MANAGING THE PROCESS OF CHANGE WORKSHOP

May 12 - 16, 1997

CONTEXT

The idea to organize "Managing the Process of Change" workshop for the network of Soros Foundations was generated after investigating foundations activities in school improvement and leadership. EPSU prepared a survey of school leadership training programs in the Soros networks for the conference "School Improvement and School Effectiveness" ( May, 1996, Budapest). Since then, a survey was updated and it showed that foundations interest for the school improvement increased.¹ Almost all the foundations are working a lot at the school level. There are several different models and approaches:

1. School leadership programs. Foundations involve school teams or administrators in workshops and project development. Foundations create their own programs based on the local context and needs or use adapted western models. Several foundations developed "train the trainer" programs or use local trainers together with western. School teams participating in these programs benefit from new knowledge and skills and they start cooperating and networking. One of the most significant outcomes of these programs is that, in several countries, schools established networks or independent NGO’s which are activating changes in education. Now these foundations are moving towards sustainable structures establishing school improvement centers to support further developments of school networks.

2. Pilot schools. Several foundations are spreading the innovations to selected schools (new textbooks, equipment, teacher training). These schools hope to become model sites, resource and training centers which will attract other schools in the country to disseminate new teaching methodologies, models of democratic leadership, and new materials. Foundations are trying to influence the system through the pilot schools but sometimes these schools are becoming isolated islands in the system of education. In general, the issue of systematic impact while working with individual schools is topical for almost all the foundations.

3. Foundations implementing "Transformation of Humanities" programs now include school leadership and school improvement components. In the beginning they used to involve only humanities teachers in their programs. Later they realized that to achieve substantial changes for students they should support development of the whole school.

At the moment many foundations are interested in developing "train the trainer" components in school improvement programs. There are several reasons:

• It’s more cost-effective (it’s more efficient to invest into training of trainers than to organize training for large groups of teachers or administrators);
• Local trainers speak the same language, they adapt foreign materials and methodologies to the local needs and context;
• Local trainers can get the feedback from schools more easily and provide them with on-going support.

GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

"Managing the Process of Change" workshop aimed to support foundations’ efforts in training local trainers for national school improvement programs, as well as regional cooperation and exchange. Specifically, it aimed to:

• Define what kind of change Soros foundations aim to promote in schools;
• Develop an understanding of the issues surrounding change, and the effective management of change;
• Gain skills for training in managing of change;
• Set the climate for cooperation between trainers and school networks in the region.

TARGET AUDIENCE OF THE WORKSHOP

The content and process of the workshop were designed to fit the needs of the trainers. Each foundation had the possibility to send up to four trainers who are being used in the foundation programs and a program manager (responsible for school leadership, or similar programs). Those foundations which do not have school improvement programs were encouraged to send program managers and one or two faculty members from pedagogical universities. Foundations showed great interest in the topic and there were representatives from 23 countries (more than 80 participants of different backgrounds and level of readiness: teachers, school leaders, university lecturers, foundation program managers, board members, representatives of different NGO,s, etc.). All the main forces active in change of education in the region were represented in the conference. Country teams represented models of cooperation between different agents of change (effective team work is one of the necessary components in managing the process of change).

CONTENT AND PROCESS OF THE WORKSHOP

There were three parts to the workshop:

• Foundations’ day . Participants discussed the directions of educational change promoted by the Soros foundations in the region ,and presented the foundations’ programs in school improvement.
• Three training days on "Managing the Process of Change" delivered by Dr.Carol Rolheiser, Associate Professors at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OSIE/UT) and Joanne Quinn, Director of Continuing Education at OISE/UT in which participants were investigating the issues surrounding change and gaining trainers’ skills;
• Participants day planned and facilitated by a group of participants. Here they shared their experiences in interest groups and set the ground for cooperation among program managers, trainers, schools and school networks.

Foundations’ day

The first day set the climate for the workshop. Participants were asked to discuss the question "What kinds of change are we (Soros Foundations) aiming for in schools?" and to list several concrete examples of school change from their foundation or personal experience. Country teams presented their programs of school improvement using a visual organizer (Annex 3). Foundations are supporting change in education which promotes open society values by ensuring :

• choice in curriculum and textbooks;
• child-centered approach;
• democratic leadership;
• community involvement at schools;
• building partnerships among schools, universities, businesses.

Foundations are involved in defining the mission of education in countries which are starting to reform education. They support changes in schools which promote the ability of future citizens to oppose totalitarian regimes. Foundations support teachers to be ready for change, to use new teaching methods which promote critical thinking , creativity , development of personality. Foundations mainly support bottom-up change; they believe that schools should be involved determining educational policy, schools should break monopoly of the state, even teachers’ professional development should be based in the school context. Particularly, foundations support school networking. The central aim of change in education is the improvement of students learning. Carol Rolheiser commented that tendencies of educational change in North America are similar. Such trends include school-based planning (curriculum integration, inclusive classrooms), restructuring at all levels of education (structures should support change, not to block it), developing alternative models of assessment and evaluation (children are becoming a part of assessment, they have a voice in determining the goals of education), new trends in staff development (the increase of instructional repertoire: active/cooperative learning). Generally, child-centered approach is the most significant tendency of change nowadays.

Managing the Process of Change

During the three day training, delivered by Carol Rolheiser and Joanne Quinn, participants were provided with knowledge and models of educational change, they were exploring the role of trainers in the change process and were introduced to the variety of training techniques. Participants were given a more precise understanding of the complexities and processes of educational change and it was very appropriate to the work Foundations are doing in education. Participants were "blending two kinds of change expertise": content and process.

On the first day participants discussed the content of change in our schools (it is new materials, new behaviors/practices, new beliefs/understanding). Over the next three days they were exploring models for managing the process of change, experiencing practical approaches for building professional learning communities and developing facilitation and instructional skills. The complexity of change (change is a journey not a blue print, every person is a change agent ), main stages of the process of change (initiation, implementation, institutionalization), models of adopting change (innovators, leaders, majority, resisters), were presented using a wide range of interactive techniques and processes. One of the most important strategies in helping to manage the process of change is building of professional communities. During the week in Balaton a real learning community emerged in which everybody’s learning needs were supported and encouraged. Cooperative learning methodology was a key ingredient.

Participants were working mainly in the groups of four, in country teams (designing training programs), or individually studying articles and research materials. Participants learned how to use a variety of teaching techniques, how to adapt elements of cooperative learning for adult education, and how to plan and deliver a workshop. Learning was maximized by the friendly and open learning environment created by the presenters.

Participants’ Day

The last day of the workshop was designed and facilitated by a group of participants to provide additional opportunities to discuss topics of special interest. Topics included the mission of the Soros Foundation in education, foundations’ programs in school leadership, reforms of education in the region, school improvement networks, training and classroom issues. Discussion groups also examined issues related to their occupations as program managers, trainers and school leaders. Groups discussed how to apply lessons learned in Balaton and ways to help each other build networks between schools, school networks and trainers, and what kind of support from EPSU is needed. Participants expressed the will to share the responsibility for network cooperation with EPSU; they started planning common regional projects and took the first steps towards regional cooperation between school networks and trainers.

EVALUATION

Evaluation of the seminar was carried out through:

1. Daily monitoring (feedback forms were filled out at the end of each day). Daily feedback form contained four unfinished sentences: The strengths of the day were…, The weaknesses of the day were…, Questions I would like to pursue…, Suggestions for tomorrow….. Typical strength of the day was "Excellent performance of lecturers", "organization and atmosphere". One of the repeating daily weaknesses was the "tight schedule, not enough time for questions or discussions".
2. Final evaluation on the last day. Annex 2 is a summary of the data obtained in the final evaluation forms (the scores are based on a five point scale). The overall rating averaging all items of the questionnaire is 4.5 (which is between Excellent and Very Good). Participants estimated the workshop as a high quality learning/ educational experience (average rating 4.6), they appreciated the instructors greatly (average rating 4.9!). Most of the foundation staff will incorporate effective management of change into foundation programs (average 4.6) and trainers plan to incorporate new teaching techniques into their work (4.4). Participants were asked to identify the most useful features of the workshop, to suggest changes and to indicate what kind of support/follow-up they need and to add additional comments. They were also given the opportunity to rate their own performance in the workshop: contribution to the learning activities and creating positive learning environment (average rating 4.0).

These features of the workshop were highly appreciated:

1. Competence of instructors;
2. Excellent work of EPSU team;
3. Organization of the workshop;
4. Meeting with colleagues from the network, sharing and gaining experience;
5. Diversity of techniques and ideas;
6. Healthy/friendly environment;
7. Good combination of theory and practice,
8. Building of professional community;
9. Well prepared materials;
10. Practical approach to complex ideas;
11. Modeling effective training techniques.

Changes suggested by participants:

1. The main concepts should be discussed and explained more carefully;.
2. To include the theme of the evaluation of change;
3. To organize such workshops matching the needs of one specific target group;
4. To leave more time for discussions;
5. To invite less people to the training;
6. More time for exchange of information among interest groups;
7. More time for discussions with EPSU on regional cooperation.

Follow up support from EPSU requested by the participants:

1. To organize a follow up workshop deepening knowledge and skills in "Managing the Process of Change";
2. To get more information about other foundations programs;
3. To organize more regular meetings like this;
4. To organize similar workshop for the other key components of school improvement;
5. To support experience exchange implementing lessons learned in the workshop.

Generally, participants gave very high ratings for the workshop. They praised the trainers for their high level of professionalism. Quality of materials and sharing experience with colleagues were also considered as strengths of the workshop. Participants gave many valuable suggestions to presenters and organizers that showed that they are already experienced in training and facilitating.

• The main directions of educational change supported by Soros Foundations were discussed and clarified. It showed that the Soros education network has unified mission and has clear understanding of the overall goals promoting change in education.
• Participants were introduced to characteristics and dimensions of change, stages and steps of the process of change, strategies for building professional communities and basic elements of cooperative learning. They learned how to use a variety of training techniques, how to adapt elements of cooperative learning for adult education, how to plan and deliver a workshop.
• Participants were provided with materials, books and magazines which will help them organize their own workshops and gain deeper understanding of the educational change and cooperative learning. They also had the possibility to get acquainted with the other existing materials in school effectiveness/ improvement and school leadership accumulated at the EPSU Resource center. EPSU provided information on how to order these materials (list of the materials in Annex 4).
• Participants expressed eagerness to take more responsibility for network cooperation without needing to rely on EPSU. They started building partnerships among interest groups.
• Support from EPSU was requested in these areas:
• Organize more workshops and disseminate information and materials;
• Assist foundations in evaluating programs of school improvement;
• Support projects of regional cooperation (planning of several projects started during the conference);
• Assist organizing study visits.

• EPSU and foundations will cooperate in planning follow up activities. Program managers volunteered to send an update of their foundations achievements delivering lessons learned at the workshop by September 1, 1997.

CONCLUSION

Workshop "Managing The Process of Change" supported educators to be capable and skilled in dealing with change to promote open society mission to the schools. Participants became a real learning community committed to working together and building on each others experience. As Michael Fullan wrote "No change would be more fundamental than a dramatic expansion of the capacity of individuals and organizations to understand and deal with change".