This article explores the role of leadership, experts, and expertise and the functioning of teams in nine schools that modeled an exemplary integration of technology to support schoolwide instructional improvement. Through cross-case analysis, we identified three different staffing patterns and two different support patterns in how the technology…

This paper examines the complexity and ambiguity of policies that purport to promote deregulation and decentralization of education. The paper describes the development of decentralization/deregulation policies in the Netherlands and applies the specific dilemmas faced in the country to the unexpected difficulty in preparing and passing a…

This paper examines the implications of the organizational-learning concept for policy and practice in school restructuring. The organizational-learning framework emphasizes the individual and collective cognitive and behavioral transformations that occur as part of the emergence of new organizational patterns. Various models for organizational…

Several aspects of unplanned system change in schools are investigated in this paper. Researchers relied heavily on current theoretical perspectives on the nature of educational systems, particularly those that emphasize the "loosely coupled" nature of educational organizations. Two hypotheses were tested. The first is that natural…

This study examines the leadership and management skills needed to improve urban high schools. Information was drawn from a national survey of 178 urban high school principals whose schools had been conducting serious improvement efforts for up to 4 years and in-depth case studies of five large high schools in the following urban areas: (1)…

This paper investigates the impact of school structure and culture on the implementation of planned change. In addition to simply locating effective predictors of implementation, an attempt is made to examine the relative impact of variables associated with two theoretical perspectives--social psychology (school culture) and sociological (school…

A model of organizational change is applied to long-term planning at the University of Minnesota. Results suggest that, although planning began in the 1970s, the 1980s saw a model change that increased centralization in strategic orientation and a reduction in size and programs. Implications for organizational research are examined. (Author/MSE)

Findings of a study that explored problems in the development of two newly created metropolitan middle schools are presented in this paper. Based on a framework of organizational change, the main premise contends that as new organizations, schools are also inherently vulnerable to the generic problems that face all organizations undergoing change.…

A variety of hypotheses dealing with the participation in decision-making of members at different levels of rural schools and the degree of implementation in these schools of planned organizational changes are explored. Participation is examined in two spheres: decisions relating to the operations of the school district in general, and planning of…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of four urban schools that sought to develop professional community as part of a restructuring process. The study focuses on how restructuring affected teachers' work over a 3-year period. It reports that the absence of structural conditions can impede the growth of professional community; however, their…

This article argues that the U.S. dissemination system in education is unresponsive to organizational improvement needs, and that development of this bias is exacerbated by political, organizational, and programmatic thrusts in federal agencies. It is suggested that systems in the Netherlands and Denmark could provide useful models for adapting…

The organizational characteristics of school systems that affect the process and outcomes of planned change activities are examined in this monograph, which analyzes the Rural Experimental Schools Program (RESP), a set of long-term education field experiments sponsored by the National Institute of Education in 10 geographically dispersed school…

The Research and Development Utilization Program (RDU) was intended to apply research and development products to local school problems; to develop a problem-solving and product selection process usable by local schools; and to organize a linkage system making national, state, and other external resources available to local school personnel. The…