SDP Theory of Change

The diagram depicts the theory of change that has guided our work. We hypothesize that the introduction of the SDP model:

• Directly influences the proximal outcomes of school organization and management;
• Influences school culture both directly and through its effect on organization and management; and
• Affects classroom practices both directly and through its effects on organization and school culture.

Classroom factors, in turn, affect the distal outcome of student achievement both directly and through their influence on other distal outcomes like student attitudes and behavior.

In short, in our theory, implementation of the School Development Program transforms the school into a learning environment that:

• Builds positive interpersonal relationships;
• Promotes teacher efficacy and competence;
• Fosters positive student attitudes;
• Increases students’ pro-social behaviors; and
• Improves student academic achievement.

While the arrows in the figure show the principal direction of influence, we realize that in reality, relationships are reciprocal and that feedback loops exist between virtually every pair of points in the model.