Research School Network: Maybe not very alluring but essential – the importance of core components A discussion of why having clarity around core components is so essential for effective implementation.
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Maybe not very alluring but essential – the importance of core components
A discussion of why having clarity around core components is so essential for effective implementation.
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by Durrington Research School
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As we hit the halfway point of January I wonder how everyone’s new years resolutions are going…are you still going strong, has it faded away or has it mutated into something perhaps slightly less challenging? If I am being honest I didn’t even create one this year, but in the past, I have often resolved like many to get out running more, and nearly every January I have a scroll through the potential marathon events I could sign up to as an end goal. I would stress only on one occasion have I actually followed through with this plan.
I suppose the thing with signing up for a marathon is that the end goal/achievement is quite alluring – that feeling of pride as you cross the line and collecting your medal, that knowledge that you have achieved something significant and that in the process you have become an improved/healthier version of yourself. If you think about a new year’s resolution to get fitter, train for and then run a marathon is a bit like the building blocks of an implementation plan. You identify the problem – i.e. you are not as physically fit as you would like to be and there is a clear final outcome of being able to complete the race. The problem is the middle bit is not quite so appealing. Those of us who have not run a marathon have a general understanding of what training for one involves, however there is a reason why the web is full of detailed marathon training plans – it is because a vague understanding of what and how to train for a marathon is the only certain way you can properly prepare. Your training program and the schedule of runs/distances/splits etc it sets out are the “core components” of your training, and like the “core component” of an educational intervention they are the most essential and indispensable parts.
In the updated EEF Implementation guidance core components are defined as the essential principles and practices that underpin the approach and are needed to make it work. Effective implementation begins (once your problem has been identified!) in determining these core components and also the logic model behind how these components will bring about the desired outcome. For running a marathon this is quite obvious, however in education there can sometimes be a gap between the implementation teams understanding of why the core component are such and the wider school body. As the EEF state “it is hard to know how to implement something without knowing precisely what it is”, however perhaps sometimes driven by the allure of making rapid improvements and success schools can surprisingly head into making changes without a shared understanding of what is being implemented. In some case this can be really simple. A lack of specification over core components can lead to a great deal of confusion about what the “it” is that must be implemented to produce the desire outcomes. For example, if a school decides to focus on improving student attention with a goal of students tracking and listening intently to the speaker, leaders need to be clear about the “how” of achieving this. This may include a school wide call to attention used by all staff and a school wide insistence on teachers waiting for full attention before moving on with their explanation. If this is not clear to staff though what happens in the classroom may not be what was intended and as a result the desired outcome does not materialise. Imagine if you downloaded a marathon running plan and all it said was “week 1 – run 10km, week 2 run 15km, week 3 run 8km fast” etc consider the impact of that lack of clarity on the chances of you being successful in your goal to run a marathon. The vagueness of the components here means success is far from guaranteed, plus the fidelity of which it can be followed is pretty much non-existent – does this mean run 10km in one go or so lots of small runs, what does 8km fast actually mean? Also, as a receiver of this plan I don’t realise understand the logic model behind it – there may be a valid reason to do a shorter but higher pace run in week 3 vs week 2 but I don’t understand why.
When we do clearly identify the core components will create an environment in which implementation is more likely to succeed, because:
We can better focus scarce implementation resources on the attributes of practice that are replicable and add value
We are more likely to be able to interpret with accuracy the outcomes of our work and make required tweaks and improvements
The program is easier to engage with and scale up when necessary
It helps with developing unity and engagement from stakeholders
It helps keeps everyone on track
It helps with fidelity and monitoring
It enables intelligent adaptations by allowing staff to agree what can and can’t be adapted to improve community acceptance and fit without moving into the realm of harmful mutation.
Take the previously used example on securing attention, without clear components of what this will look like and how it will happen monitoring its fidelity across a large school with many leaders because ropey at best, staff may approach it in different way reducing the effectiveness of implementation and subject areas within the school will struggle to adapt it to their setting. For example, how attention is secured in a maths classroom will always be slightly different to a PE or drama lesson.
The core component of any implementation may not always be the exciting but, they most certainly lack the allure of the end goal or the impetus of the strategies for implementation but they are essential.
Ben Crockett
Co-Director Durrington Research School
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