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Whole school change for literacy teaching and learning: purposes and processes

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 00:32 authored by Kitty te RieleKitty te Riele, Sarah Stewart, Elaine StratfordElaine Stratford
School improvement has become a goal in many education systems globally, with the mantra of ‘whole school change’ adopted as key to achieving that goal. However, whole school change is complex and interpreted variously. In Australia, a case in point is the drive to lift literacy outcomes. Drawing on qualitative data from a study of literacy teaching practice in one Australian state, this article aims to unravel the multiple meanings and enactments of whole school approaches to literacy. The study established that while most participating schools espoused such an approach to literacy improvement, the ways in which they enacted this approach varied, with different types and levels of change emerging. Combining Cuban’s orders of change framework (focussed on purposes) and May’s phases of school readiness for change (focussed on processes), we developed a three-level framework of whole school change: external, pragmatically driven change; structural and/or nascent cultural change; and internal, culturally driven change. Taking this multidimensional approach to understanding whole school improvement sheds light both on its complexity and on the challenges of sustainability. Two clear implications arise from the findings: the importance of focussing simultaneously on purpose and process, and the necessity of systemic support.

Funding

Department of Education Tasmania, con

History

Publication title

Language and Education

Volume

36

Issue

4

Pagination

329-345

ISSN

0950-0782

Department/School

Peter Underwood Centre

Publisher

Routledge

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in human society

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