Preparing Schools for Educational Change: Barriers and Supports – A Systematic Literature Review

Figures & data

Table 1. Analysis of recent reviews of literature related to reform efforts in a single country.

Review	Scope	Key findings relevant to the present study	Relevant areas identified for further work
(e.g. Hallinger & Bryant, 2013; Honig & Rainey, 2012; Tang et al., 2014)	Reviewed papers from Thailand Reviewed studies from 1999 – 2008 A focus on studies conducted by the author Examined broad patterns of implementation and leadership response to challenges of reform	Leadership capacity influenced change Inadequacies in training and development needed to support the acquisition of new skills related to reform Change efforts are often fragmented, lacking deep integration	Examining the success of educational change that is treated as a process rather than an event. Emerging research from different culture/contexts need to be identified
(Tang et al., 2014)	Reviews research related to one city in South China Examined school leaders’ views about actions that foster successful change Examined obstacles for those responsible for implementing change	Developing school cultures that support innovation and change in social norms Providing diverse opportunities for continuous professional learning of teachers Articulating explicit beliefs about learning and vision for change	Emergent rather than conclusive results. Call for the use of different strategies to achieve success
Potter et al (2002)	Methods and criteria for inclusion/exclusion are not explicit. Restricted to schools facing challenging conditions Narrative review	Pre-conditions for school improvement Ownership of the process	Major system programs of research and practice Generate further knowledge and understanding of what is needed for effective school improvement.

Table 2. Analysis of recent reviews of literature related to a particular initiative or reform type.

Review	Scope	Key findings relevant to the present study	Relevant areas identified for further work
Honig and Rainey (2012)	Integrative review of empirical research Effectiveness of autonomy initiatives in improving school improvement results. Included only research carried out in the US	Aspects of implementation supported the success of change effort Systemic barriers hampered school-level decision making	Further research on the conditions that shape implementation.
Datnow et al (2005)	Factors influencing improvement for racially and linguistic minority youth Included only research carried out in the US Studies carried out between 1983 and 2003. Included only research focusing on systemic school reform	The need for district reform for the success of educational improvement Change needs to include community capacity building alongside education change Careful planning is essential Support from leadership is required High-quality professional development and capacity building is needed Trusting relationships are needed	A need to know what strategies are most promising.
Guhn (2009)	A focus on two reform programs A focus on successful and unsuccessful implementation processes All research was carried out in the US	The need for relationship building Overcoming resistance to change Formative evaluation and assessment (needs assessment)	The need to translate abstract universal processes into diverse, culturally and contextually appropriate practices.

Table 3. Inclusion and exclusion criteria used to guide the selection of articles for analyses.

Criteria	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Topic of research	Studies that: Studies that described or explored barriers or supports to introducing system-wide reforms or change in more than one school. The studies included those that investigated strategies designed to support school improvement plans mandated by district/state authorities and the factors that supported or were barriers to using those strategies. Reported on change efforts introduced after 1970.	Studies that: Involved theoretical discussions (as opposed to empirical evidence). Did not identify constraints or facilitating factors for the introduction of reform. Included factors related to system-level decisions (e.g., could not be influenced by school leadership). Focused on the results of change efforts rather than factors affecting implementation. Described the change effort (without analysis of barriers or supports to implementation).
Types of research	Journal publications of empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods).	Book chapters, conference proceedings, reviews, theses, and discussions primarily of the effects of political factors on change efforts.
Study population	Primary and secondary schools (K-12 educational settings).	Pre-school (e.g., childcare) or tertiary settings.
Date of publication	Studies published between January 2000 and October 2020.
Language of publication	Studies available in English.
Transparency	Studies that explicitly described theory and methodology and provided a data analysis on which conclusions were based.
Reliability/validity	Depending on the type of study, the findings were valid and reliable.

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram of study selection for the systematic review.

Figure 2. Number of studies by region.

Figure 3. Study school setting.

Figure 4. Breakdown by year published.

Figure 5. Breakdown by study design.

Hallinger, P., & Bryant, D. A. (2013). Synthesis of findings from 15 years of educational reform in Thailand: Lessons on leading educational change in East Asia. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 16(4), 399–418. doi:10.1080/13603124.2013.770076

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Honig, M. I., & Rainey, L. R. (2012). Autonomy and school improvement: What do we know and where do we go from here?. Educational Policy, 26(3), 465–495. doi:10.1177/0895904811417590

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Tang, S., Lu, J., & Hallinger, P. (2014). Leading school change in China: A review of related literature and preliminary investigation. The International Journal of Educational Management, 28(6), 655–675. doi:10.1108/IJEM-07-2013-0114

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Potter, D., Reynolds, D., & Chapman, C. (2002). School improvement for schools facing challenging circumstances: A review of research and practice. School Leadership and Management, 22(3), 243–256. doi:10.1080/1363243022000020381

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Datnow, A., Lasky, S. G., Stringfield, S. C., & Teddlie, C. (2005). Systemic integration for educational reform in racially and linguistically diverse contexts: A summary of the evidence. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(4), 445–457. doi:10.1207/s15327671espr1004_6

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Guhn, M. (2009) Insights from successful and unsuccessful implementations of school reform programs. Journal of Educational Change, 10(4), 337–363. doi:10.1007/s10833-008-9063-0

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