Facilitating curriculum

changes in school

Whole school development &

the role of school principal
 Group discussion
In your school, what are the major
difficulties you have encountered in
curriculum improvement?
How does the school authority tackle
them?

Time: 20 minutes
 Values and beliefs
People uphold different values and beliefs:
aims and goals of education
means of education
willingness to involve
etc.
This variation: not only the societal level
also in school
(see for example, Finnan & Levin, 2000)
 Reflection
Many researches indicate the existence of school culture
(Hargreaves, Sarason etc.)
At the school level, it is not difficult to identify some dis
tinctive cultural traits, particularly in well-established sc
hools
But do teachers all agree with the values and beliefs of t
he “dominant school culture”?
What is your observation?
Such differences among sub-groups in school
can also be found in societal level.

Chinese culture:
do all the chinese uphold the same values an
d beliefs in all areas?
The concept of culture, whether used to describe s
chools or larger societies is not easy to define. It i
s something that surrounds us, gives meaning to o
ur world and is constantly being constructed both
through our interactions with others and through o
ur reflections on life and our world. Culture is so i
mplicit in what we do that it dulls our knowle
dge that it is there.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.88)

The seemingly contradictory fact that culture is bo
th conservative and ever changing. On the one han
d, culture is essentially conservative, protecting pe
ople from that unknown, providing answers to wh
at would otherwise be unanswerable. On the other
hand, culture is also ever changing. It adapts to inf
luences from other cultures and from changes in th
e physical, social and
political environment.
(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.88)
At the societal, school culture is more appropriatel
y termed the culture of schooling. It is at this level
that culture appears to be most conservative and re
sistant to change, because it exists primarily at an
abstract, generalized level. The culture of schoolin
g creates and perpetuates the image members of o
ur society call forth when they think of education,
schools and schooling.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.89)

The shared culture of schooling is responsible for the stability is the si
ze and design of classrooms, in the persistence of school activities an
d practices that have characterized schooling since the beginning of th
e twentieth century and in the egg crate structure vividly described by
Lortie. The culture of schooling perpetuates a view of schooling in w
hich teachers are responsible for the transmission of knowledge and c
ulture and for shaping the minds of children. For this reason, the publi
c is most comfortable when the teaching’learning process is dominate
d by a teacher and textbooks. Many people assume that learning can o
ccur only when the teacher orchestrates it from the front of the class.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.89)

We use the term “school culture” to describe the u
nique culture of each school; this is culture at the l
ocal level. A school’s culture accounts for why it f
eels, looks, sounds and smells different from any o
ther school.
(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.89-90)
Unlike the culture of schooling, school culture is constantl
y changing. It accommodates a continuous influx of new p
eople (administrators, faculty, students, parents), new direc
tives from the district and from state and federal agencies,
and new directions recommended by professional organiza
tions, institutions of higher education and unions. School c
ultures may not change in the ways external change agents
want, but they do change.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.90)

Teachers and administrators working in schools se
rving at-risk children often feel inferior to their col
leagues in more affluent school.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.91)

In many schools, the culture allows for considerab
le variation among teachers on how and what to te
ach. This does not usually arise from a respect for
diverse teaching strategies but from limited discou
rse among teachers and a lack of communication
with parents on effective teaching.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.92)

Teachers and administrators often actively and passively re
sist externally imposed change because the proposed chang
es do not fit their school culture, are not well designed or a
re not presented in an understandable way. There are schoo
ls, however, that encourage and foster change and continuo
us improvement, especially if the change build on the stren
gths of the existing school culture.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.92)

But individuals who join the school as staff, parents and students also
have personal histories which reinforce school culture through self-sel
ection. The involvement of participants in a school is hardly a random
event. Students from fairly homogeneous and neighborhoods attend sc
hools that reflect community values, aspirations and expectation. Even
when choosing public schools outside their neighborhoods and private
schools, families select school environments that reinforce their beliefs
about what schools should do. School staff to choose environment and
practices that they feel most attracted to and comfortable with.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.92)

It is important to acknowledge school culture explicitly because it has
consequences for both stability and change. We have emphasized the s
tability and conserving nature of school culture, in that it is like a vast
web of intricate and interlocking ideas, values, beliefs and practices th
at protect the school from change. Both societally and locally it protect
s participants from external pressures for change because of its compre
hensive and ubiquitous nature. Pressures for change tend to be piecem
eal can only pierce a small part of this protective web, while the vast r
emainder remains intact. In this respect school culture serves as a barri
er to change and effectively fends off attempts to transform the school.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.93)

 Micropolitics in schools
So far we have only discussed the problem of
cultural differences.
In reality, politics in school may further aggravate
the problem.
For details, we can look at the work by Ball
(1987), Henderson & Hawthorne (2000) also
 Conflicts:
originated from
 ideological differences
"refer to matters of value and philosophical
commitment."
 vested interest
"refer to the material concerns of teachers as
related to working conditions: rewards from
work, career and promotion; access to and
control of resources in the school
 Conflicts:
self interest:
"refer to the sense of self or identity claim
ed or aspired to by the teacher, the sort of
teacher a person believes themselves to b
e or want to be (e.g. subject specialist, ed
ucator, pastoralist, administrator."
 
(Ball, 1987, p.17)
Key concepts of the micro-political
perspective
power 
goal diversity 
ideological disputation 
conflict 
interests
political activity 
control
(Ball, 1987)
 Conflict perspective
Baldridge (1971): main tenets:

1. conflict theorists emphasizes the fragmentation of so

cial systems into interest gps. each with its own parti
cular goals
2. conflict theorists study the interaction of these dif. in
terest gps. and esp. the conflict processes by which o
ne gp. tries to gain adv, over another
 Conflict perspective
3. interest gps. cluster around divergent values and th
e study of conflicting interests is a key part of the a
nalysis
4. the study of change is a central feature of the confli
ct approach, for change is to be expected if the soc
ial sys. is fragmented by divergent values and conf
licting interest gps.  

(Ball, 1987, p.18)

School: An arena of struggle
actual or potential conflict between members
conflicts: because of ideological differences, vested
interests, self-interest
maintaining control and resolve the conflicts: no
fixed pattern
partly because school: peculiar char. (Collins)
& structure: loose, poorly coordinated
Action and decision-making in school
not an abstract rational process
involve
compromise
negotiations
trade-offs
threats
pressure
underhand dealing
(Ball, 1987, p.26)
How could schools survive?
If we agree that there are significant differe
nces among school members, particularly t
eachers, &
If teachers’ beliefs contradict, the whole sc
hool may fall apart.
However, most schools have not reached t
hat level.
Why?
Goals of education: abstract, varied and
diversified
So many educational decisions are value-laden and id
eological
Differences between depts and among teachers ~ ide
ological foundation
"In the normal course of events such differences are
obscured or submerged in the welter of routine activi
ties and interaction.“
& also the loose-coupling structure
 Structure of school
"Anarchic organization"
"It is anarchic in the sense that the relationship
between goals, members and technology is
not as clearly functional as conventional
organization theory indicates that it will be."
(Bell, 1980, p.187)
(Ball, 1987, p.12)
However, at times of crisis or change, or in
moments of reflection (occasional days, staff or
dept. meetings). straightforward points of
contention over practice can quickly lay bare
deep divisions in teaching ideology.”
(Ball, 1987, p.14)

"The ideological diversity of schools is

frequently contained by a deliberate policy of
loose-coupling. Depts. or other sub-units... are
left to their own devices.” (p.15)
School principal:
Important role
The importance of principal in
school success
Hall et al. (1987): principal : crucial to success
Mortimore et al. (1988): longitudinal study of 50 schools i
n England:
single out 'purposeful leadership of the staff by the headtea
cher" : key in schools found to be effective on a variety of
academic and non-academic criteria.
 "In short, the school principal more than anyone else can b
ring successful school improvement into sharp focus.”
Fullan, 1992, p.96
 The importance of principal in
school success
"We have begun to make the transition fr. the prin
cipal's role in influencing the impl. of specific inn
ovations to the principal's role in leading changes
in 'the school as an organization'. The implication
is that we have to look deeper and more holistical
ly at the principal and the school as an organizati
on."

(Fullan ,1992, p.84-5)

 Role of managers
Plan: deciding what to do & how to do it
Organise: arranging resources the best way
Direct: Motivating people to work well
Control: Measuring performance & cost
Which of the above roles are most important?
Principals: Many roles
change agent
pressure regulator
morale booster
resource supplier
climate generator
 Principal:
manager of operation:
major concern: smooth functioning of the building
spend more time in their office than in corridors and cl
assrooms, attend numerous meetings outside of the bui
lding, remove themselves from the daily concerns of
movt. of students and life in classrooms and establish
social distance from the faculty

Lieberman & Miller, 1984, p.55

 Principal:
leader of instruction:
encourage instructional excellence, visit
classroom, talk with teachers about heir
teaching concerns, initiate program review
and revitalization
active participant in the life of the school
 
Principal's commitment to curr. work
"... few educational roles are less clearly defined than t
hat of the principal. He is continually barraged by a se
ries of uncoordinated and often contradictory sets of e
xpectations fr. dif. groups from within and outside his
own school community.”
(Ross, 1980, p.219)

"Research consistently found that a large percentage o

f principals (at least one-half) were preoccupied with a
dm. work and organizational maintenance activities.”
(Fullan, 1984, p.100)
Management styles
Four types:
 *interpersonal
 *managerial
adversarial
authoritarian
(Ball, 1987, p.87)
Interpersonal head:
"rely primarily on personal relationships and
face-to- face contact to fulfill their role"
Managerial head:
"have major recourse to committees,
memoranda and formal procedures"
Adversarial head:
"tends to relish argument and confrontation to
maintain control"
Authoritarian head:
"avoids and stifles argument in favour of di
ctat"
(Ball, 1987, p.87)

"An understanding of the way that schools

change (or stay the same) and therefore of t
he practical limits and possibilities of educ
ational devt., must take account of intra-or
ganization process."
 (Ball, 1987, p.3)
 Interpersonal
mobile and visible head
personal interaction, face to face contact
individual negotiation and compromises
informality
communication does not flow through a
formal hierarchy
staff members are encouraged to think of
themselves as autonomous professionals
set up a sense of mutual obligation, loyalty,
consideration
 Interpersonal
weaknesses:
the decision-making mechanism comes to be seen as
an elusive and mysterious process as inaccessible and
behind doors
absence of structure, procedures and methods
the divine right of heads
to make it successful, headteacher needs to have excel
lent social skills
"charisma" 
(Ball, 1987)
 Managerial
industrial manager
the head, normally surrounded by a senior managem
ent team
formal structure of meetings and committees
supported and outlined by written communication
educational concerns also formally defined bureaucr
atic
information and inf. flow thr. the formal channels a
nd structures
 Adversarial
rests primarily upon the vehicle of talk
crucial areas of talk are public rather than
private
emphasis on dialogue and not infrequently
on confrontation
competing interests and ideologies in the
school: recognized
 Adversarial
emphasis is upon persuasion and commitment
success depends on the ability of the head to cope with t
he uncertainties of the relatively unorganized public de
bate i.e. to deal with attacks, to persuade waverers, to pr
ovide reasoned argument etc.
allies must be encouraged, at times rewarded; opponent
s: neutralized or satisfied, as the occasion demands
 Authoritarian
assert
statement
opposition is avoided, disabled or simply
ignored
to reduce talk to a one-way flow
 Char. of principal's work
1. A low no. of self-initiated tasks
2. Many activities of short duration
3. Discontinuity caused by interruptions
4. The superseding of prior plans by the needs
of others in the organization
5. Face-to-face verbal contacts with one other
person
6. Variability of tasks
 Char. of principal's work
7. An extensive network of individuals and groups
8. A hectic and unpredictable flow of work
9. Numerous unimpt. decisions and trivial agendas
10.Few attempts at written communication
11.Interactions predominately with subordinates
12.A preference for problems an information that are spe
cific (rather than general), concrete, solvable and curre
ntly pressing

(Pitner, 1982; Mannasse, 1985, 442)

Basic dilemma of headteacher
maintenance of pol. stability within the organization
achieve control (domination) & commitment (integrati
on)
The 4 leadership styles are all means to this end.
 The stability may be dynamic and radical (adversorial
mode) or static and conservative (authoritarian mode)
Stability may be emphasized in terms of community a
nd relationship (interpersonal mode) or in terms of str
uctures, roles, and procedures
( Ball, 1987, p.120)
 Teacher's autonomy
a major compromise between freedom and
control 
it may be an illusion of freedom
as teacher's autonomy is interpreted as limited to
classroom business
this limits the range of concerns over which the
teacher can exercise influence
Advice from curriculum change
theorists
Hargreaves, 1995
Hargreaves, 1998
Glatthorn, 1997
Henderson & Hawthorne, 2000
Blasé & Blasé, 1998
Sarason, 1996
Nias et al. 1992
But one can use school culture as a vehicle fo
r effecting and sustaining change, rather than
trying to undermine it directly or get around i
t surreptitiously. It is unfortunate that school
culture is viewed only as a conserving force
and not one that might be used for transforma
tion.

(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.93)

Establish a shared language, a process for ongoi
ng communication, research and professional int
eractions, a highly participatory governance stru
cture that incorporates all members and the invo
lvement of significant other parts of the educatio
nal system to support the process of change.
(Finnan &Levin, 2000, p.93)
 Effective middle manager
need to operate at all modes: no single perfect style
whatever style, should be open, clear and consistent
should show to have a major concern for achieving tas
ks and for fulfilling the soc. and prof. needs of colleag
ues
adaptable to match constantly changing situations
lead by example
facilitate others to be leaders

(Earley & Fletcher-Campbell, 1990, p.198)

 Team building strategies
willingness to share information, experience a
nd expertise
 well-organized meetings
 sharing of dept and faculty responsibilities
 regular social events
 existence of dept. and faculty offices.

(Earley & Fletcher-Campbell, 1990, p.198 )