©2006 Richard Watson Todd Lessons Learnt from the SEARs Project Richard Watson Todd KMUTT

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The current situation in Thailand n Pressure for change –Pressure from MoE –Pressure from schools –Personal pressure n Need to understand how effective change occurs

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The nature of innovation n ‘What’ is important, but is not enough –Good ideas do not always get accepted n ‘How’ is crucial –Need to know the factors that promote and hinder the success of innovations

©2006 Richard Watson Todd A case study of innovation n Student English Access Rooms n The SEARs project –World Bank funded –Set up self-access centres (SEARs) at 80 schools throughout the country

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Key aspects of the project n Rooms n Furniture n Teacher training n Materials n Systems n Administration n Equipment

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The process of implementation n Centrally-made decision to set up SEARs n MoE committee comprising secondary school teachers and supervisors n MoE bureaucracy n No input from schools

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Timetable of implementation n May 2002 n n mid 2003 n 2003 n early 2004 n Workshop for school administrators n Allocation and renovation of rooms n Teacher training workshops n Furniture, and setting up rooms n Delivery of materials

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Timetable of implementation n March 2004 n Sem. 1/2004 n Dec n Distribution of SEARs manual n SEARs manager workshop n First semester of operating SEARs n Monitoring SEARs n Teacher training workshop 2

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Timetable of implementation n Dec n Ongoing n Misprocurement of equipment n SEARs website

©2006 Richard Watson Todd General results of the project n Of the 80 schools: –15 great progress –60 some progress –5 big problems

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Collecting data n Monitoring of SEARs during the first semester of use n Main purpose = identify areas needing further support n Purpose was not to evaluate SEARs

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Data collection instruments n Questionnaire 1 to SEARs managers (May 2004) n Interviews with 25 SEARs managers n Interviews with teachers at 25 schools n Observations of use of SEARs at 25 schools n Student questionnaire at 25 schools n School visitor comments at 25 schools n Questionnaire 2 to SEARs managers (Sept. 2004)

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Successful aspects of SEARs n Materials provided for SEARs, especially graded readers and KMUTT-produced materials n Students’ willingness and ability to use SEARs

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Problematic aspects of SEARs n Lack of equipment n Problems integrating the SEAR and the classroom n Systems to support self-access learning n A few schools: very little progress

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Variation between schools n Availability and stability of rooms n Insufficient furniture n Cooperation among English staff

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Implications of the case study n Implications for self-access learning n Implications for the management of innovation

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Implications for self-access learning n Most self-access centres are at an institutional level and at tertiary institutions n SEARs are at a national level and at secondary institutions n Most research on self-access emphasises the need for learner training n Suitable facilities and management are prerequisites

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Implications for the management of innovation n Key issues in the success of innovations –The nature of the innovation –The process of implementing the innovation –The context

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The nature of the innovation n Effectiveness n Relevance n Feasibility n Efficiency n Complexity n Observability n Concrete form n Explicitness n Adaptability n Originality

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The nature of SEARs n Effectiveness n Relevance n Feasibility n Efficiency n Complexity n Observability n Concrete form n Explicitness n Adaptability n Originality n Unclear n Probably positive n Positive n Unclear n Negative n Unclear n Positive n Negative n Positive n Unclear

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The process of implementing the innovation n Top-down innovation imposed by the MoE n Therefore, unlikely to be successful n But MoE committee comprised secondary school teachers n Many decisions taken at the school level

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Factors important to the process n Teacher education –Systematic, ongoing, long-term n Communications n Support –Targeted, ongoing

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Process factors in the SEARs project n Teacher education –More teacher training than teacher development –No ongoing, long-term education n Communications –Inadequate n Support –Targeted support –No ongoing support

©2006 Richard Watson Todd The context n Contextual issues are more important at the school level than at the national level n Reinforces the importance of infrastructure and staff cooperation

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Lessons learnt from the SEARs project n Secondary self-access can be effective in Thailand n Facilities and management (esp. staff cooperation) are crucial n Preparing the contexts to receive the innovation should be the top priority