Purpose: At a time when many education systems are grappling with the issue of school reform, there is a concern that traditional UK secondary schools are organised in a way that makes them unable to respond to increasingly complex environmental demands. This research-based paper uses complexity theory to gauge the organisational differences…

Organizational change is probably the singular most important undertaken that many organizations wish they could do to affect their productivities/profitability performances. This review paper will highlight some of the well-known theories and approaches to organizational change. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, America had one of the best…

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities involved in higher education provision and how systems thinking and socio-technical systems (STS) thinking approach can be used to understand the education ecosystem. Systems thinking perspective is provided using two case studies: the development of European Learner Mobility (EuroLM)…

Higher education is under enormous pressure to transform itself and embrace a new paradigm. Operating under an outdated model that no longer aligns with the realities of modern society, institutions of higher education are recognizing the need to drastically remake themselves or possibly cease to exist. This article explores the current landscape…

The majority of funding for Extension comes from local, state, and federal dollars; therefore the primary driver for evaluation is accountability for public funds. Evaluation has always been a part of Extension program implementation; however, these efforts have historically been considered a necessary component rather than a priority. The need…

A shortage of community college executives due to the number of retirements occurring among current leaders is predicted. An examination of three leadership theories--servant-leadership, business leadership and transformational leadership--suggests techniques for potential community college leaders. Servant-leaders focus on the needs of their…

Total quality management based governance models tend to focus on incremental improvements within the boundaries of a single organization. This may limit the benefits of information technology because they are not complex enough to address business or performance problems that extend beyond the boundaries of a single organization. The research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational practice to investigate what insights could be gained to support and extend existing theory. Design/methodology/approach: Adopts a clinical approach, e.g. not a priori or an academic one where data are mangled to fit a theoretical stance. Findings: Data analysis reveals four…

This article challenges misperceptions about the definition of systemic change in school districts. While many contemporary change efforts are described as "systemic," in fact, they are not. The author also argues that a special instance of systemic change known as systemic transformational change is required to transform entire school…

The purpose of this study was to investigate four attractor states in schools through the perceptions of formal leaders that engaged in and reflected upon school reform regarding the Millennial generation. The term attractor was used as a metaphor for a habitual pattern, gleaned from complexity science which informs of new ways in which to…

Like the bestselling first edition, this introductory textbook succinctly presents concepts and theories of educational leadership and organizational behavior and immediately applies them to problems of practice. It includes practical case studies, real-world scenarios and analyses, reflection questions, and straightforward explanations of…

Presents a core typology of organizational environments consisting of 64 types which can be expanded depending on the user's interest and problems. Different types of environments have consequences for the planning of strategies, operations, and tactics; coalition behavior; and decisionmaking. (Author)

Chaos theory, dissipative structures analysis, and complexity theory have all been used in various branches of the sciences to examine patterns of change in complex systems. This paper considers how educational theory and research can benefit from changes in scientific fields as diverse as quantum mechanics, fluid dynamics, geology, and economics…

Educational change is a process occurring through time, a systemic and dynamic phenomenon in which every action leads to reactions in related areas of the system, and a multidimensional phenomenon requiring examination from the perspective of several disciplines. The success of an innovation depends on how the change process is managed, how the…