Leading Change in Schools

1. Leading Change in Schools Chris Daicos Dip Tch ( Prim) BA BSW Ph 94824418 www.chrisdaicos.com.au

2. The Call to Change Implementing change in ways that benefit student learning requires leadership skills. All educators are being challenged to become leaders who can make a difference by helping implement changes necessary to improve learning. Leaders must teach others what they know and how to do it in order to develop others as leaders to share in the responsibility of implementing the necessary changes. M. Fullan Leading in a Culture of Change

3. "In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."- Eric Hoffer 1902-1983 , American social writer

4. Why teachers must become change agents….. • Fullan agues that for teachers to retain the sense of moral purpose and commitment that lead them into teaching they need to `combine the mantle of moral purpose with the skills of change agentry.'

5. Moral purpose and change agentry ...are natural allies...moral purpose or making a difference, concerns bringing about improvements. Moral purpose keeps teachers close to the needs of children and youth, change agentry causes them to develop better.. strategies for accomplishing their moral goals.

7. The qualities of change leaders • A commitment to personal change • Comfort with complexity and ambiguity • High moral confidence • A compelling vision • Interpersonal engagement • A willingness to challenge authority • Personal resilience and sustainability

8. Stakeholder Analysis High A G R E E M E N T BEDFELLOWS ALLIES Fence Sitters OPPONENETS ADVERSARIES High Low TRUST

9. Stakeholders • Allies – High Trust/High Agreement • share our vision are people in whom we have a high level of trust • Bedfellows – High Agreement/Low Trust • Are aligned to our vision, goals and objectives but there are issues of trust. They don’t always give us the full story • Opponents – High trust/Low Agreement • Are those peole that we trust a great deal, but who disagree with our purpose, direction or goals. • Fence Sitters - Low Trust/Unknown Agreement • Is someone who simply wont take a stand for or against us. At the heart of the fence sitter is doubt. The risks and uncertainty dominate the discussion. Commitments are essentially soft and filled with contingency • Adversaries – Low Agreement/Low Trust • People become adversaries only when our attempts at negotiating agreement and trust have failed.

10. Engaging stakeholders • A stakeholder is anyone that will be affected by the change • Stakeholder segmentation should be detailed enough to allow you to shape a focused communication campaign to move other stakeholders to a positive position on the change; you may need different messages for different groups (Parents., students, teacher, admin etc.)

11. 2 questions on stakeholdersminds • 1. How will this affect me?Stakeholders will evaluate a change in terms of how it will affect them in terms of potential benefits and real and feared losses. • 2. What do I think of the person (s) proposing and leading this change?Relationships play a critical role in the success or failure of change projects. The change team needs to b, credible, credentialed (in terms of the area of change) and respected in order to have access to and influence others

12. Stakeholders can become adversaries or allies on the basis of 2 dimensions: • 1. Agreement (about whether or not, about where we are headed] • 2. Trust (about the way we behave to achieve that)

13. The Change Model • The Change Model describes the reactions to change in three terms: endings, transitions and beginnings. • Endings- some things cease to be. • Transitions- becoming conscious of what is ending and what is beginning • Beginnings- aligning yourself to a common purpose and vision

14. Endings • The sense of loss • -job loss, loss of work colleagues, loss of familiar work methods and procedures, loss of a significant part of what is comfortable. • Excess baggage is not stopping that familiar job, tasks, personal relationship, method but continuing to do it or keep it in the new situation

15. Endings cont’d • Intellectual versus emotional endings • just because you can understand something doesn't mean you accept it. • Emotional reservations result in a constant energy drain • People can express emotional concerns in more acceptable intellectual or technical statements

16. Transitions • The process of letting go and moving on. - The transition to what? • It can be taking what is good from the past into the future.- namely your skills, strengths and aspirations, the department's achievements, strengths. • Making connections between the old and the new.

17. Beginnings • There needs to be a certain level of ownership of the change • People are continually changing, are continually changing places and not everyone is at the same place. • The building blocks of beginnings don't only rely on-goals, plans and motivation but also on vision, commitment, alignment and trust

19. Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) Managing Change through “Stages of Concern”

20. CHANGE: • Is a PROCESS, not an event • Is made by INDIVIDUALS first, then institutions • Is a highly PERSONAL experience • Entails DEVELOPMENTAL growth in feelings and skills

21. The Phases of transition through change

22. Denial • Numbness • Work as usual focus on the ‘way we were’ • It will be over real soon • Apathy • There is activity but not much gets done

23. Resistance • Self doubt, anger, blame, anxiety depression ,fear or uncertainty • People are upset and negative • Productivity dips dramatically • ‘retirement on the job’ – “whats the point this place doesn’t care anymore.”

24. Exploration • Energy released, people focus on the future & external environment • ‘chaos’ ( figuring out new responsibilities, searching for new ways to relate, how will things work out?” • “Lets try this and this and what about this?’ • Lots of energy and new ideas but a lack of focus • Uncertainty and excitement • Internal energy drawn on to figure out ways to capitalise on the future

25. Commitment • Teamwork • Ready to focus on a plan • Willingness to re- create mission & build action plans • Prepared to learn • Re-negotiated roles and expectations • Those who are committed are looking for the next challenge

26. 0 Awareness 1 Information 2 Personal 3 Management Consequences Collaboration Refocusing Little concern or involvement Desire to know more Analysis of how the innovation will affect me How to work effectively with the innovation Effects of using the innovation Ways of co-operating with other people Refining the ideas of the innovation Stages of Concern About Innovation self task Impact

28. Stages of Concern Self Concerns: Stages 0, 1, & 2 Most frequently expressed prior to beginning a new innovation. Concerns reflect a need for more information and answers. “What is this all about?” “How does this affect me?”

29. Stages of Concern Task Concerns: Stage 3 Most frequently expressed just prior to and during the initial stage of implementation of a new innovation. Concerns reflect a need to know how to manage the innovation. “How do I find the time to do all of this?” “How do I manage these new materials?” “How do I group students?”

30. Stages of Concern Impact Concerns: Stages 4, 5, & 6 Most frequently expressed once the person feels comfortable managing and implementing the new innovation. Concerns reflect questions about the impact on student learning, how to improve the innovation, how effective it is, or how to collaborate with others to improve it. “Are my students learning anything?” “I have ideas about how to make it better.”

31. Intelligible Plausible Feasible Fruitful/ Beneficial Time, personal understanding, support reflection on practice Existence of a problem does not mean it can be solved at this time and in this place. Policies represent intentions to solve problems. What can be achieved depends on resources and priorities in the school Time personal understanding, experience Conditions for Implementing Change

32. To successfully implement change you need to address the following human needs • For meaning • For some control • For some positive reinforcement • For experimentation to try out new skills and not be ridiculed.

33. Stage 0: Awareness Concerns Involve them in discussions and decisions. Arouse interest. Give permission not to know. Provide information and encourage sharing. Interventions to Address Concerns

34. Stage 1: Informational Concerns Provide clear and accurate information. Share information often and in a variety of ways. Show how changes relate to current practices (similarities and differences.) Interventions to Address Concerns

35. Stage 2: Personal Concerns Draw out and address personal concerns directly. Use personal notes and conversation. Connect people to others who are influential and supportive. Interventions to Address Concerns

36. Stage 3: Management Concerns Focus on specific areas for change. Answer specific “how to” questions. Identify sequences of activities and set timelines for implementation. Interventions to Address Concerns

37. Stage 4: Consequence Concerns Gather data and provide feedback. Provide opportunities for users to share knowledge and skills. Provide evaluation strategies. Interventions to Address Concerns

38. Stage 5: Collaboration Concerns Train people to collaborate. Arrange for people to help each other. Rearrange schedules so people have time to work together. Interventions to Address Concerns

39. Stage 6: Refocusing Concerns Train people to experiment and collect data on results. Document changes being made and monitor impact. Interventions to Address Concerns

40. Peoples responses to change • Victim/owner • Loss/gain • Rigidity/resilience • Disengagement( withdrawal) • Disidentification ( sadness/worry) • Disorientation ( confusion) • Disenchantment ( anger)

41. Fullan ( 1997) …”With greater emotional intelligence and empathy, initiators of change learn form resistors. They know that emotion is energy. • The three negative strategies that are usually used to deal with resistance:- • Break it down ( threats, coercion) • Avoid it • Minimize it ( discount, trivialise)

42. A Positive Approach to Minimise Resistance to Change • Step 1. Surface the Resistance • Step 2. Honour the Resistance • Step 3. Explore the Resistance. • Step 4. Re-check • Step 5. Follow-Up

43. HOW DO I MOVE MYSELF AND OTHER PEOPLETOWARD BEGINNINGS The CSE Support System • Clarify concerns and issues through listening, focusing, restating • Sharing- signal the shift, explain the purpose of the information, overview the change in general, link the change to their concerns, summarise the concerns • Engage- ask for understanding and agreement, ask for ideas, suggest ideas, agree to finite steps

44. Change process and conflict Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction or conflict Alinsky (1971)

45. The process of change is, at its core a process of conflict resolution E. Marcus • Three critical psychological components involved in any change process: • Motivation • Resistance • Commitment to change

46. Unfreezing • Developing openness toward something different • Melting of the solidity of the current state

47. Driving and Restraining Forces • relevant to understanding the process of unfreezing • Useful method for portraying the array of forces acting on a system at any given moment • Serves to illustrate the current state of the system • Forces that promote the change (driving forces) and those working in opposition (restraining forces)

48. Driving forces are those motivations, attitudes , behaviours, or other characteristics of a situation that help move toward the goal or unfreeze from the present situation. • Restraining forces are the opposite, they are the constellation of forces working against the change

49. The Process of Change- cont’d Movement • Once openness has been achieved this is the next step • Taking some action that changes or moves the social system to a new level • Restraining forces which are also a form of resistance make movement difficult.

50. Resistance:-……. • Is a key psychological component playing a strong role in the transition process • Is mobilization of energy to protect the status quo in the face of real or perceived threat to it. • May be thought of as bhr intended to protect from the effect of real or imagined change