Guide to implementation

Research article – Sharples J, Albers B, Fraser S, Deeble M, Vaughan T. (2019) ‘Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation’, Evidence for Learning, accessed 29 August 2022.

This report explores recommendations for effective curriculum implementation supported by Australian examples.

'It doesn’t matter how great an educational idea or intervention is in principle; what really matters is how it manifests in the day-to-day work of people in schools.' page 3

Research overview

References to Engage, Enact and Embed have been included to highlight connections between the research and the Phases of curriculum implementation.

This guidance report describes the professional practice of implementation with recommendations, checklists and practical examples of the steps schools can take to manage change well. It is written for an Australian context based on original content from a report of the same name produced by the UK based Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). The guide frames research within a school context and encourages schools to integrate external evidence with professional expertise and internal school data.

Four major indicators of quality implementation of educational change in schools are highlighted. They are:

• frequency of participation by teachers in activities supporting implementation
• fidelity or integrity to reproduce the change
• quality of delivery of the change
• acceptability of changes reflected in teacher participation and attitude to implementation activities.

Quality implementation requires ongoing support from the system and commitment by school leaders, to positively influence student outcomes (academic and behavioural) and teacher attitudes and practices.

The guide explores two foundations essential for effective implementation of change.

• Implementation is a process and needs to be planned and executed in stages. School leaders need to:
  • allow time for effective implementation. “The better you till the soil” the more likely implementation roots will take hold
  • plan for each stage of implementation to prepare, deliver, and sustain change
  • recognise that implementation requires a major commitment of time.
• A leadership environment and school climate need to be created that is conducive to effective implementation. School leaders:
  • play a vital role in improving education practices
  • create an explicit, common understanding of expectations during implementation
  • make implementation easier by trusting staff to try new things, supporting them with high quality resources, training, and encouragement to keep improving
  • develop implementation teams using a distributed leadership approach.

The guide then describes four stages to effectively implement change. The first two stages, explore and prepare, reflect the first phase of curriculum implementation, Engage. The third stage, deliver, is the Enact phase of curriculum implementation and the final stage, sustain, is the Embed phase of curriculum implementation.

Create a clear implementation plan, judge the readiness of the school to deliver that plan, then prepare staff and resources. (Engage)

• Effective implementation of a new syllabus requires significant effort and investment.
• Identify the ‘active ingredients’ (key features and practices) for effective implementation.
• Define the achievable implementation outcomes and develop a set of measures.
• Incorporate the benefit of high-quality, up-front training for teachers.
• Assess the readiness of staff to implement the new syllabus.
• Identify the resources and support needed for effective implementation.

Support staff, monitor progress, solve problems, and adapt strategies as the approach is implemented for the first time. (Enact)

• Implement processes to ensure teachers feel supported.
• Identify, and act on, implementation barriers and enablers.
• Adopt a flexible leadership approach during the initial stages of implementation.
• Use expert coaching or mentoring to ensure teachers apply conceptual understanding to changes in practical classroom behaviours.
• Use a collaborative approach to support collegial problem-solving.
• Analyse data to actively tailor and improve the implementation approach.
• Delay major changes until the active ingredients understood and implemented.
• Recognise that this phase is about continuous dynamic improvement.

Plan for sustaining and scaling an intervention from the beginning. (Embed)

• Shift the focus from initiating implementation to consolidating the implementation of the new syllabus. Scale the lessons learnt to all staff.
• Continue monitoring implementation to identify how the curriculum is being adopted and adapted over time.
• Providing ongoing support to sustain change.

Professional discussion and reflection prompts

• As a leader, how will you create a common and explicit understanding of what will be expected, supported, and rewarded during the implementation process?
• What steps do you need to take to:
  • assess staff readiness
  • develop a curriculum implementation plan?

Implementation in Education: Findings from a Scoping Review

Albers, B and Pattuwage, L. (2017). ‘Implementation in Education: Findings from a Scoping Review’. Melbourne: Evidence for Learning, accessed 31 August 2022.

‘…the role of ongoing staff support in enabling change processes.... – provided through continuous feedback, supervision, coaching, practice observation and other techniques – has shown to be important for implementation.’ (p26)

This review explores effective strategies that leaders can use to support the school’s implementation of new curriculum.

Research overview

References to Engage, Enact and Embed have been included to highlight connections between the research and the Phases of curriculum implementation.

The research findings highlighted:

• the importance of ongoing, targeted, professional learning and support to improve teacher confidence in delivering the curriculum (Engage, Enact, Embed)
• in-class coaching and mentoring were valuable forms of ongoing support (Enact)
• the approach taken to implementation had significant impact on student outcomes (Embed)

Powell et al. (2015) identified 73 implementation strategies. They include:

• access new funding
• change physical structure and equipment
• create new teams
• develop and implement tools for quality monitoring
• facilitate implementation processes across stakeholders
• promote ongoing consultation
• use data experts
• use train-the trainer strategies.

This ’menu’ of implementation strategies is a resource for the development, monitoring, and evaluation of implementation plans.

Researchers agree that implementation is a stage-based process.

• The exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment (EPIS) framework (Aarons et al. 2010) is examined in some detail.
• The EPIS’ ‘preparation’ phase is similar to the NSW Engage phase. The focus of this phase is on getting ready for implementation by examining the new curriculum. Critical changes need to be considered, professional learning needs identified, systems and practices developed, and data systems established and installed.
• The EPIS’ ‘initial implementation’ phase connects with the Enact phase. This is a vulnerable phase when the curriculum and pedagogical practices are implemented for the first time. ‘Even highly experienced educators and administrators may feel awkward because new behaviours and structures need to be learned, old habits set aside, and a feeling of ‘incompetence’ accepted for a little while’ (p23). Qualitative and quantitative data should be collected during this phase. The information can be used to understand the most immediate and critical barriers and facilitators.
• The ‘sustainment’ phase in the EPIS model in which ‘a process of routinisation sets in, and the school moves into full implementation’. The focus in this phase may be consolidating the practice further but can also mean that an implementation is expanded to also include other years or stages.

Aarons et al. (2016) highlight the critical role of transformational leadership ‘for the inner context of an implementation. Transformational leadership is characterised by three core behaviours:

• Creating a vision for the uptake of curriculum and pedagogical practices in the school.
• Engaging faculty and other staff in this vision and its realisation.
• Being a role model in realising the vision.

As a role model, principals and other school leaders should ‘walk the talk’ and ‘continuously acknowledge, request, enable, facilitate and display the behaviours that reflect an evidence focus’ (p27).

Professional discussion and reflection prompts

• As a leader, how can you be a role model to staff when implementing the new curriculum?
• What implementation strategies will be valuable in your context to support the introduction of new curriculum and ensure it is sustained in the longer term?

Curriculum reform: effective implementation

Gouëdard P, Pont B, Hyttin S, Huang P (2020) ‘Curriculum reform: A literature review to support effective implementation’ OECD working paper, no. 239, 20-45. OECD Publishing [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development], Paris, accessed 31 August 2022.

‘For the new curriculum to bear fruit, it needs to be translated into classroom practices.’ (p7)

This review explores principles and practices of effective curriculum implementation for leaders and teachers.

Research overview

References to Engage, Enact and Embed have been included to highlight connections between the research and the Phases of curriculum implementation.

This literature review discusses curriculum implementation from a broad system-level perspective. It identifies general principles for implementation and discusses whole-school and classroom-level considerations. The review describes and analyses successful practices and provides examples from different countries that have implemented curriculum reform. The following points summarise pages 20-45.

Gouëdard et al. (2020) highlight the following factors and practices for effective curriculum implementation.

• Educational change takes time, there is ‘no one size fits all’ approach.
• Teacher self-efficacy is key to effective collaboration.
• Collaborative opportunities provide a forum for professional dialogue.
• Provision of continuous, tailored professional development.
• A targeted, timely communication strategy facilitates buy-in.
• A coherent implementation strategy supports curriculum change in the classroom.

The research emphasises the critical role of school leaders and teachers in planning a curriculum implementation strategy.

Leaders initiate and sustain effective curriculum change by:

• creating a culture that fosters change, supports teacher and student learning, enhances teacher confidence, and reduces uncertainty towards change (Engage)
• developing an environment for individual and collective sense-making where teachers develop ownership of, and commitment to implement, a new curriculum (Engage)
• including curriculum reform in development plans, implement school processes to encourage collaboration and align student assessment to the new curriculum (Enact)
• planning for ongoing teacher professional development to implement reform and shape educational practice (Enact and Embed)
• evaluating the effectiveness of structures and processes to support curriculum implementation (Enact and Embed).

Resistance to implementing curriculum change may be demonstrated by teachers when changes are imposed without an opportunity to co-construct curriculum or provide input.

Teachers initiate and sustain curriculum implementation by:

• developing a high level of ownership, leading to a greater sense of satisfaction
• having control over instructional decisions and a sense of agency
• engaging in professional collaboration to build capacity.

Professional discussion and reflection prompts

• As a leader, how will you build a culture that enhances teacher confidence towards curriculum change?
• What processes could you implement to prioritise teacher collaboration and develop greater ownership by teachers of curriculum change?