Abstract
The Problem. The success of educational innovations has been limited because of the lack of knowledge about and attention to the process of change and the leadership support requirements for their implementation. At adopting sites, change facilitators must assess directly what is being implemented and develop appropriate activities if the results expected from the innovation are to be realized or maximized. This study investigated, from the perspective of teachers and facilitators, the problem statement of: How do change facilitators determine the degree of adoption of an innovation; and beyond the adopting decision, what supportive activities must be developed by the change facilitator for successful implementation of the innovation? Mastery Learning, the ECRI Model, was the specific innovation studied. Research Methodology. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire mailed to a sample of sixteen elementary schools from twelve school districts within the identified population in the state of California. Descriptive statistics were applied to collected data for the 1980-82 school years to determine the degree of teacher implementation, after training, of the ECRI innovation. Findings. Major findings included the following: (1) More of the ECRI innovation was implemented by the "low implementers" group of teachers when more ECRI training was provided. (2) More of the ECRI innovation was implemented by the "high implementers" group of teachers, when facilitators decided to systematically implement/use all or some specific components of ECRI. (3) More of the ECRI innovation was implemented by "low implementers" and "high implementers" groups of teachers when implementation of "key" activities were monitored by facilitators, and specific supportive activities were provided to teachers by facilitators. Recommendations. Four specific recommendations were proposed to aid in the successful implementation of the ECRI innovation. Implications were presented for principals and other change facilitators seeking better student achievement through the implementation of a new instructional practice.