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Increasing numbers of educational leaders are advocating Systemic Change in education. Systemic Change recognizes that a fundamental change in one aspect of a system requires fundamental changes in other aspects in order for it to be successful. In education, it must pervade all levels of the system: classroom, building, district, community, state government, and federal government.
Increasing numbers of educational leaders are advocating Systemic Change in education. Systemic Change recognizes that a fundamental change in one aspect of a system requires fundamental changes in other aspects in order for it to be successful. In education, it must pervade all levels of the system: classroom, building, district, community, state government, and federal government.
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Increasing numbers of educational leaders are advocating Systemic Change in education. Systemic Change recognizes that a fundamental change in one aspect of a system requires fundamental changes in other aspects in order for it to be successful. In education, it must pervade all levels of the system: classroom, building, district, community, state government, and federal government.
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Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Descărcați ca PDF, TXT sau citiți online pe Scribd
Charles M, Reigeluth
toda rvs
Robert J. Garfinkle
cin Mtasimal Mis
EpToRS.
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PUBLICATIONS
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NEW JERSEY 07632
tay
Introduction
The Imperative for
Systemic Change
Charles M. Reigeluth
‘Tere has been much publicity about the need for systemic change in
ucaion recently. tacessing numbers of educational leaders are
Sdvocating it including Ermest Dayer (983), John Goodlad (1984),
Theadoe sizer (198), Lewis Perelman (1987), Ann Lieberman and
Tyane Miller (1990), Abert Shanker (1990), and Bela Danathy (199
1392) The New Amerian Schools Development Corporation has drawn
rational stertion tit with thelr ambitious, highly publicized effort (soe
the artileby C Rail Randel in this vue),
‘Dut what sctuelly I systemic change?” And why is i needed in
education today?
What Is Systemic Change?
[Ris elpul to thinkin terms of wo diferent Kinds of change:
1 piecemeal change, often called keting, which entails modifying
Eomething (Guin out of) and
+ Systemic change, often ealled paradi
‘eplacing the whale thing
Systeme change is comprehensive. It recogolzes that a fundamental
‘hang in one spect of system requis fundamental changes In oer
[sper in onder for tobe succesful In education, it must pervade al
iebets of the systems euaseroom, building, dtl, community, state
[overoment sa federal government, And it mast include De nature of
{he tenning experiences, the istration system that implements those
Tesrning, egperiences, the administrative system that supports the
Iralructonal system, and the govemance system that govens tne whole
cotonal system Banathy, 1991.
Such an approach to change indeed adil, not to mention difficult
shy Do we ely need sucha radical change?
nab, which entails4 Systemic Change in Education
‘Why Is Systemic Change
Needed in Education?
Daniel el (1973), Alin Tole (1980), Robert Rech (1981) and eters
Ihave Meiied several mastve changes tha our society bas undergone
{rom the agrarian age tothe industri age ed now entering ito what
some call the information a
“The dvi ote dust age brought with it massive changes in all
cof societys systems, inching the lal, business and educsion. In
Thee that is the nly time In the istry of the United States that
ftlucation. has undergone. systemic. change—from one-room
Schoahoutes tothe insti assembly fine model we have today. The
Current system substan the same ami was when we became a9
Indostial sociey. he reforms that Rave Been made since then have all
been piecemeal changes
‘Now that wear entering the information age, we find that paradigm
shits reoccurring o ill iy som occur inal of ur societal systems,
{tom communications. and. transportation to the femlly andthe
‘workplace Is itle wonder tat we ain nd Ue ee for paradigm
{hat In eoceton, Society i changing in sweeping ways that make ou
‘current educational system obsolete
‘Changes in Society
Lets begin with 4 look atthe family. The extended farily In the
agrarian age entailed the parents and children living together with
{rondparents and even aunts, uncle, and cousins. This gave way to the
Fete family inthe Indust age. ln tur, the information age has
fiver rset the single parent family and Ue dua-income family. This
celal hange has important implications forthe kinds of changes
‘peed nection
‘As a second case in point, businesses in the agrarian age were
onganized around the fama the family farm, the family trade (eg
tkery carponty). The fry represented the organizational structure
bd Toes of authority. This gave way to the Bureaucratic form of
‘rgoniation inthe stil age. Today, corporations are restrctaring
{o create horizontal "enterprise webs” in place of vertical layers of
‘middle managers (Reich, 1991). Transformations based on team
Approaches total quality management, and technological imperatives are
Tapdly changing the structure of businesses workdwide
‘Ot al our societal systems, business 6 the most userdriven (len
riven soit is atualy been mang the fat to ystemialy transform
Heel (hckoto imi). However al our uther soc systemo, clon
‘education, health, legal, and politcal, are aso becoming increasingly
‘ystunctional ae we evolve deeper into the information age: and
‘The imperative or Syste ange 5
systemic transformation wil be needed—and will be inevitable in all,
these areas, including education
‘Dy way of comparison, educational systems are like wansporttion|
systtms in some important ways Like the one-room schoolhouse, the
forse wa idely suited to the agrarian age. twas highly Meeble and
Ihulvidualized. fut as we evsived into the industrial age, the
{tanaporaton needs of sity began to change: It Became necessary 10
Utansport large quanitis of aw mateals and fished goods to and
tom factories Rather than tying to imsprove the prvaling sytem. a
Alterative paradigm sas developed~ie rllrosd. Like our curent
‘uctinal systems it lfeed a quantum improvement in meeting the
few needs ofthe instal age, But everyone had fo travel atthe sme
‘ate tothe same destination
‘ince the dawn of the information age in the 1950's, America’s
transportation needs ave again been changing in dramatic ways. And
tgain we have turned to.# new paradigm, a combination of the
‘utomobile and the seplane. Society Ras Been changingin such dramatic
‘ways (oe Table 1) Uist we ned a new educational syst that is 28
Sivferent from our current system as te automobile and airplane are
ftom the tollrond. Like the new transportation system, the new
‘educational system wil Hkely grow pf parallel withthe current
Sater, wl be separte fromm bul coos with and wil slowly grow
‘hile tne current system slovely declines Tels simply not logstealy
Doss to change the current system everywhere at once
Table 1 Major Parag Ships in Society
‘Agraian Industral Information
Horse Tein Plane tecar
Extended Nuclear ‘Single parent,
‘amy tary ‘aly
arly Boraweracy Team
Oneroom — Curmt
hoot ‘tem
fowee6 Stemic Change in Eduction
Its clear that paradigm sits in sckty cause (or requite) paradigm
shits inal soit systems, This explains why educational performance
fs generally declined inthe United States nce Une ery 196, while
feluenonal sts have dramatically inereased. Furthermore i indicates
thatthe stution will continue o et worse no matter what piecemeal
‘changes we make snd no mater Row mach maney we pour into the
seoreent system
Relationships Between Society and Education
“The need for a new paradigm of education is based on massive
“changes in both the conditions and educational needs ofan information
Setety Therefore, we must ook at those changes in order to igure out
‘ohat features the new system should have. Table? shows some of the
Inojor diferences between the industial age and the emerging
Invtemation age. These diferences have important implcaions fr the
features of te new educalona systems hw st should be structured,
‘what shoul! be aug and how it shout be taught
Table 2 Major Diferences Retween the Industrial Age and the
Tinformation Age tet fect Edveation
Industil Age Information Age
‘Adversail eationsbips Cooperative relationships
Brenucratic organization
Dutocrai tadership
Centalied control
P
‘Autonomy with accountability
‘Nutoracy Democracy
Representative democracy Participative democracy
Compliance Initiative
ne may communications Networking
Compartmenatization Holism
(Divison of aber) {Untration of tasks)
(Our current system has adversarial elationships not only between
tess and administer, bl ssa between wacker ed stadens and
‘often tereen teachers and parents. Conslidted districts ae highly
Thoenvcrtie cently controled “dictatorehipa” in whieh students get
fo preparation for participating in a democrat socey. Leadership
‘ested individuals acondig koa hierarchical mangement stuctre,
The tnperatie or Systemic Change 7
‘nd all those lower inthe hierarchy are expected to obey the leader.
eaening Is highly compartmenalized Into subject areas. Students are
{went saftey ae ll he anne and ae all expected to do the sare
things atte sae ime, Tey ae also forced 6 Be passive learners and
passive members of thelr school community. These features of our
rent system most al chang nd ae indeed begining to change), for
they ee counerproductive “harm tour elses and our socety—i0
the infomation age
in the industrial age we needed minimally educated people who
would be willing and able to put wp with the tedium of work an the
‘sembly nes tlwrever, those assembly-ine jobs are rapidly becoming,
An endangered species Just se the percentage of the workforce In
gselture dropped dramatically in th ery stages ofthe industial ge,
Bete percentage in manulacuring has bon deleing dramatically over
the past few decides As Reich (191) pots ou, even in manufacturing
Companies, majorly ofthe abs taday ental manipulating information
father tha material, Justa he nda age represented focus on,
tnd extension of, our physieal capabilities (mecharical technology), so
the information age represent focus on, and extension of, ur metal
Capabilities (intelectual technology). This makes effective learning,
ppetamount, But, surprisingly, our curent system isnot designed fe
Keaming!
Systems Thinking Applied to Learing
Fo things educators know for certain aethat different children lear
at dtferent aes, and diferent children have afrent leaning needs,
ren rom thes fist day at school. Yet our industiab-ge system presen
ned amount of content to» group of students in a fixed amount of
Time ao ti hea sace i which we eee who retves the A's and who
flunis out. Our eusent systems a designe fr learning: itis designed
forseleton
"To emphasize learning, the new system must no Tonger hold time
‘constant and allow achicrement to vary It must hold achievement
‘conslant ata competency level and allow time to vary. There is no other
‘ny to accommodate Ue fats that different children len at ifrent
{ates nd have diferent learning reeds. Dat to have anatannent-ased
her than time-based stern, we must nt have perso progress
ther than group based progress And hatin turn requires changing the
ole ofthe teacher to tht of eel or fecltator/ manage, rather than
{hotof dispenser of kaowidge to group of stagens who pas By atthe
‘ingot bel ike so many ite widgets onan assembly line
Tithe teacher i tobe 8 faciator and educational manage, then that
requires thatthe system be rescue tse, ublizing powerful ew tools‘ Systemic Chong in Eaton
offered by advanced techeolopy, rather than teacherbased And it
fequlves moch more cellaboration and teamwork among students,
Including coperaive lrg and crom-age tutoring, eather than our
sitonel view that collaboration among. students equates With
cheating
Tnterestngly, the industrial age not only made a new system of
tranaporation-e aloud necessary lo ship large quantities of a6”
Inoterals nd finished goods wand fom factors), but also made the
Taleo possible with ite manufacturing technolo). ln a similar way.
the information age has at only made a nese educational system
recessay, but hs so made ne aye possible wi its information
Technologies). Wve now have power fools facile learing that we
‘id not have s Few yrs ago. And the power of those tools continues to
increne le hei cost contines to decline dramatially.
ence tased on changesin the workplace, the emerging picture ofthe
ew educational syst includes the changes shown in Table.
able 3 Emerging Petre of Features fran Iaformation-Age
"Educational System fase on Changer the Workplace
Indust Age Information Age
Grade levels Continuous progress
‘Covering the content Gutcomes tee lesen
[Normreterenced Invi
etn ‘esting
Non-euentic Performance based
Group-bnsed content Pexsonal ese
‘livery plone
Adversrialeaing, Choperative leaming
Classooms Learning enters
‘Fncher a dispenser Teachers eath oF
st knowedge ‘alan of earning
Memorzalio of “Thinking, problem
meaning fact ‘eins an
imesning mating
wot reading, (Communiaton Ses
‘weting sil
ook as tole Advanced technologies
stools
‘The Imperator Syste Change °
Education and Sytenic Changin the Fay
‘Theinfrmutincoge fan slo has important implications fr the
ew educational system, Coven the predominance of single-parent
Thies ane Gostocornetworparent fares In advanced courte,
fering sot ccurngtdsy aed in the indulge, Late
Ender ave just te tp ofthe kabergteparding the shortage of
Smmuniction, earng ae secret tae rcv inthe home
‘Rad to tate increasing niece of mental aed psc cd abuse
Se he aluming erence he number of ehitren bom with chemi
Suse problems Me con see tha our sce wl ae very severe soi
problen 20 ynrs rom ow Hour atonal sStm ds not eam up
‘Wi ater soc sevice agencies to Become system of fasion
Toman developments syst ats concer wth the development
line whole i, ot js he cil’ mental development.
Inthe new canal ytem, the schoo” needs to become mci
ccvronment Our crt sytem ems hae been designe tobe ost
thc opposite: Not ony do we equiv stalents ochonge teaches every
ear ta we rue tem to change every 45 mints! Ard techies
ry ce stadt In age group at to minimize personal Interaction.
Scho ave iten so ange that an atmosphere of Impersonal,
ereneratic conto and Nelplesnescesutinelings of anonymity
Sh beuviorl problems 186 nead to crete smaller “schools hin 4
Saou! that operate nape of one another and each child needs
SNenwoe who wil say with he for numberof eer. perhaps 2
fievelopmentl sage of her He, And the mont shouldbe once
‘rth the developrent ofthe whole child including all of Gardner's
{iba “seven itligencer” and more: mental, physical, enotona,
{feave soca, poychlien and etic! (ee Tele).
Decision-Making Systems: Accountability Incentives, an Resource
Allocation
{hour Industriabage educational system, ab in our industralage
businesses, accouniabliy,lncenives, and resource allocation are all
handled by a bureaucratic system ina top-down manner. Many
businesses have recently been moving say from the Dureaucrale
Sytem to mae team-based organization (what Rech calls enterprise
ebar) in which decisions are. much more elient-driven than
ureeucrecy driven, Indeed, itis emerging as a characteristic of
Inormationsage organization. Civen tis, the American movernest 10
‘cabish national standards wll Ikely be counter-productive i the
Standards become tol for 2 bureaucracy-driven system for making0 ‘Sysenic Change in Edation
Tablet: Emerging Pictur of Features for an Information-Age
‘Educational System Based on Changes i the Fanlly
‘A “teacher” is eaponible fora child for» period of out yen,
‘That teaches responsible for educating the we hl.
‘Bch school has no more than 10 teachers, to cea a smaller cating,
snviorment (Ihe notion of school wilh school
+ Enchstudent develope «quarterly contract with he tacher and
press.
Aecisions regarding scountablity, incentives, nd resource allocation,
‘Ateratvely, standards wil be very useful I they area tool to serves
lentdriven system.
‘Summary
When we lok atthe ays society is changing as we evelve more