IMPLEMENTATION AS MUTUAL ADAPTATION: CHANGE IN CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION**Reprinted with permission from Teachers College Record, Vol. 77, No. 3, February 1976. This chapter is a revision of a paper presented at the March 1975 American Educational Research Association Meetings in Washington, D.C. It is based on the data collected for the Rand Corporation study of federal programs supporting educational change. However, the interpretation and speculations offered in this paper are my sole …

Publisher Summary This chapter presents classroom organization projects that provide particularly, clear illustration of the conditions and strategies that support mutual adaptation and thus, successful implementation. They are especially relevant to understanding the operational implications of the Change Agent study finding for policy and practice not only because mutual adaptation is intrinsic to change in classroom organization, but also because the question of institutional receptivity does not cloud the view of effective implementation strategies afforded by these projects. Overcoming the challenges and problems inherent to innovations in classroom organization contributes positively and significantly to their effective implementation. The amorphous yet highly complex nature of classroom organization projects tends to require or dictate an adaptive implementation strategy that permits goals and methods to be reassessed, refined, and made explicit during the course of implementation, and that fosters learning-by-doing.