A number of strategies can help you fulfill the multiple roles of a change agent. One of these is the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), which is based on longitudinal studies of how change occurs in educational environments. CBAM identifies seven principles of change that can help change agents such as MSCs successfully guide implementation of prevention programs.

1. Change is an ongoing process, not a short-term event. Change requires ongoing support and resources and it takes time. Sometimes we get discouraged when we don't see immediate results. It is important to have realistic expectations about the time it will take to see significant progress and to make sure that other stakeholders in the community understand this as well. According to CBAM researchers Hall and Hord, "Most changes in education take three to five years to be implemented at a high level. Failure to address key aspects of the change process can either add years to, or even prevent, successful implementation." Prevention research also indicates that "making big improvements in educational or social outcomes is difficult, and usually much time passes before major benefits of a program are visible" (Hall Hord, 2001).

   One middle school coordinator wrote about the virtue of patience: "Now that we're near the end of our three years, we're just starting to see the buy-in by teachers and administrators. It's almost as if for the past two years we were nonexistent. Now all of a sudden, we're the experts and they want us. The education process is sometimes very slow, and we have to keep plugging away and make sure we're there when we get the call."

2. Change occurs in individuals first, then in organizations. The best prevention program in the world won't succeed in your schools unless the people implementing it are ready and willing to make it a success. However, individual change is difficult if the organization is not supportive of the change. For example, if the school schedule doesn't have room for a prevention program, it won't happen. Therefore, as an MSC you need to pay attention to the needs and concerns of individual implementers, as well as work with the principal to successfully integrate prevention into the school environment.

3. People go through change at different rates and in different ways. You can't expect everyone to be ready at the same time to implement or even to choose a program. Some people need more information to be convinced. Some need more training to feel prepared. Be aware of individual differences in your implementers.

4. As people implement a new program, their concerns change. For example, when teachers first hear about the prevention program, they might not be concerned because they don't think it will affect them. However, once they realize that they will be the ones implementing it, they may have concerns about how to fit the program into their already busy schedules.

   In general, early concerns (Stages 1 and 2) tend to focus on "self," while later concerns (Stage 3) tend to focus on implementation "tasks." Still later concerns (Stages 4-6) relate to program "impact." Teachers also may have concerns in more than one stage at a time. For example, they might have concerns about the "how to's" of managing the implementation (Stage 3) as well as how it will affect their students (Stage 4). The CBAM stages of concern are described in the table below.

   The CBAM Stages of Concern

   Focus	Stages	Expressions of Typical Concerns
   Unrelated	O: Awareness	I am not concerned about it.
   Self	1: Informational 2: Personal	I would like to know more about it. How will using it affect me?
   Task	3: Management	I seem to be spending all my time getting materials ready.
   Impact	4: Consequence 5: Collaboration 6: Refocusing	How is my use affecting learners? How can I refine the program to have more impact? How can I relate what I am doing to what others are doing? I have some ideas about something that would work even better.

   Adapted from Hall, G. E. & Hord, S. M. (2001). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

5. Different interventions can be designed to support implementers' changing concerns. For example, if you recognize that someone is still in the informational stage, you can find additional ways to present information about the prevention program, perhaps by having someone who is using the program in another school talk about his or her experience.

6. Change agents need to adapt to different individuals' changing concerns over time in order to make effective organizational change. You will need to notice when people's concerns change. For example, once someone begins using a program, he or she might need further suggestions about how to use the materials, even if that person had been to a training prior to implementation. Or, teachers might need opportunities to get together, share their experiences, and learn from one another

7. Change agents need to take into account the larger system in which a program is being implemented, since a change in one part of the system could have effects in another. Before you implement a program, think about its possible impact on other individuals and parts of the school program or schedule. You will probably be most successful if you find ways to integrate prevention into comprehensive school reform.

Click here to learn about two simulation board games that can help you experience the process of making effective change.

Using CBAM to Assess Progress

As an MSC, you can assess the progress of your prevention program by tracking how implementers move through the stages of concern. You can identify where your prevention teachers are on the concern continuum using two simple methods: the one-legged interview and the open-ended concerns statement

• One-legged interviews are brief, informal conversations that might take place in the hallway between classes. During these encounters, you encourage the implementer to describe what he or she is doing and how he or she feels about the prevention program. Listen carefully, identify concerns, and ask for clarification, as needed. Then make sure to follow up on the conversation by addressing the concerns identified. CBAM research has shown that schools that are more successful in change have statistically more of these small, almost unnoticable interventions

• The open-ended concerns statement is another simple way to gather information. Ask teachers who are either implementing or thinking about implementing a new prevention program to write the answer to the following question on a piece of paper: "When you think about this prevention program, what concerns do you have?" Remind them to be frank and to describe their concerns and current use as completely as possible. After you collect the statements, categorize each response into one of these four groups: most concerns related to self, most concerns related to task, most concerns related to impact, or most concerns unrelated to the program. Then assign a stage of concern, such as Awareness or Management, to the statement.

Many people make the mistake of assuming that everyone's needs within a group are the same. The CBAM model can help you identify differences among users and tailor your interventions to their individual needs and concerns. Here are some examples:

• Provide teachers in the awareness stage (Stage 0) with local data that demonstrate the need for prevention in your school.

• Address informational concerns (Stage 1) by inviting MSCs or teachers from other schools to talk about their successful experiences with using prevention programs.

• Engage in one-on-one discussions with teachers who have personal concerns (Stage 2) to assess their needs.

• Provide "booster" training sessions for teachers who are already implementing the program but who have management concerns (Stage 3).

• Have staff make presentations at local or regional meetings to describe the impact of the program in your community (Stage 4).

• Provide opportunities for staff who have implemented the program for a few years to work together (Stage 5) in order to design ways to improve the program (Stage 6).

• Have staff work with other middle school staff to discuss how the prevention program might be expanded to the greater school community, including parents and staff (Stage 6).

Click here for other ways to address individual stages of concern. For an extended description of how CBAM works in practice, click here.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Please read the case study Changing Prevention Programs and then post your answers to the following questions to the Discussion Area.

1. Which of the change agent roles described on Day 1 does the MSC in the case play?

2. What strategies does the MSC use to address the early stages of concerns (Stages 0-2) exhibited by administrators and staff?

3. How have you used the CBAM principles of change and stages of concern to facilitate program planning and implementation in your schools and districts?

References

Gottfredson, G. D., Nettles, S. M., & McHugh, B. (1996). Program development and evaluation for schools and communities. Ellicott City, MD: Gottfredson Associates, Inc.

Hall, G. & Hord, S. (2001). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Hord, S. (1992). Facilitative leadership: The imperative for change. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.