Apologies, this was not posted yesterday due to illness!
Module 9: Whakataurite i ngā Huringa (Navigating Change in Education): This module equips you with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate and lead change within the education system, fostering a culture of continuous improvement while ensuring the wellbeing of staff and ākonga.
“Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua”
“Look back to the past, strive for the future.”
Due: 8th September
Module Objectives:
- Understand the change process.
- Develop change management strategies.
- Build a shared understanding of the need for change.
- Lead and support staff through the change process.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of change initiatives.
A Harvard University study published twenty years ago, and various other research sources, such as the more recent study by David Leonard and Claude Coltea from Gallup, (published in Business Journal in 2013), estimate that 70% of all change initiatives in schools fail. As recently as 2016 in New Zealand this statistic was still quoted as relevant to understanding sustaining change in the presentation by Randy Pennington, Business Strategist and author, to NZSTA and available here: https://vimeopro.com/nzsta/govtalks/video/145795736.
The National Aspiring Leaders programme is committed to supporting delegates and ensuring growth in leadership skills, in this case by reflection on your role in change practice in your school. This will be achieved by supporting your exploration of change research sources against your current experience, particularly of change management and change leadership.
Reading: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YcwSPqd5k3yWUMe1yFIvEz3-ulMqwQJE/view?ts=689bc6d8
Task: Reflect on this reading in light of your own practice and discuss your reflections with your learning partner. Post on the forum as a partnership, your joint reflections. You may use some of the following prompts to support your reflections:
- Understanding of change management vs change leadership
- Essential skills for leaders of change
- Key reflections/learnings about change leadership
- Creating a culture which supports change implementation
- What I need to develop further
Assessment:
- Completion of reading.
- Discussion with learning partner(s).
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
- Submission of reflection on the forum.
12 Responses
Charlotte and I discovered both our school PE programmes had/have need/ed changing. Charlottes school went through the process last yar and as HPE lead in my school, I am currently implimenting similar changes to our PE programme. The process Charlotte’s school went through is similar to how I intend to approach things. I have also this past week spent some time with the HPE lead at another school similar to ours, who have successfully implimented changes to their PE programme last year. Interestingly, all 3 examples are very similar in approach. However, contrary to best practice in terms of change management, all 3 schools took the attitude that by removing the heavy lifting of planning PE, both in terms of lessons planning and scheduling, this was done for them. The successful implimentation was largely due to the teachers simply grabbing the equipment needed already delivered to their classrooms, reading through the provided resources and taking the students out. Given these factors, any motivational requirement on the teachers part to deliver was significantly reduced.
If we look through the readings and videos, a specific process, depending on whether we are looking at a technical change or adaptive change, is recomended. Leading the change rather than managing the change, telling stories, empahasising the benefits, leading by example, gaining teacher by-in, evaluative cycles are all part of the change process. Changing the HPE programme is most definetly an adaptive change. In my case, despite the supply of lesson planning tools and an SLT mandate to deliver 2 lessons a week, little changed, in hindsite because firstly the teachers were not part of the change process and a lot of the work was still required of the them. This final point is interesting as if the process was delivered correctly, motivation levels would be higher and presumeably teachers would not see the additional work as onerous. However, given that we have already had one attempt, largely unsuccsesful, the approach taken by Charlottes school and by my counterpart would be the way forward. Charlotte reports her teachers are happy with the changes as do the teachers at my counterpart’s school.
It was good that you were able to focus on something that was so relevant to your personal situation being that Charlotte’s school had been working on the very thing that you were interested in modifying. It was also good that you went out and spoke to another school Peter. You make some good onservaabout the change process.
Having (Catherine) watched from the outside and (Annette) having been directly involved with implementing change we can see how the initial steps getting behind and creating a real enthusiasm for the change is really important. Communicating the ‘Why?’ we are doing the change and getting a small group together to get in behind and create the buzz for the change.
Walking the talk, practicing what you preach!! If you want people to follow you need to set the example. It can be a frustrating process when those involved do not get this right.
Our biggest takeaways:
Without motivation, people won’t help and the effort goes nowhere.
Why change process fails – hard to drive people out of their comfort zones. Teaches to a tee – don’t like change – can be stuck in ways – TIME POOR to create change so need to be mindful of this.
A useful rule of thumb: if you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or
less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest, you are not yet done with this phase of the transformation process.
Change takes time – celebrate the short term victories – this will create positivity and keep you on your track moving forward to your larger goal
The new change is embedded so it becomes part of the culture and eventually the new norm and the way ‘we do it’.
In terms of what I need to develop further (Annette) would be still greater confidence to influence change amongst my peers in terms of change that requires action from them. To ensure I gain greater understanding and practice I need to challenge myself and put myself in positions to be involved in this process and learn from others who have had more experience than myself. Putting my hand up to be on working committees, strategic planning etc.. will give me greater exposure and experience in relation to effecting, leading and experience change and the change process.
I (Catherine) also need to do this if I want to see the results I think are possible.
Great cooperation Catherine and Annette. It sounds as if you are essentially on the same page and it was great that you were able to add in our own personal little tweaks. This gave your your respite real authenticity.
Tineke’s Module 9 Korero:
Differences between change management and change leadership.
Change management feels more about the processes and systems that keep everything running smoothly.
Change leadership is about people. Creating the vision, building trust, and motivating staff to get on board. Both are necessary, but it’s often the leadership side that makes or breaks whether change sticks.
When has change worked well in our schools?
Staff buy-in?
We let our Phase Leaders get on board with new ideas and take them back to their teams. This has been pretty good for introducing new initiatives.
Creating a culture that supports change
Clear and transparent about the change
Regular communication
Staff voice
Small wins
Steph’s Module 9 Korero
I want to talk about a few of the quotes from this reading that stood out for me:
“Change sticks when it becomes ‘the way we do things around here.’”
I think this is one of my favourite quotes from John Kotter. It implies the importance of change taking time to embed, but once it does, it becomes a norm and part of what we do. At my kura, we pride ourselves on doing things ‘The Mangapapa Way.’
One big change that was implemented to our school 5 years ago was the introduction of Structured Literacy. Our data had been dropping for a while, so something had to change. Once delving into the research and the Science of Learning, we knew that we had to change our teaching practices to ensure what we do will have the biggest impact on student learning. We spent two years learning about the brain, how the brain learns to read and write, how a dyslexic brain works and what best practice looks like in the classroom.
For lots of us, this was a big change from the ‘whole language approach’ we had been using. It has taken a lot of time for teachers to build their understanding, then to learn to teach explicitly, following a very clear scope and sequence with lots of review. We have also had a lot of opportunities to observe and be observed to learn and grow. After 5 years, this is now the way we do things at Mangapapa, with new teachers being inducted and learning the Mangapapa Literacy Way. It just goes to show that stepping out of your comfort zone, time, teacher by in, small steps and celebrating success all create successful change.
“Nothing undermines change more than behavior by important individuals that is inconsistent with their words.”
Another quote that stood out for me and reiterated the importance of ‘walking the talk.’ There is no use in leading change, without actually modelling the new desired change. This will lead to very minimal teacher by in, a strained culture within your kura and a lack of trust. Everytime we are leading change, we need to be thinking – do my actions match the vision? Am I leading change with both my words and actions?
Thank you Tineke & Steph . You have approached the task from a slightest different perspective but are unified in appreciating how to enact change and what is required to ‘make it stick’.
HI Steph and Tineke,
in particular your two takeaways Steph were so similar to ours. Especially in regards to creating consensus and a ‘change community’. Firstly creating the change culture so its ‘normalised’ as the way we do things – takes time – and secondly to walk the walk – I feel sometimes the walk is often left to the ‘teachers’ and needs to be actioned by all especially those higher up.
: )
I have been so impressed by the way you and Christina have managed your learning together Sam. You have been thoroughly focused and professional and I can only imagine the great discussions that have been had. Well done you two!
Sam has been a great learning partner and I’ve enjoyed working with him!
Reading Kotter’s work helped me see the difference between change management and change leadership. I’ve realised I often focus on managing the steps rather than inspiring people, building urgency, and keeping momentum alive. The idea that 75% of the leadership team must believe “business as usual is unacceptable” stood out — without this shared conviction, change can stall or feel like it belongs to just a few.
I also took away the importance of a strong guiding team and the need to communicate the vision often and clearly. I sometimes assume people understand the “why” too quickly, but it needs repeating, modelling, and connecting to their work, while still keeping it simple for those who prefer direct instructions.
Short-term wins are also vital, as they motivate people and show progress along the way. The biggest challenge for me is anchoring change into culture so it becomes “the way we do things,” supported by systems and routines that make it last.
Both Georgia’s and my reflections emphasized the critical role of a shared vision. We both talked about how, without a clear direction and a collective belief in the necessity of change, any effort is likely to fail. I noted the need for a leadership team to believe “business as usual is unacceptable,” while Georgia highlighted the difficulty of convincing experienced people to change. We also discussed how change can’t be a solo effort; it requires a core group of influential individuals who can champion the vision and influence others, and that this can often be from outside of the immediate leadership team. Another point was ensuring the longevity of the change through continuous communication.
It sounds as if you and Georgia have had great discussions around this topic. I suspect it will have also reinforced the thoughts you have around your own situation. Great learning has taken place here Kylee!
Hi all, here are the reflections from Christina and I following our online chat today. Looking forward to seeing you all next week!
Understanding change management vs change leadership
We discussed how change management is the process and procedure side of implementing something new. For example, ensuring systems, structures, and timelines are in place so that the change is manageable. These tasks require organisation, attention to detail, and consistency. For Christina, examples of these types of tasks have been having to coordinate timetables across Languages and other subject areas that my staff also teach and re-aligning NCEA assessments with NZQA requirements/changes.
However, change leadership is about inspiring others to buy into the why behind change. If we are leading change at a department or school-wide level, we discussed how in education one way to get the buy-in is usually by making it clear that this change is going to lead to better outcomes for our students. It is also important that the one(s) implementing change are modelling it as well – we mentioned how ineffective it is when a leader promotes change but fails to demonstrate it in their own practice.
Essential skills for leaders of change
We discussed how that a great leader is someone who explains in detail the ‘what’, the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of the change. The leader needs to make sure that all staff and other stakeholders involved are aware of the change and that the details have been communicated effectively. The ‘why’ is essential for buy-in and must align with the school’s vision. In most cases, the leader will communicate how the change aims to improve student outcomes and experiences. Sam talked about how a new principal at a school he used to work made multiple changes very quickly without consulting with staff – it didn’t go down well and triggered a series of resignations.
A great leader will anticipate some resistance and will foresee the reasons for this. They will identify strategies to help work with staff who are more reluctant to the change. They should be able to ‘read the room’ and gauge how staff members react to the proposals.
They will also identify the skills that need developing and will provide the resources needed so that the staff feel confident to implement the change. This was a big focus for Sam during his time in the Cayman Islands, particularly upskilling staff.
Creating a culture which supports change implementation
The first and perhaps most important aspect for creating a positive culture around change is for the leader to be fully invested themselves and to communicate the changes with positivity. We talked about how a leader can help communicate the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ by developing teams of ‘champions’ who support the change who encourage others to get on board. Sam saw the positive effects of this when working with a team in England who encouraged teachers to use more hands on resources when teaching maths to upper primary and secondary students.
Once implementation has begun, it is important to keep the momentum, to act upon what was said was going to be done and to clearly communicate these new ideas with any new staff.
A great leader should expect significant changes to take several years before being fully implementing and self-sustaining. Action plans are a useful way of having logical progressions for the change as well as indicating milestones which can be celebrated. Leaders can also use these milestones as opportunities to seek feedback from their staff about the effectiveness and progress of the change.