Purpose: This paper aims to explore the use of developmental evaluation methods with community of practice programmes experiencing change or transition to better understand how to target support resources. Design/methodology/approach: The practical use of a number of developmental evaluation methods was explored in three organizations over a…

External pressures have transformed academic life, shattering the roles and relationships that created a sense of community. Increasingly the challenges of fostering an engaged workforce in these institutions mirror the corporate world. Leaders at UNL have adapted Gallup's organizational development strategy to improve faculty engagement and…

The purpose of this research activity was to investigate contemporary understandings of the connections between learning and work. This initial work was then used to inform the development of an organisational tool that registered training organisations (RTOs) could use to identify organisational practices likely to lead to greater learning at…

This case study describes and critically evaluates two contrasting models of quality management that have been used to support organizational development within De Montfort University, the United Kingdom, during periods of major internal and external change. These models are audited self-evaluation within a developed management structure, a…

States that comprehensive, systematic plans to assess student learning can be both the rudder guiding and the sail driving change in staff, program, and organizational development. Explores the nature of assessment and how it can and does serve such roles, driving change in the college or adapting to emerging community needs. Contains 27…

The Regional Math/Science Collaborative (RMSC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania is a grassroots approach to strengthening math and science education through regional planning and evaluation. The Collaborative consists of stakeholders representing educators, students, parents, university faculty, and business and community members. External evaluation…

Action research, which, broadly defined, was one of the activities in which educators following in the footsteps of John Dewey engaged, emerged as a systematic approach for improving educational practice in the two decades following World War II. Action research then passed into relative obscurity. It has recently re-emerged in the educational…

The changes required by many school reform policies address problems that are extremely difficult to clarify, with organizational and environmental factors densely intertwined. Accordingly, this document begins by identifying the "four C's" that must be taken into account if any strategy for school improvement is to succeed: complexity,…

The discrepancy between aspiration and achievement of institutional goals is analyzed as an important variable in monitoring an innovation through its life cycle from exploration to institutionalization. Although important, this discrepancy, or hiatus, is not sufficient to support an innovation without the concurrent presence of high aspiration…

Six topics relative to staff development are discussed. The first chapter discusses staff and organization development in a 1981 perspective. Both staff and organization development are necessary for planned change and school improvement. Both are important processes in personal and professional growth. The second chapter views staff development…

Based on recent school effectiveness literature, this paper suggests local policies to stimulate and facilitate school reform. After discussing the goals of the effective schools movement and briefly reviewing the literature, it presents a two-phase model for school improvement projects, based on the premise that a school's culture primarily…

This book, which is intended as a text for future and experienced adult educators, examines current theories and best practices in adult education. The book consists of 20 chapters written by prominent practitioners in the field of adult education. The chapter titles and authors are as follows: "Teachers Sharing Experiences" (James A. Draper);…