(b) Fullan’s Change Theory: The Three Phases of Educational Change (1982, 1991, 2007) 17/11/25

Michael Fullan conceptualises educational change as a process, not a single event. It unfolds through three interconnected phases:

  1. Initiation

  2. Implementation

  3. Institutionalisation (or Continuation/Sustainability)

These phases help leaders anticipate challenges, design supportive structures, and understand why many reforms fail. Fullan stresses that each phase is shaped by motivation, capacity, relationships, resources, clarity, and context—not by technical plans alone.

1. Initiation Phase

(Exploration, Adoption, and Early Planning)

What is it?

Initiation is the stage where ideas emerge, interest forms, and decisions are made about adopting a reform or innovation. It is the “getting started” phase—often filled with optimism, but fragile.

Key Drivers in the Initiation Phase

Fullan highlights several conditions that determine whether initiation succeeds:

a. Problem Recognition

Change begins when stakeholders agree that current practices are inadequate or outdated. Without shared recognition of a need to improve, reforms are often imposed rather than organically supported.

b. Access to Information and Evidence

Successful initiation requires:

  • research evidence

  • examples from other schools

  • pilot results

  • clarity about what the change involves

Ambiguity at this point leads to resistance later.

c. Advocacy and Leadership

Champions—principals, teachers, district leaders—play a critical role. Leadership persuasion, visioning, and relationship-building matter more than formal mandates.

d. Policy and Funding Incentives

External supports such as:

  • government priorities

  • grants

  • curriculum reforms

  • accountability frameworks
    can push systems toward adoption, although Fullan warns that coercive mandates weaken intrinsic motivation.

e. Local Politics and Culture

Initiation is deeply political. Support or resistance from parents, unions, boards, or community groups can make or break the adoption phase.

Common Pitfalls in the Initiation Phase

  • Overpromising results

  • Lack of stakeholder engagement

  • Selecting innovations without clarity

  • Ideologically motivated reforms with weak evidence

  • Top-down decisions that ignore teacher voice

When these occur, change collapses before implementation begins.

2. Implementation Phase

(The Real Work of Change)

What is it?

Implementation is where theory becomes practice. It involves modifying behaviours, instructional routines, structures, and beliefs—“the messy middle.” Fullan repeatedly states that implementation is the hardest and most psychologically demanding phase.

Key Challenges in Implementation

a. The Implementation Dip

Performance and confidence temporarily decline as new practices are learned. Teachers feel vulnerable, exposed, and unsure.
Fullan’s guidance:

  • normalise the dip

  • support through coaching

  • encourage collaborative problem-solving

  • avoid punitive evaluations

b. Capacity Building

Successful implementation requires:

  • professional learning

  • aligned resources

  • mentoring

  • modelling

  • time for collaboration

Capacity building is more important than compliance or pressure.

c. Clarity and Coherence

Vague reforms kill momentum. Leaders must ensure:

  • clear goals

  • simplified guidelines

  • consistent communication

  • alignment between policies and classroom expectations

d. Monitoring and Feedback

Monitoring is not surveillance; it is:

  • formative

  • supportive

  • data-informed

  • improvement-oriented
    It helps refine the innovation during implementation, not simply judge success.

e. Culture and Relationships

Change succeeds when relationships are strong:

  • trust

  • open communication

  • peer collaboration

  • collective efficacy

School cultures resistant to risk or that punish mistakes almost always fail in this phase.

Common Reasons Implementation Fails

  • Lack of professional learning

  • Unmanaged emotional stress of the implementation dip

  • Misalignment between leadership expectations and teacher reality

  • Poorly designed monitoring systems

  • Fragmented initiatives (“initiative overload”)

  • Short-term pressure from external accountability

3. Institutionalisation Phase

(Continuation, Internalisation, and Sustainability)

What is it?

Institutionalisation occurs when the change becomes:

  • routine

  • embedded in culture

  • supported by structures

  • sustained beyond individual leaders

  • resistant to policy shifts

It is the phase where reform moves from novelty to norm.

Key Features of Institutionalisation

a. Cultural Embedding

True institutionalisation means the change lives in:

  • shared beliefs

  • school norms

  • collaborative routines

  • instructional habits
    It survives even when staff members or policies change.

b. Alignment and System Coherence

During this phase, systems must ensure:

  • budgeting aligns with the change

  • leadership succession supports continuity

  • policies reinforce—not contradict—the reform

  • assessment practices mirror the learning philosophy

Coherence across policies and practices prevents regression.

c. Internal Accountability

Fullan argues that the strongest sustainability factor is internal accountability:

  • peer expectations

  • collective responsibility

  • shared success criteria
    Internal accountability is more powerful than external mandates.

d. Continuous Improvement

Institutionalisation does not mean “freeze the innovation.” Instead, systems:

  • refine practices

  • adapt to new evidence

  • iterate based on results

  • deepen learning

Successful reforms remain dynamic rather than static.

What Threatens Institutionalisation?

  • leadership turnover

  • shifting political priorities

  • budget cuts

  • initiative fatigue

  • loss of moral purpose

  • complacency (“we’ve arrived/ have won ”)

  • overreliance on a charismatic leader

Sustainability requires structures, not personalities.

Why Fullan’s Three Phases Matter

Across his work, Fullan emphasises that effective change requires understanding:

  • the politics of adoption (initiation)

  • the psychology and pedagogy of practice change (implementation)

  • the sociology of sustaining and scaling (institutionalisation)

These phases are not rigid; they overlap, interact, and loop back. Leaders must work with complexity rather than seek linear progress.

Synthesis Table: Fullan’s Three Phases

Phase Primary Focus Leader Actions Needed Key Risks
Initiation Goals, vision, adoption Build shared need, provide clarity, mobilise support Low buy-in, unclear purpose, political resistance
Implementation Practice change, capacity Support learning, manage dip, monitor supportively Stress, overload, poor PD, punitive pressure
Institutionalisation Sustainability & coherence Align policies, build internal accountability, protect culture Leadership turnover, loss of focus, policy changes

Conclusion

Fullan’s three-phase model helps leaders understand change as a human, cultural, and organisational learning process, not a technical task. Success results from:

  • shared moral purpose

  • collaboration

  • clarity

  • deep capacity building

  • supportive monitoring

  • alignment and coherence

  • system-level learning

When these conditions are cultivated intentionally across all three phases, change becomes sustainable, scalable, and meaningful.