Leading Change in Schools:

Some reflections from research

Dr Matt Smith

Introduction

7PE034

Key concepts

Examples from recent research

Highlights

Current research

Questions

Numbers 1 – 5 down your page:

1

2

3

4

5

7PE034 Leading Change in Pedagogy

This module has three learning outcomes:

• Explore theories and contemporary contexts for change and improvement in pedagogy.

• Critically outline and justify a plan for change in your own and colleagues’ pedagogic practice.

• Develop an evaluation methodology that could be applied to measuring the effectiveness of pedagogical changes

We also investigate how change happens at these five levels:

• Individual change

• Team change

• Organisational change

• Cultural change

• Leading change

What does an effective team look like?

What does it do?

Differences between Groups and Teams

Groups Teams

Some definitions:

“A group is a collection of individuals who coordinate their

individual efforts. On the other hand, at team is a group of

people who share a common team purpose and a number of

challenging goals. Members of the team are mutually

committed to the goals and to each other.”

“A team can have more than one head. The group members

do not share responsibility, but team members share the

responsibility. The group focuses on achieving the individual

goals. Conversely, the team members focus on achieving

the team goals.”

Kurt Lewin (1951): Force field Analysis

What are you

trying to

achieve?

Driving Forces Resisting Forces

Kotter (1996) Eight Steps/Stages to

Major Change 1. Establishing a sense of

urgency

2. Creating the guiding group

3. Developing a vision and a

strategy

4. Communicating the vision

5. Empowering broad-based

action

6. Generating short term wins

7. Consolidating gains and

producing more change

8. Anchoring new approaches in

the culture

Rogers (2003) diffusion of innovations theory

Interventions can be best

understood through:

1) The innovation itself

2) The channels through which

it is communicated

3) The passage of time

4) The social system in which

diffusion takes place

Other useful models (very quickly!)

McKinsey 7 ‘S’ Model

Tom Peters and Robert

Waterman (1980s)

1. Staff

2. Skills

3. Systems

4. Style

5. Shared Values

6. Strategy

7. Structure

Senge (1999)- Systemic Model

• Start Small

• Grow Steadily

• Don’t plan the whole thing

• Expect Challenges – it will not go smoothly!

Leading Change

• Leadership or Management – which is better?

• Transformational Leadership vs. Transactional Leadership

• Goleman’s Leadership styles:

Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative,

Democratic, Pacesetting, Coaching

• Covey’s Characteristics of Principle-Centred Leaders

Guidelines for Achieving

Successful Cultural Change (Cameron and Green 2004, p.223)

Always link to organizational vision,

mission and objectives

Create a sense of urgency and continually

reinforce the need to change

Attend to stakeholder issues

Remember that the how is as important as

the what

Build on the old, and step into the new

Generate enabling mechanisms

Act as role models

Create a community of focused and

flexible leaders

Insist on collective ownership of the

changes

Evaluating Change

Guskey (2002) reminds us that good

evaluation is built in from the outset

of the professional development

programme or activity, not added on at

the end.

Kirkpatrick

Evaluation

Model (1976)

Guskey (2000):

the alternative

5-step model

Recent examples from 7PE034 • Improving strategies for language acquisition at KS3/4.

• Dialogic marking to be more effective than teacher comments.

• Effective feedback increases learning

• Moving from constant low-level disruption to effective learning.

• Allowing chn to be more ready for Reception by changing the approach in EY settings.

• Increasing the uptake of students taking Science at A’ level.

• Fostering a love for reading at KS3 – changing staff attitudes to reading lessons.

Conclusions

• Demonstrate a need (“create the urgency”)

• Management buy-in is key

• Use of Kotter to formulate plan

• Get colleagues on-side

• Evaluation needs to be built in from start

• Things go wrong!

• Need to embed change before moving on again.

Recent examples from ongoing research

in the Education Observatory • School Improvement through Collaborative Networks –

‘Building Trust in the Trust’

• An Evaluation of the HeadStart programme, Wolverhampton

• Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Palestinian HEIs: An e-Learning Initiative that Bridges Educational and Socio-Political Gaps – “TEFL-ePAL”

What are your 5 key points?

Questions