Consulting to Facilitate Planned Organizational Change in Schools

We present an update of our 1984 chapter on organizational interventions in educational settings. Our view of the organizational change process is described, followed by a discussion of the gap between current theory and practice. We describe several examples of promising organizational change initiatives, followed by our observations of future directions for the field. We suggest that there will continue to be dramatic changes in our nation's educational institutions and that the primary question is whether planned change efforts will allow us to have some control over these changes and how they transpire.     

Education reform and managerialism: comparing the experience of schools and colleges

This paper explores the organizational and management consequences of the changing policy environment facing public sector education in England and Wales over the past 10 years. In particular it considers how far arguments about the replacement of older ‘bureau-professional’ forms of organizational order by more ‘managerialist’ forms in the public sector in general can be applied to the specific case of education. The paper begins by reviewing the major policy changes that have affected schools and colleges since 1988. Drawing on published studies from these sectors, it then considers a number of themes: changing roles of senior and middle managers; changes in managerial and organizational culture; and changes in specific aspects of management. Emphasizing the tentative nature of the evidence, the paper identifies some common trends which imply a movement towards managerialism in many institutions. However, it also identifies areas where the position is less clear and suggests a number of factors which may explain differences of experience. It emphasizes the importance of not reifying a previous ‘golden age’ of collegiality and concludes that what is being experienced is a complex and dynamic process of adjustment between old and new organizational and managerial forms.     

McSchools for McWorld? Mediating global pressures with a McDonaldizing education policy response

This paper argues that key education policy initiatives since the introduction of the National Curriculum in the UK are Government‐mediated responses to pressures in the global knowledge economy. Successful implementation of these policies has required a change in the way in which education institutions and professionals are controlled and managed. George Ritzer's ‘McDonaldization’ thesis, a conceptualization of a dominant form of economic and cultural globalization, is outlined and it is then argued that national education policy has led to the ‘McDonaldization’ of the state school education system in England. Benjamin Barber's concept of ‘McWorld’ is used to represent the consumerist world which a narrowed educational vision seeks to serve.     

Curricular change in Turkey: Time,sequentiality, and differential power of actors in establishing a new knowledge path

This paper introduces the knowledge path concept to research on curriculum change. Vis-à-vis existing inquiries into curriculum making, the paper explores the usefulness of the knowledge path concept in an empirical analysis of curriculum change that primary education in Turkey underwent at the turn of the century. Based on the documentary interpretation of expert interviews and other material, the paper enquires into the processes that instigated and enabled the curriculum change and rendered it durable. This concept may contribute to four previously identified research approaches to curriculum change: empirical case studies, ideology-critical and New Institutionalist inquiries, and a focus on organizational politics. It emphasizes the significance of time and sequentiality during change processes and underpins the differentiated power of actors.     

基于利益相关者的公立高校董事会治理结构研究

公立高校董事会治理结构是指为实现高校的教育目标,就高校内部治理的组织机构设置及其相互之间权力配置、制衡与激励等进行的制度安排,以及对高校与外部利益相关者等关系进行处理的机制安排。因而,在对国内公立高校董事会发展状况全面分析的基础上,从利益相关者视角,探讨构建公立高校董事会治理结构的途径。     

共享、协作与重构:国外教师领导力研究新动向

教师领导力是教师的核心素养之一,是影响教育教学质量的重要变量。国外教师领导力的研究呈现一些新动向,特别强调教师要从领导行为到领导思维方式的转变,主要体现在:对教师领导力的理解经历了正式职务的教师领导、作为具有课堂教学专长的教师领导、作为一种思维方式的教师领导三个阶段,研究的着眼点从强调个人角色转向教师集体的责任与共享;无论是实证研究还是循证决策,都将协作视为教师领导的关键能力;教师领导力研究对传统学校组织结构和组织文化提出挑战,对领导和权力理论有不同的诠释,对理论架构有独到的主张,重构成为教师领导力研究的内在需求。     

国外教师组织承诺研究综述

组织承诺是当代组织行为学中的一个重要概念.教师组织承诺是组织承诺在教育领域的应用,被认为是学校效率的核心.国外文献对教师组织承诺的前因变量的研究集中在组织气氛、教师效能、教师参与决策和教师授权等几个方面;对后果变量研究侧重于教师组织承诺对组织公民行为的影响.无论是理论概念还是实证分析,教师组织承诺都有深入研究的空间.     

Counselor-Education Curricula and Professional Identity

Satisfaction with present emphasis on various components of curricula and the desire for changes in those same components were assessed as they related to two major opposing perspectives influencing professional identity, strict preparation in classical psychology, and broad, general, experiential preparation. A questionnaire asking counselor educators to rate 25 curriculum areas of their programs with respect to satisfaction and amount of change desired was sent to a modified, stratified random sample of 108 institutions. The responses on the 60 returns were analyzed by using Hotelling's T² and subsequent dependent samples' t tests for indications of discrepancies between present and desired emphases. Significant discrepancies were examined for trends. Overall, there was an expressed desire for increased emphasis in every area. Grouping components logically produced a ranking according to desire for change as follows: career counseling, statistics-research and counseling experience, counseling theory and psychological background, and assessment. Implications of the findings for counselor preparation are discussed in relation to trends found regarding program size and available resources.     

The Necessity of Being “Un-Disciplined” and “Out of Control”: Design Action and Systems Thinking

This paper introduces; design, integrated with systems thinking, as a necessary if not sufficient means for meeting the challenge of how to create or recreate organizations and institutions which better serve the needs and desires of clients, customers, and stakeholders in a rapidly changing world. As a way of moving conceptual thinking into concrete action, design is dramatically different from the scientific or artistic traditions, which primarily describe or explain the natural or phenomenal world. Three key points that will be explained are: (1) The limits of problem-solving strategies when applied to complex organizational change leave design the strategy of choice; (2) The designer's role is animated by other expression rather than self expression; and (3) From within this role, designers engage in the task of creating the un-natural world by being un-disciplined using systems thinking and by being out-of-control as part of the creative process of design.     

The temporal dimension of gender inequality in academia

This paper examines gender inequality in academic careers by applying Merton's concept of socially expected durations (SEDs). Women's relatively slower advancement along the academic hierarchy has been traditionally attributed to their traits and constraints. The concept of SED shifts attention from the individual to the organizational level, and the actual and expected augmented durations between promotions for women are viewed as part of the structural arrangements of academic institutions and their culture. It is argued that because of the distinct characteristics of academic careers, time-in-rank is an important dimension distinguishing among otherwise very uniform occupational roles and career patterns. The implications of conceptualizing career discrepancies in terms of socially expected durations are discussed.     

The paradox in international cooperation: Institutionally embedded universities in a global environment

As a response to processes of globalisation and regional integration, internationalisation activities in universities have changed. Flows have become more massive, the range of activities has broadened, and internationalisation has shifted from a marginal activity to a central institutional issue with strategic importance (van der Wende 2001, European Journal of Education 36(4), 431–441). These shifts can also be observed in international cooperation among universities. One of the manifestations of this shift is the increase and change of inter-organisational arrangements in higher education. One type of such arrangements – higher education consortia – are analysed in detail in the study. This analysis takes inter-organisational diversity as a starting point (Parkhe 1991, Journal of International Business Studies 22(4), 579–601). The basic thesis is that partners need to be similar, yet different, or in other words, there needs to be sufficient complementarity as well as sufficient compatibility among the participating universities. The article also explores the ways in which the management of consortia can improve the levels of complementarity and compatibility and thus the success of such consortia. Eric Beerkens is a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Policy & Practice, Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. In 2004 he completed his PhD at CHEPS on the study reported in this article. Marijk van der Wende is professor at CHEPS.     

Strengthening Agricultural Education and Training in sub-Saharan Africa from an Innovation Systems Perspective: A Case Study of Mozambique

Abstract

This paper examines how post-secondary agricultural education and training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute to agricultural development by strengthening the capacity to innovate—to introduce new products and processes that are socially or economically relevant to smallholder farmers and other agents. Using the AET system in Mozambique as a case study, this paper examines the role of AET within the context of an agricultural innovation system. This innovation systems perspective offers an analytical framework to examine technological change in agriculture as a complex process of interactions among diverse actors who generate, exchange, and use knowledge, conditioned by complex social and economic institutions. The paper argues that while AET is conventionally viewed as key to the development of human capital, it also has a vital role to play in building the capacity of organizations and individuals to transmit and adapt information, products and processes, and new organizational cultures and behaviors. The paper emphasizes the importance of improving AET systems by strengthening the capabilities of organizations and professionals; changing organizational cultures, behaviors, and incentives; and building innovation networks and linkages. The paper offers several recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of AET for agricultural innovation and development. Key reforms include aligning the mandates of AET organizations with national development aspirations; inducing change in the cultures of AET organizations through the introduction of educational programs and linkages beyond the AET system; and enhancing innovative individual and organizational capacity by improving incentives to forge stronger links between AET and other stakeholders.     

Higher Education, Further Education and the English Experiment

England has a two-sector system of higher education and further education. Shaped by legislation in 1988 and 1992, the architecture of this system was intended to concentrate each type of education in separate institutions and separate sectors. In recognition of these different missions, each territory came under different funding and regulatory regimes, with little or no movement of institutions anticipated between sectors. These arrangements continue, although Government policy is now to support and expand higher education in further education colleges. This policy turnaround is part of a larger strategy or experiment to change the future pattern of demand for, and supply of, undergraduate education. However, the college contribution to this new higher education is neither co-ordinated nor protected. Rather, further education colleges compete as well as collaborate with institutions in the higher education sector, under conditions of complexity, uncertainty and dependency.     

The Effects of Poverty on Parenting Young Children

During the 1990s, state governments considered in excess of 100 initiatives to reorganize, restructure, or "reform" higher education governance arrangements. The recent wave of governance change has revealed an important insight about reform activity: Large-scale redesign of a state's higher education governance system occurs in a distinctively and decidedly political context--namely, at the intersection of legislative institutions, state higher education agencies, electoral cycles, and campus politics. This article describes the landscape of public higher education governance in the states and assesses recent trends, reviews the modest research literature on the politics of reform, and reports selective results from a recent national survey of higher education governance reform in the 50 states. The article concludes with suggestions for the framing of future research on the politics of governance reform.     

Claims and counterclaims: institutional arrangements and farmers’ response to the delivery and adoption of innovations in the Okavango Delta,Botswana

Purpose: This article examined how institutional factors influencing the promotion of two elephant crop-raiding deterrent innovations (ECDIs) introduced to farmers through a ministry-based extension system in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, have impacted farmers’ adoption behaviour. Methodology: A standardised interview schedule was used to elicit responses from 388 randomly sampled subsistence arable farmers on how institutions influenced the adoption of ECDIs in five communities in the study area. This was complemented by focus group discussions to obtain in-depth information on the subject-matter. Key informants interviews were also conducted with purposively selected extension agents, village project committee chairpersons and village dikgosi. Findings: Four institutional factors were found to be critical for the adoption of ECDIs. These include institutional relations, availability and/or supply of deterrent innovation inputs, farmers’ contact with extension agents and government support for extension services. Theoretical Implications: Immediate and widespread adoption of ECDIs in the ever-changing socio-economic and political environment can be enhanced by context-specific institutional arrangements in addressing social and organisational constraints to innovation adoption. Originality: This paper invoked organisational theory to contribute to the scholarly debate on how agricultural extension systems influence farming clientele’s behaviour and social change. It offers the first attempt in the investigation of the role of extension and associated institutions/organisations in promoting adoption of ECDIs among subsistence farmers in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Findings indicate that local farmers do not perceive extension agencies to hold monopoly of ideas and solutions to their unique problems.     

Dissertation as Life Chapter: Managing Emotions,Relationships, and Time

The published psychological literature on the developmental milestone that is the doctoral dissertation emphasizes either psychological interpretations or practical strategies as ways to help, each often failing to note the critical importance of the other. Clinicians need to understand underlying psychological issues that may complicate the dissertation-writing process, including particular difficulties that can arise for first-generation college students and other nontraditional students. Interpretation of unconscious conflicts is possible and sometimes critical even in brief treatments. Conversely, pragmatic techniques can help move students from paralysis into constructive action when interpretations do not. Case examples are offered throughout.     

THE CHANGING ROLE OF CAREERS SERVICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The strength of specialist careers advisory services in United Kingdom universities is linked to the in loco parentis tradition and also to the tradition of occupational flexibility on graduation. The evolution of such services from appointments boards to careers services is traced in terms of three sequential changes: the impact of counselling, the growth of careers education, and the move towards an open‐access style of delivery. The overlap of roles between careers services and teaching departments is analyzed in relation to individual guidance and placement, and particularly in relation to careers education. The extent of overlap tends to vary between vocational, semi‐vocational, and non‐vocational courses. The emergence of the concept of personal transferable skills has encouraged new forms of partnership between careers services and teaching departments. This development raises questions about where careers services should be located organizationally within higher education institutions. Should they, for example, be aligned to other student services, to academic services, or to marketing services? What organizational benefits do institutions seek from such services? Are they part of the core offer made to students, or additional.services which are open to. review in terms of their specific costs and benefits?     

艺术语言意象的言语形式及欣赏

艺术语言意象 ,往往以变异的言语形式呈现出来。本文深入探讨了造成艺术语言言语形式变异的外在需要和内在原因 ,强调了艺术语言意象言语形式变异的合理性和必然性。并从接受的角度 ,论述了艺术语言意象欣赏过程的特殊性和需要注意的问题。     

Arrangements for co-ordination between university and college sectors in Canadian provinces: 1990–1996

A policy question that arises in any jurisdiction where there is some diversity of postsecondary institutional types is whether there should be formal arrangements for co-ordination among groupings of different type institutions, and if so, what form these arrangements should take. This paper examines questions related to co-ordination between postsecondary sectors in Canada. We conclude that the Canadian provinces, with one important exception, seem to be content to maintain the center of gravity for co-ordination at levels below the system, by either facilitating voluntary inter-sectoral arrangements and encouraging interaction between sectors, or leaving these matters largely at the discretion of institutions.