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http://hdl.handle.net/11375/8813
Title: | An Investigation of the Dimensions of School Change |
Authors: | Kresowaty, Gerald M. |
Advisor: | Gougeon, T. Bohac-Clarke, V. Webber, C. Emes, C. |
Publication Date: | Nov-1997 |
Abstract: | <p>The present study arose out of a need to describe more clearly the contextual and program dimensions of school change in an effort to yield a clearer understanding of the change phenomenon. The study was conducted at a secondary school in Alberta where the school staff worked at planning and implementing team-oriented and collaborative approaches to school policy development. An adapted case study approach using participant-observer research methodology was used in studying this change initiative.</p> <p>Using Bolman and Deal's (1990) multi-frame theory of organizations as an analytical tool, a multiple-perspective description of each of four change dimensions (i.e., context, content, process, and outcomes) was constructed from the various data sources, including documents, interviews, and field observations. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded a description of the contextual landscape (the structural and cultural conditions at the school) in which change was attempted, together with a description of the process, content, and outcome dimensions of the change initiative. Using grounded theory research methodology, the study also examined the unique contexts created from the interaction of the properties of each of the change dimensions described. The result was the construction of a theoretical model of school change that places process, in the form of a combination of diverse leadership actions, at the heart of the change phenomenon, linking other dimensions into a coherent and dynamic whole.</p> <p>The model illustrates the complex and dynamic nature of school change and the multiple leadership actions required to sustain such change. In the model, eight forms of leadership action were specified. These actions serve to link each of the change dimensions by determining the features of the context considered for change, possible outcomes, and the extent to which outcomes are integrated to form the school's new organizational context. The overall conclusion of the study was that the degree of success with change was dependent on the extent to which personnel at the school were willing and able to take responsibility for the leadership required to link each of the dimensions into a comprehensive change effort.</p> |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11375/8813 |
Identifier: | opendissertations/3987 5004 1891402 |
Appears in Collections: | Open Access Dissertations and Theses |
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