Conditions Fostering the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs in Schools: Teachers’ Perspectives

TLDR

The study investigates how teachers’ perceptions of conditions—such as uncertainty and program context—affect the implementation of large‑scale innovation programs in schools. The authors surveyed teachers from two Dutch agricultural education sectors implementing two innovation programs and used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. Transformational leadership, decision‑making participation, uncertainty, and professional development activities jointly influence teachers’ practice changes and agreement with innovation principles, highlighting the need for research to address the complex interplay of these conditions.

Abstract

This research examines the conditions fostering the implementation of large-scale innovation programs through the eyes of teachers. The implementation of two innovation programs by teachers from two sectors of Dutch agricultural education was studied. Structural equation modeling was applied to the survey data of the two groups of teachers. Results show dimensions of transformational leadership and participation in decision making along with teachers’ feelings of uncertainty and professional development activities to influence the extent to which teachers change their practices according to the principles of the current innovation program and also the extent to which teachers agree with the principles. It is argued that school improvement research should pay more attention to the complex relationships between the conditions fostering innovation. The importance of analyzing conditions in the context of different innovation programs and the importance of recognizing feelings of uncertainty for school improvement research are discussed in greater detail.