Overcoming the Paradox of Change without Difference: A Model of Change in the Arena of Fundamental School Reform

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Fundamental shifts in American educational practices have been difficult to accomplish and sustain. Most reform efforts that have sought to significantly alter accepted patterns of schooling have emerged in practice as shadows of their original intent. This article reviews four perspectives on educational reform that provide insights into the historical paradox of change without difference. None of those previous perspectives, however, adequately accounts for the complexity of the reform process. A new model of educational reform, the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform (TCSR) model, integrates the previous perspectives and highlights teacher thinking as a central factor shaped by the interdependent influences of the general context of reform, a teacher’s personal profile, and the structural and cultural contexts of teachers’work within embedded systems. The authors provide examples that illustrate how the TCSR provides a more comprehensive framework for the design and evaluation of reform initiatives.