Refining a Stage Model for Studying Teacher Concerns about Educational Innovations

Abstract

This paper discusses the stages of concern that teachers pass through as they engage in the process of innovation adoption and implementation. A 24-item questionnaire was constructed to assess teachers' concerns on five sequential stages: (1) indifference, (2) informational-personal, (3) management, (4) consequence-collaboration, and (5) refocusing. Using the questionnaire, 290 Hong Kong teachers' concerns about school-based assessment as a component of the public examination system were surveyed. Results supported the 5-stage model of teacher concerns. However data collected from another sample of 53 teachers through an open-ended survey indicated that an additional stage of evaluation concerns should be inserted between the indifference and informational-personal stages. Teachers' evaluation concerns focused on the worth and necessity of school-based assessment, as well as support from the Hong Kong Examinations Authority. The revised 6-stage model can provide a more comprehensive framework for analysing teachers' concerns regarding innovations.