Posted by:
Richard Comfort
Posted on: May 17, 2001 at 7:18 PM
Message:
To muddy the waters a bit in response to Cuban's comments, I would add that there are some generic contextual issues. While advice may not be appropriate when associated with some contextual issues, it can at least provide some advance alerts ('forewarned is forearmed'). For example our HASP project is now a partnership of 8 school districts spread over a fairly wide area. It is a voluntary association of districts, so there are limits as to what can be expected in terms of support. These limits typically are consensus compromises between what the strong supporters would do and what the weak supporters will tolerate without pulling out. This is probably a generic context, shared by any project which involves a voluntary confederation. This may be contrasted with a project of a single district. I was struck by this difference in reviewing some of the single district project posters. If the superintendent supports the project, resources (time, funding, personnel) can be devoted to the project that no partnership could be pursuaded to support. But if the superintendent changes and the new one has a different agenda, everything could change quickly. In the partnership, the analogous event is usually not so catastrophic, and peer pressure from other partnership superintendents can have an ameliorating effect.This also brings in the importance of the ultimate contextual issue - the people involved. While we frequently talk of building support among stakeholders, another important element is the individuals who comprise the project staff. For some of these, they are the ultimate stakeholders, because their jobs are on the line. A group of dedicated people who are working as a team toward a common goal can accomplish wonders; but one weak link can put it all in jeopardy. There will always be a 'weakest link', but if that link is nevertheless reasonably strong, a team effort can keep the focus where it needs to be, improvement of science teaching. And while the particulars of the personnel will vary from project to project, this issue is generic in profoundly influencing the success or failure of all projects.
|
