Summaries of Key Steps that Should be Considered When Transforming School & Other Systems

This page introduces a list of strategic and formal steps items that need to be considered when school and other systems are being rebuilt, renewed or transformed. There are several steps that can lead to significant and sustainable change. We have created these detailed lists because we think it is easier to work on small, specific changes rather than being faced with broad, general statements about transforming systems.
Each of the underlined steps in the text below will be described in a one page summary that explains its importance and provides examples. Click on the steps with the active web links to access these brief summaries that have been prepared to date. Members of the Global Network of Deans of Education (GNDE) have agreed to take the lead on identifying individuals willing to review, comment on, or prepare these summaries. If you would like to be involved, in this process, please complete the feedback form below.
 
Our suggested steps for system transformation are drawn from the UN a Guidance Note for translating the national commitments into action made at the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES) as well as basic activities undertaken by most education reform efforts which were identified in the joint educators’ statement on rebuilding, renewing and transforming school and other systems.

The countries could/should consider these steps:

a) Agree on and adopt explicit strategic principles and first priorities such as the use of whole of government and whole of society approaches, focus on inequalities, engaging local communities and educators at all levels, empowering youth to participate and using evidence to inform policy and practice.

b) Create wider and deeper ownership of the commitment to transformation by

1. Securing the involvement and  contributions of other ministries and agencies and reaching out to local actors
2. Identifying and planning for key moments and forums at national, within and beyond the education landscape, where the transformation agenda could be at the centre of the policy and financing discussion
3. Strengthening whole-of-government and inter-ministerial discussions on the role of education in economic and social transformation and the school as a hub for multi-sector program delivery
4. Mapping the wider stakeholder network and
5. Conducting a post-TES or preliminary consultation with stakeholders prior to launching a formal reform initiative. This should include ministries/agencies (e.g. ministries of finance, health, social protection, economic development, planning, labour and environment), sub-national entities, youth and civil society organizations
6. Creating a website or a platform where all information on the transformation process is published

c) Move from commitment to policy and planning to integrate the transformation agenda into existing national policies and plans through:

1. a review the national socio-economic development plan to discuss how to integrate education transformation can support that plan through inter-ministerial collaboration
2. using inter-ministerial meetings to create commitment to the transformation agenda in education (and other ministries.

c) Move from policy and plan to action by

1. holding regular meetings to share progress reports with administration and school staff or their representatives
2. identifying and planning how to alleviate major bottle necks (critical transition points) with stakeholders
3. guiding and strengthening supervisors and local administrators ability to manage change, create consensus
4. supporting principals, teachers and educators as “action researchers” whose insights can contribute to designing innovative transformation strategies
5. exploring the potential of successful local initiatives to become system-wide reform strategies

e) Account for commitments, action, and results by:

1. developing an intersectoral (inter-ministry, inter-agency, inter-professional) monitoring matrix which identifies responsibility for follow-up action and resources/competencies/assets needed
2. using existing mechanisms at national and sub-national levels (for instance, joint sector reviews; mid-term and final evaluations of plans; annual humanitarian assessments and household surveys; the SDG4 monitoring process) for monitoring the commitments
3. promoting the use of qualitative studies by country-level researchers
4. using existing global mechanisms, such as the Voluntary National Reports (VNR) to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), periodic review of normative instruments, and the Global Education Meeting (GEM) convened by UNESCO, as milestones/modalities to share their progress

f) Establishing and/or acting upon the recommendations of an education reform commission into school and other systems that work within or with schools

g) Establishing and mandating a formal stakeholder advisory committee to monitor the inquiry and contribute to its report

h) Commissioning reviews of data, reports, studies and surveys on child/youth safety, health & development as well as student retention and academic achievement, access & participation in early childhood, schooling and post-secondary education/training and youth employment - to feed into the inquiry and report

i) Conducting specific consultations with representatives and surveys of all relevant personnel including teachers, education support professionals, principals, senior and mid-level managers, facilities, transportation, technology and student services managers, counsellors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, relief air and development workers, education deans and others.

 Complete the response form below if you would like to review, comment on, or prepare one of our one page summaries. Each one page summary is intended to:

• describe how the step contributes to effective, sustainable change
• offer practice and evidence-based advice on strategies and pitfalls related to the step
• present national and sub-national examples of how this step has been used in the real world
• reflect on how this step affects transformations and/or suggest other sources of information

See an example of these one page summaries here.

transformation Steps

Web links to the brief descriptions of  the many Transformation Steps listed in the drop-down menu below will be active when one page summary has been prepared
               ********
-  Establish strategic principles of reform
-  Secure contributions of other ministries
-  Use existing events/processes in reform
-  Inter-ministry talks on school as a hub
-  Mar the wider stakeholder community
-  Preliminary or post-TES consultation
-  Create reform web site/platform
-  Identify how education reform supports national development plan/policy
-  Use regular inter-ministry meetings
-  Regular meetings with school staff reps
-  Anticipate major bottlenecks
-  Build administrator skills manage change
-  Use educators as action researchers
-  Build on successful local initiatives
-  Intersectoral monitor/resource matrix
-  Use existing monitoring mechanisms
-  Conduct local qualitative studies
-  Use global monitoring mechanisms
-  Use an  education reform commission
-  Review data, reports surveys on children
-  Consult with reps of all employees
Go back to Transformation Steps page

Navigate this mini-web site:

• Read the Joint Statement
• Endorse/comment on the Joint Statement
• Edit or comment on the Position Paper
• Review the discussion paper and Join in the dialogue on the building coherence in the key steps and elements of school and other systems that need to be considered in systems change. Review or prepare one page summaries on the steps and/or the elements of school and other systems
• Review the list of organizations and individuals supporting the Joint Statement.

Summaries on Transformation Steps & Elements.
Please join us in preparing one page summaries on transformation processes or system elements.

Go to this web page listing the steps or elements, use the drop-down menus at the bottom of that page to select the one page summary that you would like to review, comment on or prepare. If you are interested in more than one item, or want to make a general comment, use the text box to do so. Submit the form. We will contact you when the draft summary is available for review or to provide instructions on preparing a one page summary.
Contact [email protected] if you have any questions