This interpretive study investigated the process of radical change for a collaborative team of investigators in an allied health school at the University of South Australia. Specifically, it investigated the process of developing and implementing a fully-integrated problem-based learning curriculum across the entire undergraduate curriculum for the School of Medical Radiation. The study examined the richness and complexity of the change process for this team of educators over a two year time period. The research builds on understandings of change derived from three main bodies of literature: the school-based educational change literature; the problem-based learning literature; and the organisational change literature. It interweaves knowledge gained from each of these areas to develop a new perspective from which to consider radical educational change in higher education. Much of the previous research into change ignores the participant experience, and particularly the emotional dimension of this experience. This study redresses that gap by exploring the human dimension of the change process. This study has provided an authentic and inclusive representation of participants' experience of radical educational change. It has shown that participants not only undergo considerable cognitive dissonance when implementing major change, they also undergo significant emotional dissonance. Thus, if we are to improve the outcomes of educational innovation, we need to develop change management practices that not only recognise but also support the emotional dimension of the change process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/269048 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | King, Sharron |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | I am the rights owner of this resource. |
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