Most people do not realize how hard this is. For a comparison, look at the efforts of Ignacz Semmelweis to get doctors to wash their hands. It took him over 30 years...

Dear Irem. It depends on the circumstances.For example, implementers do not want changes, institutions and the society are not ready, little money is allocated.

Reforms that I have experienced as a teacher were mostly aimed at saving money.

Most people do not realize how hard this is. For a comparison, look at the efforts of Ignacz Semmelweis to get doctors to wash their hands. It took him over 30 years...

Could be many things: educators not seeing the point of the change, educators not knowing how to enact the change, it not being possible to transfer the change in question. What is it you are actually trying to do?

Dear Irem,

There can be several reasons for this. One of those reasons is economic. An educational reform requires economic investments to implement new elements. Another reason is the lack of knowledge of the new regulations on the part of teachers. Another reason is the lack of pedagogical training for education inspectors. They do not give advice in the pedagogical field as they should.

In the end, everything will depend on the country and the circumstances that develop there.

I'd like to know what you mean by 'organizational stroke' as its not a concept I've come across before.

In asking your question, you should specify your level of analysis. Are you looking at a school system or an individual school? That will dictate to some extent whether you take a top-down or a bottom-up approach to your analysis.

Try looking at the US literature which is, to my mind, more sophisticated and practically oriented than the UK literatures.

Anyone looking at implementation should check out the classic study Implementation: How Great Expectations in Washington Are Dashed in Oakland; Or, Why It's Amazing that Federal Programs Work at All, This Being a Saga of the Economic Development Administration as Told by Two Sympathetic Observers Who Seek to Build Morals on a Foundation by Jeffrey L. Pressman & Aaron Wildavsky, and the work that followed it.

This essay is quite a good intro https://politicalpipeline.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/top-down-and-bottom-up-approaches-within-implementation/

Also check out this article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-public-policy/article/abs/topdown-and-bottomup-approaches-to-implementation-research-a-critical-analysis-and-suggested-synthesis/2100355E461CC28D75C42AF64A4083D9

Good luck!

Some questions for you to think about, when analysing why 'school reform is not working' :

1. What does 'reform' look like, is a school context?

2. Who is reforming? What exactly are they reforming? From what to what?

3. What are the reasons/objectives of the reform?

4. Process - who are the stakeholders and to what extent are they engaged in the reform process?

5. (Perhaps this should be the first question) How do you know that 'school reform is not working'?

Yes, very hard and takes time as Dylan Wiliam says. Have been working at this with for three decades myself and have recently decided that the tail of the dog - assessment - needs through rethinking even more radically than the great breakthrough of AfL. Have a look at what we are doing here -

https://rethinkingassessment.com/rethinking-assessment-home/ and see if it gives you some ideas. Or read this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educating-Ruby-Children-Really-Learn/dp/1845909542

Dear Iram, "Organisational stroke" is a catchy title which impresses me a lot. My short answer to your short and sharp question is this. School reforms are complex policies in which many actors play their games. It can only be successful if we know and follow the interests of all the actors. And, without question, it is a hard job to create compromises. Bests, Tamas (Hungary)

Hello Irem

In my humble opinion, we should first identify what reforms we want to make and why in the school system. I am currently a student in the M.Ed program and was introduced to the fact that Alberta is a high achiever in terms of grading in the school system. It is high time in my opinion to apply our policy of diversity and inclusiveness in our school reforms too. If we can gather data from other provinces and high-performing schools, including ways of our Indigenous people we will have a clearer picture of the direction we want our reforms to go.

on the money Chris Brown . Eg NSW Curriculum Reforms seemingly overhaul student learning without attending substantively to the role of educators in applying said reforms. The 'not knowing how' I think is central to the problems we experience with any form of change... it leads us to reproducing past practices.

I'm in partial agreement with @Tamas Kozma, in that schools are part of complex systems -- in addition to being the largest sectors of government in many countries. Complex systems are resistant to change AND when change happens its outcomes are difficult to predict.