Two Case Studies on the Sustainability of Innovations in Educational Organizations: Who

Two case Studies on the Sustainability of Innovations in Educational Organizations: Who Determines the Criteria for Success?

Lisa A. Runner, Ed.D.

HayesSchool of Music

Appalachian StateUniversity

813 Rivers Street

Boone, NC28608

Alice Phoebe Naylor, Ph.D.

Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Appalachian StateUniversity

ASU Box 32038

Boone, NC28608

Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Institute of Education, University of London, 5-8 September 2007

INTRODUCTION

A reporter stopped a little boy on the streets of Los Angeles during the Watts’ riots in the 1960’s and asked, “Why aren’t you in school?” “School” he responded, “interferes with my education.” Even without the drawing power of a riot, perhaps we can all remember the euphoria of bounding out the school door at the end of the day looking for life and adventure. We certainly do, and that’s one reason we chose to study after school programs that introduce children to creative activity.Our study may even provide a clue to support the idea that it’s the child’ssearch for life and adventure that helps to maintain after school innovations.

The sustainability of valuable educational innovations of any kind is an ongoing concern of educators, researchers, and program developers. All too often new programs that delight students, enhance their learning and development, and keep them excited about school terminate when the advocates face adverse practical circumstances. Those circumstances tend to be reduced funding, the departure of leaders, declining enrollment, or loss of interest on the part of sponsoring organizations. Tyack and Cuban labeled this short-lived characteristic of educational reform in general as “the firefly phenomenon,” and described eachattempt at reform as a light shining brightly for a while and then disappearing (1995, p. 7).

When embarking on our research we wondered whether the same adverse circumstances that often stymie new ideas elsewhere would even more readily lead to the demise of innovations in after school programs. However, the two case studies and other ongoing investigations that form the basis of our presentation support other studies that suggest that after school programs differ from in-school innovations and are therefore worthy of analysis.

One of our case studies is of a university sponsored Fifth Dimension program that has been in existence for 15 years. The second turned out to be a story, the story of the WiseVillage, an after school bluegrass music program in an Appalachian regional elementary school in the state of Kentucky that started in 1993. The question that guided each of our studies and formed the basis for interviews was what factors contributed to the sustainability of each program. More recently we have examined an additional Fifth Dimension site, an Appalachian traditional string band after school program for elementary school students, and an in-school Appalachian music program that began as an after school program in a rural preK-12 school.

Theories of Organizational Sustainability

We looked to the literature for lenses through which to examine the organizational forces that led to the sustainability of these innovations. According to Perrin, innovations are “novel ways of doing things better or differently” (2002, p. 13). Rogers views innovations similarly, stating that “an innovation is an idea, practice, or object perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption” (2003, p. 36). He also offers insight into the sustainability of innovations. He believes that unless an innovation is compatible with clients’ need and resources, and unless clients feel so involved with the innovation that they regard it as “theirs,” it will not continue over the long term (2003, p. 375).

Hargreaves and Fink state “sustainability is more than a matter of persistence over time” (2003, p. 694). They say that in order for a program or initiative to be sustained, it must be designed in such a way that it does not “compromise” the purpose of other initiatives on either a short or long term basis. As such, they frame sustainability in educational change as:

• improvement that fosters learning, not merely change that alters schooling;
• improvement that can be supported by available or obtainable resources; and
• improvement that does not negatively affect the surrounding environment of other schools and systems. (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003, p. 695)

Hargreaves and Fink emphasize the importance of leadership to ensure the sustainability of an innovation. They say innovations create complex systems rather than result from individual processes. Instead of relying on the skill of a few, sustainability is assured when a holistic approach is taken to maintaining the innovation. This systematic view allows for the “leader” to be less of the “head” and more of a facilitator (Hargreaves Fink, 2003, p. 700). An effective leader does not work alone. Putnam’s theory of social capital (PutnamFeldstein, 2003) illuminates the power inherent to involving the community. Both of the after school programs we studied identified and consciously incorporated the goodwill of their communities and, at the same time, they addressed a perceived dilemma orneed for change in those communities.

Innovations in after school programs are not unlike in-school educational reforms, though the latter face more complex sustainability problems. In a review of a century of public school reform and sustainability in the United States, Tyack and Cuban did not see much hope for reform, concluding that reforms have only “tinkered” with the educational system but not transformed or reformed it to any great degree. For example, what they refer to as the “grammar of schooling” remains the same year after year – the grading, the grades, row by row arrangement of desks, etc. The reasons, they believe, include not having enough involvement from parents and the community and the lack of support, time and staff in particular, to enable teachers to buy into and implement educational change (1995, p. 108).

Cuban states it this way, “The reforms that have the least potential for sticking are those that try to bring about changes in teaching, primarily because those innovations are often proposed by policymakers and officials who know little about classrooms and how they work” (O’Neil & Cuban, p.7).Wheatley (2006)challengesthe practices of educational institutions that haven’t broken away from imposing innovations from the top down rather than as a response to pressures from teachers or the community to make changes or to recognize needs for change.

We may fail to honor those leaders more formally trapped as we are in our beliefs about hierarchy and power, but we always know who the real leader is and why we are willing to follow.They emerge from the group, not by self-assertion, but because they make sense, given what the group and individuals need so that they can survive and grow. (Wheatley, 2006, p. 24)

Coles’ new compilation of sustainability stories, ours being one, concludes that if extra money for innovations is not sustained, neither is the program. Every community has to have an incentive to provide those extra resources. The ultimate question for us, then, was from where those essential incentives stem.

The Fifth Dimension

The Fifth Dimension is unlike any other after school program. It is a voluntary activity for children supported by a school or community organization that has ties with a university so that college students can work one on one with children. The activities are also unlike any other after school program. One principal said “It’s the Cadillac of all after school programs.”The sponsoring organization usually provides computers, software for games and problem solving activities, as well college students who are assigned to work with the children as part of a class or research assignment. Michael Cole, the creator of the program, defines Fifth Dimension as “a cultural system containing rules, artifacts, divisions of labor, and outcomes stemming from local Fifth Dimension cultures” (2001, p. 1).The Fifth Dimension was developed at the University of California, San Diego Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition in the 1980s within a social-cultural-historical activity theory framework (Blanton, Moorman, Hayes, & Warner, 1997). In simple terms, the theory forms the basis for developing learning communities within the existing culture of children, andfor enlarging children’s worlds through computer technology. Computer games, board games, and telecommunications are combined in an environment in which children can play while learning reading, writing, mathematics, and problem solving.

What one witnesses in a Fifth Dimension after school program is the close bonding between a college student mentor and a child who are working intently on playing games and solving problems at a computer. University faculty and college students, in addition to mentoring each child, maintain field notes and conduct research that contributes to what we know about learning and the development of learning communities. Fifth Dimension sites are in several states in the United States and a few Latin American and European countries. Often children are able to e-mail each other between sites.

The Fifth Dimension program based at our university established after school activities in several regional elementary schools. The university provided computers and games (initially through grants) in addition to student mentors. The program began its activities in 1993 and continues to be a functioning system. The programserved particularly well for this study because the project faced several seemingly adverse events. For example, the project’s leadership at the university levelchanged several times. Leadership remains one of the factors most often credited for sustainability of an innovation.

We conducted 70 plus interviews with people associated with these Fifth Dimension sites. Our initial prejudice led us to assume that we should be looking for top level leaders who had sustained the program. The leaders in coordinating roles at the university were instrumental in establishing the program but were long gone by the time of our study. There was a period for several years when the university had to seek out someone every year to keep the program going, however, the program has had stable leadership for the last five consecutive years. This fluctuation in the top leadership did not lead to the demise of the program. Our evidence supports Wheatley who wrote:

Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections, from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Knowledge grows inside relationships, from ongoing circles of exchange where information is not just accumulated by individuals, but is willingly shared. (2006, p. 104)

That is how the Fifth Dimension program is sustained at each school site. We discovered that sustaining leadership was provided by various levels of after school staff and students. For example, both doctoral and undergraduate student mentors were emotionally, intellectually, and enthusiastically committed to the program and the children, and let no obstacle interfere with their partnership.

Other factors also challenged the program’s sustainability. It fought for resources each year and interagency communication among the university, the school system, and the after school program was bumpy at best. Some aspects of the program challenged the mores of local communities. For example, the unidentified “magical” Golem, a computer “wizard” that provided explanations about the games and problems, challenged local attitudes toward “magic” and was not used at two locations.

During site visits, the investigators noticed immediately that Fifth Dimension, with a formalized structure and egalitarian process, was being superimposed on an informal, but institutionalized, hierarchical after school program. Nevertheless, the two organizations had much in common. Neither Fifth Dimension nor the existing after school program were directly associated with the schools’ instructional program. Both organizations gave participating children a great amount of freedom in choice of activity after they had completed their homework; in one case they even did the homework last. Both were characterized by having adult staff, college student mentors, and substantial turnover among bothgroups throughout the year.

Unquestionably the Fifth Dimension is grounded in an exceptionally strong theoretical foundation. Social-cultural-historical activity theory accounts for the extensive success of the program world wide. But even Michael Cole wonders what keeps an individual site continuing. Is it the activity that turns children on? Is it the leadership? Is it the fact that it’s not an in-school program? Is it that a Wheatley-like organization has been created?

At some point in almost all 70 interviews respondents said “the children love it.” We felt it was important to determine why they loved it. Oneincident may provide aclue. At a PTA meeting in one school the hallways leading to the computer lab were dark and the door to the room was locked. But a boy took his mother by the hand and insisted that we open the door so that he could show her where his mentor sat while they worked together on Fifth Dimension. There were other similar stories of long-term relationships between the mentors and the children and it is our view that the one on one relationshipwith an adult who pays attention to them for two continuous hours is an unusual event in many children’s lives. This may also accountfor the frequent gift exchanges between children and mentors and perhaps is an important reason why they loved it.As one child stated, “I never met a college student before!”

The WiseVillage Pickers

The success story of the Wise Village Pickers poses no mystery.The WiseVillage is a voluntary after school music program for K-5 elementary school students at StantonElementary School in Stanton, Kentucky. After moving on to middle school, students may continue to participate in the program. Children, ages 5 through 13, rehearsed after school an average of once per week with instruction provided by community volunteersand some school staff members.At its peak, 70 children participated. Parents told us that children always looked forward to making music and never complained about the time involved. In spite of change in form and direction the WiseVillage continues to perform traditional Appalachian and bluegrass music. Students sing and accompany themselves on traditional instruments such as guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass.

The story of the WiseVillage should really begin with a sense of place. Located between the shadowed mountains of coal country to the east and the luxurious rolling pastures of horse country to the west, Stanton, Kentucky is host to the beauty of both worlds. Although located in a region that has previously appeared on a list of distressed Appalachian counties, Stanton today is surrounded by well-maintained pastures and the fertile fields of the Red River valley. County residents come to town not only to visit the post office but also to do research at the public library, process banking transactions, or complete paperwork at the county courthouse. Many churches are visible along the streets and shoppers frequent several chain stores as well as a number of small independently owned businesses.

Stanton is home to StantonElementary school, one of the five public schools that comprise the county school system. In 1969, a new teacher joined the faculty at Stanton Elementary, bringing with her ideas that would ultimately revolutionize education at that school. Born in a neighboring county, she had left Kentucky for a time before returning and moving to Stanton. In her words:

My husband and I went to Alabama in the ‘60s. He went to law school there and we were working in the Civil Rights Movement. And as I looked around, I said . . . there really wasn’t anything here more compelling than the poverty where I come from. And if we wanted to have a great impact, let’s go where we can do that – let’s go back home. And we returned here. I taught one year and then I became principal of StantonElementary School at the ripe old age of 26 and I served as principal of that school for 28 years. (Runner, 2005, p. 33)

The WiseVillage program was initiated by this principal of many years for two significant reasons: to reach out to parents who had little or no involvement with the schooland to capitalize on the community’s often expressed fear that traditional Appalachian music and culture was disappearing. She grounded her efforts on Putnam’s theory of social capital, “the friendships, professional circles, clubs, neighborhoods, churches, and alumni networks where you help the group or fellow member because you care about and trust the group and know your action will ultimately benefit all . . .”(Sander & Putnam, 1999, p. 28).These networks of trust and reciprocityhave repeatedly been found to be higher in smaller schools and smaller towns such as Stanton(Putnam & Feldstein, 2003, p. 275).Dewey’s pedagogical beliefs that education should develop an appreciation for individual circumstances within human culture and the world at large also provided theoretical grounding for the principal’s program.