Skill Flexibility and School Change: A Multi-national Study

This study investigated skill flexibility (theability to use skills according to changingneeds) among teachers in the context of schoolchange in nine countries. Data were collectedas part of a multi-country study on the effectof change on teachers' work life. Resultsshowed that teachers tended to be moreskill-flexible when they had more of a role inthe change, and less skill-flexible when schoolmanagement initiated change or when changeinvolved administrative objectives, as opposedto educational or social ones. Teachers alsotended to be more skill-flexible when theybelieved that change had a positive impact ontheir work life, professional development,student learning, and general feelings aboutchange. An individual-country analysis revealedthat countries varied in the way skillflexibility was related to change factors.These differences were interpreted in thecontext of cultural background.