This book shows how the results of needs assessments can be transformed into action plans for an organization and discusses the procedures for facilitating that change. The book also contains a detailed glossary of needs assessment terms. The chapters are: (1) "The Need"; (2) "The Three Phases of Needs Assessment: A Closer Look"; (3) "Data-Related…

This handbook was designed to help school leaders develop a system of collaborative assessment, strategic planning, and accountability in schools and districts. It offers practical guidelines to help solve three problems central to school leadership: (1) determining a vision; (2) identifying areas requiring change; and (3) demonstrating…

Although action research in education offers researchers and practitioners a clear and philosophically appealing way of making improvements, fostering learning, and developing the individual and the organization, adherents sometimes find themselves defending this type of research because it has been practiced without appropriate rigor. This book…

Organizational development is explored through this discussion of a series of projects initiated by researchers at the University of Oregon to provide consultation and training to a school district in the Northwest. The primary focus was the improvement of problem-solving skills in the district and the development of a heightened capacity for…

This book details the work required at the outset of all efforts designed to improve an organization's performance at the organization, process, and/or individual levels. The book is divided into four parts that are devoted to the following aspects of conducting the systematic diagnostic analysis required to improve performance: (1) analysis as…