REACHING THE TEACHER? IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT INITIATED INNOVATIONS IN THE SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

Abstract

Schools are increasingly responsible for the implementation of innovations initiated by government. Combining an institutional and active agency perspective, this study investigates whether these innovations actually reach the teacher by considering implementation at different levels of the school organization. Using a comparative case study approach, this study concludes that it is the combination of institutional pressures from the environment, the quality of implementation at all levels of the school organization and the role of contextual factors and individual differences at the organizational and the individual level that influence whether a measure reaches the teacher. Each of these steps is a necessary prerequisite for the ones that follow and a ' missing link' at any level can prevent the measure from reaching the teacher.