Research shows that principals with strong leadership qualities are a critical factor in effective schools. This paper describes three research based techniques that principals can use when making decisions about how to help teachers develop their skills. The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is an empirically based conceptual framework that…

This paper describes Innovation Configuration (IC) Mapping as an approach for assessing the extent of implementation of a program. An IC Map is similar metaphorically to a road map in that it summarizes different ways of getting from one point to another. Each map consists of basic units, or components, that can be made operational in a number of…

A total of 411 public school teachers participated in a project researching the highly personal experiences and phenomena encountered by individual educators in schools and colleges as they "adopt" educational innovations. (Author/MLF)

This paper describes a study that developed and tested a research measure for investigating the concerns of teachers at different stages in the adoption of educational innovations. Through a review of the literature, the staff of the Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations project identified seven different stages of teacher concern about…

One simple and straightforward way to learn about individuals' concerns about an educational innovation is to ask them to respond to the question, "When you think about (the innovation), what are you concerned about?" This manual is intended to aid school officials in analyzing these open-ended concerns statements in order to effectively assess…

Researchers in the Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations Program at the University of Texas have developed an "Intervention Taxonomy" to help classify and define interventions and components of interventions. It is hoped that this taxonomy will enable change facilitators and researchers to make conceptual and operational…

Conceptualizes a framework of types of partnerships that can develop between a school system and an external resource agency. More complex organizational structures are required as interdependency increases in the collaborative, symbiotic partnership, and spin-off models. There is no magic formula for initiating, sustaining, or terminating…

The procedures and coding schema that have been developed by the Research on the Improvement Process (RIP) Program for analyzing the frequency of interventions and for examining their internal characteristics are described. In two in-depth ethnographic studies of implementation efforts, interventions were the focus of data collection and analysis.…

Educational change is viewed in Australia as a series of events involving four components: the decision to change, the announcement of the change, inservice activities oriented to the change, and informal support activities. Research in the U.S., however, indicates that change is a highly personal process undergone first by individuals and only…

When implementing an innovation, a multitude of components interact to change not only the users, but the innovation as well. This guide explains the concept of innovation configurations, or adaptations made in innovations during implementation. After presenting and discussing past research on innovation changes, the report outlines a five step…

Problems in implementing educational change due to different perspectives and statuses of policy makers, practitioners, and researchers has contributed to an absence of shared paradigms. Combined with the intense demand for educational change, a system gridlock has ensued. Research of the last 2 decades on implementation of change is summarized in…

Over the past few years, several complicated innovations, such as mainstreaming and minimal competency testing, have confronted teachers in addition to their usual responsibilities. In order to facilitate the teachers' implementation of such changes, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) was developed, using the teacher and the innovation as…

Although vast numbers of educational innovations have been introduced into the nation's schools over the past 20 years, few have succeeded in effecting affective, behavioral, and cognitive student gains. Many recent studies have focused, therefore, on school change processes and the formulation of strategies for successful innovation…

Past research has correlated differential curriculum implementation outcomes at the classroom level with the actions of the key change facilitator at the school level: the principal. Accordingly, this paper reports the results of a study of three change facilitator styles among principals: responders, managers, and initiators. Working definitions…

Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of context variables in interpreting research findings. The Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations (PAEI) Project at the Texas Research and Development Center for Teacher Education has been attempting to identify and conceptualize important research-based and clinical-based context variables. An…