective schoolscould be clone d.
Thereexist manycitatio nsin the literaturetha t encourag ed schoo l impro vemen teffortsand acknowledgedthe value of providinga modelfor effectiveschooling.Davis andThom as (198 9), when discussingtheeuectlva school movement,state:
Thereisuntedoubtthai aknowledgeof researchon effective schoolsand effectiv eteachers can raise aware ness01someof what schoolsand teachers are doing rightand whattheyaredoingwrong.
Those who areorwillbe teacherscan be guidedbythis knowl edge 10improve their ownteaching and classroommanagemen t habits.
(p.13)
Suppor tingthe value and usefulnessof effectiv esch oolsattributelists while ackno wledgingthe lim itations01an achievementapproac h to theres earch, Sergiova nni(1991) concludes,
Lists of effectiveness characteristicsasproposedbyknowledgeable researchersremainuseruti!viewedas genera lindicators. They are not somuchtnnheto beapplieduniformly, butunderstandi ngs that can helpprincipals and others make more informedde cisio nsabout what todo and howinimprovingschools. (p.91)
Rese arch on effectiveschool ing withitsoveremph asisonachi eve ment has carveditsnicheintheeducationalliterature.Davisand Th oma s (1989) write."While someconsiderthe ertective -schc clmov ementtobe apassing fad.
mostareconvinced that theprinciplesare 100 sound 10beignored - (p.1S).
2.
29
SchoolImpr OVement FromPla nned Ch a ngetoEd!lc a lio na ! Reform
-
Clark,lotto,and Astuto (1984)suggest that school improvement literaturecan be traced back tothe19305.Nicholl s (1983) sugges tsthatth e catalyst lormuchctthe educational changeliterature can be attributedto the 1957laun chingof the So vietsatellite, Sputnik,whenthewesternworld perceive d thattheU.S.S.R.possessedbetter meanstoeducateendsuperior levelsof technology.No mailerwhat thesource.the publichas tor decade s scrutinized systems-of educationtor effectiveness andefficiency.Readi on tothese callshas taken an evolutionary path.Researchers examinedtheph enomenon 01 socialchang ewitha vision 01identifyi ngteeters whichuNimatelyled to a positiverealignme ntof the statusquo.InIhe realm of education,researchersembarkedon the examinationofthe educati onal change process.This.linked with the lindingsreported in th e ettectlveschools lite rature,led tothe deliberate attempt toimprove schccls.hence the existen ce 01a distinctschoolimprovementliterature.Themostrecent callintheUnited States has been towardeducation alreformor restructurtnq-a call that some believeis anechothatseems toreverberatein wavesthroughout the eduoauonatcomm unityovertime.
30 Beforeembarking on a discussionof recentschoolunorovcment literature andthemora recentissue of educationalrefo rm,itisbeneficial to revisitearlierdescriptionsof innovation and planned change .This discussion willserveas a source foressentialdefinitionsand basicassumptionsthaiwill enable thereader to understandrecent trends
InnovationandPlann ed Change
Innovation and change literatureis decades old.II could beargued IhM theterm.change,isnow outmodedandreflects a practice inthe educational system that was doomed to failureevenoercreitbegan.However,research examiningthesefailures established a lirm looting lor present school improvementand educational reform literature.
Jean Ruddick,a professor01educationinthe UnitedKingdom,has endured educationalchange effortssincethe 1950s. In a retrospective view, she states:
In oureffortsat changeIthink we havegenerallyunderestimatedthe power of the existingcultureof theschool andclassroom to accommodate,absorborexpelinnovationsthat are at oddswiththe dominantstructuresandvalues thatholdhabit in place.(Ruddick, 1990,pp.27-28)
Rellectingon the failed elfortsof planned educational change, Ruddickccmtnu es:
We shouldbe comfortedbythethoughtthat schoolsare not easily throwninlo disarray by crvrtcularladsandfancies,whimsical noveltiesand light persuas.cns. Theproblem is matthey seem
31 equallyimpervious10whatwe Il1ink01asourreason ed,relevantand legitimateproposers forcurriculumchange.(RuddiCk,1990, p.28) In light01 these statements,itIs beneucrartcbrtenylookback at the literature of plannedchan g e.
PlannedSocia!andEdlllali~ns!Change The soCial system.
Accordingto Rogers (1962),the socialsy stem Is definedas a
"poputarton of individualswho arefunctionally differentiate dand engaged in collectiveproblem-solvingbehaviour"(p. 14).Rogers explainsthat the word, in dividual,can represent asingle person,informa lgroups, industrial firms ,or schools thai arelinl.ed bya common problem for which theyseek a solution.
Rogers(1962)arguesthaichange occurs astheresult ofimbalancein thestatus quo01asocial system.Nicholls(1983) sees educationalchange as
"a continuo usreappraisalandimproveme nt ofexisti ngpractice andwhichcan beregarded aspart of the normalactivityofcurriculum development"(p.4).
Leifh wc od(1986) suggests thatthe term,"change ",is,in itself,neutr al.
Plannedchangeh a'process at 'improvement'of'getting better'in someone's terms"(Leithwood, 1986,p.2).He arguesthat educational change-implies "l
32
leastapreferreddirec tionifnot a valuedoutcome"(p.2).
Leilhwoo d(198 6) presentsplannedchange as a processby which school sreduce Ihe gapbetweentwodistinctboundaries:(a) those thingsthat are value dfor studentsandthe objectives scho olshopestudentswillach ieve, and(b)imagesof the educatedperson."the most succinc tand holistic express ionofthe public'saspi rationslor theirchildren'sintellectual,social, cuhurat.and emotiona l devetc ment[iiQr(p.2).He arg ues that prescriptionslor chang e(inno vations,new curriculumguidelines,new assessmentprocedures, etc.)improv eschooleffectivenessonly whenthat gap is reduced.
1nnllJ£ali.on.
There alizationmat a changeisneces sary 10re ducethe gapbetween what is and what shouldbeisthe beginning point 01the changeproces s.An innovation is deliberat elychosento address th e imbalanceinthe statusquo (Rogers,1962).NiehoUs(1983}provide s adelin ilionof lnnov auonthat is derivedfromexisting definitions in the educationalchange liter atur e:
An innovationis an idea.Object,or pract ice perceived as new byan individual or individuals, which is intended to bring abo ut improvementin relatio n to desiredobjectives.which isfundament al innatur e andwhichis plannedand deliberate.(p.4)
The innovation, itisbelieved.has to be first adoptedand then diflusedto the members01thesocialsystem.
33 Recent schoolimprovement literature has sugges teda different perspectiveonthe notion of innovation.Pullan,Benn ett,andgchetser-a ennett (1990) slate,'tno c vauc n shouldbe seen as pointsof departureor catalys is, ratherIhan as things10I implemented"(p. 14).
Guskey (1969) recognizes thenumber of innova tionsavailable for plannedcha ngeeffo rts."At no otherlime in the histo ry01educationhavethere been morenew ideasand innovationsavailableto educators"(p.11).
A<1llJ>1ion.
Adoptionoccurswhenmembersof a socialsyste m decide to test an innovation. Adop tion implies thatindividuals or groups 01individua ls hav e weighed the potentialconsequencesofimplemen tationandaresatisfiedwith thepower and/orthe improvementthat theirdeliberationsespouse. Havelock (1973) suggests thatanother namefor adoptionis acceptance.Adoptionhas occurred when membersofa social system have accepted an innovatio n.
Dilfusion,accordingto Rogers(1962), is the processby which an innovatio nspreadstromthe source01conception tothose who willultimately useit.
34
~.
HaJJ (1988)argue sthatthe term,intervention, has been a crucialconcep t inthe educatio nalchangeliterature, yetithasrarely bee ndefined.In respon se,he developsa definition 01the concepttor use in his ownresearch:
"An intervention is an actionorevent, oreet of actionsoreven ts, that influences the use01aninnovation"(p.51).Hall pointsout thatreferencesto whomadethe interventio n,whetherthere areobservable euects.And whenn occurshavebeeninten tionally lett out of thedefinition .Theseaspects,despite theirimportancefor interventiondescription,are nolcritical to definingIho concept.
The changeagent.
The existenceofaperson respcns'b'e forlacilitatingch ange in a social systemcan substantiallyincreaseits rate.Authorsrefer tothis personasthe changeagent (see for exampleRogers,1962;Schaller,1972;Havelock,t973).
The change agentmay be chosenfrom insideor outsidethosocialsystem depending uponthecircumstances delineating the need.Havelocksuggests lourprimarywaysinwhicha person canactas a change agent:
1. by actingas a catalystforchange;
2. by providingsolutionstoproblems;
3. byhelpingthe processofchangemovealong ; and
35 4. bylinking resourcesfortheseinvolved in the change effort.
In education,change agents can be districtadministrators ,school administrators,or teacher leaders.
The change facjljlaljn gteam.
Studies from the early 19805 suggest thatone atthe reasons that educationalchangefailedwas thatthe administratordid not have enoughtime tofacilitate and manage the change. Fullan(1984)reports that"alarge percentage01principals(at least one-hall)werepreoccupied withadministrative work and organizat ionalmaintenance activitiea"(p. 100).To addressthis.it was suggestedthaithe principal play a facilitativeleadership roleona change facilitatinglearn(see for exampleHall, 1988).The principalwouldworkwith other change facilitatorsandwould orchestratethe changeeffortin a shared, cooperative manner. The traditionalrole 01changeagentwasreassignedto a changefacilitatinglearn.
The change facilitating team,Hall (1988) suggests,typicallyconsistsof lour members.The principal isregarded as the primarychange facilitator.A colleaguesuch asthe vice-principal,department chairper son,orteacher with speclnc specialistknowledge plays a supportingroleasthe secondchange tacutator.A thirdlevel offacilitator,the teacher, playsarole thai is less formalized.Membersottbfsthirdgroupmodel new practices forcolleagues,
36 dissemina teinformationto other teachers. cheerlead, and providesupport.
Sparks(1993)recognizesthe value 01a learn app roach.One01his 13 tipsformanagin gchange in schoolssugges tsthat ateamappro ac h ensures thaiall stakeholders hav e an eeeennat role in the improvementprocess . He stales,"t hesyne rgythattlows frompeop le with variousperspect ives produces higherqualityideasand bettersolutions" (p.14).
Thechan ge facilitatinglearnisledbythe schoolprincipal. Sergiovanni (1991)states, "The princip alswhowere mosteuecnveinimplem enting change wereteam -oriented, working close lywiththeseother leve ls of change tacllltators" (p.266).
Earlier ljt er ature.
One thrust ot theplanned change literature is 10de scribethe circumstancesthatlead people toadopt an innovation.Rogers(1962) proposes a fivestage decisionmakingprocessthr ough whicheachindiv idLJ al passesfor a change to occur.These livestages are:awarene ss, interest, evaluation,trial,andad o ption.
Another thrust01 the planned chang e literature istodescribe thectmate whichultimatel yleads to change.Schaller (19 72)identif ies 12 characteri stics 01a"cre ative organization"that possesses aclimatecon ducive to change.Th e creativeorganization musthave a contemporaryorientation ;be awarethat
37 problemsexist;locus on peopleortheir needs ratherthanproduct; emphasize problem·solving;beaware Oftheimp ortance.relevance,and availabilityof knowledge;monitorthe pace01chan g e; evalua teitspresentoperationagainst itsperceivedpurpose;reaazethaI theorganizationwillfrequ entlyattemptto reacha goal;place the emphasisof financial administrationonoutputrather than income;be committedtoma~imizingtheproblem -solvingcapab ility01 the personnel; haveteac ers open tonewideas;andallow person nelto experience all asp ects01 the system.
Theliteraturerellectstherealization thatthe pa ce ofch angeis exasp eratinglyslow (see lorexampleSchaller . 1972,p.64). Rogers (1962) relerstothe time betw e enthe insightof a problem an dthein troduction01 an innova tion as a"time·la g".Itwas observedthatinth e laceatsocialor techn o lo gicalcrisis.thespeed ofchangeincre ases su bstantially(seelor exampleSchaner.1972).Thereisabeliefthatjfone couldcausean imbalan cein thestatu s quobyIntervention andmanipulation,thentheprocess 01change wouldproc e e d morerapidly(seefor exam pleHavelock.1973).Later studiesdescribesocial climatesthatultim~tE'IVincreas e therat e ofadoption (seeforexample Schaller,19 7 2).
Many 01 thefailures citedin ear lylitera tureareattribu t e dtothe resist ers 01aninnovation.A resisterisrl<!line dasamember ofthesoci alsys temwho hesitat estoadopt an innovationbeca u se01 apercep tionthatc"ang e is not
3.
advantageoustoth e socialsystemoris a threattoits actualbei ng. NiehoUs (19 8 3)refl e cts on theresi ster'srolein planned ch an ge.Itisthroughresistance thata socialsystembecomesawar e 01 the consequencesofthe imple mentation of aninno v a tionandlisimpactontheent i reeUici e ncy and stabilityof asocialsystem.The innovatormust "wtn'the supportof the resistor(s)by thinkingthrough thereason s for resistanceandby embark ingon an effectivecampaign10makethe advantagesand thepositiveettectsknown.
ThftprocessofPlann edEd ucatig n a l Chaoo!!
Fulla n(198 2)states.'Changeisa process,not an event"(p.42).Inhis discussionof thiscomplexprocess ,he ldentlhesthreepha ses01education al ch ange reportedin thech angeliterature: .Eb..a.sJLl:Initiation; ~:
Im plementation;andfb.astl:Continuation.These phasesare enlangled and rarely canbedeline atedone from another.
Fullan(198 2 ) suggests (hatentwinedineach phase 01th echan ge process,thereexistnumerousfa ctorsacting an d interact ing.One cannot ettecuvelyseparatethem into dis tinct entities.Instead,change mustbe viewed asan interactiveprocess where decisionsmade at one pointofthecon tinuum canleed back to alter decisions made atanearl ierstage.The oppositeisalso true.Thatwhichoccursatan earlier stag estronglyallectsthat whichhappens at subsequen tstages.
39 phase !,Initja tion.
The change literature uses a variety01term s 10describe theforcesthaI beginthe processofchange.These terms includ einitiatio n,mob i lization,and adoption.Inthis phase,me membersof aneducationalsystem become aware 01aninnovation,graspii, an ddeci de10proc eedwith imp lementat ion.
The pervasiveviewthaIInno v ations are ad o pted be c ausethey are desirablemay not be trueto allch ange situations. Instead.Pullan(1982) conte nds that Ihere areamyr iad of factor s associate dwiththedecision to adop tan innovation.Hb'dennnes a leopoint summary list :
1. Existenceandqualityof innovatio ns 2. Accessto informat ion 3. Advocacyfrom centra!administrators 4. Teacherpressure/support 5. Consultan tsand change agents 6. Commun itypressurefsup portlap athy/op position 7. Availability ollade ralan dother funds
B. Ne w cen trallegislalion orpolicy(federal/stata/provinci a l) 9. Problem-s olvingincenffves foradoption
10.Bureaucrati c incentivesforadoption (p. 42)
40 Thepresenceor absence ofea ch factor orcombinations 01la c tors can influencethe decision10adoptorreject an innovation.
phase11'Imp lement ation .
The termsrelated 10 the seco ndphase oftheeducational change process inclu deimplementation and initialuse (Fullan,1982).Fullanstates:
Implem entation consists 01 th e proces s 01putting into practic e an idea,pro gram , or set 01activitiesnew to the people attempti ngor expecte d10change. The changemay be externallyimposedor voluntarilysought;explicitly def inedin detail inadvance ordeveloped andadapted incrementallythroughuse;designedto be used unJlormly or deliberately planned so that users canmake modificationsaccording10 theirperce ptionsofthe needs 01 the situation.(p.54)
Inthisphase ,themembers of anedu cational system decide to usethe innovationin anattemptt oassessits value andpower.Fullanconte ndsth a t becausemorepeopleareinvolvedinthisphase ofthe process andbecause successful changeis at stake,thisphase is intricateandr-retbeha ndled delicateiy.What peopledoand donot do can ultimatelyendin therejectio n 01 theinnovatio n.
Fullan(1962)organizes themajor factorsaffectingim pleme ntation int o lourdistinct categor ies:
Characleris!j cs ofth e r'lhange: Imple mentati on will occurmor ereadil yit memb ers 01 a socialsystemperceivethatth ere is aneed lorthe
41 innov ation; iftheinnovationis clearabout whatteachers sho uld do diff",re ntly;itcomple xinnova tion s havebeanbroken intosmall, clear incremen talcomponents;an djfthemeterlats supplied forthe imp leme ntation process arepracticalandwell suitedtothe ne eds ofthe teachers.
2. Cha ra cteristicsat the SchoolDistrict !eye!:Impleme ntationwilloccu r morereadily ifthedisl ricthas inthe pastexpe riencedsuccessful cha nge ; il the process ot ado ptionreflects carefulconsiderati on.
plann ing, commitmen t,andfoll ow-th rough;ifthereis supportbydistrict administrator s;ifin-servicean dpreparationtimehas beenprovided for stat tdevelo pment;II arealisticlime-line andasyste mof eval uatio n have been established;andif theschooldistricthaseffectivelyprepared an d gaine dthe support ofthe publicbefore introd ucing an innovation.
3. Cha racteristic sat theSchool Leye!:Implemenlationwi!!occur more readil yifIhe principalactivelysuppor tstheinnovation ;ifteac her relati onship s are characterize d by sup pontven ees. openness ,collegi a lity, trust,andhelpfulness;andif teachers' own sense ofeflicacy(w heth er teachersthi nkandexpectthat allchildren,regardless 01soci a l background , canreach approp riatelevels ofachieve ment)isstrong.
42 4. CharacteristicsExternaltotheLeea! System:The external environment
provides Influencesthat aid in Impiementanco.11governmentagencies support the implementationof an innovationandilappropriatoexternal assista ncesuchas techmcatexpertiseis available,then implementation is more likely,
Inconclusion,thereare numero u s tactcreassociated withsuccesslut imple menta tion. Withwidespreadsup po rt,amp leprofessiona lpreparation, detaile d planni nglor lrnplerne nraticnandconti nuation,andaccessto appropriate materialsandexpertise, itis likelythai an innovat ion will be implementedsuccessfully.
Phas eI!t.Coo1.i.mJ.a1iQn.
The th irdphase01successfuleducationalchangehasbeen refe rred 10 as con tinuation,incor poration,routiniza tion,ortnontuttcnaueattcn(Ful1a n,1962).
II isinthisph ase Ihat aninn ovationbecomesa'built-in"part01 thedaily practicesorattitudesofa socialsystem. or isdiscontin ued and allowed10die a quiet. peacefu l death.
Theimportance ofth e relations hipssharedby teachersand admin istrato rscannotbe overestimatedat thisstageintheprocess.Miles (1983)reflects onhisexperienceswiththeStlldyof Dissemjnation Efforts
43 Suppo rtingSchoo!Impro yem ent,hereaft erref erred to as theDESSI study:
Admin is trators push, demand, suppo rt,and think about the organization;teachers re act, get involve d,strugglewith th edemands oftheinnovation,and think abouttheir lives withstuden ts.IIwas verycle a r thatan un:1erl y ing variablewe calledteact er-ac mlntetrator harmon y was criticallorsuccess.(p.19)
Harmoniousinterrelationships amongtheplay e rs in theeducational process are crucial lor co ntinuationand institutionalization .
Miles (1983)suggeststhai aninnovation must becomeapartof the lntematstructuresand function s of a schoolotherwisereversion 10pastbeliefs and practicesmay result. He stales,"Withoutsome sense of'built-in-n ess'the fate of innovati onsisindoubt "(p. 14).
Fullan (1982) makestwo importa ntpoints aboutihedis continuan ce of implemented innovations. Firs t,he su ggesls that in theperio d following effective implementation ,innovationscanbediscontinu edwhenexterna l agencyfundingends. Ifthishappens,schoolscould face anextra financi al burden that cannotbeaddressed byreallocatin gexistingfunds. Theonly alternative ..to discon tinuethe use 01 theinnovation.Secondly, Fullan suqqea tsthatchangesIn schoo lstaff can also causediscontinu ance. New teache rsanaadmJn;stratorsrna; not perceivetheneed tous etheinnovationor may notpossess theexpertise or com mitment that formersta flmembe rs did.
Inconclusion,the ultima tegoal ofchan ge istomakean innovat iona regula r.built- in part of the daily life ofa schoolorschooldistrict.Continu ance
44 or inslilutionaliza t ion canbeaffe ctedby variousfactors. Althoug hcarelul planningcan cou nter disconlinuance, unfo resee ntactors can have a devastating elteeton the institutionalizatio n 01aninnovauon.
S!mlrJlil<l<.
Ch a ngeisan evolutionaryprocess.Inthisprocess,there existthre e phases:Initiation : Implementation;andCo ntinuance.Thesephases donot have disti nctlydelineatedboundaries .Actionsrel atedtoone phaseauectthe processes in anot her.The interactingforcesdete rminethe ultimate lateofan innovation . People involved inplannedch ange must accept thai whatthey do ordo notdo candeterminethe successorfailure ofa planned changeven ture.
Ihe Play ers jnthe processandthejrBoles
Inany ed ucationa lchang eendeavour,peopleare involved. Researc hers have stud iedtherolesthat peoplehaveplayed in successfuland unsuccessful change eff ortsandhavereported onthe actionsthatleadtoimplementati o n.
District leyel adminis trators.
Thesupportofdistrictlevel adminis tratorsandtheir subordi nates determin e thesuccess of districtwide change. Fullan(1982) states,'w hat they [district adml nist ratorsl do at eachof the three main phases ofthechanqe.the
45 initialdecisionor mobilization , implementation. and institutionaliz ation·
significantlyaffectsthe destiny of theproposed change" (p. 163).The literatureidentifiescharacteristicsof districtadministratorsthatsignificantly supporteachphase 01the changeprocess.
DuringPhase I,thedistrictadministrat or sets the lon e 01impending change.Teachersperceiv ethai ilthesuperin tendentshows a convincing comm itmentto theinnovati on.thenitmust beimportant. necessary. andshould be takenseriously. This commitm ent mustmakemore ofanimpactthan sim pleverbal or general support. Instead, fundsmustbe allocated topurchase appropriat eresources andopportu niti es mustbe providedlorprofessional stall development.II necessary.professionals with expert iseintheinnov ationmust bebroughtto the districtto provide guidanceandtraining for those~irectly involvedi,lthe changepro cess.
Fullan (19B2) suggests that theparticip ationof thedistrictadministrat or inPhaseIIis more importantlhan thecom mitmen trremcnstratedinPhaseI.
He suggeststhatthe way inwhichthe implementationplanis constru ed will determine theultim a teinst il utionalization or continu ation01the innovation.
Districtacr-nnrsuetcrsmu stallow the administrativepowertobe shiftedfrom thecentr al officetothe school so that thos e directlyinvolvedinimplementation are giventheopportunityto adapt. redevelop , andreflect ontheinnovationin relationtotheirunique circumsta nces. Thedistrict administr atormust providea
46 meansbywhichteac h ers can accesstechnica l mtcrmnucnabout the inno vation, addressproblems encountered intheimplementation,and com municate success e..andfailuresto colleag uesinthe process.
Riffle(1987),while reflec tingonschool im prove ment initiat ives , discu ssestheempowe rmentofschools.For this emp owermen t10occ ur, the district adminis trator mustrel in quish some pow ersothai schoolscandevelop a commitment to the cha nge. He slates:
The developmenta larg ument is thattheempowerme ntof schools must be seenasacondition lor theirimp rovem ent;peopl e willnot underta kedevelopme ntunlessthey believethatit willbefruitful ,thai ilwillgivethem greater controloverth eirwork ,anditwinincre a se the ltkeubood ofsuccess. Givingpeople inschools the autonomyto choose direction s, butnot thefreedom to donothing,maybethe bestway to com binea concerntor theimprovem ent01atlschools in a system withbothre spectforthe pro fessio nalis mofed ucatorsand a recoqnu.on thatthe opport unityfor self-directio ncan be a powerful stimu lus todeve lopment.(p. 3)
InPh aseIII,th edistric tmust continue toprovidefundsto ensu re Ihatlhe new needs of the distri ctaremel.How the districtadministratorplan s tor continuation iscrucia l.Themethodby andeasewith whichthenew programis incorporated indistrict budgetscontributessignilicantlyto thecontinuation01 theinnovatio n.
Schoo ! prjncip als.
The schoolprincipalis ultimately responsiblelo rprepari ng a schoollor
47 change and for directing the changeprocess. The principal's behaviourcan attectthe outcome of a schoolimprovementetten.Clarkatal.(1984)suggest thatprincipalsinfluencethe members 01a social systemthrough"suasion and theass ertion ofhigh expectauons"(p. 54). The y reportthattheactions 01 euecuve principals include communic atingtheinnovation 'simportanceand lmprem entatlon success,arrangingfor trainingandmaterials.andresche duling lime for practice and reflection.Sergiovanni(1991),refl ecting onscho ol improvement,stales:
SChool improvement doesnot occurbyhappenstance. Someon e must decid e toriosomethingtochangethe statusquo lorthebetter.
Sometimesthe cectsicnto embarkon school im p roveme nt efforts emergesfrom ateacher ora group01teachers;generally, though , suchefforts resul tfrom deliberateactionby the schoolprincipal.(p.
255)
Hall(1988) suggeststhatthe school principalshould be viewedasthe leaderofthechange facilitatingteam.Through frequen tdiscussions,thisteam facilitatesthechange pro cessby modellingtheinnovation , disseminating pertine ntinformatio ntoteachers,providingsupport,anticipatin gtheresultsof specificactions,andtro ubleshooting where nece ssary.Themore effective leaders areteam-orientedand can work closely with oth erleader sofa change facilitatinglearn.
Hall.Rutherford,Herd, andHuting(1984)describ e three change facilitatorstyles:Initiators, Mana gers,andRespo nders.The followin g
46 discussionprovidesa summary description 01these principals
1. ~- Initiatorshave avision of whatgoodschools and Isnel1ing shouldbe like.They have clear,decisive long- range policiesand goals that are based oncurrenteducational research.Initiatorswork intensivelyto implementthese policiesandgoals.Whenchangesin districtprograms andpoliciesaresought.inputfromstattis solicited.
Decisions are based on the goals01the school.
~•Manag ers exhibitabroad rangeofbehaviours.Their reaction s are linked10 theirrapport withteachers andcentra lomcestill~.
They are sensitive 10 teacher needs andwork withoutfanfare 10 support teachers as theyuse an innovation.Manage rsdo net generallyinihnte attemptstomovebeyond thatwhichhas beenimp osed.
3. ~•Resp ondersallowteachersandothersIt take thelead.
Theirfocus is onadministrativetasks,kel."1ing teachers content.and treating students well.Responders viewteachers as strong professionals whoareableto carryout their instructionalroles withlittle guidance.Theyprovide everyone with an opportunity10 voice anopinion before makinga decision;sometimesdecision-makingispassed to
49 others. Respondershave a limitedvision althafuture of their schools andtheir stafs and lend to make decisionsbased onimmediate circumstancesratherthan onlong -range goals. Theytry 10 please others.
Hall atat.(1984)reporl 1hat Initiatorprincip als are most associatedwith successru tchange efforts.Responder principalsareleastlik(Jlytobe associat edwithsuccesstut change endeavours.Sergiovann i(1991)states,
Initiators have a clear sense 01what needsto be accomplished and lakemoreactiverctesin plan ning,prodding, encouraging,advising, participating, checking,stim ulating, monitoring , and evaluating changeefforts.Furt her,they assumemoredirect roles in obtaining andprovidingthe necess arymaterialandpsychologicalsuppo rtfor successfulchange efforts.(p.266)
Fullan (1982)summarizes the teacher'srateintheedu cation al change process:"Educationalchan gedepends upon whatteachers doand think- it's as simpleandcomplexasthat"(p.107). Innovationsmust worklor teachersas well as for students. This pointcanbe easily overl ookedlor schoo l improvement efforts are evaluatedprimarilyon improvedstudent outcomes. II aninnovation doesnotlit into thedailywork01a teacher,then the probability 01 institutiona lizationis small (Clarketal.,1984).
