Walden University has been committed to social change since it was founded in 1970. As part of this commitment, students in most every program and specialization are encouraged to actively engage in social action and to become an agent of change. What does it mean to be an agent of change? As a professional in an educational field, you have chosen to make a difference in the lives of children and students, which is an example of social change. In this course, and throughout your program, you have considered the education and development of children and the role of educators in the community.

For this Discussion, you will analyze how you will continue to use data in creating and supporting effective educational practices. You will also examine your own social change profile and how you can become an educational agent of change.

To prepare:

• Review Walden University’s mission and vision statements, the Callahan et al. paper (2012), and the Fullan (2016) chapters for this module. Consider the impact of data-driven positive social change on government leaders, teachers, and educators.
• Read the Hargreaves & Ainscow (2015) article and consider their ideas about leading from the middle. How might the concepts explored and insights you have gained in this course impact your future goals and your development as a leader of educational change and an agent of social change?
• Complete Walden’s short, interactive, online quiz, “What Kind of Social Change Agent Are You?” Did your kind of social change agent surprise you, or was it in line with your own thinking?

 A response to the following:

• How will you continue to use data to inform your decisions in creating and supporting effective educational practices?
• How do you envision yourself becoming an educational agent of change in your future professional practice?
• What goals will you set for yourself following graduation to impact children, students, and your community? Be sure to include an explanation of how your kind of social change agent profile generated from the Walden quiz aligns with your goals.
• How will Walden’s mission and vision, the goals in the Callahan et al. (2012) paper, and Fullan’s (2016) thoughts on educational change influence your views and practices in the future?

For this Discussion, and all scholarly writing in this course and throughout your program, you will be required to use APA style and provide reference citations.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this module’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

· Chapter 11, “Governments” (pp. 209–227)

· Chapter 12, “The Teaching Profession and Its Leaders” (pp. 228–257)

· Chapter 13, “The Future of Educational Change” (pp. 258–265)

Callahan, D., Wilson, E., Birdsall, I., Estabrook-Fishinghawk, B., Carson, G., Ford, S., . . . Yob, I. (2012). Expanding our understanding of social change: A report from the definition task force of the HLC Special Emphasis Project [White paper]. Minneapolis, MN: Walden University.

Social Change Web Maps [Diagrams]. Adapted from Expanding our understanding of social change, by ​Callahan, D., Wilson, E., Birdsall, I., Estabrook-Fishinghawk, B., Carson, G., Ford, S., Ouzts, K., & Yob, I., 2008. Baltimore, MD: Walden University. Adapted with permission of Walden University.

Hargreaves, A, & Ainscow, M. (2015). The top and bottom of leadership and change. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(3), 43–48.

Walden University. (2017a). Riley College of Education. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/about/colleges-schools/riley-college-of-education

Review the Riley College of Education page to locate the Educational Specialist program outcomes and your specialization’s curriculum and outcomes for this module’s Assignment. 

Walden University. (2013). What kind of social change agent are you? Retrieved from http://impactreport.waldenu.edu/

Walden University. (2017b). Who we are. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/about/who-we-are

Review this site for information on Walden University’s mission and vision and its focus on social change.

Walden University. (2015b). Professional dispositions. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

Walden University. (2015a). Diversity proficiencies. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

Walden University. (2015c). Technology proficiencies. Minneapolis, MN: Author.