Program and Organizational Change in Faculties of Education: Some Lessons for Survival.

Overview & Synopsis

A growing perception among those who have examined teacher education programs is that such programs, particularly those aspects that occur on campus, have not met expectations. Proposals for innovation in teacher education are not in short supply. What is most problematic is incorporating such changes into the institutional life of faculties of education. A study identified how changes occurred in 10 Canadian Faculties of Education and how various influences, such as government policy and faculty governance, interacted with and influenced those changes. Changes were analyzed using Bryden's notion of policy spirals and Chinn and Benne's classification of change strategies. The faculties were found to be far more immune to external pressures than other institutions. In terms of change strategies, both power coercive and normative re-educative strategies were in evidence, but rational empirical strategies were not. Study results contribute both toward the information about how program and organizational change should be managed in higher education as well as the more theoretical questions of governance and organization. (Author/JMK)