Policy Implementation: Getting People to Carry Out a Policy

Fowler Ch. 10

Dr. Wayne E. WrightRoyal University of Phnom Penh

Focus Questions•Why is implementing new policies difficult?

•What does research tell us about successful and unsuccessful implementation?

•How can a school leader plan a policy implementation that increases the likelihood of success?

•What courses of action are open to school leaders who are expected to implement a policy that they oppose?

Policy Implementation

•Many official policies are never implemented at all▫Some implemented only partially▫Some implemented incorrectly

•Education leaders are required to implement educational policies

•Some policies involving minor changes are easy to implement

•Many policies are very difficult to implement

Policy Implementation

•Part 1 – Research on policy implementation

•Part 2 – Practical guidelines for implementing a policy

•Part 3 – Having to implement an unpopular policy

Research on Implementation• Implementation▫ The stage of the policy process in which a policy formally adopted by a governmental body is put into practice

• Implementers▫ Formal Implementers

Government officials who have legal authority to see the policy is put into effect

Local school leaders▫ Intermediaries

Are delegated the responsibility for implementing the policy Principals, teachers

• Successful implementation requires that intermediaries have the▫ Will▫ Capacity

Implementation Research•1950s and 1960s ▫ U.S. Federal Government provided funding for numerous educational reforms

▫ Wanted to know if the reforms were working▫ Commissioned Quantitative evaluation studies Results were confusing, not clear

▫ Commissioned qualitative research studies to see what was actually happening in classrooms and schools

▫ Found that many policies were not being implemented properly, or at all!

▫ Led to research on policy implementation

First Generation ResearchDifficulty of Implementation•Research focused on why implementation of policies and changes was difficult or impossible

•Researchers found a general pattern1. The teachers never really understood the

change2. The teachers did not know how to use the

new pedagogy3. The materials needed to implement the

change were not available4. The culture and institutional organization

of the school were not consistent with the requirements of the new policy

5. The teachers became discouraged and lost their motivation to implement.

First Generation ResearchDifficulty of Implementation• Lessons from first generation research▫ Implementation is difficult

Change is hard Status quo is comfortable

▫ Just because the government mandates a policy doesn’t mean it will be implemented

▫ Implementers may not want to follow it, or don’t know what to do Lack necessary knowledge and skills

▫ Two resources are critically important to ensure success Materials Time

▫ Policies are only implemented successfully when formal implementers and intermediaries are willing and able to work hard

Second Generation ResearchAnalysis of Success and Failure• Studied both successful and failed policy implementations▫ Seek to understand why some policies are fully implemented and why others are not

• Success can and does happen▫ Implementation is possible▫ Requires hard work and pressure

• Mutual adaptation▫ Changes in the design of the policy

To better fit the local context▫ Changes to the behaviors of the implementers

• Research has helped identify common characteristics of strong and weak implementation.▫ Recommendations for school leaders to carry out policy implementation now posible

Third Generation ResearchImplementing Complex Policies•Focus on two questions▫How can teachers and administrators learn to implement programs that require a major change to their professional practice?

▫How can successful reform be expanded from a few sites to many? Scaling up

Third Generation ResearchImplementing Complex Policies• Understanding that implementers are learners

▫ Suggests ways to increase the likelihood that teachers and principals will fully grasp the nature of the changes required of them Show them how the proposed reform resembles their current practice and how it differs from it

Model what the new pedagogy through workshops and seminars

▫ Extensive and on-going professional development over a long period of time

• Provide a strong social infrastructure for implementation▫ Assistance from mentors, coaches, support networks▫ Opportunities for teachers and principals to discuss new ideas among themselves

▫ Opportunities to observe others implementing the new policy

▫ Funding for conferences and workshops, planning periods, and other professional devel0pment

How to Implement a New PolicyMobilizing for Implementation• Implementing policies is one of a school leader’s most important tasks▫ Without their support, implementations are likely to fail

• Mobilizing is probably the most crucial step in policy implementation▫ Serious errors here will doom implementation▫ Mobilization typically last 14 to 17 months

• School leaders considering adopting a new policy should be able to the answer three positively▫ Do we have good reasons for adopting the new policy? (Motives)

▫ Is the policy appropriate for our school or district? (Appropriateness)

▫ Does the policy have sufficient support among key stakeholders? (Support)

Motives for Adopting a New Policy•Do we have good reasons for adopting the new policy?

•There can be good and bad reasons▫Bad

School leaders want to show off as innovators in order to enhance their own career or to make the school look “cutting edge”

▫Good Helps solve a real problem Builds capacity of teachers to implement additional changes

Appropriateness of the New Policy•Is the policy appropriate for our school or district?

•Consider context of the school•Policies that worked in one school may not work exactly the same way in your school

•Consider values of the community•If funding provided, will policy keep going after funding runs out?

•Get information about the policy through research

•Figure 10.1 (p. 286) Determining whether a policy is appropriate for a specific context.

Adequate Support•Does the policy have sufficient support among key stakeholders?

•Policies can be derailed by hostile stakeholders

•Make sure policies are accepted by principals and teachers▫ Must strongly support it

•Leaders should not just guess about the level of support from teachers and other stakeholders▫ Many will need to be persuaded▫ Listen▫ Be prepared to modifications based on input

Planning for Implementation• Leaders must plan for implementation• First few weeks of implementation are crucial• But plans should not be rigid▫ “Evolutionary planning”

As the project evolves, modify the plans based on experiences and feedback, changes in the environment, etc.

• Who should participate in the planning?▫ Option 1 – Large steering committee with representatives of all stakeholders

▫ Option 2 – Smaller committee comprised of volunteers members who are strongly committed to the project

▫ Either option can work, but both must include 2 key stakeholders who are grassroots implementers Principals Teachers

Planning for Implementation•Planning by forward mapping▫ Try to anticipate all the prerequisites for beginning the implementation

▫ Identify the broad range of resources needed Materials Equipment Trainers Consultants Suitable spaces

▫ Create a written scenario which describes what the policy will look like Develop practical questions from it to help with planning

▫ Examples: Table 10.2, Figure 10.2 (pp. 290-291)

Gathering Resources for Implementation•Many problems in implementation are caused by insufficient resources (see Table 10.3, p. 291)

•Leaders must carefully analyze what resources are needed and obtain them before and during implementation.▫Money▫Time▫Personnel▫Space (see figure 10.3, p. 295)▫Equipment and Materials

Implementation Stages• Two Implementation Stages▫ Early Implementation

Early months are rough Implementers must learn to act in new ways Haven’t yet gotten used to new behaviors Teachers will likely feel overloaded, tired, anxious, confused, burned out, demoralized, depressed

Make mistakes, worry they are failing▫ Late Implementation

Success depends on how successful early implementation way

Not a time to relax Still problems to resolve Must keep working to ensure institutionalization

Three Components of Successful Implementation from Beginning to End• 1. Monitoring and Feedback

▫ A program facilitator or project director should be responsible for keeping a close watch on the implementation process

▫ Accurate knowledge about what is going on cannot be gained by sitting at a desk! Frequent site visits frequent conversations with principals, teachers Report back to central office or ministry officials

• 2. Ongoing Assistance▫ Pressure is important, but equally important is support▫ Assistance more important form of support▫ Based on monitoring and feedback information▫ Planned in advance and provided throughout the mobilization, early implementation, and late implementation stages

▫ Figure 10.4 (p. 297) 17 Types of Assistance for Implementers

Three Components of Successful Implementation from Beginning to End• 3. Problem Coping

▫ Problems are inherent in every policy implementation▫ Three categories of problems

Program related People related Setting related (see Table 10.4, p. 298)

▫ Two approaches to problems Ignore them

Will eventually grow bigger and make the project fail Recognize problems as a normal part of the process

Actively prepare for them, detect them, and deal with them▫ Coping Strategies

Technical Analyze the problem and target resources

Political Mobilizing power to get people to act in certain ways

Cultural Focus on share values, beliefs, and symbols that are the key to the problem

(see Table 10.5, p. 299)

Institutionalization•Final stage of implementation is institutionalization▫Policy or change is fully integrated into the routines and practices of the schools Becomes “the way we do things around here”

•Requires both thought and planning•If create on soft money, needs to be integrated into regular budget

•(see Figure 10.5, p. 300)

Implementing Unpopular Policies•A large number of implementers may be opposed to a new policy.

•Even school leaders may question the policies they are required to implement.

•Why some policies are unpopular▫Self-Interest

Threatens job security? Adds more work without additional pay

▫Professional values Policy may conflict with their own professional values

Issues Surrounding Resistance• Three possible responses when one is asked to implement a policy with which one disagrees1. Exit - Quit the position or leave the school2. Voice - Speak up about the problem3. Disloyalty- Quietly or openly refusing to implement the

policy• Approaches a principal might take

▫ Compliance Decide its not worth risking your job over

▫ Exit Retire earlier Transfer to a different school or position Resign

▫ Forms of Disloyalty Token compliance

Do the bare minimum to make it look like you are complying Sabotage

Creating fake reports Claiming to have “lost” required materials or reports

Coping with Resistance•Must resistance is covert▫ Must pay attention when things seem to go wrong

•School leaders must be prepared for resistance and devise ways to head it off and minimize it

•Strategies▫ Persuasion▫ Listen and modify the policy based on feedback▫ Move strong opponents

Transfer unhappy principals or teachers to a different school or position where they don’t have to deal with the policy change

Overuse can backfire and create even more resistance

Choosing to Resist• A school leader might choose to resist implementing a policy

• School administrators, like other leaders, are not ethically obligated to obey every order they are given▫ Especially if they feel the change is unethical or harmful to students or teachers

• School administrators must think through their situation, their motives, and the possible effects of their resistance▫ Resistance can lead to the loss one’s job and/or reputation

• Determine if the policy is merely symbolic▫ Likely adopted for political reasons and won’t last long

• Determine if the policy is more substantive and closely monitored

• Consider quiet token compliance, and conserve one’s strength for even more important battles

• Principles resistance to implementation should always be the fruit of thoughtful reflection and soul-searching. Leaders should be prepared to lose their jobs because of it.

Final Points

•Implementation of policies is hard work

•Failure can lead to embarrassment•There is no good reason for failure▫Research provides a road map for workable approaches to policy implementation

•A good knowledge base, combined with thought and planning, lead to success in this difficult endeavor.

Discussion Questions1. What policy implementations have you been

involved with? Did the policy implementation go smoothly? If not, what problems were some of the problems?

2. Consider the policy of Child Friendly Schools, which is supposed to promote active learning and child-centered pedagogy.

▫ What stage of implementation would you say it is in?

▫ How successful has the implementation of this policy been?

▫ What are reasons and ways principals or teachers have resisted these policies?

▫ What are some strategies that have been successful in getting principals and teachers to create child-friendly schools?