Systemic Change In Education Research Articles

Navigating Challenges in Implementing Response to Intervention in Schools: A Qualitative Survey

Abstract Date Presented 03/21/24 This qualitative study identified barriers to response-to-intervention (RtI) implementation in schools, highlighting the need for systemic change in education. OT practitioners can address these barriers by fostering inclusivity and supporting diverse learners. Primary Author and Speaker: Chavae Peters-White Additional Authors and Speakers: Dr. Rae Ann Smith Contributing Authors: Julie L. Watson

Teaching Education Process and Citizenship in the Contemporary Digital Environment. Pre and Post-Covid Perspectives

The rapidly changing reality, which has been influenced by the development of technology and the industrial revolution since the nineteenth century, has largely weakened the teaching profession and the form and type of professional certification. This weakening also devaluates the idea of citizenship, which is largely conveyed during the education process. Contemporary education (4.0) is focused on practical education, where the space for shaping attitudes and creating behaviour patterns is marginalised. The relationship between education and industry related to socialisation and culture-forming processes is part of the development of individuals in societies and part of a broader formal development plan for different types of state and national organisations. The processes of systemic changes in education do not always keep up with the changing social, political and economic situation. The authors of this article indicate how the teacher education process looked in the past, through a sociohistorical approach based on the understanding of what teachers think about the meaning of digital learning in everyday school life and work. In order to do this, it was necessary to undertake an investigation from the perspective of the teachers themselves. This was helpful for the analysis of the semantic and ideological imperfection of education 4.0, based on the role of teaching staff in digital citizenship education.

The Philosophical Context of Curriculum Innovations with a Focus on Competence Development

Aim. The article describes the philosophical background of competency education and analyses the weaknesses that are present in curriculum changes, focusing on the absence of dynamic acceptance of otherness. Concept. The starting point is a reflection on the philosophical background of education as a repetition and production of the same. The basic principles of the post-metaphysical approach of education to otherness and the interpretation of the innovation curriculum in relation to these principles are presented. Results. Curricular changes and innovations appear to be cosmetic adjustments in which the traditional philosophical and pedagogical principles of passive reception of knowledge and acquisition of large amounts of knowledge are preserved. Conclusion. Changing the curriculum requires a change in teachers' attitudes as well as a change in the school education system. It is necessary to define who the teacher is, who the pupil is. Parents must identify with curricular reform and see it as a positive change for their children. Cognitive value. Curricular reform cannot be done without systemic changes in education. All participants in the change must be familiar with and identify with the new paradigm and its philosophical background, otherwise it will not be possible to realise the transition to competency pedagogy.

Liberating Our Writing: Critical Narratives and Systemic Changes in Education and the Social Sciences

We outline our evolution as Latina, Asian, and White women sociologists using a social justice lens while studying transitions to college among youth of color. During our graduate training and early academic careers, we felt pushed to center “mainstream” theories, which often failed to account for the power struggles and intersectional oppression our reading and empirical investigations uncovered. Guidance from mentors, peer reviewers, and senior scholars in our fields often left us feeling our ideas were invalid and marginalized. We detail our shared experiences in developing our critical lenses, and we present practical advice for early-career scholars navigating academic pressures while seeking to advance their academic writing for social justice. Our narratives represent a call to action for academics to center critical approaches that push our students and ourselves to speak truth to power.

RISKOGENIC FACTORS OF SOCIO-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN UKRAINE

Summary. The article analyzes some of the riskogenic factors of the socio-cultural development of modern Ukraine. These factors include value deconsolidation in Ukrainian society, educational system problems, negative globalization aspects, and spiritual sphere deformations of the domestic society. It is noted that the Ukrainian society needs to deepen the spiritual and cultural solidarity of citizens as an important factor in the consolidation of the modern political nation. It is emphasized that the Ukrainian state, while implementing the reform of the education system, demonstrates the desire to overcome the existing shortcomings of its functioning, but at the same time, it faces a number of problems that negatively affect the socio-cultural space of the country: the inertia of the education management system, insufficient consistency and thoughtfulness of the stages of systemic changes in education, rarely adequate level of legislative and resource support for educational reforms, attempts to uncritically copy various foreign models of education without taking national specifics into account. It is stated that a number of threats to the spiritual security of society and a person have formed in Ukraine, which have a destructive effect on their socio-cultural development. The decrease in the general level of spirituality of citizens, the excessive commercialization of public relations, the deformation of traditional cultural values and anti-values (under the guise of new values) negatively affect the socio-cultural processes in our state. The sources of destabilizing factors in the spiritual sphere are informational, ideological, psychological, organizational activities of certain subjects aimed at destroying the socio-cultural space of our country. It is concluded that the significance of modern socio-cultural processes is sometimes difficult to assess situationally, since their consequences, both positive and negative, usually have a prolonged effect and can manifest themselves in the life of the next generations.

Reckoning With Ourselves: A Critical Analysis of White Women’s Socialization and School Psychology

The future of school psychology requires us to examine present challenges, our capacity to address them, and how we might better prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. This piece raises the question of whether school psychology is not only demographically but structurally oriented to the norms of middle-class White women, especially those who demonstrate gender normative identities. Our dependence on the social norms of White women, although having conferred benefits to date, may be limiting the impact of school psychology, especially in the effort to achieve and sustain systemic changes in education. Evidence cited in support of the points made here ranges from literature in social psychology and organizational psychology, to education and Black feminism, to school psychology scholarship and professional standards. The crux of this thesis is not that the feminization of our profession is to blame for the yet unrealized potential of our leadership within education. Rather, as a product of structural, patriarchal racism, the race by gender socialization process creates particular vulnerabilities in White women’s social identities that affect the values and behaviors of the profession in ways that may be hindering school psychology from achieving its stated goals. Supplemental data for this article is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1956856 . Impact Statement School psychology is a profession dominated by White women, who are generally taught to see themselves as powerless, in the service of both racism and misogyny. For the past twenty years, school psychology has diligently championed evidence-based school reform, but little sustained, widespread impact is yet evident. This paper examines how much of school psychology has been shaped by White women’s social norms, and how those norms may undermine school reform efforts. The overall goal is that discussing the issue openly will help us to begin to change and become more effective advocates for children, schools, and communities.

Interactivity in the language online classroom: from the index of system intelligence to the systemic changes in education

Problem and goal. The article examines the changing nature and intensity of the teaching-learning interaction with the digital technologies becoming commonplace in higher education, whether in support of its traditional, blended, or fully online formats. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to identify the nature of interactivity, its types, didactic functions, methods and means of implementation in these new digitally enhanced learning spaces as one of their effectiveness parameters and indicators. Methodology. The study contextualizes its findings within the larger body of theoretical and applied research in the field of psychology, pedagogy and methodology, the formation and development of information educational media, vocational and electronic foreign language pedagogy in Russia and abroad. To verify the preliminary conclusions, the experience of designing a Moodle-based electronic training course was used. The quality of its interactive content was assessed on the basis of data from a questionnaire survey of students as a tool for their retrospective reflection upon completion of work on the thematic modules of the online course. Results. The principles, stages and technologies for designing interactive electronic educational resources have been developed and described, based on the pedagogical scenario, which forms the basis of a vocationally oriented foreign language course for master's students of a non-linguistic university. Instructional design is recognized as effective if it provides for complex types of learning and teaching interactions, the nature and intensity of which change as educational tasks become more complex, aimed at improving students' thinking skills of a higher order within the collaborative work and growing engagement into the online course. The functions of ICT as an element of an interactive educational ecosystem also vary, allowing the teacher and/or student at each stage of training to orchestrate the set of resources according to the teaching-learning goals. Conclusion. The results obtained revealed the diversity of forms and didactic functions of interactivity, stimulating the cognitive activity of students that results in the construction of new knowledge in the form of an intellectual artifact with its subsequent verification in a social context. The methodological value of the approach used in the study lies in shifting its research focus away from the comparative assessments of in-class and e-learning formats when discussing the quality teaching and learning issue towards an approach that delves more closely into choosing the appropriate methods and mechanisms for enhancing learning spaces with digital technologies and maximizing their effect.

К вопросу о применении социального проектирования в системе управления учреждениями среднего образования: постановка проблемы в контексте социологии управления

The article discusses the question of how to apply social design in the management system of secondary education institutions. In theoretical and practical terms, the correct and scientific justification of the problem statement is important not only in the framework of pedagogy, but in the context of management sociology. Today, the inability of schools to systematically adapt to the changes and integrate innovative approaches and technologies into the learning management process is noteworthy. The schools cannot anticipate and plan, in a project form, the directions for solving social problems and contradictions. The absence in the school management the system of models for implementing goals and the lack of the established mechanism for stimulating systemic changes in education are revealed. The main approaches and their relevance, the forms of the structure and possible directions of` the research are denoted. In conclusion, it is stated that social design, namely using the ability to create, implement social projects, that improve the quality of education, create opportunities for the development of the active educational environment, the inclusion of all interested participants in school relationships, personal growth and self development into of management practices – all they are necessary and important for developing and improving the quality of school education.

Imagining a wilder policy future through interstitial tactics

This paper takes as its central concern the concept of wilding education policy and explores implications for systemic change in education. It starts from shared premises with wild pedagogies, namely, that current human operations are unsustainable and require deep transformation, and that education is (or should be) a partner in this transformation. The arguments herein focus on the relationship of the institution of formal schooling to the ‘wild,’ and posits that, because of the inherent tensions between the two, interstitial policy tactics are required. This paper proposes five working principles of interstitial tactics and examines these against a meta-synthesis of recent research on transformative environmental and sustainability practices in schools.

Vision and Action: Two Sides of the Coin for Systemic Change in Educational Systems

Systemic change is far more difficult than piecemeal reforms because it requires far more interrelated and interdependent sets of changes to occur. Systemic change has two potential areas of failure: 1) the change process (action) may never reach full implementation of the new system, and 2) the new system (vision) may not be well designed. This paper describes Reigeluth and Karnopp’s (2020) compilation of a growing body of research-based knowledge about systemic change in education that includes both sides of the coin: 1) the vision, for which they describe 25 principles organized into six core ideas, and 2) the action by which the vision is created and implemented. The action knowledge base includes guidance about values, principles, and both sequential and continuous activities. The sequential activities are different for a school district than for an independent school. We define "independent school" as one that is not part of a district or other organization but may be a public school.

5x5x5=Creativity: Art as a Transformative Practice

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to share ideas from 5x5x5=creativity, a research initiative established in Bath (UK) in 2000, with the aim of developing and embedding a creative and reflective pedagogy in schools and early years settings. 5x5x5=creativity research, in partnership with schools, educators, artists, creative professionals, mentors and cultural centres, aims to raise the aspirations and improve the life chances of children and young people as creative learners. In our research we want to develop creative reflective practice and influence systemic educational change. This research defends the special role of the arts in developing a more flexible concept of education through curiosity and creativity, together with the capacity for the arts for allows ‘possibility thinking’ through a creative and critical pedagogy. In this article we analyse the impact of the artists’ involvement on the development of a creative, reflective pedagogy in schools. As both artists and educators we believe it is necessary to challenge current orthodoxies and establish creative and critical thinking at the heart of learning for both children and adults.

Assessing the “Education Debt”: Teach For America and the Problem of Attrition

With this paper, I explore the impact of teacher attrition on Teach For America’s (TFA) ability to produce more long-term, systemic educational change. I do so via my application of critical race theory and Gloria Ladson-Billings’ concept of the “education debt” to TFA’s consistently high rates of attrition. I begin with a general discussion of long-term educational change, paying particular attention to how and why teacher attrition matters. Next, I present the four components of Ladson-Billings’ (2006a) conception of the “education debt,” after which I explore just one factor that I believe may prevent the realization of TFA’s goal of ending educational inequity (teacher attrition) in both practical and moral terms. Using critical race theory as an additional level of analysis that is consistent with Ladson-Billings “education debt” framework, I conclude that TFA’s concrete materiality falls short of its intention to end educational inequity, especially concerning the longevity of its recruits. This, I contend, suggests the need for educational resources to be equitably redistributed, in part, via high quality educators for our most under-served youth populations, including those currently taught by TFA.

Controversy over the algorithm of distribution of the school education component of the general subvention

The school education component of the general subvention is the transfer of funds from the state budget to local self-government units in order to supplement their own income. The algorithm for the distribution of these funds, annually established by the Minister of National Education, creates legal and financial controversy in local self-government environment. The calculations based purely on algorithmic distribution of available public funds seem to be an inadequate form of financial planning especially when confronted with the development of finance as a discipline. Therefore, the aim of this article is to assess the construction of the algorithm for the distribution of the school education component of the general subvention with regard to three aspects, which have not been widely discussed: (1) algorithm and financial security of the systemic changes in education; (2) algorithm and indebtedness of local self-government units; (3) algorithm and the unconstitutional rule of earmarking the funds transferred as the school education component of the general subvention to a specific goal.

Organisational learning and development: A Vanuatu educational perspective.

Organisational learning within an educational context is a complex and multidimensional process. This paper reports on a study that investigates organisational learning during the process of development of Vanuatu’s nationalised English medium secondary school assessment process, a significant educational change in Vanuatu. This qualitative inquiry reviewed and critiqued the organisational learning that resulted from a pilot programme leading to the change, and involved participants from a number of levels within the Vanuatu education system. The study identified several factors that may have hindered the planning process. A revised change management framework for the Vanuatu education system is proposed, as a result of the critique, and recommendations towards improving the implementation of future educational changes in Vanuatu are made. The resulting framework and recommendations may assist other Pacific countries engaged in similar senior assessment nationalisation, and, also contribute more generally to others involved in systemic educational change processes.

Harnessing OER to Drive Systemic Educational Change in Secondary Schooling

This paper reports on two action research projects which explored the challenge of determining the conditions under which use of OER can drive a transformative educational agenda in schooling systems. At St Peter’s College in Johannesburg, South Africa, a small pilot study was conducted to explore how to best to adopt new teaching and learning methodologies to encourage greater student engagement and responsibility, and to gauge student and staff reactions to a change in teaching and learning methodologies. It placed heavy emphasis on harnessing OER to enable student-led content creation, with a long-term view of demonstrating that students can use OER to create self-paced learning environments that significantly accelerate their journey through the formal curriculum. In Antigua and Barbuda, the research project considered how to facilitate an entire system to change. It recognised that for change to be effective, it needs to be driven at the systemic level, as these ultimately direct the operations of most public schooling systems. The paper explores the different steps taken, starting from the government’s commitment to ICT infrastructure, fostering a policy environment through an ICT in Education policy and an ICT Master Plan to guide procurement and deployment of ICT in schools, and the development of a School ICT integration plan to ensure school’s ICT needs and requirements. The research explored the deployment of an OER Virtual learning Environment (VLE) Prototype, and the compilation of an online mathematics ‘textbook’ from available quality free OER. The paper concludes by highlighting the kinds of systemic actions required for the proponents of OER to build sustained pressure for long-term, educationally effective systemic change.

A plea for systemic change in education

PurposeColumbus set out to prove the world was round. Today, Thomas Friedman posits the “world is flat.” The reversion reflects the complexity of today's world and an interdependent global economy. That complexity also relates to how we educate the citizens of tomorrow. The purpose of this commentary is to explore what is, what works, and what possibilities exist to address the complexities that surround education ‐ complexities of learning, complexities of educational systems, and complexities of determining positive outcomes of educational efforts. Related discussion includes comparing different educational systems from different countries and cultures.Design/methodology/approachThe impetus for these perceptions arose from many years of professional practice and observation, most recently piqued by Glass's polemic, Fertilizers, Pills, and Magnetic Strips. Integral to the commentary is an overlay of the educational landscape in the USA.FindingsThe essay includes suggestions for change – adapting delivery styles, using more of what we know about learning and learners, and some jabs at holding too fast to tradition. Included are a suggestion to break away from the stale approaches that may not work anymore and an examination/re‐examination of some things that might yield salutary results – continuous progress, differentiated staffing, and matching teaching styles with learning preferences and motivational needs. (Also appended is a selected annotated bibliography of other perspectives and ideas.)Originality/valueThe urgency of examining what works and what is worth keeping must be balanced with considering the landscape of the educational environment. This essay is a gentle prodding to do just that, taken from the author's 45 years as a professional educator.

Systemic Educational Change and Society: Georgia’s Central Educational Center and Career Academies

Systemic Educational Change and Society: Georgia’s Central Educational Center and Career Academies

Moving from good ideas in educational systems change to sustainable program implementation: Coming to terms with some of the realities

AbstractProponents of systemic changes in education commonly encounter ethical, theoretical, and pragmatic challenges in moving from possibility to implementation of their vision of change. Although ethical and theoretical issues are critically important to a successful change initiative, pragmatic issues relevant to assuring program implementation have generally been understudied in the literature examining school change. The disconnects between research regarding effective practices and program implementation in schools and planning for intervention implementation and actual implementation have been increasingly recognized over the last two decades. It is much easier to talk about behavior change than it is to accomplish it. This article discusses selected issues surrounding ethical, theoretical, and pragmatic issues of systemic change, with the primary emphasis on pragmatic issues. The importance of providing programming to support implementation of new practices in schools is highlighted. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teaching thinking on a national scale: Israel's pedagogical horizons

Like other countries, Israel had its share of projects that see the implementation of inquiry and higher order thinking in schools as their main goal. However, although many of these projects were quite successful, they did not succeed in changing the bulk of teaching and learning in Israeli schools. This article describes a new national educational policy called “Pedagogical Horizons for Learning”. The goal of this policy is to move the whole educational system towards a focus on higher order thinking and deep understanding. Such a move must consider the knowledge gained from previous projects but it must also lean on strategies for implementing systemic educational change. Implementing the goals of the “Pedagogical Horizons for Learning” on a national scale requires simultaneous work on three-dimensions: (a) curriculum, learning materials and standards; (b) professional development; and (c) assessment. The article outlines the plan for each of these three-dimensions and provides some accounts of the first stages of the implementation process.

Complex Systems and Educational Change: Towards a new research agenda

How might we usefully apply concepts and procedures derived from the study of other complex dynamical systems to analyzing systemic change in education? In this article we begin to define possible agendas for research toward developing systematic frameworks and shared terminology for such a project. We illustrate the plausibility of defining such frameworks and raise the question of the relation between such frameworks and the crucial task of aggregating data across ‘systemic experiments’, such as those conducted under the Urban Systemic Initiative sponsored by the US National Science Foundation. Our discussion includes a review of key issues identified by groups of researchers regarding (1) Defining the System, (2) Structural Analysis, (3) Relationships Among Subsystems and Levels, (4) Drivers for Change, and (5) Modeling Methods.