School Reform for the

21st Century
Michael Fullan Presented by Roselia A.
Salinas,
PhD Student, PVAMU/The Texas A&M University System
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis doctoral class.

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 Presented by:
Roselia A. Salinas
EDUL 7073 (PhD Course) by
Professor William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

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 The New Meaning of Educational Change

Who? Leaders who want an insight into

future possibilities.
Why? Time for inspirational leadership.
What? Need for schools to develop
shared meaning.
Where? Schoolsif educators are to play a
major part in the reinvention of a fairer
more inclusive society.

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To develop shared meaning:

Learning, both organizational and

individual, is a continual process of
making meaning.

Key to success: Improvement in

relationships between all stakeholders
involved and not simply top down reform.

Pedagogy: Constructivism.

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Emphasis:

Educational change is based on creating

the conditions to develop the capacity of
both organizations and individuals to
learn.

Relationships and values instead of culture

of schools and classrooms.

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Key Players: Challenge:
School Principal How to share and
sustain ideas about
change as to transform
Teachers what is a conservative
system.
Schools
Moral change agents
(making democratic
communities possible).

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Key Words:

Meaning Synergy

Coherence Alignment

Connectedness Capacity for continual

improvement

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Problem in schools today:

Schools world-wide are suffering from

overload following a decade of top-down
reform.

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Fullan Beliefs:

School reform success happens in spite of

the system in place.

Change involves anxiety and struggle and

cannot be assimilated unless meaning is
shared by all involved.

The cultural change is a three to five year

process.

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Causes of ineffective school
reforms:

Ignoring the culture of the school.

Expecting success to be transferred from

one school to another.

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Main Agent of Change in Schools:

School Principal

Why?
Innovative principals who can develop
moving or learning enriched schools
(i.e., interactive communities of practice).

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Leadership for Change:

25% is knowing what 75% is the more

to do difficult area of
developing effective
processes and
conditions

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Leadership for Change:

Requires a bias for action, a sense of

urgency, and a mix of pressure and
support.

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Fullan Beliefs:
Most people do not develop new
understanding until they are involved in the
process.

Educational change depends on what

teachers do and think.

Change is needed to develop schools as

Learning Communities.

The role of a principal: A miracle worker.

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Fullan Beliefs:

The students are the missing participants

in school change.

Parental involvement is crucial.

Professional development of teachers

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The learning
organization/community:
People must work together to figure out what
is needed to achieve and what is worthwhile.

You cannot get internal commitment and

ingenuity from outside- expertise lies within.

The only problems worth saving are the ones

that exist in each and every organization.

Change is forever. Problems dont stay solved.

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Fullans Policy Frameworks on
Change:

If people cannot fine meaning in any

reform, it cannot have an impact.

Existing strategies will not get us where

we want to go.

Short-term gains can be achieved by

standards based reform.

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Fullans Policy Frameworks on
Change:

The learning community is more than a

clich.

We need to consider the collective good.

We have to learn to live with change.

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Fullans ongoing journey to better
schools:

Reform in recruitment, selection, status

and reward,
Redesign of initial teacher educational and
induction,
Continuous professional development,
Standards and incentives for professional
work; and (most important of all, perhaps),
Changes in the daily working conditions of
teachers.

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 Reference

Fullan, M.G. (2001). The new meaning of

educational change. (3rd ed.) Toronto: Irwin
Publishing.

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