The success and failure of one mandated reform for young children

Abstract

This article illustrates the implementation of a school reform policy for educating young children in one south eastern state in the US, a reform known as the non-graded primary program. The reform is examined through the lens of Sabatier and Mazmanian's [(1981). The implementation of public policy: A framework for analysis. In D.A. Mazmanian, & P.A. Sabatier (Eds.), Effective policy implementation (pp. 3–36). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books] framework for policy implementation and Hashweh's [(2003). Teacher accommodative change. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 421–434] model of accommodative change which proposes to explain how individual teachers change their practices. The article features four related studies of teacher change and the attitudes of teachers, administrators, and community members. The community, politics, and media had an impact on the sustainability of the change, and subsequently, after 10 years, many teachers had reverted to old practices. Teachers who made the most progressive changes were those whose beliefs were philosophically aligned with the theory of the policy, had excellent and continued professional development, and had supportive leadership.