Teaching Practices of University Professors Who Lead Change

Introduction and Background

Significant change has occurred across all sectors of contemporary society. One way to describe this societal transformation is through the shift from a modern to a postmodern age. Modernity's shortfalls, the current information age, and the challenges linked to postmodernity have led numerous researchers and theoreticians to redefine both public institutions and their leading practices and plans. Change is ubiquitous and inevitable. It defines the era we live in, and it accords significance, legitimacy, and relevance to many of the institutions and individuals that shape society. Michael Fullan is one of the noted scholars who has remarked upon the promises and failures of transformation efforts (Arcay, 2009).

Fullan begins the discussion on educational change by noting that the dynamics and number of factors interacting with and influencing the educational change process are exceedingly great, and they disallow computation in anything that resembles a wholly determined method (p. 49). He further explains that no standalone means exists for creating change. There are, in fact, innumerable ways to effect change — equivalent in number to the situations requiring it. Fullan's simplification of the change process begins with a mapping of change through three rough phases centered on outcomes, classified as either "organizational capacity" or "student learning" (2012, p. 51).

The first phase, initiation, culminates in and encompasses the decision to embrace change, irrespective of its form. The second phase, implementation, encompasses preliminary attempts to enact change and covers the first three years of change incorporation. The third and final phase, institutionalization, denotes total adoption of change by a school or school district. Several factors operate simultaneously within and across these three phases, and they do not necessarily indicate the usual order in which change-related events occur.

Learning communities are, historically, one of the most recent educational change models and are closely aligned with Fullan's Educational Change Theory. The theoretical "learning communities" model recognizes the multidimensional nature of educational institutions and enables researchers to study it accordingly. As conceptualized, student development is supported cognitively, ideologically, and affectively by learning communities. A wholesome, operational learning community provides students with a stimulating curriculum (the cognitive dimension), a shared school identity (the ideological dimension), and an encouraging social atmosphere (the affective dimension).

The cognitive dimension indicates the degree to which a curriculum may be considered rigorous and learning genuinely challenging. In fully functional learning communities, rigor emphasizes individual students' learning and the practice within which it takes place. All students have a chance to attain their highest potential. Concerns regarding how a student learns give rise to an ever-present need to provide differentiated education (Ross, 2008).

According to Fullan (1993), educational systems are learning organizations (p. 4). He acknowledges that education is associated with an ethical purpose of making a difference in students' lives (p. 4). Educators in such learning organizations grow into learners and researchers themselves. Learning organizations motivate and sustain teacher efforts in effecting changes with regard to themselves as well as the teacher–student relationship. School principals become enablers of a common purpose, values, and vision. A common purpose results in collaboration and teamwork, encouraging both collectivism and individualism as key aspects of organizational learning. Individuals become capable change agents who are able to effectively deal with forces linked to change (Ross, 2008).

Problem Statement and Purpose

The question must be raised of why a disconnect continues to exist between practice and theory when teachers are under greater pressure than ever to perform. One answer revolves around changing the learning environment of schools to promote action research, reflective teaching, and other staff improvement initiatives. If teacher-related research deals with the professional teacher's practical knowledge, their opinions, and their understanding of schools and students, those opinions need to be shared across the institution and throughout the curricula offered.

Integrating reflective teaching and teacher research into academic courses is an option that ought to be taken into consideration when viewing education planning from a broader perspective. The outcomes of teachers engaging in reflective teaching and action research make educators more capable of critically influencing the educational domain's future. Contemporary educators cannot afford to overlook their vital role in guiding society through the challenges associated with current and future trends in education (Kril, 2002).

This study's purpose is to examine teachers' views of changes within their university's instructional practices as a means of leading change. The study will investigate teachers' views of action research's impacts on their thinking about instructional practices, as well as the consequences of those views on actual teaching methods.

1. How do teachers describe their perceptions of their teaching role in relation to action research?

2. What perceptions do teachers hold with respect to their teaching-related knowledge, in connection with Fullan's theory?

3. How do educators describe changes to teaching practices, if any, relating to their involvement in leading change efforts?

4. How do educators describe modifications, if any, in the components and contents of reflective practice?

Theoretical Foundation

Fullan believes it is impossible to solve the issue of change through confrontation. He recommends a purposeful and proactive coexistence with change. This perspective influences the way one regards and responds to change in the educational sphere. As per Fullan's educational change theory (1993), change represents a socially complex process that cannot be reduced to a checklist. Rather, it is a multidimensional, evolutionary, and interactive process. Examining this theory is crucial to this study, since it reinforces the multidimensional strategy adopted for examining a school's shift from failing status to one of distinction. Fullan's theory offers insights and a useful framework for dealing with and accepting the seemingly intractable issues linked to educational reform, and it indicates why a novel mindset is required to contend with the challenge of constant, dynamic change (Fullan, 2012).

Michael Fullan highlights that the processes of school change need to be met productively and proactively, rather than with anxiety and hesitation. Change is a constant in society. Modern schools, therefore, must produce problem solvers — much as schools of the early nineteenth century were responsible for developing individuals capable of tackling rapid industrialization. Generations of American citizens have striven to mold society through public schools (Ross, 2008). Fullan perceives this role of shaping society as an ethical purpose: making a difference in students' lives irrespective of their background, and helping to produce citizens capable of living and working productively in increasingly complex communities.

By studying variable elements such as vision, sound leadership, strategic planning, accountability and evaluation strategies, stakeholder involvement, collegiality, and site-focused management, the researcher can analyze the process of change more closely (Fullan, 2012). Fullan proposes that those involved in school change need to learn to manage change rather than attempt to solve it definitively — that is, they need to work toward becoming effective change agents. He also indicates that educators' ability to learn from and support change, and to assist students through this process, constitutes a key factor in the well-being and progress of future societies (Ross, 2008).