ABSTRACT
The importance of teachers’ perceptions of educational innovation has long been recognised. From an early focus on adoption and then implementation, to what Fullan (1991) identifies as the ‘beyond implementation’ phase, research into educational innovation has supported the view that the fate of innovation is ultimately determined by the attitudes of its potential users which, in turn, reflect their perceptions. The notion that the individual teacher has a ‘make or break’ role in the innovation process (Kelly 1982) is widely accepted (see, for example, House 1974; Ben-Peretz 1980; Brown and McIntyre 1982) and has been integral to most analyses of what makes for successful implementation. Hughes and Keith’s (1980) investigation of the perceptions of an innovation of thirty Canadian elementary schoolteachers who were to be involved in its implementation corroborates the findings of earlier research (Rogers and Shoemaker 1971; Paul 1977). Teachers’ perceptions of the innovation’s relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and observability were significant influences on level of use or implementation. Fullan (1991) has identified four criteria which influence teachers’ perceptions and assessments of any given change: its potential for addressing a need; clarity in terms of what the change involves for teachers; its likely effect on teachers in terms of such things as time, energy, skill, sense of excitement, competence and interference with existing priorities; and likely rewards in terms of interaction with peers and others.
