Management of Innovations from a Cultural-Individual Perspective

The history of education and schooling is characterised by not only the attainment of results but also ongoing critique of the existing situation in education and schooling. Developers and researchers are, as a result, constantly seeking new strategies and methods for the improved implementation of innovations in actual educational practice. The central question is which factors and which conditions facilitate the effects of innovations. In an attempt to answer this question, many educators will not so much be concerned with objective structural factors such as available funds, classmates, et cetera. They will be concerned, rather, with the questions of which socially constructed realities and which particular forms of involvement on the part of teachers, school administrators, and counsellors facilitate successful innovation. In our search for an answer to these questions, moreover, we will be guided by a cultural-individual perspective on innovation. Traditional innovative strategies – and, in particular, large scale strategies – seem not always suitable to deal with today's educational problems. Alternative scenario's for the management of innovations are considered.     

Identifying Characteristics of Dissemination Success Using an Expert Panel

Although considerable work has been done to develop new educational innovations, few have found widespread acceptance in the classroom. To improve the likelihood of adoption of educational innovations, researchers need to understand why some innovations are adopted and routinely used, while others are not. An initial aspect of the diffusion of innovations, as defined in the classical sociological literature, involves the communication of ideas and concepts related to innovations between individuals. This article presents an expert panel's answer to the following question: “What are the most important characteristics that relate to the dissemination of educational innovations?” As dissemination is a critical facet of the diffusion of an innovation, 45 researchers who received technology and engineering grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) participated in a Delphi study designed to address this research question. In three rounds, the experts identified and ranked 11 characteristics of educational innovations, 6 characteristics of students, 13 characteristics of faculty members, and 5 characteristics of administrators that can relate to the successful dissemination of educational innovations. The results of this study led to the formation of a Characteristics of Dissemination Success (CODS) framework. This framework offers useful guidance for educational innovators seeking a better understanding of the influences on the dissemination of educational innovations.     

Demonstrating a situated learning approach for in-service teacher education in rural India: The Quality Education Programme in Rajasthan

Recent educational policy in India has repositioned elementary school teachers as active, reflective practitioners, not just ‘deliverers’ of syllabus material. This article examines innovations in teacher support in Rajasthan's government schools through the ‘Quality Education Program.’ Drawing on qualitative research of collaborative learning processes, the paper discusses two support strategies used by the program: professional dialogic interactions and modeling of pedagogic strategies, which paralleled introductory or developmental phases within a ‘collaborative apprenticeship model’ of teacher professional development. In doing so, the paper outlines the potential of situated, collaborative approaches for Indian in-service teacher education and education development reform, more broadly.     

Reaching in-service primary teachers with research innovations: the role of dissemination events in stimulating download activity

Education researchers want to influence classroom practice, but in-service primary teachers are hard to reach. Thus, many researchers disseminate their innovations online. Dissemination by event may be a more effective means, but little is known about its relative value in a dissemination strategy, nor potential influence upon research innovation downloads.This quantitative study analysed the influence of dissemination events on downloads of a research innovation called the TAPS Pyramid over one year. The location, size and date for dissemination events were mapped against location data for downloads during the same time period. Downloads were significantly higher in regions where dissemination events were held and positively correlated with dissemination event frequency. Event size was not found to be significant.By demonstrating the value of dissemination events in stimulating downloads of educational research innovations online, these results also show the centrality of social learning opportunities to a successful bimodal dissemination strategy.     

历奇为本辅导教学法与行动导向教学法在干部教育培训中运用的比较研究

干部教育培训在继续教育领域里占据非常重要和特殊的地位,实施教育创新相对而言更加容易。历奇为本辅导教学法和行动导向教学法,相对于传统的课堂讲授法而言,是两种新的教学方法,在培训中它们各有优点和局限,结合使用会有很好的效果。     

An Evaluative Review of Approaches to Behaviour Problems in the Secondary School

The traditional approach to behaviour problems in secondary schools has been reactive and largely negative. The introduction in recent years of a systems perspective was due to general dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of the traditional problem‐focused model and to a recognition of the benefits that preventive practices might bring. The reports of whole‐school innovations, which are available, are encouraging. However, to date only certain types of systems interventions have been thoroughly evaluated and there is a need for more empirical data. This review also considers the practical implications for educational psychologists in introducing new approaches to secondary schools.     

认识人力资本理论:一个扩展的读书笔记

传统人力资本理论是一种流水线式的投入-产出分析模型,关注投资、收益及个人和政府的教育投资策略,从而使学校系统的教育生产和工作场所的生产率差异的产生成为有待解构的“黑箱”。而对教育生产过程和工作场所生产过程的研究表明,组织结构和生产关系作为内生变量直接影响学校系统的产出、生产率的变化和人力资本效益的发挥,因此传统的投入-产出模型引入制度的变量可以产生更为乐观的对教育经济价值和社会价值的预测。     

Decision-oriented educational research in school districts: The role of dissemination processes

This article addresses the broad issue of how research information can be integrated into the policy and decision processes of educational systems. Our specific foci here is on one type of educational system -- school districts; on research designed to answer specific questions for that district; and, on one major element of the research process -- dissemination. This paper draws heavily upon our experiences in a large, urban American school district, where we work on the problem of how to improve the system's evaluation research capability. This work began in 1978 and continues today. This article has four major section. Background is provided on the nature of the collaboration with the school district. Then, basic strategies for conducting decision-oriented educational research that have emerged from the work are described briefly. This is followed by a discussion of the broad issue of research use. The final section is a detailed review of what we have learned about the relationship between dissemination and utilization.     

Rethinking Assessment Design: Evidence-Informed Strategies to Boost Educational Impact in the Anatomical Sciences

University assessment is in the midst of transformation. Assessments are no longer designed solely to determine that students can remember and regurgitate lecture content, nor in order to rank students to aid with some future selection process. Instead, assessments are expected to drive, support, and enhance learning and to contribute to student self-assessment and development of skills and attributes for a lifetime of learning. While traditional purposes of certifying achievement and determining readiness to progress remain important, these new expectations for assessment can create tensions in assessment design, selection, and deployment. With the recognition of these tensions, three contemporary approaches to assessment in medical education are described. These approaches include careful consideration of the educational impact of assessment—before, during (test or recall enhanced learning) and after assessments; development of student (and staff) assessment literacy; and planning of cohesive systems of assessment (with a range of assessment tools) designed to assess the various competencies demanded of future graduates. These approaches purposefully straddle the cross purposes of assessment in modern health professions education. The implications of these models are explored within the context of medical education and then linked with contemporary work in the anatomical sciences in order to highlight current synergies and potential future innovations when using evidence-informed strategies to boost the educational impact of assessments.     

The Design and Conduct of Randomised Controlled Trials in Education: Lessons from health care

There are increasing calls within the educational research community to undertake more randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Whilst educational researchers turned away from using the RCT in the last 30 years, health care researchers have adopted the method with vigour. However, there have been many methodological innovations of the RCT, developed by health services researchers, in recent years. Many of these innovations are directly applicable to educational research. In this paper we describe some of the important aspects of trial methodology that educational researchers ought to consider when they design and undertake trials. Specifically, we describe the importance of systematic reviews, the need for a trial protocol, sample size requirements, outcome measures, concealment of the randomisation process from the investigators, intention to treat analysis, and the metric--numbers needed to teach (NNT). Addition ally, we argue that there are considerable similarities between health and education allowing the use of RCT methodological innovations to be directly utilised in educational research.     

Learning in the Age of Networked Intelligence

The article presents ten theoretically substantiated ‘theses’ on future education and learning, highlighting emerging trends that will shape educational systems. The focus is on the impact of innovation economy and knowledge society on learning. Specifically, the article elaborates the changing dynamics of production models since the first industrial revolution, arguing that in the last few years we have been in the midst of a globalisation process that is qualitatively different from the earlier ones. This new model has consequences, for example, for skill demands and their regional distribution. More fundamentally, this ‘third globalisation’ makes innovation the key source of economic value, pushing educational systems from adaptive towards creative learning models. In implementing such creative pedagogies, traditional models of innovation become inadequate. The article therefore describes recent developments in innovation research and outlines a new theoretical view on innovation which connects innovation with social change and learning. This ‘downstream’ innovation model highlights the active and creative role of user communities in making innovations real. As the economic and social importance of ‘downstream’ innovation is becoming increasingly visible, educational institutions and learning activity will change. Policymakers will have to answer the question: Why will we need education in the future?     

School leadership and capacity building in Kazakhstan

The article examines the scope for initiative and independent action that lies with school principals in Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on capacity-building approaches. The study is situated within a large collaborative project between three institutions: the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS). A mixed-methods research design was used to collect data in 20 schools and 11 other educational organizations in six different geographical locations in Kazakhstan. The findings suggest that capacity-building strategies are necessary if innovations are to be implemented across all schools. The article outlines the challenges involved in making school reform effective and draws on the ‘capital framework’. The conclusion considers the implications for practitioners and policy-makers, and outlines an agenda for further research.     

Geoscience education: an overview

Geoscience educational publications are reviewed in seven areas to identify future directions for curriculum development, professional development and research. The review shows that: effective teaching methods encompassing broad geoscience study still need extensive research; whilst some valuable materials have been developed for the teaching of systems approaches to geoscience, these need to be evaluated in different curriculum contexts; different methodologies for teaching spatial awareness in geoscience need to be more widely applied and researched; approaches for the effective teaching of geological time should be further developed and tested; there is much scope for the development and evaluation of approaches to geoscience fieldwork; geoscience misconceptions are widespread and need further identification and review; and studies of the effectiveness of professional development in geoscience education should be implemented more widely, including their impact in the classroom. The review indicates that geoscience education will progress most effectively through: extending geoscience learning to all children; educating teachers in effective implementation of new curriculum initiatives; evaluating the progress of the initiatives and using the results to refine them; and researching the whole process to demonstrate its effectiveness and to ensure wide dissemination on the basis of well‐founded research findings.     

Using data to support educational improvement

Data on student achievement are increasingly being used to support effective policy and practice, and to move education systems towards more evidence-informed approaches to large-scale improvement. In this paper, we outline strategies used in Ontario, Canada to create, enhance and apply a range of data to support educational improvement. These strategies were intended to integrate the collection of data and its use at the three levels of school, district, and province. The strategy also included improving educator capacity to use data and the development of better analytic tools to understand data in context. Submitted to Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability     

Analysis of Propagation Plans in NSF-Funded Education Development Projects

Increasing adoption and adaptation of promising instructional strategies and materials has been identified as a critical component needed to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This paper examines typical propagation practices and resulting outcomes of proposals written by developers of educational innovations. These proposals were analyzed using the Designing for Sustained Adoption Assessment Instrument (DSAAI), an instrument developed to evaluate propagation plans, and the results used to predict the likelihood that a successful project would result in adoption by others. We found that few education developers propose strong propagation plans. Afterwards, a follow-up analysis was conducted to see which propagation strategies developers actually used to help develop, disseminate, and support their innovations. A web search and interviews with principal investigators were used to determine the degree to which propagation plans were actually implemented and to estimate adoption of the innovations. In this study, we analyzed 71 education development proposals funded by the National Science Foundation and predicted that 80% would be unsuccessful in propagating their innovations. Follow-up data collection with a subset of these suggests that the predictions were reasonably accurate.     

Why context matters: a comparative perspective on education reform and policy implementation

This article explores the significance of context within the process of contemporary education reform and policy-making. It draws upon evidence from a comparative study of educational change and transformation in seven education systems: Australia, England, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Russia, and Singapore. The article focuses on school leadership preparation, training, and development, which has become a policy priority and central improvement strategy in many education systems. The article explores how seven education systems are using this strategy to promote school and system improvement. The article reflects upon the centrality of context in the process of policy implementation and in the broader pursuit of system transformation. The article concludes that more contextually appropriate approaches to educational policy selection are needed and that borrowing approaches from other countries many bring unintended consequences and unfortunate side effects. Further, the article concludes that the process of policy implementation, in context, requires far more attention, if the intended outcomes are to be achieved.     

Charting trends for e-learning in Asian schools

E-Learning is the confluence of many technology-based learning opportunities. It employs technologies as part of the delivery systems, as tools to assist with the representation of ideas, and most recently as the integration of processes and the topics to be learned. This paper reviews some of the approaches adopted by Asian schools and charts the trends that will guide instructional designers as they seek to effectively employ e-learning strategies. It also suggests a more integrated view of e-learning for those managing the learning and training systems within schools.     

重新理解教育思想史——兼论教育思维范畴的教育思想史学方法论意义

各种教育思想史的著作，从内容上看，也井井有条，但总体上没有成功地揭示教育思想自身的历史，而这恰恰是教育思想史学的核心任务。制约着这一问题的关键是方法论和方法问题，如果我们在研究方法论上有所进步，将会获得对教育思想史的重新理解。所谓教育思维，从内容上看，是教育观及其支配下的教育操作思路的统一体。这可以让我们从一个横截面了解了人类教育思想的结构，这无疑有利于我们对人类教育思想进行结构性的把握和结构性的分析与综合。从而，当我们面对浩繁的教育思想文献时，不至于思无头绪。进而，当我们进行教育思想创造时，心中有一个明晰的认识坐标。