Abstract:

“By definition, change is any significant alteration in the status quo that affects an individual or organization” (Bloom, 2005, p. 21). Change usually calls for an alteration in the roles and responsibilities of people. This happens whether the change is a personal change or an organizational change. Prochaska, Norcross, and DiClemente (2007) devoted years of clinical research to the stages of change, the unfolding of change, and the complexity of change due to dealing with individuals. Evans (2001) combined a psychological and systemic perspective to study change in educational settings. The research again points to the complexity of the change process. Evans states, “the success of change depends heavily on the readiness of people, the organizational capacity of schools, and the kind of leadership that is exerted” (2001, p. xiv).

Educational change in today’s world is forcing itself on us at every turn, wielding both positive and negative forces. Ebbeck and Chan (2011, as cited in Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2003) wrote, “Change is an ever present entity and necessity for growth and to meet existing and future demands” (p. 43). The futility of school change is legendary; it is an enormous and intricate task (Evans, 2001). In order to grow and develop, the positive forces must be used to our advantage and the negative forces must be blunted (Fullan, 1993). Educational change faces a paradox: its essential agents of change—teachers and administrators—are also its targets and, sometimes, its foes (Evans, 2001). Change happens in small amounts at times and in very large waves at other times. The idea and process of educational change is surrounded by questions and increasingly by research. Schools are organizations, made up of individuals, which generate complex problems that cannot be solved by simple solutions (Bloom, 2005).

Research points to the fact that change is complex and school change is no different. Fullan (1999) writes that complexity makes things “exceedingly difficult, while the answer lies within its natural dynamics” (p. 3). Fullan (1999) also states that those very same dynamics “can be designed and stimulated in the right direction but can never be controlled” (p. 3). Research has shown change to be more attainable for the teachers that are given leadership over their own growth and learning. An effective teacher makes positive change occur in the classroom (Marzano, 2003; Nye, Konstantopoulos & Hedges, 2004).

Keywords:

Change, trust, efficacy, relationships, learning communities.