The Human Factor

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A
world-class education system lies at the heart of the American
dream. So says opinion analyst Daniel Yankelovich (2011), who
explains, The nations implicit social contract is that Americans
can improve their lot in life through their own hard work and
education. This is the promise that holds us together (p.ix).
Delivering on this promise is the paramount mission of school leaders
today. It isnt enough to competently manage the schools we currently have.
Teachers, principals, and district administrators are now charged with finding
effective ways to teach all students to high levelsincluding students from
economically disadvantaged homes, those with special needs, and those with
limited English skills.
Its a tall order for K12 education. In response to these heightened
demands, weve seen tantalizing signs of progress in some schools and
districts. But unless leaders do more to help teachers, students, parents,
taxpayers, and others grasp the need for change and participate in it,
improvement will be spotty and nearly impossible to sustain. Thats why
the crucial next step in improving K12 education is unleashing the human
factortransforming these pivotal groups into allies and partners, rather than
passive audiences or constituencies to be managed. To take that step, school
leaders may need to consider some fresh thinking about the art of propelling
change.
Where We Are: Questions andConcerns
Surveys and focus groups have repeatedly shown that many Americans still
have concerns and questions about education reform as it has unfolded over
the last decade. Different groups come at education issues from markedly
different perspectives. Some are angered and alienated. Here are a few of the
most worrying examples.
Boosting academic standards. Many educators see the new, more challenging
Common Core standards as a remarkable breakthrough in U.S. education.
But are parents fully on board? Not according to a recent Public Agenda
survey. Just 50 percent of parents with children now in public schools want
their child to take harder classes; 47percent say their own child works hard
enough as it is, and the school does not need to make classes more difficult
(Public Agenda, 2011a).
The Human Factor
We can develop better, more
practical, more long-lasting education
reform if we widen the circle of
dialogue to include students, teachers,
parents, and community members.
Jean Johnson
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18 ED U C A T I ONA L LE A D E R S HI P / AP R I L 2013
Math and science. Leaders in business,
government, and higher education
assert that our economy needs more
high school graduates with top skills
in math and science. On the surface, at
least, most Americans seem to agree.
But dig deeper, and a different picture
emerges. Fewer than half of parents say
the schools their children attend should
put more emphasis on advanced sub-
jects like calculus and physics. Nearly
two-thirds of parents (and even more
members of the general public) say
teaching science can wait until middle
school or high schooldefinitely not
the career preparation most working
scientists would recommend (Johnson,
Rochkind, & Ott, 2009).
Teaching. To improve teacher perfor-
mance, states and districts nationwide
are reexamining decades-old policies
on teacher pay and evaluation and
reenvisioning how teachers and prin-
cipals work together. The focus on
teacher effectiveness is long overdue,
but the substance, tone, and pace
of these changes have rattled many
teachers. Public Agenda research has
repeatedly shown that majorities of
teachers of all ages and levels of expe-
rience are worried that new evaluation,
compensation, and tenure policies are
un reasonable, unrealistic, or poorly
executed (Public Agenda & American
Institutes for Research [AIR], 2009).
Standardized testing. Schools are
increasingly using standardized tests
to provide independent measures of
student learning and to shed light on
classroom teachers effectiveness. But
most teachers see standardized tests
as an inexact and partial measure of
student learning at best. According to
Public Agenda research, only about 1
in 10 teachers consider student scores
on district tests an excellent way to
judge student learning (Public Agenda
& AIR, 2009). In a study by the Gates
Foundation, 60 percent of teachers said
that student engagement was a very
accurate measure of a teachers perfor-
mance, but just 7 percent said the same
about student scores on standardized
tests (Scholastic & the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, 2010).
The achievement gap. Its been more
than a decade since the U.S. Congress
passed No Child Left Behind, legislation
designed expressly to raise student
achievement and reduce achievement
gaps among different groups of stu-
dents. But despite the attention the
achievement gap has received in edu-
cation circles, the problem is not nearly
as widely understood as most school
leaders might guess. A few years ago,
the Kettering Foundation sponsored a
series of community forums focused
on the achievement gap, opening with
a discussion of the disparities in stan-
dardized test scores among minority
and white students. In its summary, the
foundation wrote:
First, the words achievement gap hold
almost no meaning for the people with
the most at stake: the students, parents,
and other residents of communities where
the achievement gap is most pronounced.
At the start of the forums, many partici-
pants didnt even know what those words
meant, much less what could or should
be done about the problem. (Kettering
Foundation, 2010, p.1).
Persistently failing schools. The U.S.
Department of Education has called
on state and local school leaders to act
boldly to fix persistently failing schools,
and districts around the country have
started to close or overhaul these deeply
troubled institutions. But rather than
being greeted as courageous reformers
striving to improve student learning,
district officials often encounter angry
community pushback. Public Agenda
research has found that parents in
neighborhoods with low-performing
schools typically see school closings as a
defeat and failure for their community.
Many are not convinced that school
officials really have their childrens best
interests at heart (see Public Agenda,
2011b, 2012).
Where We Need to Go:
Partnership and Progress
Being a school leader has never been
for the faint of heart, and handling
opposition is part of the job. But the
Few people change
their expectations or
behavior on the basis
of information alone.
Johnson.indd 18 3/1/13 8:20 PM
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concerns, miscommunications, and gaps
in understanding outlined above make
it supremely difcult to embed and
sustain reforms. Unless teachers, parents,
students, and community members
become allies and partners in the mission
of improving schools, the United States
will likely stumble in its efforts to build a
world-class education system. Trying to
make people do things differently rarely
succeeds. Progress comes when people
recognize the need for change and believe
that they themselves can play an essential
part.
What can school leaders do to build
broader support for the changes we
must make to improve our schools?
Here are four ideas to start with.
Recognize Communication
Gaps andReach Out
All school leaders should make sure
they have an accurate picture of the
attitudes and concerns that parents,
teachers, and members of other
important groups bring to key issues in
school reform. Good opinion research
is available from Public Agenda, Edu-
cation Sector, the Kettering Foundation,
and other groups. Some states and
districts also conduct surveys on school
issues, and these can be helpful as well.
Take advantage of everything thats out
there.
But its important to remember that
what you glean from surveys and focus
groups is only a starting point, and
conducting research locally is often
far too costly for schools and districts.
The far more crucial step is to open up
new conversations and begin exploring
in less formal ways what people think
about whats happening in schools. Talk
to people in the neighborhood or at
the supermarket. See what Aunt Sally
and your teenage nephew think about
the remarkable changes afoot in edu-
cation today. These can be eye-opening
conversations.
Create Dialogue
Giving people clear, accurate infor-
mation is essential. But few people
change their expectations or behavior
on the basis of information alone
especially not in a society where were
continually inundated with facts,
statistics, news, and opinion, not to
mention tweets, blogs, and Facebook
posts. When it comes to introducing
new ideas and beginning the process of
change, a more effective strategy may be
dialogue (Yankelovich, 2001).
Steve Rosell and Heidi Gantwerk
(2011) describe dialogue as the step
we can take, before decisions are made,
to uncover assumptions, broaden per-
spectives, build trust, and find common
ground (p.112). They contrast debate,
a type of discussion most of us know
well, with dialogue, a distinctive kind
of conversation that informs in a very
different way (see fig. 1). In debate, its
assumed that there is a right answer
and that your role is to argue for it. In
dialogue, the assumption is that other
people also have a piece of the answer
and that their views and suggestions
will improve the ultimate solution. In
debate, the idea is to win the argument;
in dialogue, the idea is to look for
common ground.
When schools are contemplating and
introducing important changes, dia-
logue serves two important purposes.
First, it gives people an opportunity to
learn about new challenges, think about
new ideas, and have a say in how new
programs will be implemented. And
for leaders, dialogue provides a basis
Characteristics of Debate Characteristics of Dialogue
Assuming there is one right answer
(and you have it)
Assuming that others have pieces of
the answer
Combative: attempting to prove the
other side wrong
Collaborative: attempting to nd
common understanding
Trying to win Trying to nd common ground
Listening to nd aws and make
counterarguments
Listening to understand
Defending your assumptions Bringing up your assumptions for
inspection and discussion
Searching for weaknesses and aws
in the other position
Searching for strength and values in the
other position
Seeking an outcome that agrees
with your position
Discovering new possibilities and
opportunities
FIGURE 1. Differences Between Debate and Dialogue
Source: From Moving Beyond Polls and Focus Groups (p. 113), by S. A. Rosell and H. Gantwerk,
2010. In Toward Wiser Public Judgment, D. Yankelovich and W. Friedman (Eds.). Nashville, TN:
Vanderbilt University Press. Copyright 2010 by Public Agenda. Reprinted with permission.
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20 ED U C A T I ONA L LE A D E R S HI P / AP R I L 2013
of understanding that can help them
shape and adapt proposals to serve their
schools and communities better.
Invite Teachers to the Table
Over the past few years, Public Agenda
and American Institutes for Research
(AIR) have begun to launch dialogues
with classroom teachers about evalu-
ation, salary, and tenure policies. The
project, called Everyone at the Table
(www.everyoneatthetable.org), gives
school leaders and teachers an oppor-
tunity to exchange ideas and insights
outside the traditional bargaining
process.
These dialogues show powerfully that
teachers believe in evaluation and have
important and useful ideas on how to
do it effectively. Inviting teachers to talk
about these issues alleviates tension and
helps teachers feel less like victims and
more like colleagues. Dialogue can ease
some of the mistrust and resentment
teachers feel when they believe reforms
are being forced on them. And dialogue
among school leaders and teachers on
these issues conveys the extraordinarily
significant message that teachers views
are important and that school leaders
want to hear and consider them.
Ask for Help
Most Americans welcome the efforts
school leaders are making to improve
schools and to ensure that all students
gain the knowledge and skills that
will enable them to build secure and
meaningful lives. In fact, parents and
community members in focus groups
often emphasize how important and
challenging these goals are, and they
acknowledge that schools cant accom-
plish them alone.
Schools need parents and other
adults in the community to join them
in combating problems like truancy
and high dropout rates. Community
engagement projects conducted by local
school leaders in association with Public
Agenda and the Kettering Foundation
have demonstrated that asking for help
from parents, community organiza-
tions, law enforcement personnel, local
institutions of higher education, and
other groups often yields practical and
useful resultspartnerships working
to increase school attendance and com-
pletion, mentors who will spend extra
time with students who need extra help,
and knowledgeable volunteers who
can help graduating seniors make good
decisions about college or finding their
first real job.
Asking for help also sends a crucial
message to the broader public. It dem-
onstrates that school leaders value and
respect what the community brings to
the table. And in many cases, asking for
help and working with individuals and
groups outside the school on common
goals can help dissolve some of the
distrust and miscommunication that
bedevils so many school turnaround
projects.
Widening the Circle
On the basis of my experience at Public
Agenda over the years, I believe that
the vast majority of policymakers and
school leaders driving education reform
have good intentions. They deserve
credit for calling attention to the serious
inadequacies of U.S. schools and
pushing the country to act. But in nearly
all cases, they have mainly been talking
with one another, not with teachers,
parents, students, and communities.
The lack of a broader dialogue not only
endangers support for the changes we
need to make in schools, but also robs
education leaders of the knowledge
and insights that teachers, parents, and
others can offer.
I am convinced that we can develop
better, more practical, more long-
lasting solutions if we widen the circle
of dialogue on education reform.
School leaders who reach out to
listen to parents, teachers, students,
and members of the community
with empathy and open-mindedness
will make better choices. Even if the
ultimate decision runs counter to
popular opinion, school leaders who
promote and encourage open dialogue
are more likely to earn the respect and
cooperation of these key groups in the
future.
Additional Resources
for Building Dialogue in
School Communities
Community Educators: A Resource
for Educating and Developing Our
Youth by Patricia Moore Harbour.
(Kettering Foundation Press, 2012).
Everyone at the Table: Engaging
Teachers in Evaluation Reform by
Ellen Behrstock-Sherratt, Allison
Rizzolo, Sabrina Laine, and Will
Friedman. (Jossey-Bass, forth-
coming in June 2013).
Toward Wiser Public Judgment
edited by Daniel Yankelovich and
Will Friedman (Vanderbilt University
Press, 2011).
Asking for help
demonstrates
that school leaders
value and respect
what the community
brings to the table.
Johnson.indd 20 3/1/13 8:20 PM
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AS CD / WWW. A S C D . OR G 21
By rebuilding educations essential
partnerships, we can unleash the human
factor that is vital to improving our
schools and helping our students
succeed.
EL
References
Johnson, J., Rochkind, J., & Ott, A. (2009).
Are we beginning to see the light? New York:
Public Agenda; and Faireld, CT: General
Electric. Retrieved from www.public
agenda.org/pages/math-and-science-ed-
2010#Methodology
Kettering Foundation. (2010). Helping stu-
dents succeed: Communities confront the
achievement gap. Dayton, OH: Author.
Retrieved from http://kettering.org/
wp-content/uploads/Helping_Students_
Succeed.pdf
Public Agenda. (2011a). Boosting parent
involvement: Results from a national survey
of parents. New York: Public Agenda; and
Faireld, CT: General Electric. Retrieved
from www.public agenda.org/pages/
engaging-parents
Public Agenda. (2011b). Whats trust
got to do with it? A communications and
engagement guide for school leaders tackling
the problem of persistently failing schools.
New York: Author. Retrieved from www
.publicagenda.org/pages/whats-trust-got-
to-do-with-it
Public Agenda. (2012). Community responses
to school reform in Chicago. New York:
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Responses ToSchoolReformInChicago.pdf
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Rosell, S. A., & Gantwerk, H. (2011).
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Yankelovich, D. (2011). Foreword. In J.
Johnson, You cant do it alone: A communi-
cations and engagement manual for school
leaders committed to reform (pp.ixxii).
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littleeld.

Jean Johnson (jjohnson@publicagenda
.org) is a senior fellow at Public Agenda
and the author of You Cant Do It Alone:
A Communications and Engagement
Manual for School Leaders Committed
to Reform (Rowman and Littleeld,
2012).
Johnson.indd 21 3/1/13 8:20 PM
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