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The cases through which these questions are being addressed are ordinary "real world" school settings, not special "show case" schools. As is probably already apparent in the case descriptions, the desired reforms in these cases have not fully developed into their ideal form throughout any of the sites. Furthermore, one should not expect to have such sites to study. The results of our thorough process of seeking out very successful cases are an indication of the paucity of "picture-perfect" reform settings. Other research confirms (e.g. Anderson, et al., 1992; Fullan, 1991) this picture of reform. It is a long term process--possibly one that is never fully completed. The expectation probably should not be to study fully reformed sites; the orientation probably should be to look at any particular reform site as being a certain distance down the reform road and a source of insights for others considering taking this path.
Having made this point, however, our cases still have much to offer in answer to the question about the essential ingredients for attaining significant degrees of reform. The situations found across the nine sites are quite varied, but there are some common key messages that emerge from the cross-site analysis--both in terms of successful components that are present, as well as components whose importance is apparent by their absence.
A key result of this analysis is an unequivocal statement that there is no "silver bullet." At successful reform sites, attention is given--sometimes without conscious proactive political decisions--to all of the dimensions: technical, political, and cultural. A systemic perspective is of great importance and care must be exercised to see that no important factor is ignored. The search should not be for the one key ingredient; the search should be for the inclusion of all of the essential ingredients--and putting them together in a manner that takes full account of the systemic nature of the situation.
The technical dimension. At least at the local level, this is the dimension to which people initiating reform give primary attention. The desired curriculum materials must be developed, acquired and/or adapted; teachers must learn new approaches to instruction. Mechanisms typically are established for facilitating these changes; working groups are set up to deal with curricular matters and inservice education is provided regarding instructional approaches.
Mechanisms for collaboration. An essential ingredient of reform sites is a context in which teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with each other on the work of instruction. While important in the cultural dimension as well, attention here is given directly to the technical. In these collaborative working environments, teachers receive both curriculum and instructional help from each other that often is of high importance. Collaborative work situations may be the most essential reform ingredient as indicated by these descriptions from three different cases.
Key to constructivist learning for students is the need to communicate as they work through the process of scientific problem solving and inquiry. Important to consider here is that as these approaches are necessary for student learning, they are also critical to teacher learning ... For both students and teachers in this science program, the social construction of knowledge through cooperative and collaborative interactions appears to be critical to overall learning ... The teachers view their working together as "invaluable" to their success at implementing the program.
Leadership is essential to establishing a process of teacher collaboration, but it is through the teacher collaboration itself that much of the important reform work occurs at Westview. This process creates communication among teachers in the context of their collaboration on developing materials and in making plans for their classes. Fundamentally, it may be the most powerful force for change within the science department. Outsiders to the department (e.g., the principal, other department chairs, and district leaders) tend to emphasize Karl's leadership when talking about the origins of the science education reform in the Westview science department. Insiders to the department (i.e. the teachers) tend to emphasize communication and collaboration with their peers as the basis for what they were doing. As Dave put it when asked how important collaboration was to what was happening within their department, "Paramount. I mean it has got to be the most important thing that we do, we all work together on it, we all have input on it, we're all communicating almost on a daily basis." ... Teachers are very aware that they have acquired a larger pool of ideas as a result of this sharing. In addition to this very specific sharing of knowledge and insights, there is a motivational factor as well. Another word that is used in describing the benefits of this collaboration is "support".
We looked at how the three teachers constituted a learning group as they worked together as a teaching team. They had created among themselves strong and positive communication patterns. They indeed drew in knowledge from outside the group both in terms of interesting materials that could be used in the class, research ideas about instructional techniques and knowledge about their own group of students and the context of their school. They had creative planning sessions where they generated new ideas of how to teach. They created a trusting atmosphere in which they could take risks to try new instructional methods ... They were not worried about the principal or some other person evaluating them on the quality of their work ... A very positive characteristic of the Core team was the way in which the teacher functioned as a "learning community" among themselves.
Conferences and networking. Less systematic learning contexts are important as well. Many teachers cite attendance at conferences and related informal networking as being very important. At many sites, such activities are both valued and supported in overt ways. Contact with the "outside" is of significant importance.
... the network of support that they developed outside of the school was crucial to their continued emphasis on trying new ideas in the classroom ... Teachers attended conferences and workshops because it was encouraged as a part of the culture of this department.
Teachers also see the benefit of the regional SS&C activities in terms of the interactions it provides for them with other teachers from other schools. There are meetings where, "People have been able to get together to talk, to get ideas and maybe even to find out that some of the things that you are doing aren't totally off the wall. I mean, when you are developing something new you don't know quite where you stand on the spectrum of things, and I think that's a real important part of the program, is the networking."
They openly learned from one another and were eager to apply new ideas that they acquired through outside conferences and other sources.
Inservice education. Inservice education was an essential ingredient of the reform settings. Although not limited to the technical dimension, this inservice education was crucial to communicating new knowledge and skills related to curriculum and new pedagogical approaches. It addressed important aspects of the role of textbooks in the classroom, the nature and role of assessment, the use of group work, the teachers' role, the students' role, and the nature of the work done by students. All of these matters are important--and obviously highly interrelated--and require ongoing attention.
The most valuable form of this inservice education seemed to have a lot in common with the form of education advocated for students in the schools.
What seemed most valuable to teachers during the in-service sessions were the opportunities they had to talk with other teachers about the problems that they were experiencing and to hear about the solutions that other teachers were employing. As students in this science program problem solve and create and answer questions in cooperative group settings, likewise teachers "construct" their own knowledge through conversations with their peers.
An indicator of the importance of the inservice education was the impact of its loss in several instances some years into the reform process. It was noted in case after case, as illustrated below.
It cannot be said, though, that three years of staff development necessarily provided enough support to bring all teachers to a place where they can successfully implement this innovative curriculum.
This problem is especially acute for teachers new to the school and to the reform program. As they struggle with a new curriculum and a new way of teaching these teachers have no peer support, no one at the school to help them resolve the nagging day-to-day problems. One of the teachers implementing the reform program verbalized her feelings of being "on her own," except for some moral support.
Efforts sustained over time. As just noted, there is a tendency at reform sites to give these matters concerted attention for a year, or two, or three, and then assume they have been addressed and no longer need ongoing attention. This outlook generally is a mistake. Reform requires the acquisition of a substantial amount of technical competency on the part of teachers. The task takes longer than generally thought, different people start the process at different times, and it takes differing amounts of time for the participating individuals. Furthermore, it should be recognized that the task never ends because the school--viewed as a system--is never static--there is continued turnover of personnel, for example--and there will always be an ongoing need for assistance on the technical dimension.
Arrangements that allow for teacher collaboration on a continuing basis are essential. There are a variety of means by which such collaboration can be fostered, but there are forces that tend to restrict such support for reform as illustrated by one of the science cases.
Ideally, the teachers would like to have multiple sections of a given year of Coordinated Science(e.g. first year Coordinated Science) occurring in the same class period and have the same planning period for all of the teachers teaching a section of this particular year of Coordinated Science. Such an arrangement has two very important outcomes: (1) it facilitates team teaching and (2) it gives them the common planning period that is so important for developing communication and teamwork. What seems to be a relatively easy matter to accomplish apparently is resisted by the administration and counseling staff because it significantly reduces the options available to students in creating their individual schedules.
Fostering new student roles. Fully successful work on the technical dimension must include close attention to the new roles played by students in a reform context and the new forms of student work they must produce. It is the "bottom line" that is at the core of quality work within the technical dimension. Yet in our cases, it was the central element of the total situation that most often was missing.
It was not always apparent to teachers that the reforms they were pursuing demanded such a distinct change on the part of their students, and even when they were conscious of the need--or at least thought it was worth testing out--they usually were not sure how to do it. Although we did not systematically check the agendas of the inservice education provided to the teachers, we got little indication that substantial, direct, "how-to-do" help was provided to teachers on changing students' role and work. What was provided tended to focus on some limited aspect of instruction, e.g., conducted laboratory work in science in a more open-ended manner, rather than focus on the entire instructional process in a holistic manner.
The political dimension. There is a tendency on the part of some persons to think of the political dimension largely in terms of the actions taken by elected officials--from local school board members on up to the federal level. Although there obviously are many important actions taken in these arenas, the political dimension is much broader and includes much that happens within a school itself, as well as the school district and the community. In fact, local actions distinguish the successful reform sites from other schools.
National and state influences. To say that these distinguishing features are at the local school level is not to say that what happens at higher levels is unimportant. In fact, they may be crucial. We return again to the systemic perspective and note that while these actions at the higher levels may be far from sufficient for reform to occur, they may well be essential. Westview is a good case in point. The success of their reform was largely due to visionary leadership by the science department chair, but the leadership probably would not have been exercised in the directions it took without the focus set by state curriculum guidelines and national reform documents.
Another example is provided by a mathematics department where, over a period of more than 15 years, the department has been influenced by national movements in mathematics education as leading teachers have attempted to respond to these movements toward reformed mathematics.
Outside influences that led to current practices included teacher attendance at national conferences, service by teachers on state advisory boards, administrative support, and grant monies.
In addition to the vision provided by these national movements, federal monies have played an important role as well, as illustrated by the science site that adopted a set of curriculum materials developed with the support of NSF funds.
Critical to this reform effort was national funding that enabled program developers to write the innovative curriculum, that provided the district and teachers with staff development and with on-site support from the university science site-coordinators and staff, and that provided students with science materials and equipment. Without this initial national funding, this particular reform effort would not have taken place in this district.
In addition, some resources have come from the national and state level to other sites, through such means as grants. While very helpful, however, one does not gain the impression from reading most of the cases that this supplemental funding was a deciding factor, with the exception of cases where initiation of the reform hinged upon new curriculum materials that had been developed with federal monies. Even here, however, one cannot be sure that the local leaders would not have sought out other reform-oriented materials that had been developed without such funding.
Local leadership. Local leadership is a key ingredient in these successful cases, whether that be at the department or school level. In case after case, the mark of these local leaders is striking.
In instances where the reform was at the department level, especially in cases of senior high school science or mathematics reform, this leadership generally was from the department chair.
The educational reform environment fostered by state level activities is crucial to what has taken place at Westview High School, but the true driving force in this particular case is Karl Tozer, the department chair. Without him, what has happened at Westview would not have happened.
In such cases, however, the leadership of the principal also is important, if in no other way than supporting the department chair in his or her efforts. In cases of school-wide reforms, the leadership of the principal is absolutely essential. Given the nature of the reforms sought, the style of the principals in our cases seemed especially important as illustrated by the perspective of the following principal.
Ideas must come from others. A principal needs to do more seeding than leading. People have to own the ideas. I guess you could say I planted seeds early on.
Principal leadership that empowers teachers is illustrated by yet another case.
Teachers feel trusted by the administration to do what they believe is best for students. Even the evaluation process that teachers go through for their first three years in the school is viewed as supportive rather than threatening. Two main reasons for this tone of support appears to be the philosophy of the administration and the vision that bonds them.
The most successful of these leaders--whether department chairs or principals--are effective in keeping a focus on an understandable vision for reform, removing impediments to action, getting resources and fostering a climate of collaboration among the teachers involved in the reform endeavor.
Teacher empowerment. Teacher empowerment is characteristic of these successful reform settings. While vision communicated from a higher level may have been important, successful reformers--whether individual teachers, a department or an entire school--had the autonomy and power to determine how they would put this vision--or some modification thereof--into practice.
This empowerment of teachers enables them to grapple with their values and beliefs related to the reform agenda, and the new practices that are under consideration. Personal engagement with basic educational issues is at the heart of the change process for each individual. Commitment to the reforms on the part of teachers demands values and beliefs different from those generally held by teachers. In successful reform settings, teachers have numerous occasions to confront these matters.
In other words, teacher learning is central to educational reform. Such learning occurs most readily in contexts where teachers have the power to grapple with their own vision of change and how to initiate it.
Public support. This engagement with new values and beliefs is at the heart of yet another aspect of successful reform settings. The public--particularly parents in higher socio-economic communities--must also grapple with shifting values and beliefs about education. In some manner, school personnel in successful settings have acted to defuse public concerns about controversial matters, bring parents into the deliberation process, and/or provide options for students that give parents a choice about whether or not their children will participate in at least some aspects of the reform. In cases where parents have been more engaged in the decision-making process they have had more opportunity to confront their own values and beliefs, a step that may by essential to long term educational reform.
Fairness and justice. An obvious characteristic of the reform situations portrayed in these cases is their commitment to equality of opportunity for all students. This form of fairness--defined at least partially by the absence of tracking and ability grouping--is typical of these cases. The presence of this characteristic is what one would expect in these cases; after all, they initially were selected partially on that basis. As noted earlier, however, there is some debate about such characteristics in some cases; it is the basis of some conflict.
The means of addressing such conflict in most of these cases--at least in the professional context--is rooted in collective decision making. While such conflict resolution often is viewed as a political matter, it also clearly is a moral issue as well. Given the connection of such conflicts to people's values and beliefs--and the long term personal reappraisal involved in their change--fairness and justice demand extensive participation of these professionals in this process. These sites generally appear to display fairness and justice in this additional regard.
This fair and just professional perspective is apparent in many of these cases in more than the formal means of decision-making; it is an integral part of the teacher collaboration that is so characteristic of much in these cases. Because this collaboration addresses the basic educational issues of the workplace, is intertwined with teachers' values and beliefs, and provides a personal context for addressing them, it is part of what it means to be authentically human; it is a moral aspect of the cases. There is fairness and justice for the professionals involved as they work in a context which fosters continued learning and professional development.
Finally, the focus of these reform programs on learning for understanding, integrating such understandings and developing higher order thinking abilities, is more fair and just than the focus of programs with limited educational goals for students. Thus, in terms of student outcomes sought and attained in these cases, fairness and justice again can be said to be essential ingredients of the reform sites.
Summary. The political dimension is highly complex; it has many facets which are very interrelated. An appropriate set of actions--operating in a systemic manner--can have a major influence on educational practice and be crucial to significant reforms. In successful sites there are indications of policy alignment, i.e., the various political levels are headed in the same direction and their policies complement each other.
On the other hand, there is little indication from these cases that policy alignment and having all political entities moving in the same direction will insure that reform will occur. An appropriate systemic mix of political influences--including resources--is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for educational reform. There is another dimension--even more basic--that in addition to the political must be addressed. In successful sites, matters that pertain to the cultural dimension are key elements in the total reform picture.
The cultural dimension. Reformed education is characterized by students occupying new roles and doing new forms of work. These new roles and forms of work for students, in turn, are the result of teachers occupying new roles and doing new forms of teacher work. While these new roles and practices on the part of teachers are influenced by matters in the technical dimension, the cultural dimension is central to the changes. A re-examination of basic educational values and beliefs is at the heart of reform for professionals.
Effective education for reform must attend to more than the technical dimension; it must put the cultural dimension front and center. While it is clear from these case studies of successful reform sites that the cultural dimension is central, the best way of addressing this dimension is not obvious.
Inservice attention to values and beliefs. Generally, the cases do not detail the inservice education in a manner that makes clear its contribution to re-assessment of these values and beliefs. It appears, however, that inservice education can play an important role in this regard.
Recognizing the importance of teacher beliefs on practice, WSU has constructed a two-week summer institute and follow-up procedures that address teacher beliefs. The purpose of the institute is as follows: * change teacher behaviors, * reduce teacher isolation, * decrease the rate of recidivism (return to the old ways) ... The staff continues to monitor teachers' beliefs periodically during the two weeks of the institute while at the same time engaging the teachers in the following activities structured to change their beliefs: * activities, structure questions, and discussions which emphasize dissatisfaction with the traditional science activities, * continue to compare traditional teaching with project teaching.
For one particular teacher, it seemed evident that the in-service provided an opportunity to reflect on long-held beliefs about student learning ... In contrast, though, another teacher, Andrew, describes the difficulty he had with learning the new approaches and understandings associated with this program and how the staff development and in-service sessions were rarely helpful in making a shift from old teaching approaches to new.
Collaborative influences on values and beliefs. While the role of formal inservice education within the cultural dimension is not sharply defined, it is clear in our cases that collaborative working relationships among teachers provide a very important context for the re-assessment of educational values and beliefs. In this context--where the focus is the actual work of each teachers' own students--one's values and beliefs are encountered at every turn. It is a powerful influence. The reforming teachers in our cases did not do their work in isolation; they worked together with fellow teachers in their team or department. Crucial reform work takes place in this context.
It also is important to note that this work needs to extend over a long period of time, as indicated by the experience of one middle school science teacher.
Andrew was unsure about the benefits of the program and was hesitant to implement the curriculum in his classroom. It appears, though, that after four years of field testing and implementation, Andrew has come to a critical place. He now sees the differences between his belief system and instructional strategies and those of the reform and he perceives that further training in this key aspect of the program would be of great value to his teaching. Therefore, it is critical when implementing reform to consider the length of time teachers may need to reach dissonance with their long-held beliefs and approaches.
As noted frequently above, reformed education results in new roles for students and a focus on new forms of student work. While not all of the cases were equally successful in this regard, it is clear that these changes are at the heart of successful reform. While resistance to reform on the part of teachers, administrators and/or parents generally has been encountered, in successful sites it has been addressed appropriately. Such resistance is grounded in values and beliefs about education that are in conflict with those in which the reforms are grounded. Thus, the cultural dimension highlights what may be the most important of the essential ingredients for educational reform--direct attention to the values and beliefs underlying the educational process.
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[Extending the Analysis Along Lines Suggested by Other Research]