Coherence

The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems
Michael Fullan - Michael Fullan Enterprises Inc.
Joanne Quinn - Quinn Consultants Inc (Canada)
Coherence
July 2015 | 176 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781506301723
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781483364957
Available from January 0001

Description

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

 

 

 

 

Contents

Authors' Note: The Time Is Now!

  • Chapter 1. Coherence Making
  • What Coherence Is and Is Not
  • The Wrong and Right Drivers in Action
  • The Coherence Framework
  • Get the Right Mind-Set for Action
  • Chapter 2. Focusing Direction
  • Purpose Driven
  • Goals That Impact What Matters Most
  • Clarity of Strategy
  • Change Leadership
  • Focused Direction in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 3. Cultivating Collaborative Cultures
  • Culture of Growth
  • Learning Leadership aka Lead Learners
  • Capacity Building
  • Collaborative Work
  • Collaborative Work in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 4. Deepening Learning
  • Develop Clarity of Learning Goals
  • Build Precision in Pedagogy
  • Shift Practices Through Capacity Building
  • Moving Whole Systems Toward Deeper Learning
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 5. Securing Accountability
  • Internal Accountability
  • External Accountability
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 6. Leading for Coherence
  • Master the Framework
  • Develop Leaders at All Levels
  • Final Thoughts

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Resources

Companion Website

https://deep-learning.global/

Description

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

 

 

 

 

Contents

Authors' Note: The Time Is Now!

  • Chapter 1. Coherence Making
  • What Coherence Is and Is Not
  • The Wrong and Right Drivers in Action
  • The Coherence Framework
  • Get the Right Mind-Set for Action
  • Chapter 2. Focusing Direction
  • Purpose Driven
  • Goals That Impact What Matters Most
  • Clarity of Strategy
  • Change Leadership
  • Focused Direction in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 3. Cultivating Collaborative Cultures
  • Culture of Growth
  • Learning Leadership aka Lead Learners
  • Capacity Building
  • Collaborative Work
  • Collaborative Work in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 4. Deepening Learning
  • Develop Clarity of Learning Goals
  • Build Precision in Pedagogy
  • Shift Practices Through Capacity Building
  • Moving Whole Systems Toward Deeper Learning
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 5. Securing Accountability
  • Internal Accountability
  • External Accountability
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 6. Leading for Coherence
  • Master the Framework
  • Develop Leaders at All Levels
  • Final Thoughts

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Resources

Companion Website

https://deep-learning.global/
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Coherence

The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems


July 2015 | 176 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781483364957 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781506301723 $35.00

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

 

 

 

 


Table Of Contents:

  • Authors' Note: The Time Is Now!
  • Chapter 1. Coherence Making
  • What Coherence Is and Is Not
  • The Wrong and Right Drivers in Action
  • The Coherence Framework
  • Get the Right Mind-Set for Action
  • Chapter 2. Focusing Direction
  • Purpose Driven
  • Goals That Impact What Matters Most
  • Clarity of Strategy
  • Change Leadership
  • Focused Direction in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 3. Cultivating Collaborative Cultures
  • Culture of Growth
  • Learning Leadership aka Lead Learners
  • Capacity Building
  • Collaborative Work
  • Collaborative Work in Action
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 4. Deepening Learning
  • Develop Clarity of Learning Goals
  • Build Precision in Pedagogy
  • Shift Practices Through Capacity Building
  • Moving Whole Systems Toward Deeper Learning
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 5. Securing Accountability
  • Internal Accountability
  • External Accountability
  • Final Thoughts
  • Chapter 6. Leading for Coherence
  • Master the Framework
  • Develop Leaders at All Levels
  • Final Thoughts
  • References and Further Readings
  • Index
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors

Recent Product Reviews:

"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 and Author of Visible Learning, Melbourne Education Research Institute
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!
Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
"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. "
Susan Moore Johnson, Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
"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."
John Malloy, EdD, Assistant Deputy Minister, Leadership and Learning Environment Division, Ministry of Education
"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."
Wes Smith, Executive Director, Association of California School Administrators

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