The meaning of educational change: a quarter of a century of learning

Resumen

This article presents a professional autobiography with the concepts and ideas found in the dynamic and fertile period of growth in the study of the processes of change. It is not to be confused with a research summary. On the contrary, it is an attempt to identify the evolution of the study of change from the perspective of someone whose work has been dedicated to presenting, synthesizing, and, on occasions, creating the main concepts that define the study and practice of change. This article is organized in five sections. The first section briefly encompasses the years prior to 1972 and his contribution to the establishment of research on educational change as a discipline. The second to the fourth sections describe a period of 25 years in the author’s professional career, when the majority of his publications appear. Finally, the article concludes with reflections about what has been learned about educational changes, where we are now in relation to these changes, and where we might and ought to go in the future.