Traditionally, it seems that this has usually been the way that districts and state agencies have made decisions. Typically, small groups of people are successful in obtaining influential positions and tend to dominate the communications, thinking, and decisions with the latest views on instructional issues. Anyone else with a different point of view is not considered credible and is excluded from the process. This way of doing things has even increased in recent years during the press for educational reform. As a result of this process, the most effective teaching practices are not used or even considered for the appropriate kinds of learners.
Many students suffer the consequences.
Teachers have to live with the consequences in their work everyday. There usually are many problems in the area of instruction that teachers know about first hand that needs to be brought out and examined. All traditional ways of teaching, or anything even resembling traditional practices, are automatically considered to be ineffective. The pressure for innovation has overshadowed many proven practices that work with students. During this time, teachers have been asked to be more open to change from traditional ways of teaching.