This dissertation in practice explored and intervened in the problem of teacher dissatisfaction at a state agency that functioned as a statewide public school for special education students in the southeastern United States. I used the Performance Improvement/Human Performance Technology (PI/HPT) and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) models in this study…

For years, policy implementation scholars have recognized the trend of school improvement policies converging on public schools in such a way that these policies create a paradox -- policies aimed at school improvement have often been represented as in such a state of incoherence, that they have been unmanageable. This convergence of reforms asks…

A capability maturity model provides a thorough understanding of where the organization is and, perhaps more importantly, where the organization needs to grow. The purpose of this report is to describe the development of the ADL Initiative Distributed Learning Capability Maturity Model (DL-CMM), illustrate its major components, and explain how it…

This article has recognised the need for fundamental improvements in the HRM department of the Bankstown Hospital. Through the critical analysis and evaluation of internal systems and processes we were able to identify a number of issues as areas where improvement must be facilitated, each with varying degrees of seriousness. The key problem areas…

Service transformation is an increasingly common pursuit in the higher education sector, with university strategic plans frequently featuring a "service excellence" objective and the adoption of leaner and more sustainable service models. Previous studies agree that service excellence is intentional not incidental, and systematic not…

A growing number of public colleges and universities in the United States have hired management consulting firms to help develop strategies aimed at increasing institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore the frames and strategies of consultants in US public higher education reform efforts. Drawing upon a…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how operating models and organizational structure impact the effectiveness of higher education institutions for students, faculty, administrators and the broader community. In this case study, the researcher uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria (MBNQAC) to understand core…

Many evaluations of programs tend to show few outcomes. One solution to this has been an increasing prominence of the movement that requires programs to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs). But in a complex world with complex organizations and complex interventions, many challenges have arisen to the implementation of EBIs with fidelity…

The study described here analyses a faculty-wide change designed to foster the communication proficiencies of students in a large teacher education college, gathering data from various sources over three years of the new agenda's implementation. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that implementation was progressing on two distinct…

The expansion of the school choice movement and greater flexibility allowed by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) means that education governance is emerging as an important issue for school effectiveness. This longitudinal case study sought to gain an understanding of the implementation of a new governance structure, Policy Governance, in a…

It started with a cup of coffee. In the wake of an intense contract negotiation, and against the backdrop of a district bankruptcy, multiple teacher strikes, and a wave of mistrust that veterans of the era still refer to as "rock bottom," the San José superintendent and the San José Teachers Association president decided to chart a…

In the wake of an intense contract negotiation, and against the backdrop of a district bankruptcy, multiple teacher strikes, and a wave of mistrust that veterans of the era still refer to as "rock bottom," the San José superintendent and the San José Teachers Association president decided to chart a different path forward. This report is…

This case of district turnover was developed as part of a project with state leaders and funders supporting local early education systems development. Understanding strategic and reactive activities during district leadership transition can be useful in assisting educators and their partners to prepare for sustainability. In this case, early…

The issue that this article introduces grew out of an event, the UNESCO Mobile Learning Week, but also out of a wider and growing movement of people and organisations exploiting mobile technologies, as they pursue varied educational missions. The UNESCO Mobile Learning Week represented by contributions here was a focus for contributions from…

Human competence is a vital element for any organization that expects to survive and then thrive. Developing individual performance ability is necessary but not sufficient because trained people alone will not make an organization successful. We must determine what people should deliver and why it should be delivered in order to add measurable…