A SCIENCE-BASED THEORY OF CHANGE: THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
Change is the process of going from what is to whatever comes next. Positive change is the process of going from what is to what’s better. Social change—whether productive or unproductive, intentional or not—moves through connectors—cause and effect pathways that link intentions with results.
Approaching Change. You can approach change indirectly (by changing the situation to change behavior), through groups (especially in turning them into teams) and/or directly (by addressing students’ mindsets, values and sense of belonging). You also may want to approach change by combining some of these approaches.
You can approach change indirectly (by changing the situation to change behavior), through groups (especially in turning them into teams) and/or directly (by addressing students’ mindsets, values and sense of belonging). You also may want to approach change by combining some of these approaches.
Social change—whether productive or unproductive, intentional or not—moves through connectors (aka, "channels"), which are cause and effect pathways that connect intentions with results. The energy that drives change can come from within social systems, which are contests of opposing forces that arrive, over time, at a state of equilibrium. The energy that drives change can be introduced into the systems from without. And the energy that drives change can come both from within and from without.
To bring about positive change there needs to be a catalyst that gets introduced into a system (usually an unproductive “equilibrium”). Such a system has found itself in a stand-off between the “restraining forces” (i.e., those maintaining the status quo) and the “driving forces” (i.e., those for changing the status quo) to release and redirect pent-up energy through the most open channels. This is leverage, which involves enlisting the right amount of force at the right time in the right channel.
While an unproductive system may appear to be stable, it can sit at the cusp of change, and when change occurs, it can be rapid and extensive. Thus, we need to turn to both scientific research and our own life experiences to be sure to keep in mind that restraining forces in a system merit greater scrutiny than the driving forces.
The Power of a Nudge (aka, Leverage). Leverage is anything that can be used to influence, lift or lighten the process of change. In our parlance, it can take the form of a catalyst that infuses the right connectors with the right force at the right time and place whether it is in situations, groups or individuals. Even leverage as small as a nudge can change the course of subsequent events.
A key take away from the stories of social entrepreneurs (go to the Storyteller's Co-op) is that a change agent can take many forms. A change agent is not only an individual, however heroic and innovative; groups can be change agents, as can social situations themselves. When it comes to social change, an agent—whether and individual, group or situation—channels energy by leveraging the right amount of it—both from within a system and adding it from without.
And always keep in mind that restraining forces in a system (for the status quo) merit greater scrutiny than the driving forces (for change).
More about Energy. The first changemaking variable is systemic energy. Changemakers “transform a stable but inherently unjust equilibrium that causes the exclusion, marginalization, or suffering of a segment of humanity and forges a new stable equilibrium that releases trapped potential or alleviates suffering and unleashes new value for society.” This is the perspective of two experts in social entrepreneurship, Roger Martin and Sally Osberg, whose work with the Skoll Foundation focuses on on large-scale systemic change and in bringing worthy hand-to-mouth efforts to scale.
A major tenet of this website is that their model is as applicable to making change across a spectrum of domains—from local to international levels—and even within the minds and hearts of individual students.
Where to find trapped potential. There is pent-up energy (aka trapped potential) caught up in any equilibrium, which social scientists call a “contest of opposing forces.” In an unproductive equilibrium, where the forces of decay and entropy win out, this trapped potential is revealed through points of tension and conflict. While such an unproductive equilibrium can appear robust, it can find itself teetering at the cusp of change. In some cases, all it takes is a nudge.
Think of Jill Vialet’s playground as a contest of opposing forces where energy is bottled up and potential is trapped. Over time it settled into an unproductive state, or equilibrium. The teachers on playground duty got complacent or defeated and slowly turned a blind eye to negative behavior. The natural exuberance of children got snuffed out. Over time the playground became joyless and oppressive. And when the playground falls out of balance, so, too, can an entire school. That was our school, a set of Russian nesting dolls: trapped potential within trapped potential.
Think of student social groups as contests of opposing forces where energy is gets bottled up—thus trapped potential that constitute an unproductive equilibrium. When students happen upon a bullying situation, for example, they tend to become bystanders. As more students gather, they form an invisible group with an unstated but powerful norm: don’t get involved. That’s the tension point; and that’s where you can find trapped potential. Yet, all it takes is for one student to come forward and this equilibrium is shattered.
Think, also, of individuals themselves—their inner lives as contests of opposing forces falling in and out of emotional and cognitive balance. For some students there is too much tension in their own personal state of equilibrium, their potential trapped through such “adverse childhood experiences” as neglect or abuse at home or in the frustrations of falling behind academically in school. For other students there may be too little tension, signaling that they’ve given up and are merely going through the motions. In either case, find the right mentor, or experience the right word of encouragement at the right moment, and a negative emotional bubble is burst.
More about Connectors. The second changemaking variable in any system are connectors—those organizational and personal pathways that link intentions with results. In the parlance of social science, these connectors are called "channels." These channels are so ubiquitous as to be nearly invisible. I usually drive to work in my car over a physical channel: surface streets and freeways. Entertainment and news travels along electronic channels into my laptop and TV. Spies and diplomats often work “back-channels.” When it comes to changemaking in education, situations, groups and even a student’s inner life can become a channel.
More about Leverage. This brings us to the third variable—leverage. That is, by introducing the right amount of energy into the right channel at the right time and place, a state of unproductive equilibrium can be disrupted and the trapped potential within it can get released.
- The playground specialist was just such a catalyst in my school. It only took a couple of weeks before he was able to gain the trust and support of our students, for he applied just the right touch, and in so doing released the negative tensions that had built up over years and redirected the energy into improving the school’s culture.
- The “Solution Coach” is the catalyst in the No Bully system, releasing the potential trapped within student bystander groups and turning negative peer pressure into something very positive and motivating. The Solution Coach is the catalyst that allows power to migrate to the students themselves.
- And even a short lesson in “neuroplasticity”— the notion that the brain is a muscle that can be strengthened and improved through mental exercise—offered by a homeroom teacher in a middle school—is another kind of catalyst. There is profound potential that resides within the mind and heart of every student. All it takes is an accessible metaphor.