Increased attention in organizational theory on how to improve the design of a learning organization has indicated a need for the development of a theory on how employees learn in, and in relation to, organizations. This paper focuses on the part of the learning process that deals with how learners understand the object at hand, in this case,…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on organization development and change. "The Effectiveness of Total Quality Management: A Response to the Critics" (Douglas H. Smith, Ralph G. Lewis) identifies four effectiveness principles: customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, speaking with facts, and respect for people. "Fast Cycle…

Poor preparation of adult literacy educators is often blamed for the failure of adult literacy students. Four critical issues related to developing the adult literacy professional work force are as follows: how literacy is learned in adulthood; how practitioners learn and improve their practice; how new knowledge is generated in and for the field;…

This paper presents a social reconstructionist model of supervision. The model connects schools and society, and considers the vital role teachers, students, staff, and others play in developing, designing, and implementing reforms in school and society. The model is based on the philosophy of social reconstructionism, which views schools as…

In the last decade, the Office of Education has granted several billions of dollars to local educational agencies (LEAs) in an attempt to stimulate, and sometimes force, educational improvements. This paper was presented at a symposium considering experiences accumulated in a recent national study of federal change programs as they have (or have…

This paper presents a framework for understanding and facilitating teacher self learning in the school organization at the individual and group levels. It focuses on how individual teachers and their groups acquire self learning and self renewal while managing their work. The paper also discusses implications of the framework for teacher…

In this report, transformative learning processes in 10 successful extension staff partnerships involving a campus researcher and a county extension staff member were studied with a methodology that combines grounded theory and case study traditions with a constructivist approach. Data collection activities included a literature review;…

This document contains three papers on technology-enabled learning and human resource development. Among results found in "Current State of Technology-enabled Learning Programs in Select Federal Government Organizations: a Case Study of Ten Organizations" (Letitia A. Combs) are the following: the dominant delivery method is traditional…