Focus on Educational Change and Globalization: A Dynamic Model of Forces Affecting the Implementation of Educational Change in the Czech Republic

Comparative Education Review

Volumn 45, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 64-84

  Polyzoi, Eleoussa ^a   Černá, Marie ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0348201994     PISSN: 00104086     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/447645     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Paul Beresford-Hill, "Markets and Education in Eastern Europe and the Baltic Republics," in Education and Privatization in Eastern Europe and the Baltic Republics, Oxford Studies in Comparative Education (Wallingford: Triangle, 1998), p. 9.
2. Annabelle Mays, Eleoussa Polyzoi, and Sheena Gardner, "The Czech Experience of the Initiation of Educational Change since 1989: Is a North American Model Applicable?" Canadian and International Education 26, no. 1 (1997): 32-53.
3. Michael Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational Change, rev. ed. with Susan Stiegelbauer (Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, [1982] 1991), Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform, (London: Falmer, 1993), "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (paper presented at the Conference on Student Assessment, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 5, 1998), and Change Forces: The Sequel (London: Falmer, 1999).
4. Michael Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational Change, rev. ed. with Susan Stiegelbauer (Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, [1982] 1991), Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform, (London: Falmer, 1993), "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (paper presented at the Conference on Student Assessment, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 5, 1998), and Change Forces: The Sequel (London: Falmer, 1999).
5. Michael Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational Change, rev. ed. with Susan Stiegelbauer (Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, [1982] 1991), Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform, (London: Falmer, 1993), "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (paper presented at the Conference on Student Assessment, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 5, 1998), and Change Forces: The Sequel (London: Falmer, 1999).
6. Michael Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational Change, rev. ed. with Susan Stiegelbauer (Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, [1982] 1991), Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform, (London: Falmer, 1993), "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (paper presented at the Conference on Student Assessment, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 5, 1998), and Change Forces: The Sequel (London: Falmer, 1999).
7. Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic, Quality and Accountability: The Programme of Development of the Education System in the Czech Republic (Prague: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic, 1994).
8. Maria Pilátová, "The Endless History of the Kingdom of Bohemia" (unpublished manuscript, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, 1995).
9. Jan Prucha and Eliška Walterová, Education in a Changing Society: Czechoslovakia (Prague: Charles University, 1992).
10. Fullan, New Meaning, pp. 47-48.
11. Ibid., p. 50.
12. Ibid., p. 61.
13. Ibid., p. 65.
14. The degree to which these factors influence implementation depends on various, dynamic forces that provide a vivid, interactive picture of the change process. These forces or themes include the following: What type of leadership has characterized the change process? Are plans flexible and continuously adjusted to take advantage of unexpected developments? Is a collaborative work culture encouraged so that involvement of all participants is extended? Is staff development or resource assistance provided throughout the implementation stage? Is the change process continually monitored, and have effective coping strategies been developed to deal with emergent problems? Have structural changes (changes in administration, governance, finance, policies, physical space, etc.) been made to accommodate the successful implementation of the program?
15. Fullan, New Meaning, p. 5.
16. The following questions served as a guide for the interviews. (1) How have the political, economic, and social changes that have taken place in the Czech Republic since 1991 impacted on the education system? (2) What factors prompted the onset of these changes? (3) Is there a vision that characterizes these changes? (4) Who are the educational decision and policy makers? (5) Are parents empowered to make decisions in schools? (6) Who are the key individuals/organizations/government bodies that have pushed for/initiated/supported change? (7) What problems have you encountered in the transformation of the Czech education system? What have been the barriers and facilitators of change? (8) What does the future hold for Czech education? Elaborate. These questions were overlaid with probes that helped to clarify (1) the perceived need for and clarity of educational change, (2) the influence of the past - the role of prerevolutionary models of education, (3) the heritage of the communist regime and the importance of "reculturing" (see Fullan, "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" [n. 3 above]), (4) the reciprocal relationship between cultural (norms, habits, skills, and beliefs) and structural change (physical environment, organizational arrangements, finance, governance, curriculum, training, etc.), (5) the complexity of the change that is required, (6) external factors that press for and advance change, (7) the influence of the West in facilitating change, (8) the role of reform organizations, and (9) the degree to which change is supported by its direct participants: teachers, parents, administrators, students, business community, churches, private schools, etc.
17. Fullan, New Meaning (n. 3 above), p. 15.
18. Jiří Kotásek, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 4, 1997; Jaroslav Kalous, interview by the primary author, Prague, March 13, 1997.
19. Prucha and Walterová (n. 6 above); Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner (n. 2 above); Karel Rýdl, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 16, 1997.
20. Fullan, New Meaning, p. 69.
21. Kalous; Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner.
22. Fullan, Change Forces: Probing (n. 3 above), p. 28.
23. Kalous; Ladislav Cerych, Transforming Education: Background Report to the OECD Review of Education in the Czech Republic (Prague: Charles University, Education Policy Center, Faculty of Education, 1995).
24. César Bîrzea, Educational Policies of the Countries in Transition (Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press, 1994).
25. Fullan, "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (n. 3 above).
26. Rýdl.
27. The Czech Republic is divided into 86 districts. School offices were not only developed in each district; district school councils were established in each municipality to support the council's interests within each district. In 1993, the Ministry of Education also allowed schools to establish school boards with parent representation. Currently, there is no regional administrative unit (there are 10 regions in the Czech Republic) to deal with educational matters. The absence of any other unit between the school office, at the lower level, and the ministry of education, at the higher level, is perceived as a weakness in the vertical administrative structure of the education system (Kalous [n. 15 above]).
28. This tacit tendency to maintain central control, despite visible attempts to move toward decentralization, is less evident at the school level. After 1989, schools gained relatively greater autonomy; they gained the freedom to manage their own budgets as well as considerable freedom on matters relating to staff, administration, and, to a certain degree, pedagogical matters. Directors were made responsible not only for the quality and effectiveness of the teaching process but, gradually, also for the financial management of the school, for appointing and dismissing teachers, and for relations with the municipality and the public. All secondary schools administered by the state gained the status of legal entities, and all private and denominational schools became entirely independent organizations. The status of legal entity is also being gradually extended to basic schools and to other educational establishments administered by the state.
29. Fullan, Change Forces: Probing, p. 68.
30. Kalous (n. 15 above).
31. Fullan, New Meaning (n. 3 above), p. 71.
32. Ibid., pp. 71-72.
33. State requirements have been relaxed by permitting all state school directors the right to adjust up to 10 percent of the standard curriculum and up to 30 percent of the content of individual subjects, as an incentive for change (Jitka Kašová, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 26, 1997). The 1995 amendment to the Education Act allowed for the existence of alternative options for national curricula, other than those in place prior to 1989. The ministry also permitted schools to propose alternative "experimental" curricula, subject to approval (Kalous).
34. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Reviews of National Policies for Education: Czech Republic (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1996).
35. Kotásek (n. 15 above).
36. Ibid.
37. Jan Kovařovic, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 20, 1997.
38. Fullan, Change Forces: The Sequel (n. 3 above), p. 22.
39. Ibid., p. 43.
40. Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner (n. 2 above).
41. Rýdl (n. 16 above).
42. Kotásek; Kalous (n. 15 above).
43. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Review on Higher Education in the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1992).
44. Kalous; OECD, Review of National Policies for Education (n. 31 above), p. 23.
45. Jana Nováčková, interview by the primary author, Prague, April 24, 1997; Ondřej Hausenblaus, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 15, 1997; Rýdl.
46. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education.
47. Kalous; Nováčková; Hausenblaus; Kovařovic (n. 34 above); Rýdl.
48. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education.
49. Although no data base exists on the impact private schools had on educational change, the expectation following the legislative approval of private schools in 1992 was that they would serve as a catalyst for innovations in the system as a whole; that is, they would introduce new curricula, new subjects, and new teaching methods and spread these to nonstate schools. Not all such private schools, however, were innovative, and some were even criticized for compromising quality for profit. The Ministry of Education is attempting to improve the monitoring of private school operations by making school salary and operation grants contingent on a detailed year-end report. The private secondary technical schools were especially cited for following certain popular training areas, such as management, information technology, and business education, rather than assuming a truly innovative role (OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education).
50. Fullan, "What's Worth Fighting for out There?" (n. 3 above).
51. Kotásek (n. 15 above); Kalous.
52. Václav Gregor, interview by the primary author, Prague, May 16, 1997.
53. Kalous (n. 15 above).
54. Fullan, Change Forces: The Sequel (n. 3 above), p. 54.
55. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education (n. 31 above).
56. According to the association's founder, Pavla Baxová (personal communication, May 19, 2000), Rytmus means "rhythm"; the name was selected to reflect the association's dynamic and evolving nature.
57. Marie Černá, interview, Prague, May 21, 1997; Jaroslav Hrubý, interview, Prague, June 17, 1997; Zuzana Kaprová, interview, Prague, April 5, 1997; Alena Keblová, interview, Prague, April 19, 1997; Marta Teplá, interview, Prague, April 21, 1997; Pavla Baxová, interview, Prague, May 11, 1997. All of these interviews were conducted with the primary author.
58. Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner (n. 2 above).
59. Kotásek.
60. Eleoussa Polyzoi and Marie Černá, "Services for High-Risk Youth in the Czech Republic," Reclaiming Children and Youth: Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems 7, no. 4 (1999): 246-54.
61. Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner.
62. Alexandr Fanta, interview by the primary author, Prague, June 18, 1997.
63. Černá (n. 54 above).
64. Since 1993-94, about a quarter of the basic schools have been experimenting with one of three new, optional programs. The "General Curriculum" (Obecná Škola), designed for students in grades 1-5, and its counterpart the "Civic Curriculum" (Občanská Škola), designed for students in grades 6-9, were introduced in 1993-94. The new ̌Basic Schooľ curriculum was introduced in March 1996, and the "National School Curriculum" was introduced in March 1997. These new curricula represent a positive shift toward a more child-centered classroom, the relaxation of rigid teaching timetables, and consideration of alternative methods of teaching and evaluation (Jaroslav Jěrábek, interview by the primary author, Prague, March 29, 1997). The National School Curriculum was developed by the Association of Teachers of Basic School and is the most progressive; Nováčková (n. 42 above). However, some believe that these programs are still dependent on the traditional concept of the curricula (one of facts vs. creative thinking and problem solving); Kotásek (n. 15 above); Hausenblaus (n. 42 above); Nováčková. The Ministry of Education is currently considering the introduction of "standards" as a means of assuring quality and comparability across school programs, particularly in the light of curricular diversification. Until now, however, opinions have been divided, even conflicting (OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education; Jěrábek).
65. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education (n. 31 above).
66. Fullan, New Meaning (n. 3 above), p. 77.
67. Kašová (n. 30 above).
68. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education.
69. Kalous (n. 15 above).
70. OECD, Reviews of National Policies for Education, p. 123.
71. Fullan, New Meaning, p. 74.
72. Kašová.
73. Kalous; Nováčková; Hausenblaus.
74. Valeri Venda, interview by the primary author on the subject of educational transformation in Russia and post-Soviet nations, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 5, 1999, and "Transformation Dynamics in Complex Systems," Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 81, no. 4 (1991): 163-84. Before defecting to the United States from Russia in 1990, Venda was the director of the national program on the Improvement of Higher Education at the Institute of Higher Education and Research in Moscow. After serving a term at Harvard, he was offered a chair in Human Factors in Ergonomics at the University of Manitoba.
75. Bîrzea (n. 21 above).
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid.
78. Eleoussa Polyzoi and Eduard Dneprov, "Harnessing the Forces of Change: Educational Transformation in Russia since the Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991" (paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 21-24, 2000).
79. "Prewar" refers to the period before World War II during the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-39).
80. Bruce W. Nelan, "Free Fall: Russia in Crisis," Time Magazine (September 7, 1998), pp. 21-24.
81. Bîrzea.
82. Prucha and Walterová (n. 6 above).
83. Mays, Polyzoi, and Gardner (n. 2 above).
84. Rýdl (n. 16 above).
85. Fullan, Change Forces: The Sequel (n. 3 above), p. 69.
86. Michael Fullan, personal communication, March 23, 1999. Fullan defines local capacity building as "directly and indirectly providing opportunities for advancing the knowledge, skills and work of local school and district personnel [in order to] create powerful learning communities" and thus facilitate lasting change; Change Forces: The Sequel, p. 69.
87. Michael Fullan, personal communication, March 23, 1999. Fullan defines local capacity building as "directly and indirectly providing opportunities for advancing the knowledge, skills and work of local school and district personnel [in order to] create powerful learning communities" and thus facilitate lasting change; Change Forces: The Sequel, p. 69.
88. Fullan, Change Forces: The Sequel, p. 64.
89. Ibid., p. 79.