Organizational Learning In Schools Research Articles

The relative effects of environmental, internal and contextual factors on organizational learning: the case of Hong Kong schools under reforms

In the context of rapid environmental changes under current school reform, the present paper attempts to locate an answer for a historical question related to the sources of organizational changes and for a prevailing question probing the relationships among external, internal and contextual factors affecting school organizational learning. Based on the information provided by 1,197 teaching staff from 67 Hong Kong government‐aided elementary and secondary schools, the present study confirms the proposition advanced by the “strategic choice school”, that it is leadership action which accounts for organizational adaptation. Moreover, through a series of path analyses, transformational leadership along with supportive culture and flexible structure are mainly accountable for organizational learning, while external and contextual conditions provide the additional incentives in dictating the extent of organizational learning that is taking place in schools.

In search of basic sources that propel organizational learning under recent Taiwanese school reforms

Reports upon research carried out in Taiwan to assess the relative importance of external environment, internal conditions and contextual variables as the major source or momentum for school organizational learning. Maps out the intricate causal relationships among all external, internal and contextual factors with organizational learning process and outcomes. The sample comprised 51 primary and 37 secondary schools. It was found that school internal conditions – notably transformational leadership, positive school culture and supportive structure – outrank factors from other sources as the most critical elements in promoting organizational change, irrespective of the type and nature of schools or individual personal and background factors. Environmental constraints were not shown to be the dominant forces for organizations to engage in learning. Concludes that it is the leaders through their voluntary choice who bring about organizational change.

The Tension Between Organisational Sub-structures in Secondary Schools and Educational Reform

In Dutch secondary schools the recent trend has been to replace the two existing sub-structures of subject departments and student guidance units by one system of integrated and decentralised teams. The aim of this article is to gain more insight into how secondary schools can provide supportive working contexts in which teacher learning is promoted. The first question is whether the foci of these two sub-structures can reach a balance in integrated teams. The second question concerns how much weight should be given to the integration of these two sub-structures when the school as a context for teacher learning is central. These questions are answered in three steps. Firstly, the tension between the two sub-structures and their contribution to professional development and school improvement is analysed. Secondly, recent insights into teachers' professional communities and organisational learning in schools are summarised. In the third part the potential for teachers' professional development of integrated and autonomous teams is discussed by means of these insights into the professional community.

Organizational Learning in Schools

Chapter 1: Organizational Learning in Schools: An Introduction Kenneth Leithwood and Karen Seashore Louis Part I Chapter 2: Creating Community in Reform: Images of Organizational Learning in Inner-City Schools Karen Seashore Louis and Sharon D. Kruse Chapter 3: Informal Learning Communities and their Effects Miriam Ben-Peretz and Shifra Schonmann Chapter 4: Leadership and other Conditions which Foster Organizational Learning in Schools Kenneth Leithwood, Doris Jantzi, and Rosanne Steinbach Part II Chapter 5: Talking about Restructuring: Using Concept Maps Jean A. King, Jeffrey Allen, and Khahm Nguyen Chapter 6: Organizational Consequences of Participatory Evaluation: School District Case Study J. Bradley Cousins Chapter 7: Professional Development Schools as Contexts for Teacher Learning and Leadership Linda Darling-Hammond, Velma Cobb, and Marcella Bullmaster Chapter 8: Learning about Organizational Learning Coral Mitchell and Larry Sackney Part III Chapter 9: Team Learning Processes Kenneth Leithwood Chapter 10: Intellectual Roots of Organizational Learning J. Bradley Cousins Chapter 11: School Development and Organizational Learning: Toward an Integrative Theory Janna C. Voogt, Nijs A.J. Lagerweij, and Karen Seashore Louis OL_FM 16/10/2000 10:57 Page 5 Part IV Chapter 12: Organizational Learning and Current Reform Efforts: From Exploitation to Exploration Sam Stringfield Chapter 13: From Organizational Learning to Professional Learning Communities Karen Seashore Louis and Kenneth Leithwood Author Index Subject Index

An Interpretive Analysis of Educator Change Processes in Response to a Program Innovation: Implications for Personnel Evaluation

This study employs interpretive analysis methods as a means of probing and elucidating the social and cultural mechanisms that influence the processes of educator change and organizational learning in the context of systemic innovation in personnel performance evaluation. Specifically, the study explores interactive roles and behaviors of educator participants within an initial pilot implementation of one innovative, statewide teacher assessment program. Using interpretive techniques, a descriptive matrix of interactive role metaphors was generated, leading to the formulation of a theory-based typology of educator change process behaviors. Implications of study findings for facilitating teacher change and enhancing organizational learning in schools within a general climate of systemic program innovation and reform are discussed.

The Concept and Practice of a School-Based Management Contest: Integration of Leadership Development and Organizational Learning

Since 1993, he Vlerick School of Management at the University of Ghent (Belgium) has developed and tested the concept of a school-based management contest that facilitates individual and organizational learning in schools. The management contest introduces a comprehensive approach of the professional development of principals and the organizational learning of schools. This article describes the conceptual framework, the development process and the evaluation of the program.

Conditions Fostering Organizational Learning in Schools

This article reports the results of synthesizing evidence from three independent studies of conditions that foster organizational learning in schools carried out in different contexts but with comparable methods. Its purpose was to identify such conditions from state, district, and school sources and to assess the context sensitivity of each of the conditions. Qualitative data were provided by a total sample of 111 teachers in 14 schools. Results identified a large number of conditions that fostered organizational learning in all schools. Among the most important of these conditions was transformational forms of principal leadership.