Manal Spanioli, Horriyah Saab  
(West University of Timişoara, Romania)

Abstract: Change in the field of education is defined as replacing one situation by another in order to achieve commendable purposes from viewpoints of those people proposing the change. Hubbard & Ottoson (1997) defined educational change processes according to the way of their introduction: initiatives that have grown from the bottom based on needs of the field, and initiatives based on theory and operated from the top. In Israel, different reforms were planned and executed over the years. A “significant learning reform”, that is one of these changes, relates to organizational changes which reflect organizational responses to changes in conditions of external or internal environment of an organization.

“Significant learning” is an initiative that has grown from the top down, an external change originated by the government, and emphasizing restructuring of the working processes of teachers. Organizational changes are led by two primary fundamentals: factors which encourage change that are external to an organization, and factors encouraging organizational change from within an organization. These two fundamentals, in different conditions, can constitute a barrier or an encouragement to accepting the change.

Current paper will review the variables encouraging implementation of the reform both on an intra-organizational level in the schools — teachers and principals, and as well on extra-organizational level — stakeholders who affect implementation of the reform: parents, Inspectors and professional organizations.

Key words: change; reform; significant learning; external stakeholders; vinclusion in decision-making

JEL codes: I210