Change agents’ orientations to change: Experience from Pakistan

In this article, I report on a qualitative study conducted in the rural, mountain district of Chitral, Pakistan. The study examined 5 Teacher Educators (TEs’) specific actions and methods (strategies) and their underlying assumptions and core values (orientations) of change in schools. These TEs work as change agents in the schools established by the Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKES,P) in partnership with local communities. The TEs’ mandate from AKES,P insists that educational change and community development must go hand-in-hand. They therefore play a unique role as both educational reformers and community developers, stimulating change in schools on the one hand and in local communities on the other. The study’s findings captured three realms of the TEs’ world: a) the TEs’ evolving role as external change agents, b) their preferred strategies for change, and c) their conceptual underpinnings of change in schools. However, in this article, I discuss only one realm of the TEs’ world, i.e., their change orientations. I, therefore, first provide a brief portrayal of the TEs, revealing how their role is defined in the organization. I also describe the research methods employed in this study highlighting the research paradigm, inquiry question and theoretical framework, and research participants. I then discuss and analyze the TEs’ conceptual orientations to change.