Educational change has become a defining feature of contemporary schooling, with leaders required to interpret and implement new national initiatives while maintaining local coherence. In this webinar, Dr Jacqui Patuawa and Karen Spencer from Evaluation Associates focused on the challenges and opportunities of educational leadership in times of change. Drawing on the work of Chris Argyris and Viviane Robinson, they provided a timely exploration of how leadership can move beyond compliance and reaction to embrace purposeful, inquiry-based improvement.
Leading change versus leading improvement
Leading through change is not equivalent to managing change. Instead, it involves navigating the social, emotional, and professional dimensions of transformation while maintaining a focus on improved student outcomes. Similarly, there is a difference between leading change and leading improvement. Change simply involves something new but not necessarily better, and is a likely outcome when the differences are only externally driven — for example, an obedient response to new policy or curriculum directives. By contrast, improvement is internally cultivated, requiring intentional planning, shared understanding, and sustained reflection. It may stem from an external directive, but it is contextualised by leaders and teams through a process of deep engagement and reflection.
Leadership through change is a learning act: relational, reflective, and grounded in moral purpose. Effective leaders invite dialogue, focus on what truly matters for students, and engage constructively with discomfort. Leadership in education is not merely about managing initiatives but about cultivating trust, courage, and clarity — qualities that enable schools to transform uncertainty into growth. Effective leaders translate broad system reforms into meaningful, contextually relevant actions. They establish structures that promote professional learning, clarify goals, and build coherence across the school. This approach reflects Robinson’s view that leadership efficacy derives from a deliberate focus on improving teaching and learning, rather than on managing organisational complexity.
The human dimension of change
The human side of educational reform can be conceptualised according to Argyris’s ‘theories of action’. Teachers’ practices are shaped by deeply held beliefs and values, which cannot be changed through directive leadership alone. Meaningful improvement occurs when leaders engage with these underlying theories, helping teachers reflect on why they do what they do. Attempts to enact change for improvement that fail to engage with teachers’ underlying beliefs are likely to be ineffective.
This process also often surfaces tensions between competing pedagogical philosophies — for example, between structured literacy and play-based learning. Rather than framing these as oppositional, it is beneficial to cultivate an integrated understanding about how different approaches may be complementary. Avoiding superficial binary framings and instead seeking a deeper understanding of different approaches will better support teachers to achieve improved outcomes for their students.
Navigating emotion and tension using reflective frameworks for inquiry
Change can evoke emotional responses, including grief and loss as teachers let go of familiar practices. Such tensions can polarise school communities and online discussions. Drawing on Robinson’s notion of the ‘virtue of imagination’, leaders can use empathy and curiosity to explore divergent perspectives. Rather than suppressing conflict, leaders create spaces for dialogue that enable mutual learning and deeper professional understanding.
Several conceptual tools can support this approach, such as Argyris’s ladder of inference (1990), which helps teachers interrogate the assumptions and selective reasoning that shape their interpretations. Similarly, double-loop learning encourages leaders to move beyond surface-level problem-solving — such as replacing programmes — to challenge the underlying values and mindsets driving behaviour. Through these frameworks, leadership becomes a learning process: one grounded in reflection, evidence, and collaboration rather than control or compliance.
Collaborative Complex Problem Solving is a structured approach to improvement. The model guides leaders through identifying a clearly defined issue, analysing its causes, and co-designing targeted interventions with staff. This model supports leaders to avoid the common tendency to pursue multiple initiatives simultaneously, which can dilute effort and hinder progress. By concentrating on a single, well-defined area — often tied to student outcomes — schools can strengthen their capacity for sustained, collective improvement.
Dialogue as a leadership practice
Reframing ‘difficult conversations’ as important conversations underscores that leadership is often enacted through talk. Drawing again on Argyris’s (1991) work, ‘control-focused’ dialogue, which is centred on being right or protecting oneself, is set against ‘learning-focused’ dialogue, which values inquiry, respect, and mutual commitment. Leaders who model curiosity and transparency cultivate a culture where disagreement is reframed as an opportunity for shared insight. In such cultures, communication becomes a vehicle for professional growth rather than conflict avoidance.
Reconnecting learning and wellbeing
Sometimes wellbeing is conceptualised as being separate from learning and arising from specific wellbeing-focused activities, whereas research suggests that true professional satisfaction stems from efficacy — the belief that one’s work has meaningful impact. Clarity of purpose and collective success reduce stress more effectively than superficial wellness initiatives. Schools that foster efficacy, trust, and achievement consequently promote both staff and student wellbeing.
Evaluation Associates have a number of professional learning opportunities available to support leaders through change – see their website for more information.
