Paving the way for sustainable educational change: Reconceptualizing what it means to make educational changes that last

This position paper provides an alternative theoretical framework of sustainable second-order educational change. Here, sustainability refers to: 1) substantial changes made that affect the core of educators’ everyday practice; 2) a longitudinal process that begins when educators contemplate making changes and ends when satisfactory achievement on the other characteristics is reached and overt learning efforts are stopped; 3) a process of individual and organizational learning as well as changes in behaviors; resulting in 4) significant positive effects on student outcomes. Thus, this definition focuses on educators and their schools, not on professional development programs. Methodological considerations are provided. •This position paper provides an alternative theoretical framework of sustainable second-order educational change.•Four characteristics are used to define sustainable second-order educational change.•The essence of this definition lies not just in the individual characteristics, but also in what they represent as a whole.•The underlying core premise is that the development of the whole system and its underlying components should be considered.•Initial methodological considerations are provided to support future research.