The reality of creating change
Schools are places of learning, but they are also places of habit. Every day, thousands of behaviours are repeated: how students enter classrooms, how teachers respond to disruption, how leaders communicate expectations, and how communities define success.
One of the greatest challenges we face in schools is not introducing new ideas, but changing established patterns of behaviour.
Behaviour change in schools is rarely a matter of simply telling people what to do. Human beings are creatures of routine. Students, teachers and parents all develop expectations about how things work, and these expectations become deeply embedded in the culture of a school. Even when there is widespread agreement that change is necessary, the transition from knowing to doing can be difficult.
One reason behaviour change is challenging is that people often experience change as loss.
A new approach may require teachers to abandon practices they have used successfully for years. Students may need to take greater responsibility for their learning. Parents may need to adjust expectations about how schools operate. In each case, change can feel like a criticism of what came before, even when it is intended as an improvement.
Consistency between policy and practice is crucial. Behaviour is not changed by documents alone. In addition to clarity of policy and instruction, people learn new behaviours through consistent modelling, reinforcement, and feedback. A school may launch a new wellbeing program or teaching framework, but unless leaders and staff consistently demonstrate the desired behaviours, the initiative can quickly become another forgotten document on a shelf, with its only legacy being a lingering cultural cynicism about new changes.
Consistency amongst those responsible for implementing the change is also crucial. In any school, there are multiple adults interacting with students every day. If expectations are applied inconsistently, students receive mixed messages. A behaviour that is addressed in one classroom may be ignored in another. A learning routine that is encouraged by some teachers may be neglected by others. Inconsistency weakens trust and slows cultural change because people naturally follow the path of least resistance.
Consistency over time is also required. Genuine behavioural change is typically slow and uneven. Progress rarely follows a straight line. There are advances, setbacks, periods of enthusiasm and moments of resistance.
The complexity of schools also means that change occurs within a web of relationships.
Unlike a business process that can be redesigned and implemented, educational change involves people. Relationships matter. Trust matters. Credibility matters. Successful behaviour change depends as much on relationships as it does on systems.
However, for all the challenges associated with implementing change, we know that it can be done. For example, eight years ago, we began to focus on the boys’ engagement behaviours as the enabler of their academic growth, shifting attention away from the Grade Point Average (GPA) and directing it to the Engagement Point Average (EPA). Over time, engagement has become the dominant discourse between teachers, students and parents about the boys’ progress. Change has happened.
Perhaps the most important thing for us to remember is that behaviour change is not an event but a journey. It is not achieved through a launch, a speech or a policy announcement. It is built through countless small actions repeated consistently over time. It takes gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.
Tim Bowden | Headmaster
