Three Stories of Education Reform, The

Author: Fullan, M.
Publisher: Phi Delta Kappa
Publication Date: 2000, April
Journal: Phi Delta Kappan
Journal Volume: 81(8)
Pages: 581-584
Full text available online at: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kful0004.htm

Abstract (written by WestEd)

Typically, promising education reform efforts have either failed to sustain initially successful efforts, have not been reproduced, or both. Lack of coherence in the system, participation and cooperation of all relevant parties, and the institutionalization of changes prevent successes from persisting and spreading. According to the author, we need to realize that "both local school development and the quality of the surrounding infrastructure are critical for lasting success." Fullan uses this inside/outside metaphor to describe the multiple methods of educational reform; the three stories outlined below must work in concert for sustained school improvement. Greater energy comes from a well-integrated system of these forces, increasing capacity and accountability.

The Inside Story:
Successful schools all function with a collaborative work culture that continually promotes a professional learning community, focuses on student work through assessment, and adapts instructional practices to achieve better results. Teachers need to be more "assessment literate," with the ability to work individually and collectively in interpreting achievement data of student performance and develop action plans to change instruction and other factors to improve student learning. There is no established formula to assist other schools' reform internally. The key to improvement is not to restructure but rather to "reculture," that is, to develop professional learning communities within schools that help teachers focus on assessment and pedagogy to make improvements.

The Inside-Out Story:
External forces are utilized to assist school reform —— parents and community, technology, corporate connections, government policy, and the wider teaching profession. The problem with this story is that these external forces are extremely fragmented. Successful schools focus on both internal collaborative strengths and the advantages of the external resources. The key to improving schools is being selective, focusing on preferred innovations, and applying them.

The Outside-In Story:
This method focuses on how external agencies, from the district- to the state-level and in between, can organize and assist large-scale school reform. There are four elements of the external reform infrastructure of large districts:

1. Policies focusing on decentralization strengthen schools' site-based emphasis and reverse policies that restrict school reform.
   
2. Local capacity building invests in policies, training, professional development, and ongoing support to prepare all stakeholders, from principals to parents, to perform as members of professional learning communities both inside and outside of schools.
   
3. Rigorous external accountability necessitates that schools incorporate state standards and performance into school infrastructure, but assessments must be seen as opportunities for learning and capacity building.
   
4. Stimulation of innovations should continue through investing in research, development, and networks to continually improve teaching and learning.