Systems Change: How and When Does It Occur?

• In Event: Conceptualizing Educational Change Through the Lens of the Complex Adaptive System: An Exploration in Quantifying the Metaphor

Abstract

Objectives & Theoretical Framework
This introductory paper outlines features of complexity theory and complex adaptive systems (CAS) (Lewin, 1999), the heuristic focused on interactions among varied system elements that frames our analyses of LA principals and their schools. CAS features highlighted in this paper link to other symposium papers: generating disequilibrium among principals through three-sector interactions; distributing control throughout a system to more effectively network system interactions; and a discussion of the need to stay on the “edge of chaos”—balancing varied system features—while implementing reform. Given the nature of these changes, this paper seeks to understand education and schooling systemically, assessing what happens on and between multiple system levels by blending qualitative with quantitative points of view. This first paper initiates that exploration.

Methods & Data Sources
In setting a foundation for the following three case studies, I explore the literature on complex adaptive systems to generate an understanding of key elements of this analytic phenomenon—disequilibrium, distributing system control, and balancing on the “edge of chaos.” In turn, these foci frame how I conceptualize the CAS and its related dimensions and set a framework for understanding how I quantify these qualitative conceptions.

Conclusions
Certain features of the complex adaptive system seem compelling for understanding school leadership and educational transformation, “disequilibrium” being one that often plays a role in successful change (Wheatley, 1999). For change to occur, something must perturb a system. But to act, system elements must possess autonomy. Control and authority must therefore be distributed so system elements can interact in new and perhaps more adaptive ways. And third, systems change often involves “balance.” Often described as the “edge of chaos,” complex systems are neither overwhelmed with change nor stuck in stagnant repetition. As Davis and Sumara (2001) wrote: “All living forms exist far from equilibrium. . . . [Their] actions are neither locked in repetitive action nor subject to wild fluctuations” (p. 93).

Scholarly Significance
The value of the CAS heuristic becomes apparent when considering the history of educational reform, as many reforms have ignored the multiple, interrelated and interacting elements of schools, conceptualizing the educational system as isolated and discrete structures, therefore assuming complex phenomena can be understood by analyzing constituent parts, when the sum of the whole may be greater, and more complex, than that of the individual parts. Consequently, reforms often modify one or two elements in a system apart from related elements, assuming these “reforms” will produce the intended outcome through a linear, cause-and-effect relationship. In contrast, complexity theory posits that, rather than assuming predictable interactions among system elements, one should identify interrelationships among a cross-section of system features to analyze emerging patterns and gain a broad understanding of the dynamics of change. Moreover, quantifying the understandings generated by this analysis offers a means to:
• Assess reform over time;
• Highlight drivers and impediments to change;
• Create the basis for comparative analysis among reform endeavors;
• Generate dialogue among those enacting reform.

Author

• Patrick J. McQuillan, Boston College