Many of us are already deeply involved in implementing the Council for Higher Education’s directive for “EPIC” (English for Purposes of International Communication) reform: alignment to the action-oriented approach of the CEFR, introduction of EMI courses, move towards internationalization, and support for students with special needs. However, even if we know where we want to get to (and many of us are not yet sure), how do we get there? Where do we begin? And most importantly, what do we need to know in order to implement this kind of systemic reform?
In this talk, we will focus not directly on the CHE reform, but rather on the process of change and on the inevitable resistance to change that are inherent in systemic reform. We will examine models of change, and focus on factors that promote change and those that hinder it. We will also look at the connection between our assumptions and the ways in which they influence how we perceive change. Finally, we will consider conditions necessary for change to occur.
Participants will take with them a deeper understanding of the change process in systemic reform. Being aware of the process will enable us to embrace the “EPIC” reform, not only as members of the teams in our own institutions, but also as members of our broader H-INET community.