Rudolf van den Berg

Conditions Fostering the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs in Schools: Teachers’ Perspectives:

This research examines the conditions fostering the implementation of large-scale innovation programs through the eyes of teachers. The implementation of two innovation programs by teachers from two sectors of Dutch agricultural education was studied. Structural equation modeling was applied to the survey data of the two groups of teachers. Results show dimensions of transformational leadership and participation in decision making along with teachers’ feelings of uncertainty and professional development activities to influence the extent to which teachers change their practices according to the principles of the current innovation program and also the extent to which teachers agree with the principles. It is argued that school improvement research should pay more attention to the complex relationships between the conditions fostering innovation. The importance of analyzing conditions in the context of different innovation programs and the importance of recognizing feelings of uncertainty for school improvement research are discussed in greater detail.

The Permanent Importance of the Subjective Reality of Teachers During Educational Innovation: A Concerns-Based Approach

In the present contribution, the question of the conditions under which innovations appear to succeed stands central. Such objective conditions as organizational structure, technological possibilities, and budgets are clearly important for innovations to succeed. Of particular interest here, however, are, the concerns of teachers and the role that these concerns play in the innovation process. A plea is made for increased attention to the individual questions, needs, and opinions that arise among teachers in response to innovations. Concerns are presented as indicators of the subjective realities of teachers and, at times, the expression of ambivalence with regard to the innovation in question. After sketching the relevant theory, we show that increased attention is needed to the involvement of teachers and, thereby, their concerns with regard to even such recent innovations as adaptive teaching. This need is illustrated on the basis of the research material we have collected over the past few years. The data show, among other things, that teachers at different stages in the innovation process express different types of concerns. Clear attunement of innovation policy to those (possibly subjective) factors influencing the implementation process is thus seen as a necessity. Among these factors are the framework of phases in the innovation, the scale of the innovation, the individual orientations of the teachers involved in the innovation, and the match between the orientations of the teachers and the concerns elicited by the innovation.

Transformational Leadership and the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs.

Examines the nature of transformational leadership and its relation to teachers’ changed practices within the context of Dutch large‐scale innovation. Presents two qualitative studies and a survey. The qualitative studies produced three dimensions of transformational leadership: vision, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Within the framework of the survey, these dimensions were further operationalized and exploratively related to teachers’ concerns, teachers’ learning activities, and teachers’ changed practices. The results indicate the significance of the dimensions of transformational leadership in relation to changed teacher practices. The results also suggest the significance of intervening constructs for future research into the impact of leadership on changed teacher practices.

Building Innovative Capacity and Leadership

In Western Europe, educational innovations can be characterized as increasingly large scale. Nevertheless, in every innovation one always confronts the question of the appropriate strategy for introducing the innovation. With regard to large-scale innovations, it is also important to search for supplemental support strategies.

The innovative capacity of secondary schools: a qualitative study

This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation into the innovative capacities of secondary schools. The content of the innovation in this case was the implementation of a core curriculum for Dutch secondary education. The goal of this preliminary investigation was to refine the conceptualization of the innovative capacity of schools. A review of the literature was performed and interviews (N = 46) were conducted based on the results of this review. The nine schools involved in the research were recruited from a “high innovation group” and a “low innovation group.” The results of the interviews proved to be largely comparable to the expectations derived from a tentative conceptual framework.