Loek Schoenmakers

DISSERTATION TITLE:

Sustainable Educational Change is Being in Relation: Based on the Insights of the I Believe in You! Process

Suriname, November 2011

I found it important to inquire into my experiences as the coordinator of an educational change process. I became curious about what had happened and started to question myself: What was it that had generated change and had brought people into motion? What did we do together that made this project successful? Which features contributed to sustainability? Would it be helpful to inquire into this change process to gain better understandings for my present work? And perhaps, will my findings help others within the educational field to understand and approach change processes in more hopeful and successful ways?

My curiosity and my inner drive to contribute to life with purposeful and meaningful actions were the fuel to inquire into this life and working experience. This dissertation is the result of my expedition. The I Believe in You! process was an interesting case to study. It shows how we can look at educational change processes in a different way to find more hopeful solutions for the complex reality of education. This change process must be seen as an example of the many possibilities of how we can approach educational reform. From the social constructionist stance, I do not present a method or an approach which can simply be used for other situations. I present how this particular change process was constructed and what affect it had.