ABSTRACT

The current chapter revolves around the practical implementation of the education reform that usually comes in the form of a school change. It analyzes the process of school change and its facilitators and inhibitors in the contexts of developing countries and proposes change strategies that might contribute to a successful implementation of education reforms in these countries. After all, the educational reform includes a series of planned and unplanned instructional and organizational changes during its implementation phase (Lock, 2007). Yet this phase depends to a large extent on the flexibility of reform directives, that is, the degree to which school members are autonomous to alter the proposed reform and adapt it to their particular organizational structures, social cultures, and local communities. Generally, the chapter analyzes our knowledge about educational change from a cultural perspective and juxtaposes the elements of school change drawn from the research on it in developed countries with our knowledge about traditional societies and developing countries. In this sense, this chapter sets the stage, mainly, for provocative and critical reflections among change agents, educational leaders, teachers, and community members concerning the need to examine educational reforms and changes in light of the local contexts, from the top level of policy-making to the level of classroom teaching.