Seven Models of Change and Their Applicability to Educational Reform: Perspectives From Complexity Theory

• In Event: 56.080 - Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 56.080-1 - Considering Models for Educational Change

Abstract

While change is one of the central themes in our discussion about reform of the educational system, Complex Dynamical Systems (CDS) theory, a perspective that explicitly concerns itself with processes of stability and change in systems, remains relatively underappreciated. This presentation seeks to remedy this situation by identifying seven transformative scenarios based on CDS, and illustrating their relevance to educational reform. The scenarios are: first vs. second order change, nucleation, bifurcation, emergence, self-organized criticality, recursive causality and sensitive dependence on initial conditions. It is argued that in conjunction, these scenarios can lay the groundwork for a comprehensive theory of change that may help us address some of the more difficult questions faced by reformers.

Author

• Matthijs Koopmans, Mercy College