Fullan Getting Reform Right
Fullan Getting Reform Right
Fullan Getting Reform Right
Miles Source: The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 73, No. 10 (Jun., 1992), pp. 744-752 Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20404761 . Accessed: 07/02/2011 15:55
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=pdki. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Phi Delta Kappa International is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Phi Delta Kappan.
http://www.jstor.org
7-I 4i
'..;
I.:'
I..
~~~~
~~~
L42
d cp
*s.
sl
at~~~~
-x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A.N1
There are as many myths as there are truthsassociated with change, Messrs. Fullan andMiles assert, and educators need to deepen theway they thinkabout change. To that end, the authors analyze seven reasons
change fails and offer seven 1propositions "for successful change.
BY MICHAEL G. FULLANANDMATTHEWB. MILES A TFTER YEARS of failed tures of schools, rather than superficial education reform, educa first-order changes.1 But no change
tors are more and more in the habit of saying that process" is crucial. But few people real ly know what thatmeans. The phrase is would be more fundamental than a dra matic expansion of the capacity of in and deal with change. This generic ca pacity is worth more than a hundred in
used superficially,glibly, as if saying it dividual success storiesof implementing seven shouldbe understood in combina over and over will lead to understanding specific innovations.As we shall see, tion, as a set. 1. Faulty maps of change. It's hard and appropriateaction. even individualsuccess storiesdon't last
We do believe that knowing about the change process is crucial. But there are as many myths as there are truths as sociated with change, and it is time to deepen the way we think about change. We need to assess our knowledge more critically and describe what we know. One needs a good deal of sophistication to grasp the fundamentals of the change long without an appreciation of how to to get to a destination when your map
tors,parents,students, districtstaff mem bers, consultants,boardmembers, state department officials, legislators, materi als developers, publishers, test-makers,
teacher educators, researchers - has a personal map of how change proceeds.
chose.
4. Schools are essentially conservative institutions, harder to change than other
organizations.
5. You just have to live reform one day at a time. 6. You need a mission, objectives, and a series of tasks laid out well in advance.
IllustrationbyMario Noche
JUNE
1992
745
so
Our aim here is not to debunk all our maps. Maps are crucial. But unless amap is a valid representation of the territory, we won't get where we want to go. Later in this article, we will outline amap that,
staggering: curriculum and instruction, school organization, student services, community involvement, teacher inser vice training,assessment, reporting,and evaluation. Deeper, second-order chang es in school cultures, teacher/student re lationships,and values and expectations
of the system are all the more daunting.
Furthermore,higher-ordereducation
valid guidance. Some, like number 1, are simply self-sealing and tautological.
Others, like number 2, are true in the ab
al goals for all students require knowl edge and abilities that we have never demonstrated. Inmany cases, we simply
not know
defeating. Suchmaps are self-defeating. we believe, correspondswell with the real territoryof change. At their worst, they tell us that nothing lems. 2. Complex problems. Another ma - and that nothing will really changes 3. Symbols over substance. In the work. On such self-exculpatorypropo jor reason for the failure of reform is that RAND-sponsored study of federalpro the solutions are not easy - or even sitions as number 4, there's simply very grams supporting educational change, little evidence, and what there is leads to known inmany cases. A number of years Paul Berman andMilbrey McLaughlin agoArthur Wise labeledthisproblem the found thatsome school districts adopted the verdict of "not proven."2 "hyperrationalization" reform: of our maps are in conflict Sometimes external innovations for opportunistic
with themselves or with the maps of col leagues. For example, number 5 advo cates the virtues of improvisation, while number 6 lauds rational planning. In fact, the literature on organizational change and a recent study of major change in ur ban high schools show that neither state ment is valid as a guide to successful school reform.3 The same appears to be true for propositions 7 and 8. Still other mapping statements are reasons rather than to solve a particular To create goals for education is to will that something occur. But goals, in the absence of a theory of how to achieve them, aremere wishful think ing. If there is no reason to believe a goal is attainable - perhaps evidenced by the fact that it has never been at tained - then a rationalplanningmodel may not result in goal attainment.6 The reform agenda has broadened in fundamental ways in the last five years. One need only mention the comprehen sive reform legislation adopted in virtu ally every state and the scores of restruc turing efforts in order to realize that cur
go along, and that sustains our commit ment and persistence to stay with the problem until we get somewhere. In oth er words, we need a different map for solving complex rather than simple prob
vations.4 And number10, as attractiveas it may be politically, simply doesn'twork. In dinate reforms. Education is a complex system, and its deed, itoftenmakes mattersworse. You can't mandate important changes,because reform is even more complex. Even if they require skill, motivation, commit one considers only seemingly simple, ment, anddiscretionaryjudgmenton the first-order changes, the number of com part of thosewho must change.5 ponents and their interrelationships are
This difference often results in vague goals, unrealistic schedules, a preoccu pationwith symbolsof reform (new leg islation, task forces, commissions, and the like), and shiftingpriorities as politi cal pressures ebb and flow. We acknowledge thatsymbols are es sential for success. They serve to crys
746
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN
tallize images and to attract and gener ate political power and financial re sources. Symbols can also provide per sonal and collective meaning and give people faith and confidence when they are dealing with unclear goals and com plex situations.7 They are essential for galvanizing visions, acquiring resources, and carrying out concerted action. When symbols and substance are congruent, they form a powerful combination. reform often fails because Nonetheless, politics favors symbols over substance. Substantial change in practice requires a lot of hard and clever work "on the ground," which is not the strong point of political players. After several experi ences with the dominance of symbolic change over substantive change, people become cynical and take the next change that comes along much less seriously. Symbolic change does not have to be without substance, however. Indeed, the best examples of effective symbols are grounded in rituals, ceremonies, and oth er events in the daily life of an organiza tion. While we cannot have effective re form without symbols, we can easily have symbols without effective reform -
we are tackling large-scale reforms, for of failure are much the consequences
more serious.
Reforms also fail because our attempts solve problems are frequently superficial.
the predominant experience of most edu cators and one that predisposes them to be skeptical about all reforms. solu and superficial 4. Impatient Reforms also fail because our at tions. tempts to solve problems are frequently
to
Reforms in structure are especially sus ceptible to superficiality and unrealistic time lines, because they can be launched through political or administrative man dates. Two examples at opposite ends of the political spectrum provide cases in point. A recent study of the impact of statewide testing in two states found that, while new testing mandates caused action at the local level, they also narrowed the curriculum and created adverse condi tions for reform: [C]oping with the pressure to attain satisfactory results in high-stakes tests caused educators to develop almost a "crisismentality" in their approach, in that they jumped quickly into "solu tions" to address a specific issue. They narrowed the range of instructional strategies from which they selected means to instruct their students; they narrowed the content of the material they chose to present to students; and they narrowed the range of course of ferings available to students.9 - opposite in Site-based management many ways to the strategy of centralized testing - also shows problems associat ed with structural reforms. Daniel Levine among others, and Eugene Eubanks, have indicated how school-based models often result in changes in formal decision making structures but rarely result in a instructional skills focus on developing or on changing the culture of schools. '0 There are numerous other examples of new legislation and policies - career lad ders, mentoring and induction policies, requirements, testing and competency and so on - being rushed into place with little forethought about possible negative and side effects. consequences A related bane of reform is faddism. Schools, districts, and states are under tremendous pressure to reform. Innova tion and reform are big business, politi The temptation cally and economically. is great to latch on to the quick fix, to
10
"Formany years, you've been preparing day you walk the plank."
and to
go alongwith the trend, to reactuncriti cally to endorsed innovations as they come andgo. Local educatorsexperience most school reforms as fads. There are two underlying problems. mistaken or superficialsolu One is that tions are introduced; the other is that,
1992 JUNE
747
even when
the solution
is on the right
track,hasty implementation leads to fail ure. Structural solutions are relatively easy to initiateunder the rightpolitical conditions, but they are no substitute
for the hard work, al changes skill, and commit reform ef
tainty to stabilization and coherence. Any significant change involves a period of intense personal and organizational learn ing and problem solving. People need sup ports for such work, not displays of im
patience.
Failure
to
framedas naturalresponsesto transition, notmisunderstood as "resistance." Dur ing transitionsfrom a familiar to a new stateof affairs, individuals must normally confront the loss of the old and commit themselves to the new, unlearn old be liefs and behaviors and learnnew ones, andmove from anxiousness and uncer
Blaming "resistance" for the slow pace of reform also keeps us from understand ing that individuals and groups faced with something new need to assess the change for its genuine possibilities and for how it bears on their self-interest. From com puters across the curriculum, to main streaming, to portfolio assessments, to a radical change in the time schedule, sig nificant changes normally require extra effort during the transitional stage. More over, there's little certainty about the kinds of outcomes thatmay ensue for stu dents and teachers (and less assurance that they will be any better than the sta tus quo). These are legitimate issues that deserve careful attention. Many reform initiatives are ill-con ceived, and many others are fads. The most authentic response to such efforts is resistance. Nevertheless, when resis tance ismisunderstood, we are immedi ately set on a self-defeating path. Refram ing the legitimate basis of most forms of resistance will allow us to get a more productive start and to isolate the real problems of improvement. 6. Attrition of pockets of success. There are many examples of successful reforms in individual schools - cases in which the strong efforts of teachers, prin cipals, and district administrators have in brought about significant changes
classroom and school practice. We do not have much evidence about the dura bility of such successes, but we have rea son to believe that they may not survive if the conditions under which they devel oped are changed. Successful reforms have typically re quired enormous effort on the part of one or more individuals - effort thatmay not be sustainable over time. For example, staff collaboration takes much energy and time to develop, yet it can disappear overnight when a few key people leave. What happens outside the school - such as changes in district policies on the selection and transfer of teachers and principals - can easily undo gains that have been made. Local innovators, even when they are successful in the short run, may burn themselves out or unwittingly seal them selves off from the surrounding environ ment. Thus schools can become hotbeds of innovation and reform in the absence of external support, but they cannot stay innovative without the continuing support of the district and other agencies. Innova tive schools may enjoy external support from a critically important sponsor (e.g., the district superintendent) or from a giv en agency only to see that support disap pear when the sponsor moves on or the agency changes policies. Of course, the failure to institutionalize an innovation and build it into the normal structures and practices of the organization underlies the disappearance of many reforms. 12 We suspect that few things are more than working hard against discouraging long odds over a period of time to achieve a modicum of success - only to see it in short order as unrelated evaporate events take their toll. It is not enough to achieve isolated pockets of success. Re form fails unless we can demonstrate that pockets of success add up to new struc tures, procedures, and school cultures that press for continuous improvement. So far there is little such evidence. 7. Misuse of knowledge about the change process. The final problem is
related to a particularversion of faulty maps: "knowledge" thechangeprocess of is often cited as the authority for tak ing certain actions. Statements such as "Ownershipis thekey to reform,""Lots of inservice training is required,""The school is theunitof change,""Visionand leadershipare critical,"and so on are all
748
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN
half-truths.
Taken
literally,
they can be
being attempted; superficial or trivial tion to make such a judgment. 2. Change is a journey, not a blue for change was being substituted substan print. If change involved implementing tial change.'5 single, well-developed, proven innova More complex reforms, such as re be systemic, too. To succeed we need to link a number of key aspects of knowl even greateruncer tions one at a time, perhaps we could structuring, represent edge and maintain theconnectionsbefore tainty: first, because more is being at make blueprints for change.But school tempted;second, because the solution is districts and schools are in the business and during the process of change. In the of implementing a bewildering array of following section we offer seven such not known in advance. In short, anxie and are ty, difficulties,anduncertainty intrin innovations policies simultaneously. themes, which we believe warrant being reforms that aim at restruc Moreover, sic to all successful change. called propositions for success.
turing are so multifaceted PROPOSITIONS FOR SUCCESS The seven basic themes or lessons de and complex
of
forts.
1. Change is learning - loaded with uncertainty. Change is a process of com ing to grips with new personal meaning, and so it is a learning process. Peter Mar ris states the problem this way: When those who have the power to manipulate changes act as if they have only to explain, and when their expla nations are not at once accepted, shrug off opposition as ignorance or preju dice, they express a profound contempt for themeaning of lives other than their own. For the reformers have already assimilated these changes to their pur poses, andworked out a reformulation which makes sense to them, perhaps throughmonths or years of analysis and debate. If they deny others the chance to do the same, they treat them as pup pets dangling by the threads of their own conceptions. 13
some
tainty,no significantchangewill occur. Understanding successful change as learningalso puts ownership inperspec
tive. In our view, ownership of a reform cannot be achieved in advance of learn ing something new. A deep sense of own
studieshave documented thisearly peri od of difficulty thatwe have given it a label - "the implementation dip."14 something new. Thus conditionsthatsup Even in cases where reform eventually port learning must be part and parcel of succeeds, things will often go wrong be any change effort. Such conditions are fore they go right.Michael Huberman also necessary for the valid rejection of andMatthew Miles found that the ab particular changes, because many people sence of early difficulty in a reformef prematurely, rejectcomplex innovations
and do and plan somemore." Even the development of a sharedvision that is central to reform is better thoughtof as a journey inwhich people's senseof pur pose is identified,considered, and con tinuously shapedand reshaped. 3. Problems are our friends. School
JUNE 1992
749
improvementis a problem-richprocess. did not have fewer problems than other Change threatensexisting interestsand schools - they just coped with them bet routines, heightens uncertainty, and in ter. The enemies of good coping are pas creasescomplexity.The typicalprincipal
in the study of urban schools conducted three or by Louis and Miles mentioned four major problems (and several minor
cial setting already overloaded with de mands. Such serious personal and collec
ones) with reform efforts. They ranged from poor coordination to staff polari
zation and from lack of needed skills to
in
heart attacks suffered by key figures. Problems arise naturally from the de
mands of the change process itself, from the people involved, and from the struc ture and procedures of schools and dis tricts. Some are easily solved; others are
likely when
almost intractable.
It seems perverse to say that problems are our friends, but we cannot develop
problems
treated as natural.
sivity, denial, avoidance, conventionali ty, and fear of being "too radical." Good coping is active, assertive, inventive. It goes to the root of the problem when that
is needed.
We cannot cope better through being exhorted to do so. "Deep coping" - the key to solving difficult problems of re form - appears to be more likely when schools are working on a clear, shared vision of where they are heading and when they create an active coping struc ture (e.g., a coordinating committee or a steering group) that steadily and active ly tracks problems and monitors the re sults of coping efforts. Such a structure benefits from empowerment, brings more resources to bear on problems, and keeps the energy for change focused. In short, the assertive pursuit of problems in the service of continuous improvement is the that can make a kind of accountability
difference.
Even is resource-hungry. 4. Change school may spend amil amoderate-sized lion dollars a year on salaries, main tenance, and materials. And that's just for keeping schools as they are, not for changing them. Change demands addi tional resources for training, for substi for new space, tutes, for new materials, and, above all, for time. Change is "re source-hungry" because of what it repre sents - developing solutions to complex learning new skills, arriving problems, at new insights, all carried out in a so
cessful at change always used shallow were success coping styles. Schools that ful inchangingcould anddidmake struc turalchanges in an effort to solve diffi cult problems.However, theywere also willing to use Band-Aid solutionswhen a problemwas judged to be minor. It's importantto note thatsuccessful schools
success. We can also thinkof educational"con tentresources"-such big ideasas effec tive schools, teachingforunderstanding, manage and empowerment, school-based work ment -that guide and energize the of change. Inaddition, thereare psycho social resources, such as support, com mitment, influence, and power. They're
750
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN
supposedly intangible,but theyare criti legitimacy - i.e., a clear license to steer. cal for success. It needs an explicit contract,widely un The work of change requiresattention derstood in the school, as to what kinds not just to resources, but to "resourc of decisions it can make and what mon
ing." The actions for resources required are those of them to ex
door.
ey it can spend. Such legitimacy is part ly conferred at the front end and partly
The manage ment of change goes best when it is carried out by a cross role group.
earned through the hard work of decision making and action. Most such groups do
building local capacity through the de velopmentof such structuresas steering groups, coordinating committees, and
cadres of local trainers.
Good resourcingrequiresfacingup to
the need for funds and abjuring any false
tion. 6. Change is systemic. Political pres sures combinewith the segmented, un natureof educational coordinated organi
zations to produce a "project mentali ty."18A steady stream of episodic inno
may be encounterstaffpolarization;they
seen by others as an unfairly privileged elite; or they may be opposed on ideo logical grounds. Such polarization - of ten a sign that empowerment of a steer ing group isworking - can be dealt with
vations- cooperativelearning,effective schools research, classroom manage ment, assessment schemes, career lad
ders, peer coaching, etc., etc. - come and go. Not only do they fail to leave much of a trace, but they also leave teachers and the public with a growing cynicism that innovation ismarginal and
strength,not weakness.
to the power 5. Change requires it. Change initiatives do not run manage effort be devoted
meetings, rotation politicallymotivated. open access to themselves. They requirethatsubstantial through What does itmean towork systemical to such tasks as moni of membership, and scrupulousreport ly? There are two aspects: 1) reform must keepingeveryone ing. toringimplementation, has Third, even empowerment itsprob focus on the development and interrela informedof what's happening, linking tionships of all the main components of most lems, and cooperation is required to solve multiple changeprojects (typical in schools), locating unsolved problems, them. Everyone has to learn to take the the systemsimultaneously curriculum, of initiativeinstead complaining, to trust teaching and teacher development, com and taking clear coping action. In Louis
and Miles' study, such efforts occurred literally 10 times more frequently in suc cessfully changing schools than in un colleagues, to live with ambiguity, to face the fact that shared decisions mean con flict. Principals have to rise above the fear of losing control, and they have to munity, student support systems, and so on; and 2) reform must focus not just on structure, policy, and regulations but on deeper issues of the culture of the sys tem. Fulfilling both requirements is a tall order. But it is possible. This duality of reform (the need to deal with system components and system cul ture) must be attended to at both the state
changing ones.
hone new skills: initiatingactions firmly There appear to be several essential in sup gredients in the successfulmanagement without being seen as "controlling,"
of of change. First, the management change goes best when it is carried out by a cross-role group (say, teachers, department heads, administrators, and porting others without taking over for them. All these stances and skills are learnable, but they take time. Kenneth Benne remarked 40 years ago that the
often -students and parents). In such skillsof cooperative work shouldbe "part a group differentworlds collide, more of the general education of our peo learningoccurs, and change is realisti ple. "17 They haven't been, so far. But callymanaged. There ismuch evidence the technology for teaching these skills that steering a change effort in thisway exists. It is up to steering groups to learn results in substantiallyincreasedteacher towork well together, using whatever as commitment. sistance is required. Second, such a cross-rolegroup needs Fourth, the power to manage change
anddistrict/schoollevels. It involvesboth restructuring "reculturing."'9 and Marshall O'Day havemapped Smith and Jennifer out a comprehensive plan for systemicre form at the state level that illustratesthe kind of thinking strategiesinvolved.20 and At the school/districtlevel,we see in the Toronto region's LearningConsortium a ratherclear exampleof systemic reform
JUNE
1992
751
B. Miles, 3. Karen Seashore Louis and Matthew Improving the Urban High School: What Works and Why (New York: Teachers College Press, 1990). 4. Paul Berman and Milbrey W. McLaughlin, Fed
with how itplays itselfout preoccupation can locally.The less obvious implication
be stated as a caution: we should not as sume that only the local level counts and
InnovationUp Close: How School Improvement Works (New York: Plenum, 1984).
5. Milbrey W. McLaughlin, "The Rand Change
Agent Study Revisited: Macro Perspectives and Micro Realities,"EducationalResearcher,Decem ber 1990, pp. 11-16.
6. Arthur Wise, "Why Educational Policies Often
records as
bring the sevenpropositions to life at the local level. Modern societies are facing terrible problems, and education reform is seen
as a major source of hope for solving
ganizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990). 8. SamuelD. Sieber, Fatal Solutions (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1982).
9. H. Dickson 1990), p. 207. U. Levine and Eugene E. Eubanks, or for Reform Engine Management: Management," et al., Louis Paul unpublished manu as Cul Corbett and Bruce Wilson, Testing,
short-term activities include inservice on professionaldevelopment selectedand interrelatedthemes;mid- to long-term strategies includevision building, initial preparation,selectionand induc teacher tion, promotionproceduresand criteria,
school-based planning in a system con
tural Change,"EducationalLeadership,November
1989, pp. 70-77; Richard Wallace, op. cit.; and and William
of continuous improvement.
Systemic reform is complex. Practical ly speaking, traditional approaches to in novation and reform in education have not been successful in bringing about last
and Miles,
17. Kenneth D. Benne, "Theory of Cooperative Planning," Teachers College Record, vol. 53, 1952, pp. 429-35. 18. Marshall "System Smith and Jennifer O'Day, in Susan Fuhrman and Bruce ic School Reform," eds., The Politics of Curriculum and Test Malen, ing (Philadelphia: Falmer Press, 1990), pp. 233-67. 19. "Systemic reform" is both amore accurate and label than "restructuring" because a more powerful both structure and culture. it explicitly encompasses See Andy Hargr,.aves, "Restructuring Restructur for Educa and the Prospects ing: Postmodernity tional Change," paper presented at the annual meet ing of the American Educational Research Associ 1991. ation, Chicago, 20. Smith and O'Day, op. cit. and Michael 21. Nancy Watson Fullan, "Beyond inMichael School District-University Partnerships," Fullan and Andy Hargreaves, eds., Teacher De and Change velopment (Toronto: Falmer Press, 1992), pp. 21342. 22. See Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline (New G. Fullan, York: Doubleday, 1990); and Michael Productive Educational Change: Going Deeper (London: Falmer Press, forthcoming). 1i
1. Larry Cuban,
"Reforming,
Again,
Again,
and
Again," EducationalResearcher, April 1990, pp. Schools 3-13;RichardF. Elmore, ed., Restructuring
(San Francisco: ing of Educational 2. Matthew Properties Jossey-Bass, Change 1990); and Michael Teachers
The ideas thatchange is learning,change is a journey, problems are our friends, change is resource-hungry,change re quires thepower tomanage, and change is systemic all embody the fact that lo by cal implementation everyday teachers, principals, parents, and students is the only way thatchange happens.
holm, andRolf Vandenberghe,eds., LastingSchool Exploring theProcess of Institution Improvement: alization (Leuven, Belgium: Acco, 1987), pp. 24-44.
752
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN