Creating Systems Change in Education

For a student studying the chemistry of a plant or of a disease, the model of a molecular structure can conceptually portray the interactions of a simple or complex system. Or, I recall a chilly fall day standing on a bridge over McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park watching the bald eagles soar down to catch salmon that had migrated upstream to spawn. The sight was awe inspiring as I thought about the intricacies and interdependencies of our ecosystem. What a wonderful example of a system which occurs in nature. This natural system also illustrates systems change. For example, a reduction in the number of salmon migrating back to their spawning grounds will result in a decrease in the number of eagles attracted to the area. Change in that situation is constant and permanent.

By the sheer nature of people, human systems are much more complex and puzzling. Regardless of the environment, whether we think of social systems, economic systems, political systems or educational systems, we find some shared attributes that must be addressed when we consider making long-lasting changes.

Because my understanding of educational systems is much more comprehensive than of any other system, I will use that as the basis for developing the major components of this discussion on systems change. Recognizably, the education system does not function in isolation as it is interdependent with the other human systems.

Since the beginning of time, there has been some form of education occurring. In the early 1700s in America, when a father taught his son how to build a fire using two objects or a mother taught her daughter how to prepare a meal over an open pit fire, those were stereotypic examples of very basic forms of education. As time has progressed, we have created a much more complex education system which involves a multiplicity of professionals working with a variety of perplexing learners. Within that context, we find conventions that have existed for more than one hundred years, e.g., use of desks, one teacher per class, grades, blackboards or whiteboards. Also, the basic concept of a curriculum has been central to the teaching/learning process and in many ways remains unchanged even with the advent of such tools as the computer.

So when we think of systems change and education, we are reminded of the conventions that have remained unaltered. Does the expression, "the more we change, the more we stay the same" apply to education? Art Costa stated, "It seems like in education we go through a reform about every ten years." But have such educational reforms meant systems change? Not necessarily.

For example, in the early 1970s, consider the movement toward the open classroom concept where schools were built without individual classrooms being separated by permanent walls. Teaching in such settings required teachers to work in teams, to be more tolerant of higher levels of noise, to be comfortable in being constantly observed by colleagues and to use different instructional strategies. Students also had to become comfortable in learning in more spacious and noisier settings. Well, in most schools, it was not long before the walls went up and teachers returned to regular self-contained classrooms. And, the critics taunted that once again education had experienced another failure within its attempt to change the system. A sound argument could be made that teachers who taught in open classroom concept schools never quite taught exactly the same way even when they returned to "classrooms with walls." In that sense an incremental change did occur in the system called schools, but not the dramatic change that had been hoped.

The focus of this article is on systems change which means making change that endures and changes at the heart of the organization. Such change is systematic, takes time, planning and patience. Such change is not done by just tweaking parts of the system in isolation. But, it means ultimately impacting change across all elements of the system and in all schools of the district. In thinking about the change process, I am reminded of my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer during the early years of the organization. As volunteers, we served as change agents. Each of us worked in a specific area of responsibility. I served in Jamaica as an Education Television Utilization Officer – what an ominous job title. This meant working with teachers in seven rural schools to systematically use television as an instructional medium. Our group was referred to as Jamaica VII because we were the seventh group of Peace Corps Volunteers to go into the country. As the result of that approach, we built upon the work of earlier volunteers and over time change did occur in the quality and scope of educational opportunities offered to children. At that moment in time, as a participant in that change process, I was unclear on the alpha and omega of education in Jamaica. It is only when I have been able to step back and look can I see the permanent changes that have occurred because of the involvement of several groups of volunteers over a period of three decades.

How can systems change in education be accomplish? Let us focus on the importance of a vision, of what it means to create an understanding of the organization, of leadership and the role of different styles, of critical factors to the change process, and of the importance of organizational culture.

Well known authors in the area of leadership and organizational change repeatedly emphasize the importance of having a clear vision when defining the direction of an organization (Oakley, E. and Drug, D. 1991; Wheatley, M. J. and Kellner-Rogers, M, 1998; Senge, P. M. 1990; DePree, M. 1997; Gardner, H.1995; Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z 1988; Bennis W. and Nanus, B. 1985) And such importance prevails when discussing systems change. However, there are two perspectives of vision that are necessary to consider. One is the vision of the leader and the other is the shared vision of the members of the educational entity. Both visions are interdependent and both drive systems change.

As Covey (1989) states, "Begin with the end in mind," and for the educational leader, having a clear vision of where he or she wants to lead is critical. Without a vision of a direction for the efforts of everyone involved, there will be frustration, a fragmentation of services, confusion and a higher rate of staff burnout. The mental image is of a pile of individual tacks all pointing in different directions.

The vision is ever-present in the mind of the educational leader and influences every decision and conversation he or she has. For individuals who tend to be more visually oriented, it means carrying around this mental picture of where the school district, is headed. Such a vision is not of a single focus of the educational system, but instead considers the different components of the system.

For example, my area of responsibility is special education. My overall vision centers around the idea of providing opportunities for each student and staff member to develop to his or her fullest potential. My commitment is to assuring that all students are provided with the best education possible. I am legally responsible for providing students with a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Interestingly enough, public school districts are theoretically funded for "appropriate" and certainly not for "best." Appropriate implies that each student, whether he or she has a disability or not, is provided with equal access to all educational opportunities and activities offered and that he or she is presented with educational experiences so he or she can learn commensurate with his or her abilities. Regardless of the decision I am needing to make, I use my vision to shape my decision. Concurrently, I take into consideration the priorities of other departments, e.g. curriculum and instruction, staff development, transportation, food services.

A sense of a school or department's vision is usually presented in an organization or department's vision or mission statement. This is what I referred to earlier as a "shared vision" because it should be developed by the stakeholders and be consistent with the leader's vision. For example, the vision statement for our Special Services department is "All Sumner School District staff and community will come together in a unified, supportive and inclusive environment to enhance everyone's unique talents and skills to promote success for learners who have exceptional needs and to support the involvement of families." At the beginning of my first school year in the district, this statement was written using a group process which involved an outside facilitator, all special services certificated staff and a representation of para-educators, regular education teachers, building administrators and parents. At the beginning of my second year, we had a half-day staff retreat at which time we reviewed and modified our vision statement and related goals by asking the question, "Is this still describing where we want to go?"

Making vision or mission statements come alive is critical to having them be meaningful. I am also reminded of a workshop session I attended at Disney in Orlando. We were asked by the presenter, a Disney trainer, to describe what we thought of when we heard the name "Disney." We listed such adjectives as fun, family oriented, colorful, entertainment, characters, cartoons, laughter. The point the presenter made was that our descriptors should be consistent with what the Disney Corporation perceived as their mission and a reflection of their vision. The same should be true for what families and students experience in relation to how our Special Services staff work to support students in being successful learners. Our actions and the way we make decisions and the way we do what we say we will do should be consistent with our vision and consistent with the vision and mission of the school district. Such consistency contributes to the credibility of the organization.

The relationship of the leader's vision to the organization's vision and mission is basic. If there is incompatibility, then the organization has the wrong person in the leadership role. When sharing this insight, the image of the Denver Youth Symphony and Choir performing Sibelius's Finlandia in an outdoor amphitheater in Aspen, Colorado comes to mind. The music was beautiful and flowed. Was everyone playing or singing perfectly – probably not. But each knew the music and had a sense of what it should sound like. Enough so that for the untrained ear, such as mine, it was a wonderful experience. Such an example is analogous with the harmony of an educational system where each leader has a clear vision and where there is a shared vision for the district, school and or department. It does not mean that the harmony is perfect, that there are not glitches and disagreements, but that everyone does have a shared sense of "where we are headed" and a sincere commitment to the vision.

By addressing the focusing questions outlined in Figure 1, Tools for System Change, an understanding of what leaders need to know about the system being impacted by change becomes more clear. Once a leader, for example a building administrator, has processed each question and topic in Figure 1, strategies for making changes in the school become more clear.

Tools for Systems Change

Vision
Understanding the organization
- how are decisions made?
- how do people work?
- what influences the use of resources
- communications-- formal and informal
- what constitutes a "critical mass"?
- what defines the "system"?
Leadership and Styles
- role of power
- consensus building-- if and how
- orchestration
Critical factors
- timing
- change occurs incrementally
Organizational Culture

Source: Dr. Gail E. Hanninen, Sumner School District

Figure 1. Tools for systems change.

Let us peruse a hypothetical example. The school district may be one where building based decision making is employed and strongly supported by district administration. The elementary school considering change does some grade level teaming, but how everyone is to work with students with disabilities is unclear. The building administrator, Mrs. Jones, is very clear in directives to staff after getting input from a Site-based Council. The time has come to clarify how students with special needs, particularly those served by special education can become more of a shared responsibility. Thus, examining the understanding the staff has on the "inclusion of students with disabilities" becomes paramount. When working with the staff, which includes specialists, the basic question to ask is, "What is inclusion?" This discussion should be a healthy debate, and it should establish a shared philosophical understanding. A shared understanding does not mean the group reaches consensus, even though that is the ideal, but that the concept has a similar meaning and is workable for everyone in the group.

In order for there to be "inclusion", what else needs to also be in place?

Administrators: leaders VS managers
Staff - professional
Student-centered school/system
Community - values families
Resources - flexible use of
Trust
Long range and short range plan
Honest
Credibility
Problem-solving/solution finding environment
Communications - open
Participator decision making
Self-discipline
Results focus
Image of organization is consistent with mission/vision statements
Belief - you can do it
Real talent is patience

Source: Dr. Gail E. Hanninen, Sumner School District

The next most common question asked is, "Let us brainstorm ideas on how we can do inclusion at Smith Elementary School?" Many different and varied ideas are generated. Usually there is then a process for prioritizing the best and most feasible ideas while eliminating the unrealistic ideas. Generally, an action plan is created with accompanying time lines and the change is underway.

All of those steps are critical to planning change in an organization. One additional question needs to be inserted before moving to the action plan: "In order for inclusion to occur at Smith Elementary School, what other things need to be in place?" This question requires the group to confirm those underpinning supports. Where there exists several voids of such supports is where the change fails. Some of those attributes that may be associated as supports for inclusion are listed in Figure 2.

Systems change is tremendously challenging, time consuming, complex and exciting. Having an environment which allows for participants to openly be creative problem solvers is basic to systems change. I wonder if an analogy of systems change over time is not best portrayed by the changing states of a stream. A new stream is fairly direct in its path and rapid flowing. As time passes, the stream evolves to where it continues to change its channels, but more slowly until it starts to take on a meandering quality.

Bennis W. and Nanus, B. 1985. Leaders: The strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper & Row.

Covey, S. R., 1989. The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon and Schuster.

DePree, M. 1997. Learning without power: Finding hope in serving community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers

Gardner, H.. 1995. Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership. New York: Basic Books.

Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z 1987. The leadership challenge: How to get extraordinary things done in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers

Oakley, E. and Drug, D. 1991. Enlightened leadership: Getting to the heart of change. New York: Fireside.

Senge, P. M. 1990. The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday.

Wheatley, M. J. and Kellner-Rogers, M, 1998. A simpler way. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

About the Author: Gail E. Hanninen, Ed. D. is Director of Special Services, Sumner School District, 1202 Wood Ave., Sumner, WA 98390. Dr. Hanninen is know best for her work and presentations relating to gifted education, preschool gifted children and with students who are twice exceptional. A recent publication of hers is a chapter entitled "Designing a preschool program for the gifted and talented" which is in The Young Gifted Child: Potential and Promise, an Anthology, edited by Joan F. Smutny (1998, Hampton Press, Inc., Cresskill, NJ). Gail started her education career as a Peace Corps Volunteer, has worked in private and public agencies and at all levels of education, including local school districts and state departments. To reach Dr. Hanninen, call (235) 891-6040 or email Gail_Hanninen@sumner.wednet.edu.