Structural Change Alone Can Leave the Core of the Problem Untouched

Fullan (1991) describes the three dimensions of change and notes the necessity of the change occurring in practice:

"The implementation of educational change involves 'change in practice.' Although change in practice can occur at many levels--the teacher, the school, the school district, etc.--I will use as an illustration the classroom or teacher level because this level is closest to instruction and learning. When we ask which aspects of current practice would be altered, if given educational changes were to be implemented, the complexity of defining and accomplishing actual change begins to surface. The difficulty is that educational change is not a single entity even if we keep the analysis at the simplest level of an innovation in a classroom. Innovation is multidimensional. There are at least three components or dimensions at stake in implementing any new program or policy: (1) the possible use of new or revised materials (direct instructional resources such as curriculum materials or technologies), (2) the possible use of new teaching approaches (i.e., new teaching strategies or activities), and (3) the possible alteration of beliefs (e.g., pedagogical assumptions and theories underlying particular new policies or programs).

All three aspects of change are necessary because together they represent the means of achieving a particular educational goal or set of goals. Whether or not they do achieve the goal is another question, depending on the quality and appropriateness of the change for the task at hand. My point is the logical one that the change has to occur in practice along the three dimensions in order for it to have a chance of affecting the outcome. . . .

It is clear that any individual may implement none, one, two, or all three dimensions. A teacher could use new curriculum materials or technologies without altering the teaching approach. Or a teacher could use the materials and alter some teaching behaviors without coming to grips with the conceptions or beliefs underlying the change. . . .

In considering examples, it should be recognized that individual innovations or programs vary in terms of whether they entail significant change on the three dimensions in relation to the current practices of particular groups of individuals; but I suggest that the majority of educational innovations extant in the field involve substantial changes with regard to these criteria. In fact, innovations that do not include changes on these dimensions are probably not significant changes at all. For example, the use of a new textbook or materials without any alteration in teaching strategies is a minor change at best. . . . Real change involves changes in conceptions and role behavior, which is why it is so difficult to achieve. . . .

In the words of our dimensions, it is possible to change 'on the surface' by endorsing certain goals, using specific materials, and even imitating the behavior without specifically understanding the principles and rationale of the change. Moreover, with reference to beliefs, it is possible to value and even be articulate about the goals of the change without understanding their implications for practice. . . .

In summary, the purpose of acknowledging the objective reality of change lies in the recognition that there are new policies and programs 'out there' and that they may be more or less specific in terms of what they imply for changes in materials, teaching practices, and beliefs. The real crunch comes in the relationships between these new programs or policies and the thousands of subjective realities embedded in people's individual and organizational contexts and their personal histories. How these subjective realities are addressed or ignored is crucial for whether potential changes become meaningful at the level of individual use and effectiveness. It is perhaps worth repeating that changes in actual practice along the three dimensions--in materials, teaching approaches, and beliefs, in what people do and think are essential if the intended outcome is to be achieved." (p. 37-43)

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