The Coherence Challenge Between Policy Makers and School Leaders: Exploring a National Pedagogical Reform

Purpose It has been suggested that coherency between primary stakeholders involved in an educational reform is a key determinant of its success. The “Meaningful Learning Reform” is defined as an open reform, serving as a bottom-up solution to promote school autonomy. This reform allows school leaders to exercise considerable discretion regarding the broad policy’s goals of reaching 21st century learning skills in public schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the variations in perceptions of policy makers and principals while implementing this generally outlined “Meaningful Learning Reform.” Methodology In this qualitative phenomenological study, interviews were conducted with principals (N = 30), that were involved in the implementation of the reform examined, and policy makers (N = 2) that served as national initiators of the reform. Findings The data analysis of the stakeholders conveys the coherency of interpretations in three main themes: (a) misalignments in the nature of reform’s meaning—including differences in the perceptions of the name given to the reform, the reform’s purpose, and its foundation tenets; (b) contradictions regarding the authority leading the reform—various outlooks regarding the direction of the leading authority; and (c) difficulties in the process of implementation—including initiation and implementation phases of the reform. Originality/Value The exploration of the variations of interpretations between policy makers and principals contributes to a deeper understanding of coherency in the educational context. The data provides new insights regarding the dynamics between top-down and bottom-up leadership while implementing a generally outlined pedagogical reform.