The Cyclical Integration Model as a Way of Managing Major Educational Change
Table 1
Framing questions for government as an agent of change.
Enterprise focus
Does a clear understanding exist of precisely what is meant by the term “compulsory education”? If not, why not; if yes, how does the proposed change fall within defined parameters?
International respectability
Does the proposed change model have any international pedigree? Are countries who are performing strongly on measures such as TIMMS1 and PISA2 adopting/considering similar changes?
Driving agency
What hard evidence is there that this change ought to be considered? If little, should a report be commissioned? If so, how will objective committee representation be guaranteed?
Budgetary possibility
Is a report being commissioned to buy political time or is funding available to implement report recommendations?
Clarity of Purpose
Is the primary aim of the change to gain political leverage or to secure real, beneficial and lasting educational advantage?
Public service achievability
Given other tasks currently being undertaken, are sufficiently experienced personnel available in the relevant government department to do “due diligence” to this task at this time? If not, how will the issue of required personnel be addressed?
Change evaluation
How will “bang for the buck” be evaluated? How will it be determined whether or not tax payers’ money has been appropriately invested?
Integrator profiling
Given the expertise on both sides of the House, who is in the best position to take on the role of Integrator for this particular project?
1Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. 2Programme for International Student Assessment.
