Theories of change

This paper outlines an emerging Transition Design approach for addressing " wicked " problems (such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, crime, poverty, pollution, etc.) and catalysing societal transitions toward more sustainable and desirable futures. Wicked problems are " systems problems " that exist within large, socio-technical systems and therefore require new problem-solving approaches. The Transition Design Framework brings together an evolving body of practices that can be used to: 1. visualize and " map " complex problems and their interconnections and interdependencies; 2. situate them within large, spatio-temporal contexts; 3. identify and bridge stakeholder conflicts and leverage alignments; 4. facilitate stakeholders in the co-creation of visions of desirable futures; 5. identify leverage points in the large problem system in which to situate design interventions. Rather than a fixed, templatised process, the Transition Design Framework provides a logic for bringing together an evolving set of practices relevant to designing for systems level change. This paper reports on how this approach is being tested on a community based project that was informed by classroom based coursework. A new, design-led approach is needed to address the complex, wicked problems confronting societies in the 21 st century (Hughes & Steffen, 2013; Jensen, 2017) and to seed and catalyse societal transitions toward more sustainable and desirable long-term futures (Porritt, 2013, pp 274-276).

Causal Linking Monitoring (CLM) is an integrated approach to project design and monitoring. At its heart, the approach consists of cycles of design, monitor/evaluate, and re-design repeated over the life of the project. By fortifying the data-to-design relationship, CLM facilitates the use of data for adapting implementation, and ensures that the data collected to steer the project also adapts in line with implementation.  The brief includes a detailed explanation of the approach and a case example.

Change-theories and theoretical conceptualizations of educational development are the primary focal points of this investigation. Specifically, Michael Fullan’s and Andy Hargreaves’s change theories are examined for their breadth and depth and for their utilitarian value. Then the Finnish special educational reform measures (2005–2012) are thoroughly investigated. The four main research questions concern, first, what are the key characteristics of selected Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s works? Second, what are the most compelling similarities and
differences in the theoretical models of educational change? Third, to what extent is the construction of a synthesized Fullan-Hargreavesian change model of value and even possible? And fourth, how well does a Fullan-Hargreavesian model apply to Finnish special education reform? Consequently, the investigation relies on two separate approaches to change, to reflect them against each other, and to merge them into one Fullan-Hargreavesian model. That model provides a change theoretical
tool for explicating the policy documents concerning the Finnish
special education reform and to analyze the Finnish reform process in a changetheoretical framework. Moreover, the focus is on examination of the nature of and purpose for change theorizing, understanding how educational change appears in the theories, and also to draw a picture of Fullan and Hargreaves as professionals working in the field of educational change in general.
Three data sets undergird the research: 1) Interview data. Fullan was
interviewed in 2013 in Helsinki (Finland) and Hargreaves in 2011 in Boston (the United States); 2) Selected works from Fullan (n=4) and Hargreaves (n=4), and 3) Finnish policy documents (n=19) representing different phases of the entire reform process in 2005–2012. These included municipal initiative documents in 2005-2007, Ministry of Education documents in 2007, and Government and parliament documents covering the years 2009-2010. The documents span across
the years 2005-2010. However, for the purposes of this research the reform has been defined as lasting until 2012 because processes supporting the change, in-service training and development project, were carried on until 2012.
The examination of Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s theories resulted in two lines of thought about educational change. Alongside theoretical aspects lie an assortment of professional practice pathways. There were gleaned through interview data and substantiated through analysis of their literature. By combining their change theoretical approaches a Fullan-Hargreavesian model was constructed consisting of four categories: Entry, Objective, Dissemination, and Impact. Through the
conceptual framework of change the nature and content of political eloquence in the policy documents became visible, the process explicated upper and lower level reasons for the reform, visiting the means for disseminating the new policy, and reflected the means for evaluating the impact of the reform measures in Finland.
The contributions to the field of educational change are multifold, including the examination and comparison, and the incorporation of Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s change-theories. The quest is to deliver an innovative theoretical approach to policy analysis. The analysis of the Finnish reform process points toward a new phase in the theoretical model, Preparation, as a type of understanding of long term
pre-reform happenings, and a dimension that is absent in Fullan’s and
Hargreaves’s theories included in this study. The field of special education benefits from the thorough description of the reform process, and the analytical approach to the reform process brings new insights to the research in that field. The Finnish education system, and no doubt many other systems, could benefit from a more systematic and well-structured theory-oriented approach to educational change that would be applied in the early stages of the process.

Critically  analysing  assumptions  is  a  much  needed endeavour  in  international  development policy  and  practice:  existing  management  tools  rarely  encourage  critical  thinking  and  there are  considerable  political,  organisational  and  bureaucratic  constraints  to  the  promotion  of learning  throughout  the  sector.  The  Theory  of  Change  approach  –  an  increasingly  popular management  tool  and  discourse  in  development  –  hopes  to  change  some  of  that.  This approach  explicitly  aims  to  challenge  and  change  implicit  assumptions  in  world  views  and programme interventions in the lives of others, yet
little is known about the extent to which it really does so. This paper provides a much needed analysis of how Theories of Change  are used  in  the  day-to-day  practice  of  an  international  development  organisation,  The  Asia
Foundation.  They  use  the  approach  in  three  ways:  to communicate,  to  learn  and  to  be  held accountable, which each exist in some tension with each other. Creating Theories of Change was  often  found  to  be  a  helpful  process  by  programme  staff,  since  it  provided  a  greater freedom  to  explain  and  analyse  programme  interventions.  However,  the  introduction  of  the approach  also  had  some  troubling  effects,  for  example,  by  creating  top-down  accounts  of
change which spoke more to donor interests than to the ground realities of people affected by these interventions. Ultimately, this paper argues that while a Theory of Change approach can create space for critical reflection, this requires
a much broader commitment to learning from individuals, organisations, and the development sector itself.

Reducing residential energy use and carbon dioxide emissions
is a policy concern across Europe. One of the approaches to address this problem, Real-world Laboratories (RwLs), has recently gained prominence as a means to generate both sustainability change and social knowledge. Yet RwLs are context-bound, and transferability is an issue for scaling up change. Drawing on Realistic Evaluation (RE) and Theories of Change (ToC), this paper analyses researchers’ and practitioners’ views on the role of contexts and change mechanisms in the outcomes of interventions targeting residential energy use. The results show that extracting the underlying logic of RwL designs could help to identify where and when these designs are likely to be transferrable. This contribution has implications for the design of future RwLs, given that RwLs have until now rarely articulated their ToC.

Change-theories and theoretical conceptualizations of educational development are the primary focal points of this investigation. Specifically, Michael Fullan’s and Andy Hargreaves’s change theories are examined for their breadth and depth and for their utilitarian value. Then the Finnish special educational reform measures (2005–2012) are thoroughly investigated. The four main research questions concern, first, what are the key characteristics of selected Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s works? Second, what are the most compelling similarities and differences in the theoretical models of educational change? Third, to what extent is the construction of a synthesized Fullan-Hargreavesian change model of value and even possible? And fourth, how well does a Fullan-Hargreavesian model apply to Finnish special education reform? Consequently, the investigation relies on two separate approaches to change, to reflect them against each other, and to merge them into one Fullan-Hargreavesian model. T...

The topic of this thesis is the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity in the public sectors of developing countries. The purpose of the study is to deepen our understanding of how capacity in M&E develops in the complex public sector developing country contexts. The premise is that identifying the assumptions and propositions underpinning how public sector capacity is expected to develop are instrumental to this understanding. The thesis proceeds through an in-depth case study of the Government of Tanzania, using a ‘theories of change’ approach that examines the interrelationship between context, mechanisms and outcomes. The theories of change approach aims to bring to the surface these three elements to highlight how change is expected to occur, whether the theories espoused are similar to those that are in use, and whether they are partial, confused or contradictory. From the theories of change that emerged through the review of Government of Tanzania M&E capacit...

This paper reviews the seminal theories of social psychology which have guided scholarship on inter-group conflicts and describes how these theories have been used by conflict resolution practitioners to design Track Two diplomacy initiatives among citizens in conflict zones. The authors hope that such a review will provide scholars of conflict resolution and international politics with a better understanding of how complex social theories are adapted for use in the applied world, and how gaps between theory and ...

Evaluation that supports strategic learning applies evaluation findings as well as non-evaluation data in order to improve a strategy. Tools to support the practice of evaluation for strategic learning have yet to be articulated, in part because learning itself can be so varied that the idea of common tools is hard to conceptualize. Yet there are tools that broadly apply to many strategic learning settings and that can become core to the success of a learning organization. These tools are familiar to the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Theories of change are commonly used for strategic planning and are often created by evaluators to clarify program logic and guide the evaluation process. In addition, evaluators often use periodic debriefs to provide program implementers with updated evaluation findings. However, using these tools specifically to support strategic learning requires some adaptation from how they are traditionally used.

This brief describes practical steps for designing and using theories of change and strategic learning debriefs as tools for creating the space and structure for strategic learning. It draws on multiple bodies of theory and research that can guide strategic learning practitioners in developing thoughtful and informed strategies for learning.

This article observes that participatory action research (PAR), by nature of being collaborative, necessitates making explicit theories of change that may have otherwise gone unseen or unexamined. The article explores the limits of the reform/revolution paradox on actions and theories of change in PAR. Citing examples from two recent youth PAR projects on educational issues, the author submits that when met with such a paradox, one can only move to a new vantage point. Four alternative vantage points, drawn from Indigenous epistemologies, are illustrated; they are sovereignty, contention, balance, and relationship.

Co-edited with K. Wayne Yang

Youth resistance has become a pressing global phenomenon, to which many educators and researchers have looked for inspiration and/or with chagrin. Although the topic of much discussion and debate, it remains dramatically under-theorized, particularly in terms of theories of change. Resistance has been a prominent concern of educational research for several decades, yet understandings of youth resistance frequently lack complexity, often seize upon convenient examples to confirm entrenched ideas about social change, and overly regulate what “counts” as progress. As this comprehensive volume illustrates, understanding and researching youth resistance requires much more than a one-dimensional theory.

Youth Resistance Research and Theories of Change provides readers with new ways to see and engage youth resistance to educational injustices. This volume features interviews with prominent theorists, including Signithia Fordham, James C. Scott, Michelle Fine, Robin D.G. Kelley, Gerald Vizenor, and Pedro Noguera, reflecting on their own work in light of contemporary uprisings, neoliberal crises, and the impact of new technologies globally. Chapters presenting new studies in youth resistance exemplify approaches which move beyond calcified theories of resistance. Essays on needed interventions to youth resistance research provide guidance for further study. As a whole, this rich volume challenges current thinking on resistance, and extends new trajectories for research, collaboration, and justice.

Contents

1 Introduction to Youth Resistance Research and Theories of Change

Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

PART I The History and Emergence of Youth Resistance in Educational Research

Part I Introduction by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

2 Resistance: The Anatomy of an Idea

Greg Dimitriadis

3 An Intimate Memoir of Resistance Theory

Michelle Fine with Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

4 Leaking Away and Other Forms of Resistance

James C. Scott with Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

5 Organizing Resistance into Social Movements

Pedro Noguera with Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

6 Resistance as Revelatory

Robin D.G. Kelley with Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

7 What Does an Umbrella Do for the Rain? On the Efficafcy and Limitations of Resistance

Signithia Fordham with Eve Tuck and Greg Dimitriadis

8 Resistance in the Blood

Gerald Vizenor with Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

PART II The Relationship between Youth Resistance and Theories of Change

Part II Introduction by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

9 Thinking with Youth about Theories of Change

Edited by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

10 The Politics of Coming Out Undocumented

Lisa (Leigh) Patel and Rocío Sánchez Ares

11 Rethinking Resistance Theory through STEM Education

Antwi Akom and Allison Scott and Aekta Shah

12 Hands Clasped Behind her Back: Palestinian Waiting on Theories of Change

J. I. Albahri with K. Wayne Yang

PART III New Studies in Youth Resistance

Part III Introduction by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

13 Youth Resistance Research Methods and Ethical Challenges

Monique Guishard and Eve Tuck

14 Outdoor Education as a Site of Epistemological Persistence: Unsettling an understanding of Urban Indigenous Youth Resistance

Tracy Friedel

15 LGBTQ Street Youth Doing Resistance in Infrapolitical Worlds

Cindy Cruz

16 Out for Immigration Justice: Thinking through Social and Political Change

Daysi Diaz-Strong, Christina Gómez, Maria Luna-Duarte, and Erica R. Meiners

Afterword by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

This paper discusses the development of a U.S.-based undergraduate senior seminar toward a conflict-centered perspective of change in education. As practitioner researchers informed by Black, feminist and postcolonial studies, we analyze student writing from the course in order to elucidate the concepts of change, both explicit and tacit, that students draw on to make sense of the complexities inherent in educational work. Some student writing demonstrates a discourse of control, and thus a conception of agency, that both oversimplifies and promotes despair about the challenges at stake. By contrast, some student writing evinces an orientation towards struggle, rather than hope, which emerges as a more generative stance towards recognizing and responding to the structural violence in which education work is fully implicated. This perspective opens the analysis and the education course to understandings that situate power relationships more broadly and more historically than order-ce...