Learning within sustainable educational innovation: An analysis of teachers\u2019 perceptions and leadership practice

H T M Ritzen,G M Fix,W A J M Kuiper,J M Pieters,M Rikkerink

doi:10.1007/s10833-020-09410-2

Abstract

Innovative initiatives in education often have problems with their sustainability. The present study focuses on three educational innovations that have proved to be sustainable over time. We used a qualitative research approach to study and identify essential features of sustainable educational innovation. Two theoretical frameworks were used to guide the study: the integrated model for sustainable innovation (IMSI) and self-determination theory (SDT). Both frameworks take a different perspective upon learning; IMSI presents learning at the individual level, the team level and the organizational level to be the heart of sustainable innovation, and SDT presents how learning can be improved. The research question focused upon how the SDT concepts of autonomy, competence and relatedness were perceived within sustainable innovation, expressed by the IMSI framework, by teachers and school leaders. Based on our findings we demonstrate that the framework of IMSI and SDT can effectively be applied as a frame of analysis to identify essential features of sustainability in educational innovations and we discuss how concepts of SDT deepen the knowledge of sustainable educational innovation.

Highlights

Innovations in educational contexts all over the world have problems with their sustainability (Adelman and Taylor 2014; Meki Kombe and Herman 2017) and there are many examples of innovations that are intensively developed, flourish for a while and slowly disappear in the everyday hustle and bustle of the school
Our research was aimed at exploration and strengthening in depth of a relatively new model (IMSI) and we addressed the following research question: In what way do the concepts of autonomy, competence and relatedness contribute to the concepts of sustainable educational innovation in order to more thoroughly explain perceptions by teachers and school leaders?
We researched how the self-determination theory (SDT) concepts were perceived within the integrated model for sustainable innovation (IMSI) concepts by teachers and school leaders and these concepts were further analyzed to identify their relevance for IMSI

Summary

Introduction

Innovations in educational contexts all over the world have problems with their sustainability (Adelman and Taylor 2014; Meki Kombe and Herman 2017) and there are many examples of innovations that are intensively developed, flourish for a while and slowly disappear in the everyday hustle and bustle of the school. Rogers (2003) attributed a crucial role to human capital in the process of institutionalization, expressed by the commitment to the innovation of all of the participants, the teachers on the one hand and the school leaders on the other. This commitment is an important part of sustainability, because innovation often comes with new learning goals, learning activities or pedagogies and its success depends on the teachers’ willingness to collaboratively change and adapt their practices (Kirschner et al 2004; Thijs and Van den Akker 2009; Pieters et al 2019). The curriculum was aimed at supporting students in order to help them stay at school and leave with a diploma (Fix 2018)

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Discussion

Conclusion