The Education Change Model as a vehicle for reform: Shifting Year 7 and implementing Junior Secondary in Queensland

Abstract

Queensland schools are engaged in change as they shift Year 7 from primary to high school settings from the start of 2015 and implement junior secondary in all public schools in Years 7, 8, and 9. This agenda signals one of the most significant reforms undertaken in Queensland education. It is accompanied by a systemic policy commitment, including resource allocation, to ensure it is supported at the individual school level and in the wider schooling system. In this paper, we outline the Leading Change Development Program undertaken in 2014, which was designed to enable school leaders to facilitate these reforms in their unique school contexts. The program—conceptualised around the Education Change Model—is outlined and data are presented that indicate school leaders’ assessment of the stage of reform their school was located at, according to the reform model.