The+New+Meaning+of+Educational+Change

//**Please share your thoughts and reflections about these statements by responding to the following questions:**//
 * Michael Fullan writes specifically about "...reconciling and combining top-down and bottom-up forces for change." p.11 and continues that "...at the end of the day large-scale reform is about shared meaning..." p.11 **

1. What are the implications for leadership in relationship to his premise of "shared meaning'?

The culture is the building is so important. Is it open to change? If not it is the leader's responsibility to get buy in. This is a slow and at time frustrating process but vital to success.

Leaders who seek "shared meaning" must be great communicators. They need to be able to articulate their goal(s) in a way that makes sense and motivates the organization. Being open to input from staff when developing goals would not only allow staff to feel ownership of the plan, but also tap into a diverse resource of expertise. Finally, these leaders need to be able to stay true to the vision when there is reluctancy to change. (Mike Tavernier)

Without shared meaning change is an effort in futility. Change is painful and scary since often the outcomes, both intended and unintended, mean moving from a comfort zone to an uncomfortable zone. Everyone involved in the change must understand the reasons and need for change. For leaders, this is the challenge that will make or break successful change. The leader must make sure that everyone who will be touched by the change is informed and understands the why and how of change. Even though there will be resistence, the shared meaning keeps a focus that a leader refers to throughout the process. Every stake holder in change needs to be heard and concerns validated. The shared meaning remains a constant. (Jan Saam)

The foremost implication for leadership is the responsibility to build "shared meaning". To me, the "shared meaning" concept combines the top down and bottom up approaches. There must be enough shared meaning to make the mission and vision of the organization the mission and vision of the individuals and groups within the organization. Once everyone has the same vision in mind, the shared vision has the potential to keep everyone focused. The leader must have the skills to make "course corrections" along the way, but shared meaning becomes the cultural backbone of the organization. I feel the idea of shared meaning is more long-lasting and deep than more superficial short-lived changes and initiatives (a new reading program for example). The leader must communicate the vision through words, actions, and day to day interactions with faculty, students, and other stakeholders. (Jason Daly)

We are essentially spinning our wheels unless all stakeholders agree or share the definition of change as it relates to overall school improvement and student achievement. (Scott Clayton)

The implications for leadership in relationship to Fullan's premise of "shared meaning" is complex on many levels. It is essential to use all forces (top-down and bottom-up) to produce change. The shared meaning involves all stakeholders in the process. As Fullan states, leaders must engage teachers to implement the process, students need to embrace the knowledge and the District/Board needs to understand the end result that is targeted. Open conversations and the empowerment of stakeholders in a framework of theory will support the leader in the area of change. The leadership should establish and sustain "relational trust". (Fullan p. 161) This socio-emotional quadrant and the arena of academic improvement is difficult to combine in large scale reform; however, with buy in from all stakeholders, some success can be seen. Using my own experience, I found that Fullan definitely makes valid points in Chapter 8 regarding the Principal's role in educational change. (Denise C.) ​ In relationship to shared meaning, leaders need to work with __all__ members of the community to develop a common understanding and appreciation of the organizations vision, mission, and goals. Fuller suggests that “meaning fuels motivation” and it is critical for a leader to create a moral and intellectual meaning to motivate the members of the group to act. Effective communication is essential and educational leaders must have an unwavering focus on student learning / achievement. (Michelle Coogan)

The implications for leadership are make-it or break-it. “Shared-Meaning” has to be fostered and natured amongst the many complex components of an organization. A leader has to be in touch with this reality if the organization is to succeed. (Rildo)

Shared meaning is a necessary component of effective communication especially when the ultimate goal is aimed at implementing change. Hierarchy exists in every establishment. The key to being influential, however, is not always dependent on placement on the ladder of hierarchy, but rather on being a good leader. This means in addition to being competent, respectful and trustworthy, it is necessary to adapt to new situations, engage with others in a shared vision and approach different viewpoints as opportunities for learning and collaboration. Many leaders become dictators or portray arrogance, imposing their own agendas without taking the time to engage with others. Effective leaders, on the contrary, study all sides of an issue, include others in the process and take the time to listen to feedback, both positive and negative. -d.ducharme

2. What does this look like in practice?

There needs to be a lot of open and honest dialogue among all stakeholders. Their input must be valued. All of this requires a lot of time. This does not happen over night.

In practice, a leader must be able to step back and take an objective look at how the organization is reacting. They need to be able to recognize when it is time to address concerns through constructive dialogue. The leader must also be realistic and know when to go outside the organization for support when the group does not have the required capacity for the desired change. (Mike Tav)

The leader of the organization must clearly articulate the reasons and implementation process of the change. The leader must also be an astute listener by listening as carefully to what is said as much as what is not said. Validating everyone is key. Using the resistance to your advantage is critical to the success of the change. The nay-sayers can identify the "worst case scenaros" for you to avoid. It is also important to identify those within the organization who will embrace the change as your change agents while working to get the "fence riders" on board. The most time and energy needs to be spent with those who will move the change forward so that it picks up mementum. (Jan Saam)

The leader is the manager of the shared meaning. In practice, the leader speaks and interacts with faculty and students in terms of students being successful (for example). Conversations among faculty often center around how to help more students reach higher levels of success. It should be easily observable that many of the leader's interactions with people are focused on the shared meaning. The more frequent and natural the discussions are regarding the "shared meaning", the more chance of the reform taking hold. With shared meaning, there is the potential for developing a shared vocabulary and a shared culture. This is where the top-down forces need to meet the bottom-up forces. Shared meaning should guide a changing and developing culture. The bottom-up forces are critical to finding methods for realizing the shared meaning that will work for any individual school (we know they're all different). (JD)

The education community must work together at all levels. Leaders in the education community must have a common standard or “shared meaning” at the local, state and national level for what change in education looks like. Policy makers must be able to grasp how what is drafted in the legislature impacts schools or even an individual classroom. Too often, policy makers are so far removed from the classroom that they do not grasp how their big ideas impact the greater education community. (Scott Clayton)

The leader is the person who has to take charge in steer heading the change process. Providing opportunities for all stakeholders to be active participants engages all into the process. The leader has to organize this process through transition and be able to make decisions based on the input from all stakeholders. Chunking information and prioritizing areas for change are essential to enable the change to occur in a timely fashion. Thus, there will be results evident to substiantiate any change that has occurred. Community conversations and follow up will enable the school and its partners to collaborate on strategies that are beneficial to the school community. As stated in Fullan (p. 190), "Educators have to go out into their communities with empathy, and interact meaningfully with their constituents." Instead of meeting stakeholders outside of the school building, bringing them in provides them with a genuine venue to solicit their support and resources. Change of culture and achievement can not be done in isolation. (Denise C.)

How does one effectively accomplish the task of developing a “shared meaning?” A leader must possess the ability to effectively apply communication skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. S/He must be able to thoroughly understand the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. S/He must develop the ability to reflect on past practice and determine and prioritize areas in need of improvement. This step cannot be done in isolation; s/he must simultaneously collaborate with members of the district and the school community. In addition, the leaders must be aware of national, state, and local influences that impact the educational community. When identifying areas in need of improvement, s/he should develop a plan for action with the support of representatives from the community. Clear goals with specific plans, benchmarks and timelines help members of the community actively participate in the change process. (Michelle Coogan)

This kind of shared meaning can look differently depending on the situation. In a practical example, my Associate Commissioner demonstrates this kind of leadership. She manages a staff of approximately 50 people for the Division of Assessment, Research and Technology at the CT State Department of Education. Given her current role, she participates in a variety of federal, state and local panels and committees involving projects ranging from compiling the Race to the Top grant application, to overseeing all testing programs, data collections and the dissemination of statewide data. She is naturally intelligent, but also takes the time to become knowledgeable on all issues facing our Division. She is approachable and a good listener, never forming judgment until she has heard the position in its entirety. To complement her role as a leader, her work history includes teaching as a professor of mathematics, later transitioning to a consulting role at the State Department, than becoming Bureau Chief. As a result of her leadership experiences, she knows and understands the roles and responsibilities of her colleagues. In turn, her colleagues know what she values and represents through her words and actions. They feel supported when sharing their ideas and visions for specialized projects. Staff is productive and employs hard work. Staff feels both a sense of independence and authenticity and reaps the benefits of collaborating with others on a variety of levels. Morale is typically very positive and there is great evidence of fellowship. After serving 12 years in the same Division, I can attest that shared leadership did not always exist… -d.ducharme

3. How can we as leaders influence the policy makers so they keep this in mind when making decisions that impact our schools/departments?

Change cannot happen overnight nor can it happen without buy-in from everyone. As new inititives are being discussed it is important to involve all stakeholders in the process. Rolling out a new curriculum will not be succesful is teachers see it for the first time in August. We need a clear definition of our role and others within the organization in order to use the system to our full advantage. We also need to be able to communicate present levels of performance, concerns and potential challenges so that policy makers will be able to make informed decisions. (Mike Tav)

Policy makers take many forms and an effective leader needs to show how change will impact the organization either positively or negatively. It is our responsiblity to be open and honest with those in a position to set policy. Thinking proactively instead of reactively to change is critical. A leader must foresee the benefits and pitfalls to any change and objectively weight them against the status quo. A leader must be seen as thoughtful and reflective, not as resistent to change. (Jan Saam)

Educators as a group do a generally poor job of lobbying for the field and and articulating what we need and do not need from policy makers. Other fields and professions generally do not have major changes with profound effects (such as NCLB) imposed on them by the government. That statement is not intended as a judgement of NCLB or governmental oversight as much as it is an observation of the way things are done to educators instead of by educators. Other fields have powerful lobbyists who convey their messages very clearly to policy makers. We need to become our own "lobbyists" and influence policy makers by being very clear and transparent about the current state of affairs in our schools as well as steps we are taking to improve. We also need to make serious leaps forward in the ways we conduct public relations. Leaders need to develop shared meaning within our organizations and reach out to the public with that shared meaning. We need to extend our "shared meaning" to policy makers, so they know who we are and what we do. (JD)

Local and state level leaders in education have to play more of a role in the decision making process. We do this by taking more of an active role with our state legislators and local board’s of education. In this process we should consistently remind policy makers to ask themselves what any proposed change in education would look like at the building and classroom level. (Scott Clayton)

The influence of educators and their stakeholders is crucial to decisions made by the policy makers. As Fullan states, it is important to "base our future on trying to accomplish tri-level reform, namely what has to happen at (1) the school and community level, (2) the district level as the mid-part of the tri, and (3) the state or national level." (Fullan, pp. 235-236) Even though policy makers have an eye on accountability, the detriments of some day to day operations are often lost in their decision making. Educators are faced with diminished support from social service agencies and other government resources. This is needed now more than ever in today's state of the economy. Educators need to use this arena to provide the data that targets the effect of the diminishing resources. Using the data, allows the "system" to see that change is good; however, not in a "haphazard fashion". (Fullan, p. 237) It is essential for all educational leaders to do the research, implement the change and follow up with professional development sessions to sustain the change and validate the data. With this data in hand, policy makers will be able to envision the positive/negative impact their decisions have made to the change process of our schools. (Denise C.) Educational leaders must be active within the community. Attending board of education and town council meetings are important steps on the local level. Connecting with elected state leaders and sharing specific feedback from the local and educational communities develops a mutual understanding of the successes and areas of need. Educational leaders must forge relationships in order to provide insight into the needs of the educational community. Leaders must be reflective, thoughtful, and persistent. (Michelle Coogan)

One way that leaders can influence policy is to network with the cohort of policy makers. Leaders need to listen, ask questions and advocate for the populations they serve. Another way to influence policy is rally with the people that support your cause. Use research, accurate data, creativity and innovation to drive change. Identifying and partnering with local/community/state resources can have powerful and effective outcomes. Policy does not change overnight, therefore commitment and perseverance is necessary to reach desired outcomes. -d.ducharme

1. Within the small urban district of Hartford lie a range of unique ‘communities’. How extensive is the Hartford neighborhood elementary school’s connection to the community or the community’s connection to the school? Undeniably, the school should be a central pillar in Hartford neighborhoods (a.k.a. ’communities’) - but the school-community link is largely unexplored. If the school leader is to work with community members to define ‘shared meaning’ they must work together to define the community. To act toward shared meaning, school leadership needs to know the neighborhood, community organizations, the NRZ, public and private institutions, and community demographics. (JFreeman) 2. Rather than generalize, what does ‘shared meaning’ mean vis-à-vis the school I lead? With half the students are from outside of Hartford, the meaning of community may have to expand. SDE stipulates that Hartford students living within ½ mile of the campus are offered first entry to seats to the school; thus, we retain a feeling of a ‘neighborhood’ school. I’ll take that edict as the definition of my ‘core’ community. What lies within ½ mile? Who comes from within ½ mile? Establishing shared meaning rests with my outreach to the community. I must not wait for the extensive public housing project immediately across the street to reach out to me – my role is to reach out to the project. I must not wait for community organizations, community private and public institutions to find our school – the reach-out is my role. Only through building these coalitions, will the community succeed in creating and acting on shared meaning. We will strive to transform each other and, in so doing, transform the community. (JFreeman) 3. Policy makers can be effectively cajoled by the school’s urban/suburban parent body and community leaders. As a school leader, it is within my role to facilitate the community’s articulation of, and action toward, community shared vision. How key decisions are made can be within community control. The weight of the people should not be underestimated. If harnessed, it can go to great lengths. As an example, the funding of the Hartford Public Library in my apartment building was cut and the branch closed. But, we the people, took this cause clear through funding of the branch library from the Governor Rell. Do not underestimate the power of the people. (JFreeman)