Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes - why aren’t we more readily embracing change?
Change is an inevitable part of our lives, sometimes it is carefully planned and self-initiated and other times it is thrust upon us. We know of course that the change process itself isn’t always a positive experience and it doesn’t always result in improved outcomes. But sometimes, even if we have done our research and carefully considered all possible scenarios, we may still not know whether or not it will improve our current status quo and associated outcomes, (whether they be personal, financial or professional), until we actually embark on, engage with, and live through, the change.
Change is characterised by ‘different’, by a ‘transformation’, by doing, acting, or engaging in a process which results in something that may be unfamiliar or unlike whatever it is you have previously been doing. There are of course varying levels of change, some have a major impact and require a complete rethink, restructure, realignment and re-imagining of thought processes and practices, whilst other changes generate a much more subtle impact.
In recent times, technology has no doubt altered the landscape of change, particularly with regard to the pace of change, to a point where there is almost a sense of (often exhausting) perpetual change in our society. In education for example, there have been considerable changes across the sector, faster connectivity, more avenues of communication, innovative ways of managing school administrative and learning processes have all evolved over time. However, in acknowledging the many opportunities technology creates, it also is evident that there are a number of juxtapositions that exist.
Technology is exciting — it has the potential to level the playing field (Friedman 2005) and reduce social, economic and geographic inequalities, but on the flip side, it can also be a confronting reminder of inequality- of those who do not have access to technology and the required infrastructure. Whilst it can facilitate innovation and creative works and solutions it also can enable plagiarism of content and blurred the boundaries of ownership, and although it can provide platforms that connect and empower individuals, those same platforms can just as easily be used to isolate and humiliate. Like many sectors, education has always aspired to incorporate and promote current best practice, inclusive of technology-related initiatives that have the potential to improve student learning outcomes and support social and emotional growth.
But what I do find interesting, is that despite all the technological advances we are experiencing, schools surprisingly, still look pretty much like they did at the beginning of last century. Sure, some of the tools we use have changed, but fundamentally when you really think about the schooling model, little else has. And if you were able to indulge in a little bit of time travel and went back to the beginning or middle of last century, you wouldn’t feel too out of place walking into a school — the classrooms, gyms, play areas would pretty much have a familiar feel to them — when you think about it, in many classes students still sit in rows, and some Australian schools are now embracing ‘explicit teaching’…again.
I’m not sure if the familiarity/likeness of schools throughout the ages is a scary thought, a sad realisation or just a comforting ‘norm’, I guess it would be for those who don’t like change. But I can’t help but wonder how is it possible that the model of schooling that served students prior to the digital revolution is still relevant today, particularly given we are speeding towards the fourth industrial revolution which will see emerging technologies ubiquitously embedded across society and in humans.
As an educator who has spent nearly 35 years in the education sector in various teaching and research roles, I certainly do not want to sit here and criticise the sector, the teaching methods, approaches, or the educators. Most teachers do an amazing job supporting students and facilitating their learning and social and emotional growth in increasingly challenging environments, but I do question why schooling has fundamentally not changed. How much longer can we as educators play it safe, holding on to traditional notions of schooling, before what and how we structure schooling becomes completely irrelevant and outdated, and our students disengaged and disheartened with skills that do not, and will not serve them for the world they live, play and will work in?
Maybe we hold on to what we know because essentially schools have always, and continue to, provide an education for the masses, and children will always need supervision while parents/carers work, (there were many a time during the pandemic where zoom meetings and impromptu guest appearances from children made us laugh) and maybe there is only a limited number of ways this can be achieved. Or maybe we hold on to familiarity because we are too afraid to stray from what we know. Perhaps we just don’t have the resources or confidence to try something that might be too innovative in case it fails or causes more harm than good. Maybe we just don’t know how to change or what we should be changing, or then again, maybe we don’t have the evidence that supports a different way of schooling - No point changing for change sake. It is easy to list excuses why we should not embark on the unknown on potentially transformative change.
Perhaps we need to reflect on the impetus for change, before we can get buy in. We know there continue to be children who fall through the cracks of education systems, we know some are not able to access schooling at all and there are some for whom current schooling structures are such a poor fit that the students don’t even bother to engage or attend, this goes for both those who excel, and for those who struggle socially, emotionally or academically.
In considering the stimulus for change we acknowledge that the core business of schools is teaching and learning, but change is inherent part of the processes, and it can occur on various scales and from diverse positions. There can be changes in attitudes, practices, knowledge, processes, beliefs and there can be an obvious object of change, such as the integration of an innovative technology to facilitate learning. But change, and particularly the uptake of innovations is a complex undertaking.
Diffusion of Innovation is described by Rogers (Rogers 1995, 2002, 2004), as a social process which occurs over time, utilising communication channels available within a social system. Although it can be helpful to understand what facilitates the diffusion of an innovation, to authentically embrace a particular innovation in school settings also requires an understanding of the type of change the sector/school community desires and the needs of the community/sector.
First order change, for example, occurs within existing structures and processes available in a setting, second order change occurs when changes impact and modify existing structures and practices, processes etc., as pre-determined and outlined by a change agent/s. Third order change is where the setting/organisation develops their own capacity (often with the support of change agents) to recognise, assess and alter their own schemata in order to realise change. Generally, it is second and third order change which is considered to be transformational (Bartunek & Moch 1987; Chapman 2002).
When we consider change in the education sector there are many aspects to consider, if we return to the question I posed at the beginning of this article, that is, why do schools pretty much still look and operate the same as they did last century, albeit with different tools? Is it the attitude towards change which creates the stumbling block? Is it the attitude towards the innovation itself (e.g. such as a different model of schooling)? Or is there a lack of evidence and resources to support a different way of doing ‘schooling’? So we will just keep going as we are? But if we don’t have the evidence then we must conduct the research, and work in multidisciplinary ways, bringing together sectors and encouraging informed risk taking and second and third order change so that we can better meet the needs of students and prepare them with the relevant skills, strategies and confidence to not only thrive in an ever changing society, but to also push the boundaries of what can be achieved for their own personal growth and more widely for the social good.