| Summary: | Current research findings indicate (1) that the impact of innovations on educational settings is minimal, if any, and (2) that few innovations are being institutionalized. This study examined issues surrounding the institutionalization of innovations, particularly within teacher education programs in developing countries. The study first examined literature on the types of innovations within teacher training institutions in developing countries and on representative innovation research models and theories. Subsequently, based on this literature, a Wholistic Innovation Model was proposed in which four aspects of innovation were identified as "sensitizing concepts." These aspects were (1) innovation characteristics, (2) adopter characteristics, (3) innovation process strategies, and (4) social system constraints and resources. As sensitizing concepts, these four aspects guided the researcher in developing a case-study research design which both quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated the innovation of self-instructional materials (SIMs) at the National Teacher Training College (N.T.T.C.) of Lesotho. Personnel involved currently and historically with SIMs as well as documents were used as sources in evaluating (1) the institutionalization level of the innovation, and (2) the factors influencing that level. The data analysis revealed that SIMs were not institutionalized at N.T.T.C. Factors influencing this status were categorized according to the four sensitizing concepts or innovation aspects in which the most frequently cited factors inhibiting institutionalization were found included (1) the innovation process strategies, and (2) the social system constraints and resources. The aspect that contained factors most frequently cited as supporting SIMs was the innovation characteristic. The aspect of adopter characteristics included an equal number of factors inhibiting and supporting the innovation. A summary of findings and implications from the case-study analysis suggest that participatory decision-making, collaborative control and continuous sensitivity to the needs and perceptions of adopters are important for innovation survival. Evaluating innovations from a systemic or wholistic approach appears to be a powerful and particularly appropriate method for analysis in the area of education.
|
|---|
