Helga Stokes

Educational Systems Change: from Mandates to Conversations: Teachers¿ Experiences with Design Conversation in the Context of School Change Helga Stokes

That school change is necessary is commonly agreed upon. Mandated reforms with little or no user involvement were characteristic of many change efforts, but to date those efforts have not brought forth results that are substantial and far reaching enough to truly turn the education system into one that serves the learners¿ needs. The education system is certainly an integral part of any community and, as such, a community development affair. Still, when school change is attempted, the communication that needs to happen, when the users who form the community become involved in the design of the changes, seems to be at best an afterthought. Teachers¿ experiences with design conversation for educational systems design are the core of the research question for this study. Communicative approaches such as design conversation might gain in importance as more sustainable and system-wide approaches to school change are searched for.