6.1 Change Flashcards
If educational institutions are to improve that will mean change both at the level of the _______ and at the level of the _____. ?????? (1998) points out that, above everything, change concerns people.
Whilst one can plan for change in a careful way, in practice the plan seldom unfolds in the ways _________. People change things! People respond to change in a variety of ways. Some will resist, some will adapt, some will adopt an innovation. People will respond to the way in which they perceive the change.
This quotation raises important issues:
If educational institutions are to improve that will mean change both at the level of the institution and at the level of the individual. Morrison (1998) points out that, above everything, change concerns people.
Whilst one can plan for change in a careful way, in practice the plan seldom unfolds in the ways anticipated. People change things! People respond to change in a variety of ways. Some will resist, some will adapt, some will adopt an innovation. People will respond to the way in which they perceive the change.
- That it is hard to adopt a rational plan for change and see it through as planned, because people are unpredictable and can change things, also social reality is complex.
- The way that people perceive change will affect the way that they respond. Therefore if they perceive that the change has been forced on them, they may well resist it, particularly if they feel it is counter to their interests. It follows from this that it is important to ensure that people at least understand what the change involves and that ideally they should feel some involvement with, and ownership of, the change.
The way in which change is managed does differ according to the style of management of the institution. ???? (????) identified that there were three types of change model:
The way in which change is managed does differ according to the style of management of the institution. Chin and Benne (1969) identified that there were three types of change model:
- The bureaucratic model which implies an orderly process of steps in the introduction and management of the change. This model makes two assumptions: one that the change will be perceived as desirable and the other that people are rational and reasonable and will adopt the change as being in everyone’s best interests.
- The power-coercive model which implies the use of sanctions, such as political, financial or moral to bring about the change.
- The collegial model which focuses on the human response to change rather than focusing on the system and therefore considers the changing of views and ultimately of the culture of the organisation
???? (????) found that headteachers did tend to modify their leadership style according to __________ and tended to be more _______ when schools were doing particularly badly. However, the heads all agreed that while they had acted in autocratic ways in difficult times, this approach was likely to be the _______ effective, and that a more ________, _______ and ___________ approach was more effective. However, in a culture where a formal mode of management is expected, it may be that a democratic and participative model would be inappropriate.
Harris and Chapman (2002) found that headteachers did tend to modify their leadership style according to circumstances and tended to be more directive when schools were doing particularly badly. However, the heads all agreed that while they had acted in autocratic ways in difficult times, this approach was likely to be the least effective, and that a more democratic, participative and transformational approach was more effective. However, in a culture where a formal mode of management is expected, it may be that a democratic and participative model would be inappropriate.
In a basically micro-political (power-coercive) model, the management of change will depend on the following (????, ????):
In a basically micro-political (power-coercive) model, the management of change will depend on the following (Morrison 1998):
- the extent to which the micro-politics of the organization are aligned with the formal structures
- the extent of the support of informal groups and informal leaders
- how consultation, negotiation, conflict and dissensus are managed
- how power is used and negotiated
- whose interests usually prevail in decision making
- to what extent the institution is marked by conformity, conflict, opposition, cliques, bargaining
- how decisions are taken and who takes them.
The main stages of change identified by ???? (????) are those of:
The main stages of change identified by Fullan (2007) are those of:
- introduction or initiation
- implementation
- institutionalisation.
???? (????) list advice for success in the areas of implementation and institutionalisation:
Fullan and Hargreaves (1991) list advice for success in the areas of implementation and institutionalisation:
- Taking action is preferable to planning: protracted needs analysis is worse than none at all.
- Heads are not the key to school improvement: other people are also important.
- Creating ownership at the beginning is unrealistic: like trust, it builds up over time and through completing tasks which show that improvement is possible.
- Helping and supporting teachers after planning and initial in-service work is more crucial to success than all the pre-implementation training.
- Coercion isn’t always bad: ‘a firm push’ plus lots of help can launch a project well.
???? (????) list what they see as the main change process issues:
Stoll and Fink (1996) list what they see as the main change process issues:
-there is not only one version of what the change should be.
-people have to understand the change and work it out for themselves in practice
-change is often accompanied by stress and anxiety
-change is approached differently in each school
-conflict and disagreement are inevitable
-a mix of pressure and support is needed
-top-down and bottom-up change together work effectively
-change rarely involves a single innovation effective
-change takes time
-there must be times of consolidation
-change may not be implemented for valid reasons
-some people will not change; ‘don’t water the rocks’
-it is necessary to plan taking into account these assumptions
-development is evolutionary, difficult to plan in too much detail
-the real agenda is changing school culture not single innovations.
Whatever the scale of improvement, the clear issues seem to be those of ownership of the change, allowing time for implementation and the relationship of the change to the culture of the institution.
???? (????) identifies how this type of force field analysis could actually be used in the management of change by a group examining in turn each of the major issues that impact on ______.
Morrison (1998) identifies how this type of force field analysis could actually be used in the management of change by a group examining in turn each of the major issues that impact on change.
Synoptic planning is characterised by high predictability, ______ statements of goals and objectives … sequencing of actions, and _________ using quantitative data.
Retroactive planning is characterised by reacting to __________ events with incremental responses based on a cycle of feedback, _______ and correction which is guided by a vision of a future desired direction and by organisational norms. (????, ????)
Synoptic planning is characterised by high predictability, proactive statements of goals and objectives … sequencing of actions, and monitoring using quantitative data.
Retroactive planning is characterised by reacting to unpredicted events with incremental responses based on a cycle of feedback, review and correction which is guided by a vision of a future desired direction and by organisational norms. Levačić et al., 1999
???? (????) identified a cycle of development planning formalising these four questions into a process that can be used in every type of planning activity.
Hargreaves and Hopkins (2004) identified a cycle of development planning formalising these four questions into a process that can be used in every type of planning activity.
- Audit: a school or college reviews its strengths and weaknesses perhaps through a SWOT analysis, identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the institution; this stage would allow the identification of potential for change.
- Construction: priorities for development and/or change are selected and then turned into specific targets – the initiation of change stage.
- Implementation: the planned priorities and targets are implemented with all the appropriate arrangements for management – a difficult and complex stage of change which will require monitoring.
- Evaluation: the success of implementation of the plan is checked. This would include looking at new developments and changes as well as the consolidation of what has been continued and embedded.
???? (????) identified different ways in which planning is actually done in primary schools in England. They identified the following 4 types of planning:
MacGilchrist and Mortimore (1997) identified the different ways in which planning is actually done in primary schools in England. They identified the following:
- the rhetorical plan – where there is a lack of a shared sense of ownership and purpose
- the singular plan – owned by only the headteacher
- the co-operative plan – characterised by the co-operative effort to improve with partial ownership of the staff (this and corporate most effective)
- the corporate plan – characterised by a corporate effort to improve with evidence of a learning community (this and cooperative most effective)
