IMPLEMENTATION OF 'STUDIES OF RELIGION' A STUDY a paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference Hobart Wednesday 29th November 1995 Margie Beck Australian Catholic University Mount Saint Mary Campus STRATHFIELD ABSTRACT IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDIES OF RELIGION - A STUDY This paper aims to discuss the way in which 47 religiously affiliated schools implemented the HSC Studies of Religion. syllabus in NSW. A questionnaire completed by coordinators of religious studies was used to analyse the implementation process in the religiously affiliated schools. The paper will compare these findings with the work of Fullan (1987), and the model of factors which lead to successful innovation as compiled by Miles et al. (1987). A discussion about how the findings compare and contrast with other Australian syllabus implementation studies will be included. The study has shown that attention to the key factors set out by Fullan in his process of implementation has had some effect on the way in which the course has been introduced into these schools. IMPLEMENTATION OF 'STUDIES OF RELIGION' - A STUDY There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things. (Machiavelli, The Prince ) The introduction of the Studies of Religion syllabus for HSC in New South Wales has given many religious schools the opportunity to implement a Board of Studies course as the religious education course offered to their senior students. Until 1992, religious schools had been able to offer either school-based or diocesan based religious education courses or the Board Endorsed Course in Religious Studies as their religious education programs. None of these courses contributed to the students' Tertiary Entrance Ranking score, so for many students (and teachers), religious education had been viewed as a 'soft option' with little or no academic rigour. (Crawford & Rossiter, 1988:80-86). Since 1992, 96 schools have chosen to implement 'Studies of Religion', with all but 9 schools coming from a religious tradition affiliation. The course can be taught at 1 or 2 unit level - the only one of its kind in NSW. Most subjects are offered at 2 unit level with a 1 unit extension for those students who wish to study at a more difficult level, while there are 2 courses offered at 1 unit only - General Studies and Applied Studies. Some religious schools have offered the course as a compulsory one, replacing their existing course with Studies of Religion. The intention of the Board of Studies was that it would be an elective, as are all other subjects in the Human Society and Its Environment Key Learning Area. In the 1995 HSC exam, almost 5 000 students sat for 'Studies of Religion', 4 700 at 1 unit level and 295 at 2 unit level. The research that forms the background for this paper looks at the process of implementation change made by schools who chose to offer the course in the first two years. These schools were chosen because they were the 'pioneers' - they began teaching the course with no implementation models to follow, no HSC results to which to rely on or refer to, and without knowing how the religious education programs offered by the school prior to this would 'mesh' in with the new course. It is the way these schools went about planning for the change that will be discussed in this paper. The study is based on the work of Michael Fullan and the model of implementation in which the factors of the implementation process are identified, then categorised and discussed. Since 1982 Fullan's work has set the criteria for much research into the way schools handle change. The factors which Fullan has identified as essential to the implementation process have been used as the basis for the research being carried out on the implementation of this course in religious schools. In addition, part of the research is investigating the way in which 'Studies of Religion' can be implemented as a religious studies course and what activities schools have to add to the religious education program in order to meet the religious aims of the school. 'Studies of Religion' can be offered as either an elective or compulsory course at 1 or 2 unit level. The course is able to be studied in part from a particular religious variant perspective, and as such, provides an attractive option for religious schools. Other resources such as retreats, extra liturgical activities and other activities specific to the tradition have to be included in the school's curriculum in order to meet the specific aims of the religious school. However, for the purposes of this paper, I will only be discussing the implementation process of the 'Studies of Religion' syllabus into religious schools. Other research that has been based on investigation into the implementation of curriculum in schools has been done by Deer and Thompson (1988) into the Implementation of Society and Culture in NSW secondary schools, and Johnston (1990) whose research evaluated the implementation of the 'Journey in Faith' religious education curriculum. Marsh (1987) has done a longitudinal study on the implementation of a Geography syllabus in Western Australian schools. These have provided some background to this study in terms of their reference to the implementation process in their respective curriculum areas. This research is the first to consider the process of implementation in this subject field, though other research is being carried out by Malone on whether Studies of Religion can have any effect on student attitudes and values. Fullan (1993:47) identifies four broad phases to the implementation process: Phase 1- variously labelled initiation, mobilisation, or adoption-consists of the process that leads up to and includes a decision to adopt or proceed with a change. Phase 2-implementation or initial use (usually the first two or three years of use-involves the first experiences of attempting to put an idea or reform into practice. Phase 3-called incorporation routinisation or institutionalisation-refers to whether the change gets built into as an ongoing part of the system, or disappears by way of a decision to discard or through attrition. Phase 4-outcome-refers to the results of the change. It can be thought of as the degree of school improvement in relation to given criteria such as improved student learning and attitudes, new skills, attitudes or satisfaction of the part of teachers and other school personnel. Fullan goes on to present an overview of the variables, either facilitating or constraining, that operate at each phase of the process. FACTORS AFFECTING IMPLEMENTATION A. Characteristics of the Change 1 Need 2 Clarity 3 Complexity 4 Quality and Practicality B. Local Characteristics 5 District 6 Community 7 Principal 8 Teacher C. External Factors 9 Government and other agencies Table 1 Interactive Factors Affecting Implementation (Fullan, 1993:68) The variables suggested by Fullan were considered when devising a questionnaire that was sent to the 55 religious schools involved in implementing 'Studies of Religion' in 1992 or 1993. The questionnaire response was made by the person who was responsible for religious education in that school, since that person would be working most closely with the implementation of the new syllabus. The results of the questionnaire have been written up in case study form so that the way in which Fullan's variables have been met or not in each of the schools can be clearly identified. To obtain information for the research, which is part of a Ph.D. thesis, a letter of request for permission to send out questionnaires to the Religious Education coordinators was sent to 58 religiously affiliated schools throughout NSW. Of these, 55 principals gave their permission for the questionnaire to be completed. 47 questionnaires were returned, giving a return rate of 85%. Of the 47 schools which sent a response, 41 were Catholic schools, 3 were Christian Community Schools, and there was 1 Anglican, 1 Uniting and 1 non-denominational schools. 14 schools were girls' schools, 11 boys, and 22 were co-educational. 43 of the schools were 7-12 schools, 4 were senior high schools. 25 of the schools offered the course for the first time in 1992, and 22 offered the course in 1993. Results of the research to date reveal that those schools which have been most successful in implementing the course have met those factors suggested by research carried out by Fullan, 1982, 1987; Huberman & Miles, 1984; Miles, 1983, 1987; Miles et al., 1988. Those factors include strong, administrative commitments to the innovation; positive pressure and support from within the school; support activities in the form of in-service and local facilitators; resource allocation to fund the change; removal of competing practices; believable evaluation of innovation and change that is linked with current classroom practices. It is proposed to narrow the focus of the research through interviews with administrators and staff involved in teaching the course at a number of schools which have chosen a particular process of implementation that appears to lead to meeting the criteria of successful institutionalisation found in Miles (1983) and in Miles, Ekholm and Vandenberghe (1987). This will provide a more exact and informed basis on which to make recommendations to schools, systems and to the Board of Studies, about the way in which 'Studies of Religion' can be successfully implemented in religious schools, while still achieving the religious goals for their schools. Results of research in this study according to factors suggested by other research   Strong, administrative commitments to the innovation Only 2 schools stated that the decision to implement the course had been made by staff other than those on the executive. Lovat and Smith (1995:220) state that the principal and other leaders in the school have to be seen as actively supporting the change. If they are not seen to be committed, then there is little chance of the change succeeding. Of the two schools that have discontinued 'Studies of Religion' since 1993, one named the REC as the person who had made the decision and the other stated that lack of support from the Board and the Principal eventually meant that the course was no longer offered. Those involved in the decision making in this study were named as: Principal2 School Executive team8 Religious Education coordinator7 Board of the School, Curriculum committee3 Principal & REC13 REC & staff2 REC & Board/School Council2 Principal, REC and RE Staff7 Principal, REC and School Executive2 Fullan (1993:144) stresses the importance of the role of the Principal in successful innovations. The leadership and active support given by the Principal can empower staff to take on change and enable them to commit themselves to the process of change.   Positive pressure and support from within the school Responses to the open-ended questions which discussed this factor showed that the fact that it was believed that 'Studies of Religion' would help students because of the possibility of adding to their TER score was one of the positive supports for the implementation. Other positive supports included the perception by staff and students that there would be greater academic rigour in the course, when compared with the existing course, staff and student enthusiasm for being involved in the 'new' course, and student expectation that they would be learning something different and therefore something better than what was already in existence. Pressure was seen to come from lack of resources, amount of time needed to prepare for teaching the units, lack of teachers' confidence in their ability to teach the course and the pressure of HSC exams, which religious education teachers had not experienced in this subject area.  support activities in the form of in-service and local facilitators 39 of the 47 schools had organised inservice for staff before commencing the course. Inservice ranged from 1 week courses to in-school extended meetings. Some teachers were encouraged to take up further study in order to build up their knowledge of religious traditions other than their own. 44 of the schools have offered inservice since the course had begun. One school had no knowledge of any inservice, another stated that distance from centres where inservice was being held precluded attendance, while the third had not offered inservice before implementation either. All schools stated that inservice had been undertaken through a number of processes and sources - universities, Diocesan offices, consultants, HSC marking inservice and one inservice offered by the Department of School Education. Some schools held extended staff meetings in order to assist staff to gain knowledge and skills and to build up resource materials in order to teach the course. The responses given in this study have shown that the inservice provided has equipped teachers with confidence to teach the course as well as provide new knowledge and skills about the course. Those staff members who have worked together to prepare units and resources have reported that it made preparation much easier than when they had tried working on their own. Stedman (1987:220) suggests that in addition to the importance of staff development for its own sake, the process itself helps to create 'an integral part of a collaborative educational environment which in turn creates a dedicated, self critical and empowering community of teachers.' Other research (Fullan, 1982; Rosenblum & Louis, 1979; McLaughlin & Marsh, 1978) found that training can be effective only in the short term because underlying assumptions have not become assimilated, and the use of new skills and material is often mechanical. It will require ongoing investigation to find out how inservice has benefited teachers in the long term.   resource allocation to fund the change In addition to the funds made available so that teachers could attend inservice, other support had been given to staff and students in the form of increased funding to purchase materials that were more suited to this course than the existing one. Videos, journals, reference books for staff and student and additional library resources were all noted as having been purchased to support the course. Extra funding had been made available for guest speakers, consultants and excursions for the students. Consultants from CEOs and speakers from Universities who attended staff meetings were listed in the responses as key resource people. Fullan & Miles (1992:745) describe change as 'resource-hungry'. The funds needed to change schools - to developing solutions to complex problems, learning new skills, arriving at new insights - all demand resources.   removal of competing practices Except for the two schools who have discontinued the course, all schools have indicated that the number of students choosing 'Studies of Religion' has increased. This is borne out by the numbers of students sitting for the HSC: 2895 in 1993, 3975 in 1994 and 4925 in 1995. Schools have also begun to offer the 2 unit course - there was only 1 school in 1992, but 9 in 1995, as well as flexible pathways, such as accelerative study in 3 of the schools. The growth in numbers of schools and students who are studying the course would suggest that 'Studies of Religion' is taking the place of the courses previously offered by religious schools.   believable evaluation of innovation At this stage of the implementation process, little formal evaluation has taken place. However, informal and anecdotal evaluation that has been provided by respondents show that the course has been received positively and continues to be a growing subject by all but 3 schools. The responses for these schools show that the course has not been implemented successfully for the following reasons: . the way in which the school offered the course to students restricted their choices of preferred subjects and did not meet the religious climate of the school. One school offered the course at a 2 unit level during the school holidays, after students had made their Year 11 selection. Students had to change this on the first day back into Year 12. There was much resentment from the students, and finally, the school had to change again to make 'Studies of Religion' an elective choice, but only at 1 unit level. Failure of students to choose 'Studies of Religion' for the following year meant that the course is no longer taught in this school. . schools which made the course compulsory and which did not have a strongly academic religious education background had to change the way the course was presented in order to attract students. One school decided to use 'Studies of Religion' as its senior religious education program because it was a new school and did not as yet have a program for Year 11 and 12. Students who were not interested in the subject and others who were academically weaker led to very poor HSC results. In 1994, this school has followed the example of most other Catholic schools and has offered the course as a 1 unit elective, with the Diocesan based Board Endorsed Course as the other option. Fullan & Miles (1992: 747-8) suggest that 'impatient and superficial solutions' leading to a quick fix will also lead to failure. They go on to state that change in structures must go 'hand in hand with changes in culture and in the individual and collective capacity to work through new structures.'   change that is linked with current classroom practices. Schools that had an academic religious education program prior to 'Studies of Religion' have found that students and teachers have been able to make the change with little difficulty. Such schools have achieved very high results in the HSC and teachers from some of the schools have been approached to help other schools to implement the course. These schools have had to make small changes in order to implement the course - and in fact, are still making small changes in other areas of religious education, such as making more time available for liturgy and prayer, as the course becomes institutionalised. This compatibility with the existing practices 'enhances of sense of security within individuals in the change context and hence less risk is required.' (Print, 1993:243) Implications of the Research As one of the newest subjects in the HSC offerings, and the fact that 'Studies of Religion' has been the first subject about religion to be offered, this research will have implications for schools, dioceses and the Board of Studies itself. Research into the implementation of the course may provide models of process that other schools can follow. Where the research shows up weaknesses in the course when being taught in religious schools, the Board of Studies may be able to make adjustments in revised syllabus documents. 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