Coherence
The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems
- Michael Fullan
- Joanne Quinn - Quinn Consultants Inc (Canada)
Co-Publication with the Ontario Principal's Council
Complex times call for clear solutions—If initiative overload and fragmentation are keeping your best plans from becoming reality, it’s time to start leading differently. The key to bringing about the kind of successful and sustainable change you need is the Coherence Framework, a dynamic, customizable road map made up of four essential components:
- Focused direction to build collective purpose
- Cultivating collaborative cultures while clarifying individual and team roles
- Deepening learning to accelerate improvement and foster innovation
- Securing accountability from the inside out
Coherence provides the insights and tools to drive effective leadership. Now you can gain a deeper understanding of Coherence with The Taking Action Guide to Building Coherence in Schools, Districts, and Systems.
Coherence is a book that demands action – it moves from the narrative of fixing one teacher at a time, to asking about the coherence of the system (be it school, national, or world issues). Fullan and Quinn create an important narrative about direction, working together, deepening learning, and securing accountability. The book sparkles with examples of coherence in action, it makes no excuses for employing the wrong levers of change. This is the blueprint for a new vocabulary of education action; it shows where we need to go next, and is another example of Fullan at the top of his game.
John Hattie
Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute and Author of Visible Learning
"School systems that struggle are riddled with incoherence—mismatched strategies, competing cultures, and illogical initiatives. Fullan and Quinn explain clearly how coherence can solve the problem. Based on solid research and lessons drawn from effective practice, Coherence provides a comprehensive model to guide educators as they learn and lead their way to better schools."
Susan Moore Johnson
Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor
Harvard Graduate School of Education
"Coherence is a book that demands action – it moves from the narrative of fixing one teacher at a time, to asking about the coherence of the system (be it school, national, or world issues). Fullan and Quinn create an important narrative about direction, working together, deepening learning, and securing accountability. The book sparkles with examples of coherence in action, it makes no excuses for employing the wrong levers of change. This is the blueprint for a new vocabulary of education action; it shows where we need to go next, and is another example of Fullan at the top of his game."
I love this book--timely, practical collaborative action! In an era of overload, frustration, and fatigue Coherence offers an extremely timely, necessary, and practical alternative to improving education. Coherence is essentially about the power, potential, and promise of people working collaboratively: the humanity and professional capacity of educators seeking to lead, learn, and teach to realize the persistent moral purpose of supporting all students to succeed. A hallmark of Coherence is that the principles and actions are grounded in practical examples from schools, districts and entire education systems. We desperately need coherence; this book provides a vital framework for collective action!
"School systems that struggle often are riddled with incoherence—mismatched strategies, competing cultures, and illogical initiatives. In their highly informative book, Fullan and Quinn explain clearly how coherence can solve the problem. Based on solid research and lessons drawn from effective practice, Coherence provides a comprehensive model to guide educators as they learn and lead their way to better schools. "
"With the improvement of student learning at the center, Coherence assists educational leaders at every level to choose strategic drivers for change, learn collaboratively, and deliver results collectively. Fullan and Quinn nail the solution: building coherence is an on-going process that focuses on quality implementation of a small number of powerful goals that improve student learning. The Coherence Framework pushes and supports all leaders to improve their practice in the service of students."
"Coherence is a must read for educators and politicians who are ready to talk the walk and take action with the ‘right drivers’. As a site and district leader I learned from reformers and researchers alike, but I struggled to operationalize what I had learned to benefit the adults and students I served. In Coherence, Fullan and Quinn clearly articulate a plan for operationalizing the "right drivers" throughout the system-school site, district, county, state, and nation."
"Michael Fullan and Joanne Quinn have hit it out of the park in their new book Coherence. This book is an excellent resource for any school or school system that is committed to continuous improvement. Coherence is a practical powerful action guide for schools and school systems to use as they work collaboratively to close the achievement gap that exists in our schools. This book should be the required reading for all school administrators and elected officials."