Systems Approach to School Reform: What leaders can do to facilitate conditions to enhance change and

sustainability! Curtis Griffin

Assistant Superintendent Hatboro-Horsham School District

Sustainability – Honest Assessment System Change Should be the Focus Change the Culture by Changing Behavior May the “Forces” be with you! Change Happens to People Leaders Facilitate Conditions

Key Concepts

“Theories that travel well are those that practically and insightfully guide the understanding of complex situations and point to actions likely to be effective under the circumstances” (Michael Fullan,2008)

Theory is Important!

In today's work environment there are not many fundamental tenets that are both broadly accepted and impervious to the test of time. However, one such tenet is that change is pervasive - it is a constant and common element that impacts human kind individually and organizationally, day in and day out. (Elrod and Tippett 2002)

Change is a Constant!

Change is a process not an event

Change process can be viewed as sequences of individual and collective events, actions, and activities unfolding over time and context that describe or account for how entities develop or change. (Pettigrew, Woodman, & Cameron, 2001)

Change is Process!

In most studies of reengineering projects and other major change efforts, 70% of the initiatives are judged not to have met. (Schneider and Goldwasser, 1998)

Change or Die - Allen Deutschman

Most Change Efforts Do Not Succeed!

“Beyond the implementation phase of change, in which new ideas and practices are tried for the first time, is allusive institutional phase, in which these practices are integrated into teachers repertoires and affect many teachers, not just a few”. (S.Anderson and S. Stiegelbauer, 1994)

The term sustainability was first coined in the environmental field by Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, in the early 1980s. He defined “a sustainable society as one that is able to satisfy its needs without diminishing the opportunities of future generations to meet theirs”

“Sustainability does not simply mean whether something will last. It addresses how particular initiatives can be developed without compromising the development of others in the surrounding environment now and in the future”. (Hargreaves and Fink , 2006)

Sustainability – The Desired State

IndividualGroup or Work UnitSystem

Levels of Change

Schools Are Open Systems

When some aspect of the system is changed, other aspects eventually will be affected (Burke, 1980).

There is scant evidence that attempting to change individuals will in turn change the organization (Campbell & Dunnette, 1968). The target for change, then is the system not the individual (Burke & Schmidt, 1971)

Organizational change relates to the open-system characteristics of importation of energy and negative entropy --- considerable attention to the use of Human Energy (norms, rewards, authority structure, cross purpose action, etc.) (Burke, 2008)

Organizational Change is Systemic

The organization’s culture must be changed if the success of the overall change will be realized!

The people side, the emotional component of organization change “the change monster” – the human forces that either facilitate or prevent transformation (Duck, 2001)◦ You don’t change the culture by trying to change the

culture. The culture is the way of doing things around here and concerns deeply held beliefs , attitudes and values.

Start by changing the behavior that will lead to the desired in attitudes and values.

Change Behavior First

Confusing outcomes with behaviors is no small issue. It turns out that without behavioral focus, people don't choose to enact the right behaviors. ◦ search for behaviors◦ search for vital behaviors◦ search for recovery behaviors

Influencer: The Power To Change Anything

Kurt Lewin (1949): "Quasi-Stationary Social Equilibria“

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) On Death and Dying

Change Theories

This theory describes the how balanced or imbalanced "force fields" determine whether social systems maintain equilibrium or change to new states.

Force Field Template

Kurt Lewin (1949): "Quasi-Stationary Social Equilibria“

At the Core of Change is People

UnfreezingMoving Freezing

Kurt Lewin (1949): Three-Step Process

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Conditions Facilitating Change and Implementation

◦ Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo◦ Existence Knowledge and Skills ◦ Availability of Resources◦ Availability of Time◦ Rewards and Incentives◦ Participation◦ Commitment◦ Leadership

Ely’s Conditions Facilitating Change and Implementation

 Something is not right. Things could be better. Others are moving ahead; we are standing still. There must be something we can do to improve our situation. Whether the dissatisfaction is an innate feeling or an induced state (as brought about by marketing campaigns, for example) it is an emotion that calls for change.

Dissatisfaction With the Status Quo

The knowledge and skills are those required by the ultimate user of the innovation This is one of the most important factors leading to implementation.

Existence of Knowledge and Skills

This condition refers to the things that are required to make implementation work. It includes hardware, software, publications, audiovisual media and other teaching materials. Reference to funding in general is also an indicator of the money required to obtain these resources.

Availability of Resources

Implementators need time to acquire knowledge and skills, plan for use, adapt, integrate and reflect upon what they are doing. This means good time, “company” time, paid time arranged for by the organization where the innovation will be implemented. It sometimes means the willingness of individuals to contribute some of their own personal time to the process.

Availability of Time

The studies discovered a minor conflict between the words “reward” and “incentive.” An incentive is something that serves as an expectation of a reward or fear of punishment. It serves as a stimulus to move an individual to action. A reward is something given for performance-an action that demonstrates satisfaction with a job well done. The complication is extended by the difference between an extrinsic reward and an intrinsic reward. Extrinsic rewards can be observed; intrinsic rewards are internal to the individual. It is difficult to measure the “satisfaction” that may be felt by users of the innovation.

Rewards or Incentives Exist

Participation means shared decision making; communication among all parties involved in the process and, when direct participation is not possible, the implementers should feel that their ideas are represented through a surrogate.

Participation

This condition demonstrates firm and visible evidence that there is endorsement and continuing support for implementation of the innovation. This factor may be expressed by the primary leader (a principal of a school, for example) or a group, such as a board of directors. This condition is usually measured by the perceptions of the implementators rather than public acknowledgement of policy.

Commitment

Leadership, in this case, is two-pronged: ◦ (1) leadership of the executive officer of the

organization, and sometimes of a board, and ◦ (2) project leadership which is more closely

related to the day-to-day activities of the innovation being implemented.

◦ Once the executive leadership is evident, then the project leadership becomes even more important because the person who can help with the implementation is closer to the end user.

Leadership

Questions

Sustainability: What are the initiatives that are competing for position within your environment?

Change the System: How or how not are your technology related change efforts focused are focused on system change?

Change Behaviors: Identify specific vital behaviors for the utilization of technology as a tool for learning.

Force Field Analysis: Identify in your environment driving and restraining forces impacting the utilization of technology as a tool for learning.

Facilitating Conditions: Using the Ely’s environmental conditions identify specific actions - “behaviors” that can facilitate the change process.

Focused Discussion Topics