Findings from a synthesis of technical assistance models and frameworks were used to code the use of 25 core elements of technical assistance in studies and evaluations of implementation interventions to affect program, organization, and systems change. The 25 core elements were group into five components: preparation for the provision of…

Compares definitions and core elements of learning organizations promulgated by Peter Senge, Victoria Marsick and Karen Watkins, Nancy Dixon, Michael Marquardt, Mike Pedler, and others. Discusses leadership implications and the need for employees to create a new learning infrastructure incorporating new leaders, critical thinking, and envisioning.…

Examines the establishment experiences of eight Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) support offices. Each GLBT office provided documentation of its experiences which were analyzed to discover the common themes and "lessons learned." The themes of "establishment" were linked to a set of strategies and tactics important to the process of…

From April 11-14, 1995, the Onondaga Community Living (OCL) organization hosted a team of five visitors sponsored by Syracuse University's Center on Human Policy. OCL provides services to empower and individually support people with developmental disabilities. In investigating the organization's move toward the provision of individual supports in…

Approaches to developing teaching assistant programs are discussed, based on the organizational change literature. Five models are identified: rational planning, social interaction, human problem solving, political models, and a research and development approach. Political processes often can be blended with social interaction and problem-solving…

In the last two decades, increasing concern has been expressed about the ability (or inability) of various governmental agencies, service organizations, and manufacturing organizations to effectively perform their tasks. Psychologists have only recently become involved in researching issues concerning the adoption, implementation, and…

This article employs organizational life cycle, organizational learning stages and group development stages literature to examine my experiences at the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) during its establishment phase. Support was found, and other foci suggested, for this literature. As well, future issues to be faced by the NCSL were…

Existing theories and research evidence on organizational change within colleges and universities are reviewed to provide some general guidelines for institutions seeking to refine their purposes, develop programs, and improve effectiveness and efficiency. Several propositions concerning the nature of higher education institutions, the politics of…

The major challenges for educational reform today are assembling disparate pieces of information to create sustainable systemic change and "scaling up" systemic reform to encompass all schools, all programmatic areas, all levels of schooling and diverse social contexts. Mid-continent Regional Education Laboratory (McREL) has begun to organize its…

Describes the emerging area of Organizational School Psychology (OSP) and the kinds of activities engaged in by practitioners. Factors relating to organizational readiness of schools for OSP are discussed. Practice of school psychology at the organizational level has potential to complement individual and group approaches. (JAC)

Decision-making and change models can take many forms. One researcher (Nordvall, 1982) has suggested five conceptual models for introducing change: a political model; a rational decision-making model; a social interaction decision model; the problem-solving method; and an adaptive/linkage model which is an amalgam of each of the other models.…

This guide to effective staff development planning draws extensively on the literature to discuss the concepts crucial at each stage of the planning process. An introductory section reviews the characteristics of adult learners (including what they want to learn and how they prefer to learn it), touching on adult development, learning and…

This paper traces the history of person-centered planning in programming for individuals with disabilities. It begins by describing the context shared by the first four methods of person-centered planning to emerge (Personal Futures Planning, Individual Design Sessions, Getting To Know You, and Twenty-Four Hour Planning) and some of their…

The intent of this paper is to discuss the principal issues and interacting factors of basic importance in the planning and development of university programs to prepare bilingual teaching professionals. After a brief discussion of two approaches in planning and designing new teacher preparation programs, the "redo" method and the…

In developing a community-based adult literacy program, program planners need to consider who the program will serve, which strategies will best serve the target population of the program, and exactly how much stability and change are to be encouraged in the program. Once the planners of a community-based adult literacy program have answered these…