Change management in educational settings

Change management is important in any discipline or institution, but it’s particularly important in schools and other educational environments. Ineffective or poorly implemented changes in schools can reduce the overall efficiency of the organization, resulting in diminished outcomes for students. Change management in education is essential to ensuring that standards do not fall and students are not negatively impacted.

Effective educational leadership must manage change on multiple fronts, including changes in policy and governance, curriculum adjustments, and technology adjustments.

Advanced degrees and qualifications, such as the online Master of Science in Education (M.S.E.) in Educational Administration and the online PK-12 Certificate in Educational Administration from the University of Kansas School of Education and Human Sciences, include a grounding in principles of change management and transformational leadership to prepare administrators and principals to successfully lead institutional change initiatives.

This post explores the principles of change management in education and how organizational development in schools can be successfully implemented.

Key principles of change management in education

It’s essential to understand the change process, why it is necessary, and how it will benefit your institution. Management consultant Deloitte proposes seven principles for effective change management in education:¹

• Start with the end in mind: Know what you want to achieve, and be clear on how it will improve things
• Know your institution: By understanding your institution’s culture, you can ensure that change is aligned with the principles and values of the institution
• Communicate: Make sure your messaging is heard, and all stakeholders can communicate their thoughts and concerns
• Understand how change affects your staff and students: If you don’t understand the impact of change on employees and students, you cannot adequately respond to concerns 
• Align incentives: Find ways to position change as a win-win
• It’s okay to take small steps toward big change: Radical change can be achieved incrementally
• Seek measurable progress: Clear goals and metrics help everyone understand the pace and impact of change

Effective leadership guides change by communicating these principles to all stakeholders, keeping communications channels open, and fostering an institutional culture that is receptive to change and can readily adapt to constructive new ideas.

Types of changes in educational settings

Change in educational settings can come from a wide variety of sources. Policy shifts and curriculum changes are as likely to be required by politically-motivated educational reform as by shifts in thinking and accepted best practices within the teaching profession.

Schools and educational institutions also have an obligation to keep up with technological advances, since a critical role of education is preparing students to be functional adults. Educational leadership in the digital age requires maintaining an understanding of developments in the ed tech sector to ensure your institution is not left behind when important new technologies emerge.

Finally, all institutions must adapt to occasional organizational changes, staff turnover, and leadership transitions–all issues that educational administrators can expect to have to manage throughout their careers.

Strategies for effective change management

Communication is perhaps the most important part of successfully managing change and confronting the many trends and issues in educational administration. A good communication strategy for educational institutions is much the same as the recommended principles for any change management process:²

• Be structured: Have a communication plan, and adjust your correspondence to meet the needs of each group of affected stakeholders
• Be timely: Whenever you think it is time to start communicating, start earlier–the sooner you communicate, the better
• Be repetitive (but not boring): Understanding is built through repetition
• Be transparent: Answer questions and address concerns
• Be appropriate: Understand how stakeholders prefer to receive information, whether from department heads, administrators, or others

By communicating the need for change to all stakeholders, maintaining transparent dialogue regarding concerns and progress, and targeting communications to maximize relevance, you can engage teachers, students, and parents in the process. This builds buy-in and a sense of shared ownership that can help make change easier to accept and implement.

Overcoming resistance to change

Resistance to change is to be expected. When leading change management initiatives, it’s important to identify the sources of resistance within the school community and to specifically address their concerns.

One technique to confront resistance to change, recommended by change management consultants ProSci, proposes five elements to successfully accepting change:2

• Awareness: Understand the need for change
• Desire: Interested in actively supporting change, participating if necessary
• Knowledge: Understand how change will be achieved
• Ability: Can implement the change–possesses the necessary skills and behaviors
• Reinforcement: Invested in sustaining change over time

Effective communications and action to overcome objections and resistance should address at least one (ideally, several) of these ADKAR principles.

For example, provide a clear roadmap for the process so all stakeholders understand exactly how the proposed change will be implemented over time.

Fostering a supportive culture for change

Building and maintaining a supportive culture for change within your institution is an ongoing challenge for leadership. This can be done by encouraging collaboration between staff to build trust and facilitate dialogue.

Educational leadership can also invest in professional development and training opportunities for staff to foster a culture of continuous improvement that is receptive to positive change.

Monitoring and evaluating change

In an increasingly data-driven world, metrics are essential. Having a system for monitoring and evaluating change is also a way to build confidence in the process, as it makes progress transparent.

Regular consultation with stakeholders to gather feedback can also be an invaluable way to measure the effectiveness of change initiatives.

In both cases—gathering feedback and data—it’s critical to have a framework in place for capturing and tracking progress. Consider the resources needed to adequately analyze and respond to feedback and convert data into meaningful metrics that will guide decision-making. And have sufficient flexibility in the process to allow for adjustments to overall strategies if progress tracking indicates initial plans aren’t working as required.

Advance your career in education administration with KU

Change management is one of the most important functions for educational administrators. Schools and educational institutions are bombarded by policy, curriculum, and technological shifts. Change is constant; so too is the need for effective change management.

At KU’s School of Education and Human Sciences, our online Master’s and PK-12 Certificate in Educational Administration are designed to prepare educational administrators to lead successful change initiatives in their institutions. Review our courses and admission requirements online, and when you’re ready to discuss moving your career in educational administration forward, schedule an appointment with one of our career outreach advisors.