I'm pleased to see that SEEd is trying to think about the social change models it uses and how to make change happen, and Ann Finlayson sent round a thoughtful email the other week about a range of related matters, asking for comments.<\/p>\n
It was her last point that I responded to. \u00a0Ann said:<\/p>\n
I like the Nudge story about how the government realised that the take up of loft insulation was low until they realised it was about clearing lofts not resistance to insulation itself. \u00a0Once they helped people clear their loft, it became much easier and take up of insulation increased. \u00a0It would be great if we could find that loft clearing story for ESD!<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here's my response:<\/p>\n
Ann, \u2026 you wonder what the loft clearing story is for ESD. \u00a0Well, I suppose that:<\/p>\n
the loft might be \u2013\u00a0the curriculum<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the insulation \u2013\u00a0ESD<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the clutter \u2013\u00a0much of\u00a0what's taught already<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
On the other hand, you could think that:<\/p>\n
the loft is \u2013\u00a0the school<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the insulation is \u2013\u00a0new values, vision, mission, etc<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the clutter is \u2013\u00a0inappropriate teacher and school leader attitudes<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But then you might see:<\/p>\n
the loft as \u2013\u00a0society<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the insulation as \u2013\u00a0new\u00a0purposes for education<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
the clutter is \u2013\u00a0our entrenched view that schools need to serve economic goals<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, which of these (or perhaps others I might have mentioned) is it?<\/p>\n
It seems obvious that educational interventions are never straightforward processes, particularly in schools, where externally-determined, discipline-based curriculum and examination systems tend to militate against innovations of an integrated, cross-discipline nature that ESD (etc) demands.\u00a0 Such curricula and examinations are necessarily hard to influence and embody an inescapable dilemma: the higher in a system hierarchy you intervene, the more people are covered by the change. \u00a0However, the deeper\u00a0in the hierarchy\u00a0you work, the greater the likelihood that what you plan will happen. \u00a0Deciding where to intervene (and how) depends on a range of contextual and contingent factors that are often locally-specific. \u00a0I think of this as Catch-21.<\/p>\n
For me, two things stand out: [i] as a\u00a0field \/ movement \/ tendency<\/em> we remain uncertain about which goals to pursue, and hence where to make the most telling interventions; and [ii] whilst social\u00a0marketing does work in well-defined contexts, we should not expect it to translate well to complex human systems.<\/p>\n
\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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