The consequences of poorly planned or random professional development for teachers in the early to mid career cycle are serious. Without input from knowledgeable mentors or supervisors, these teachers can flail about professionally. Without the benefit of individualized staff development plans, they may perpetuate ineffective teaching practices or…

This essay contends that there are fundamental connections between a nation's political arrangements and its educational efforts on behalf of youth. Though the common school architects of the nineteenth century recognized these connections, they were profoundly forgotten in a later Darwinian milieu that suggested--our allegiance to democracy…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the advantages of using intelligent agents to facilitate the location and customization of appropriate e-learning resources and to foster collaboration in e-learning environments. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes an e-learning environment that can be used to provide customized…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between change interventions and organizational learning. It seeks to identify the process through which team learning is developed, the factors that affect organizational learning and its influences on organizational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: Two groups of…

By utilizing a 2-year longitudinal design, the present study investigated the experience of work engagement and its antecedents among Finnish health care personnel (n = 409). The data were collected by questionnaires in 2003 (Time 1) and in 2005 (Time 2). The study showed that work engagement--especially vigor and dedication--was relatively…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the effectiveness and practical utility of an organizational learning intervention for an organization that was not progressive, was not specifically chartered as a learning organization, and was situated in an urban, culturally diverse, and under-privileged community. Design/methodology/approach:…

Professional development in Rockwood School District, a suburban school district outside St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997 was focused on individual teacher development rather than organizational development. Staff learning activities were fragmented. Teachers participated in a variety of unrelated topics the district offered from month to month. An…

This paper compares the managerial, administrative, and leadership styles of public-school superintendents and presidents of public corporations. Data were derived from questionnaires mailed to eight superintendents and seven corporate presidents. Findings show that superintendents and corporate presidents used similar leadership…

This handbook was designed to help school leaders develop a system of collaborative assessment, strategic planning, and accountability in schools and districts. It offers practical guidelines to help solve three problems central to school leadership: (1) determining a vision; (2) identifying areas requiring change; and (3) demonstrating…

This paper presents findings of a study that assessed the implementation of Total Quality Schooling (TQS) using a concerns-based model in an Ohio school district. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoC) was sent to all faculty, staff, and administrators in the district to identify employees' concerns, attitudes and perceptions about the program.…

This paper describes the process through which a troubled junior high school transformed itself into a model middle school. Teachers and administrators used the organizational mapping strategy (Shapiro 1991) to examine and reconstruct their beliefs, perceptions, and organizational traditions. The organizational-mapping strategy generates a…

North Arkansas Community/Technical College (NACTC) was formed in July 1993 by the consolidation of a community and technical college in the community of Harrison, Arkansas, but used the mission statement, goals, and institutional objectives developed by the community college. A project was undertaken to develop a process for reviewing and revising…

Conversations among educators, business leaders, legislators, and educational reformers have generated support for the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) to education. This paper considers whether TQM is indeed the solution to education's problems. After a brief explanation of TQM theory, the paper is organized around four broad issues…

This book shows how transformational leadership is expected to contribute to an organization's efforts to improve its operations and the best use of its human resources. The concepts of transactional and transformational leadership are introduced within the framework of a full-range model of leadership. This model is applied to research,…

Any type of organization can be a learning organization (LO) if it possesses certain characteristics: provide continuous learning opportunities, use learning to reach its goals, link individual performance with organizational performance, foster inquiry and dialogue, embrace creative tension as a source of energy and renewal, and be continuously…