Due to the "wicked problem" of the Academy's resistance to innovation, new teaching and learning programs struggle to become integrated into the fabric of the Academy, which slows the uptake of evidence-based practices. This wicked problem is rooted in the lack of slow, intentional mechanisms for cultural change in the Academy. In this…

The pivot point for educational change is now firmly placed with the district, rebalancing the position of the state and the school relative to the local education agency (LEA). The state education agency (SEA) has been shifting its emphasis for decades, from a compliance-focused authority to a change agent equipped with systems, processes,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a curriculum design-based (CDB) professional development model on K-12 teachers' capacity to integrate engineering education in the classroom. This teacher professional development approach differs from other training programs where teachers learn how to use a standard curriculum and…

In 2006, Governor Edward Rendell announced a three-year, $200 million Classrooms for the Future program to provide technology and technology support to schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. The purpose of this research study is to examine the change process of the diffusion of technology within…

Globalization affects all the areas of the world economy, nations, countries, institutions and people (Armstrong, 2007; Suarez-Orozco, 2004). Meaning of this complex phenomenon is understood differently by leaders and the people involved in activities related to global economies. Higher education institutions such as universities are in the midst…

This qualitative study examined the process of adopting online education at three private colleges. All three institutions participating in the study were private Catholic colleges that offered their first online courses in the late 1990s. The research question posed for this study was: Within the participating institutions, how did online…

The need for specific information about principals as change facilitators prompted a long-range research program. A first step in this effort investigates the interventions principals make in relation to the implementation of an innovation in their schools. Subjects were 10 principals of elementary schools where an identifiable innovation…

Provides a synthesis of related research and literature on implementing innovation at the school and classroom levels. The key factors affecting implementation include the nature of the intended change, contextual factors of school organization, and the roles of teachers and change facilitators. Recommendations for effective practice are offered.…

The Change Facilitator Stages of Concern Questionnaire (CFSoCQ) as a procedure for studying the concerns of change facilitators is presented. It is based on the work of Francis Fuller, the concept of Stages of Concern, and the Concerns Based Adoption Model which deal with change facilitators' concerns regarding implementation of an innovative…

Proceedings of a conference designed to provide a group of teachers, administrators and university professors with an opportunity to share information on initiating and sustaining innovative programs in education are summarized in this paper. The participants represented 21 exemplary programs in mathematics, science, and/or computer education as…

A report is given on findings of research studies on how teachers respond to attempts to implement educational innovations. In many cases, teachers believe their future in relation to the innovation is determined not by them, but by some superordinate. Other teacher responses may be the conviction that the change will soon fade away as other fads…

The individuals who use, or neglect to use, an innovation such as mainstreaming are the key to success or failure in change efforts. The concepts of individual stages of concern about an innovation and levels of use of the innovations are discussed. It is suggested that these dimensions can be used as diagnostic tools for facilitating change and…

A key assumption of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is that change is a process, rather than an event. The Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations Project is working to identify and verify diagnostic dimensions of CBAM, and to develop tools to measure the developmental status of users and non-users; these concepts will help change…

A brief literature review and a report on two studies of change implementation in schools indicate that "directed development," in which experts give help directly to classroom teachers, is the most effective implementation strategy. The author's literature review traces research on program implementation from a 1975 Rand report…

This paper describes one component of the Study of Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement, which focused on the role that external facilitators play in helping schools implement new educational practices. The first part describes the external facilitator sample (95 respondents) and delineates the major formal role groups of external…