IMPLEMENTING THE 'NEW SOCIAL STUDIES' CURRICULUM: A CASE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to present a detailed account of a long-term (1967-1975) effort to introduce some of the "new social studies" curriculum materials into the social studies program of a large city school system.;This framework, called the "Leadership Obstacle Course" theory, is based on the following assumptions (pp. 34-35):;The initial assumption of the LOC theory is that if members are resistent to a proposed organizational change, then overcoming or neutralizing this obstacle constitutes an essential prerequisite for the implementation of an innovation.;Its second assumption is that the degree to which an innovation is implemented depends on the presence of five conditions during the period of attempted implementation. The first is the degree to which organizational members obtain a clear understanding of the proposed innovation . . .The second condition is the extent to which organizational members possess the skills and capabilities needed to carry out the innovation. The third is the extent to which the materials and equipment required by the staff are available when needed. The fourth is the extent to which organizational arrangements incompatible with the innovation are made congruent with it.;Because of its apparent efficacy in explaining the nature of the change process in schools, the framework described by Gross (Herriott and Gross, the Dynamics of Planned Educational Change, 1979) was used as the basic organizational structure around which the study was developed.;The fifth is the extent to which organizational members are motivated to spend the required time and effort to implement the innovation.;The third assumption of the LOC theory is that the extent to which these five conditions are present during the period of attempted implementation depends primarily on the performance of management.;Utilizing this framework, the nature of the decision-making process that led up to the introduction of the innovation was discussed, as well as those strategies, tactics and activities that were associated with creating a climate conducive to the introduction of the innovation.;Next, the activities that were associated with developing awareness among participants and creating and maintaining the skills necessary to sustain the innovation were described, as well as the ways in which material and professional support were provided.;Next, the ways in which the innovative effort impacted upon the structure of relationships within schools and between the school system and its external environment were described. Also described was the nature of the motivational structure developed during the course of the effort.;Finally, both anticipated and unanticipated outcomes of the innovative effort were described.;Several implications are suggested by this study. First, it seems apparent that one major source of failure in innovation in schools is the fact that the source of the innovation is separate from the source of performance evaluation in schools. Second, the more complex an innovation becomes and the more an innovation requires that the structure of relationships between and among teachers be altered, the more important it is that persons with line authority in the school organization be brought into an advocacy position to support the innovation. Third, in any change effort that requires fundamental alterations of relationships at the building level, it is essential to involve the building principal in the activity. Finally, it would appear that any effort to evaluate a change oriented program that does not take into account needed changes in the structure of the organization is inadequate.