Teachers' Perceptions of the Diffusion of an Innovation within an Authority-Decision Framework: A Senior School Geography Case Study

Abstract

In this paper, the process of authority innovation-decisions within an educational context is explored through detailed reference to the introduction of a tertiary admissions geography syllabus into a State educational system. In order to obtain teachers' reactions to the new syllabus and to attempt to gauge the extent to which they have accepted, rejected or modified it, a questionnaire was administered to all (163) teachers of geography in Government high schools in Western Australia. The results of the study suggest that high levels of adopter acceptance of authority innovation decisions are associated with (i) opportunity for adaptation and accommodation of the initial ideas by the system and by the individuals within the system, (ii) opportunity for adopter flexibility and freedom to develop an individualistic approach within a broad framework, and (iii) the degree of explicitness with which the decision-making unit communicates the innovation to the adopters.

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