The Attrition of Change: A Study of Change and Continuity

Abstract

Most newly constructed schools begin life as places of hope, enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. A significant number of new schools, however, evolve, indeed regress, into conventional schools. This loss of initial momentum and innovative direction experienced by many newly established schools occurs because of what this study describes as the attrition of change. This article presents an historical case study of a secondary school that was once one of Canada's most renowned, innovative schools in the 1970s, and now 26 years later, can be described as a conventional secondary school. This transition suggests three related findings: • there appears to be a predictable historical pattern which this case followed and many new and/or innovative schools tend to follow. • There are early indications of the attrition of change which, if understood and anticipated, could provide points of action and intervention to prevent further erosion of the school's vision. • While 'snapshot' analyses of the short term impact that innovative schools have on the larger school system usually show little or no influence, the more longitudinal perspective of this study suggests that over time, innovative schools may well impact the larger system in meaningful ways that have not been well understood to date.