How mistakes are made

There are numerous serious mistakes currently being made in relation to schools. As these prove ineffective the pressure for measurement and compliance will increase and more errors will be made. Some of the common mistakes are included in the following list

• Lack of attention to one's underlying assumptions
• An emphasis on problem solving and change (rather than on solutions and improvement)
• A preference for simple 'reasonable' responses in the face of a complex and uncertain day-to day reality
  
• Poor and confused use of language, e.g., failure to distinguish between 'teaching' and 'learning', 'schooling' and 'education'
• A lack of attention to the nature of schools by academics (the dominance of psychology over sociology)
• A lack of attention to the nature of schools by governments and administrations resulting in
• The belief that those who attempt to explain the complexity of problems are being 'defensive'
• The use of a 'production' discourse for the management of schooling
• Treating education as if it was a 'scratch race'
• Assuming cultural differences and cultural change are not of major significance

Typical errors that result

• An almost 'autistic' obsession with teachers as the starting point for all change management initiatives
• Performance management systems for (senior) staff that focus on tampering with the performance of others
  
• Attempting to create a schooling mono-culture for a pluralistic society
• Treating parents as the clients (thus reducing children into objects to be processed)
• Unrealistic expectations of plans and policies in the light of recent unsuccedssful experiences
  
• ...
  

So how to proceed?
The most reliable method is to focus on (achieving) local solutions - the things that will help those involved to achieve success and well-being. And to understand these as emerging from patterns of interaction in everyday conversations around shared purposes, rather than simplistic mechanisms based on direction and compliance.

There are numerous approaches that (properly managed) can avoid the kinds of mistakes listed above . The challenge is that they are often counter intuitive and contrary to much of contemporary 'heroic' organisational thinking.