CHANGE IN THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF A DECENTRALIZED SCHOOL DISTRICT (READING, SECONDARY)
Abstract
The major purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among district-wide policy variables, building level organizational variables, classroom variables, and student outcome variables during the pre-implementation and implementation stages of a comprehensive reading/language arts program in the junior high schools of a decentralized school district in one of the nation's largest cities. A secondary purpose of the study was to identify variables which are relevant to the success of a comprehensive reading/language arts program, and to weave the interrelated propositions into a theoretical model that could be tested and elaborated by other researchers and practitioners. Participant observation techniques were utilized to create a cross-site ethnographic case study. Structural, personal, political, and cultural factors were observed and analyzed. The study closed the gap between recent investigations of the effective schools, comprehensive planning, and change literature and its application to administrative practice. The interrelationships between district level and school level structures and processes were illuminated through the utilization of a finite number of organizational models, rather than a single model. A model of change was developed in this study. The model identified characteristics of the innovation, as well as structures and processes of the school, its subunits, and the district as variables that impact on student outcomes, change processes, and educational effectiveness. The findings of this study indicated that leaders and followers differ substantially in their movement through the stages of change.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
MCGRIFF, DEBORAH MADKINS, "CHANGE IN THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF A DECENTRALIZED SCHOOL DISTRICT (READING, SECONDARY)" (1985). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8600096.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8600096
