The author is fascinated about the notion of "the changer and the changed." Having change imposed upon everyone can be difficult and one can become resistant. On the other hand, having an inspirational encounter can excite one about making change. When people initiate some new actions, what drives that change? How do they become changed in the…

The purpose of this study was to understand the role of non-formal education and training in the organizational change process of Civil society organizations (CSOs) in post war Liberia. CSOs are the local foundation for democracy and development in Liberia, and serve a wide range of roles in local communities. For example, in post-war Liberia,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to add to the emerging literatures on organizational learning and strategic management by developing a practice perspective on strategic organizational learning (SOL). While the literature on SOL has been growing, much of it has targeted exclusively practitioners and has not yet elaborated the mechanics and…

Following a landmark organisational change event within the University of Western Sydney, when the university ceased operating as a federation of four distinct, inter-related elements and merged to become a single entity, four foundation College Managers made a strategic decision to form an alliance. This alliance significantly enhanced the…

Organizational development (OD) can be of value as a professional development tool in the school, especially where it can broaden the perspective of the teacher so that he can conceptualize the school as an organization with various related units working to achieve the same goal, see more clearly his place in the total educational program of the…

Among the primary social pressures on schools to change are the demands for individualization, relevance, accountability, educational technology, and humanizing relationships. These five pressures challenge the educational administrator and offer categories in which to plan professional development activities. The adaptive school is an avenue for…

Outlines an organization development view of change, identifying strategies for implementing the approach and noting how staff developers' roles change with the organization development perspective. As organization development specialists rather than trainers, staff developers must develop skills in group process, facilitation, team building,…

This article defines the strategic planning process at the school level, focusing on steps involved, ways to diagnose school readiness for undertaking the effort, skills needed for effective process facilitation, and implications of strategic planning for staff development. Such planning is effective in improving the organizational ability of…

Discusses the need for coordinated efforts between an organization and its staff development support that are congruent with the articulated goals of the district, the school sites, and individual members of the organization. Strategies are presented for changing the role of staff developers in renewal efforts that support a learning organization.…

The way public school educators respond to emerging information technologies will be the defining event for public education over the next decade. This author, however, worries about whether public schools have the capacity to take advantage of the revolution going on around them--a revolution that is affecting not only the way students learn, but…

Long considered by its community and the Richmond County Schools' district administration "the worst middle school in the distict," the school (unnamed in the study) began a process of change in spring 1987. The instructional staff embraced a schoolwide staff development program designed to help both student achievement and school…

A case study of an organization development intervention in a large New York State school district describes to staff developers the complex process of discovering and responding to organizational needs. The discussion focuses on understanding the problem; frameworks for diagnosis and intervention; and implementing the intervention strategy.…

A system of classifying educational change, focusing on change perspectives rather than on change strategies, is provided in an attempt to increase understanding of issues relating to change efforts in educational settings. The term "perspectives" is used to mean orientations for interpreting, while the term "strategies" is used for methodologies…

The article reviews the history of staff development in general, discusses characteristics, problems, and limitations of the present, and examines the future, noting philosophical issues affecting the future of the National Staff Development Council. (SM)

Presents a strategy for technology integration that can be used effectively with any professional staff development activity. Through properly designed workshops over an academic year, one can facilitate the implementation of change in an educational institution. Discusses focus of the workshops; focus on teachers; spaced practice; workshop…