The Attrition of Change: A Study of Change and Continuity

In this article models and theories on effective schooling are reviewed. Modelling is based on the various disciplinary oriented approaches to educational effectiveness. As such production functions, instructional effectiveness models and integrated, multi‐level educational effectiveness models are discussed. Various conceptual and formal representations of facilitation across levels are seen as the most interesting area for further model‐driven research. In the second part of the article four organization theories are discussed, all of which are seen as specific interpretations of the rationality paradigm: rational control theory and bureaucratic structuring; contingency theory; public choice theory; and retroactive planning. A fifth theoretical perspective, chaos theory, as applied to organizational functioning, looks more like a complete anti‐thesis of rationality, but can nevertheless be related to the emergence of ordered patterns and to organizational survival. Core mechanisms or theory‐embedded principles that follow from these theories are, respectively: proactive structuring; fit; market mechanisms; the cybernetic principle; and self‐organization. Further analysis of these principles leads to the conclusion that the cybernetic principle of evaluation feedback and reinforcement is the most interesting one, both from a theoretical and practice‐oriented perspective. Throughout the article hints and suggestions are provided for future, more theory and model‐driven educational effectiveness research.     

Mentoring and the Changing Paradigm

This study examined mentoring and organizational socialization among law faculty at American Bar Association (ABA) approved law schools. Data obtained from respondents (n = 298) captured the types of mentoring (formal or informal) occurring in law schools and faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of each type of mentoring. Comparative analysis was used to examine mentoring as an antecedent of organizational socialization by comparing senior mentored faculty to senior non‐mentored faculty, junior formally mentored faculty to junior faculty with more informal types of mentoring, male to female faculty, and majority to non‐majority faculty. Results indicated that senior mentored faculty had higher mean scores than senior non‐mentored faculty on two of the six organizational socialization subscales. However, organizational socialization differences were not significant for other comparisons. The findings regarding mentoring are discussed within the context of diversity and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The effects of workplace learning on organizational socialization in the youth workforce

The purpose of this study was to identify how high school graduate newcomers adjust to working in organizations. This study examines how their formal learning, intended informal learning, and unintended informal learning experiences jointly influence their adjustment processes [e.g., role clarity and personal–organizational (P-O) fit]. It also explores the extent to which the newcomers’ adjustment processes relate to socialization outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit) and their mediating effects on the relationship between the types of learning and socialization outcomes. Results show that formal learning and intended informal learning have a strong positive relationship with P-O fit, while unintended informal learning is positively associated only with role clarity. In addition, role clarity indirectly and P-O fit directly affect job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit. The implication for management practices and future research is discussed.     

COMBINING SELF‐MONITORING AND AN INTERDEPENDENT GROUP CONTINGENCY TO IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SIXTH GRADERS WITH EBD

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self‐monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth‐grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on‐task, off‐task, and disruptive behaviors exhibited during language arts. Following baseline, the classroom teacher implemented an interdependent group contingency using randomized criteria for reinforcement and randomized reinforcers. Next, a self‐monitoring intervention procedure was added to the existing interdependent group contingency intervention. The self‐monitoring procedure was then withdrawn and reinstated. Results indicated that though there were improvements in behavior from baseline upon intervention implementation, the self‐monitoring procedure did not increase the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency intervention. Limitations and suggestions for future research investigating the influence of self‐monitoring on group contingency interventions are discussed.     

学校文化认同、组织文化氛围与教师满意度对学校效能的影响效应:基于结构方程模型(SEM)的实证研究

基于结构方程模型的研究在回顾相关文献的基础上建立了学校文化认同、组织文化氛围与教师满意度对学校效能影响效应的假设理论模型,运用结构方程模型对假设模型进行了实证分析,结果发现:第一,学校文化认同、人本导向的组织文化氛围对学校效能具有显著影响效应;第二,学校文化认同、人本导向的组织文化氛围对教师的内在满意度具有显著影响效应;第三,教师满意度在学校文化认同、人本导向的组织文化氛围到学校效能之间未发现起中介作用.这一研究从实证的角度验证了学校文化对于学校效能的影响效应,对提高学校的文化领导力具有较好的参考价值.     

Heterogeneity or Homogeneity

While research has focused on the effects of diversity on individual and group level outcomes, there has been little inquiry concerning the organizational level. Cox (1994) states that the most frequently asked question by executives regarding workforce diversity involves how it affects the performance of organizations. In order to manage the growing diversity of the workforce, organizations need to implement systems and practices so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized and the potential disadvantages are minimized (Cox, 1994). While the goal of these programs is organizational success, from a human resource perspective they introduce unique challenges. In particular, these challenges relate to activities such as the socialization of culturally diverse employees. Therefore, in an effort to increase understanding of the effects of cultural diversity on organizational performance, this paper examines the moderating impact of socialization tactics on the relationship between cultural diversity and firm performance.     

On the issues of digital competence in educational contexts – a review of literature

In this review focus is on how digital competence in educational contexts has been addressed in international research over the last 10 years in terms of policy, organizational infrastructures, strategic leadership as well as teachers and their teaching practices. The analysis shows that although research on digital competence in educational contexts has increased, knowledge on digital competence related to organizational infrastructures and strategic leadership are sparse. The analysis indicated that most research focuses on the specific competence needed by teachers and therefore tends to neglect the influence of broader contextual conditions in the wider school setting. Based on the review, three suggestions for further research can be provided. Firstly, to address research on organizational infrastructures and digital competent leadership. Secondly, to elaborate on theoretical frameworks that can close the gap between research on policy, organizational infrastructures, strategic leadership as well as teachers and their teaching practices. A third suggestion is for researchers to become involved in the development of new approaches that can enhance digital competence in educational contexts. It can be concluded that digital competence might not benefit from being regarded as an isolated phenomena on the level of single actors. Rather, it can be regarded as an organizational task, influenced and driven by several contextual factors embedded within and across a wider school organization.     

Organizational effectiveness and mission orientations of two-year colleges

This study investigated the applicability of Cameron's (1978, 1983) nine dimensions of organizational effectiveness in a nationally representative sample of two-year colleges and examined differences in those dimensions for colleges that had decidedly different mission orientations. The results strongly support the applicability of these nine dimensions of organizational effectiveness in two-year colleges and indicate that the effectiveness of these institutions varies significantly depending on their mission orientation. From a global perspective, it appears that two-year colleges with tripartite and dual missions are the most and least effective, respectively, while those with a singular mission occupy a middle position. The implications of these findings for research on the effectiveness of two-year colleges and for initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of their management practices and institutional performance are discussed.An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Boston, November 1991.     

The role of organizational learning in transformational leadership and organizational innovation

Leadership is an important factor affecting organizational innovation. Many studies show that transformational leadership has positive and significant influence on organizational innovation. Based on a literature review and previous work, this study aims to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on organizational innovation and to examine whether organizational learning is a mediator between their relationships. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. The research sample consisted of 330 teachers in charge of administration in postsecondary schools. The findings of this study provide evidence that transformational leadership and organizational learning have significant positive relationship influence on organizational innovation. The research also demonstrates that there is significant effect on the role of mediation in organizational learning on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational innovation. The study suggests that if school principals use the strategies of transformational leadership and organizational learning at the same time, organizational learning was highly effectiveness to achieve organizational innovation in the postsecondary schools.     

Faculty Meetings: Hidden Conversational Dynamics

In the everydayness of faculty meetings, collegial conversations mirror distinctive dynamics and practices, which either enhance or undercut organizational effectiveness. A cluster of conversational practices affect how colleagues connect, engage, interact, and influence others during faculty meetings in diverse educational settings. The principles embedded in the video games of middle-school and high-school students provide engaging insights into the essence of vibrant, productive faculty meetings.     

Issues of diversity in academia: through the eyes of ‘third-country’ faculty

Third-country faculty are faced with significant challenges interacting with university students who come from different socio-cultural backgrounds and have different expectations regarding faculty’s role, behavior, and leadership style. This paper compares diversity practices and action options that can facilitate or hinder the integration of third-country faculty across five universities established in an equal number of countries. The proportion of third-country faculty in American universities abroad is also used to provide a measure of diversity. Notwithstanding recent trends pointing to the internationalization of higher education universities have yet to develop an appropriate institutional mentality along with supporting diversity policies that would help them gain global efficiencies by hiring qualified international faculty. This may have serious implications for organizational effectiveness with respect to resource acquisition and even the long-term survival of the organization. The author is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Management and E-Business in the School of Business, the American University in Dubai.     

Contextualizing distributed leadership in higher education

This case study of development in a technical university situates distributed leadership in higher education in an organizational perspective. Analysis of documentation from development programs and interviews with 10 faculty members showed that leadership practices were related to different institutional logics prominent in four key activities in this specific university: education, research, formal organization and boundary-spanning cross-scientific environments. A shared understanding of these logics was accompanied with a reported increase in organizational understanding and leadership awareness that helped establish collaboration and sensemaking. Furthermore, we show that the theory of logic multiplicity provides a way to analyze previously neglected aspects of power, tensions, context and the practical relevance of the concept of distributed leadership.     

Profiles of Organizational Culture and Effective Schools∗

This study intends to investigate how school organizational culture is related to important organizational characteristics and observe how the profiles of strong culture‐effective schools are different from those of weak culture‐ineffective schools in terms of organizational variables (such as principal's leadership, organizational structure, and teachers’ social interactions), teachers’ job attitudes, and school effectiveness criteria. It is a cross‐sectional survey research involving 54 randomly sampled Hong Kong secondary schools and 588 teachers. The unit of analysis is the school.

Organizational ideology index was found to be substantially correlated with schools’ perceived organizational effectiveness. Among the 10 measures of these organizational variables, teachers’ esprit and principal's charismatic leadership can contribute substantially to the prediction of school's strength of organizational culture. The organizational profile of perceived strong culture‐effective schools is contrastingly different from that of perceived weak culture‐ineffective schools. The findings suggest that difference in organizational culture can be reflected at least in three overt levels: 1. organizational level in terms of principal's leadership behaviors, organizational formalization and participation, and teachers’ social norms; 2. teachers’ attitudinal level in terms of organizational commitment, social job satisfaction, intrinsic job satisfaction, and influence job satisfaction; and 3. school effectiveness level in terms of perceived overall organizational effectiveness and academic achievements in public examinations.

The findings reinforce the importance of organizational culture to the ongoing effort and discussion of school improvement and school effectiveness.

     

Urban public space and the construction of social life: a social-pedagogical perspective

This paper addresses the question of what meaning urban public space has in relation to the process of children’s socialisation. It builds on data from qualitative research into the social-pedagogical meaning of three contrasting neighbourhoods in the city of Ghent. In this research, the neighbourhood was studied as a social and spatial context in which particular socialising practices are constantly constructed and reconstructed through the everyday social actions and practices of people, including children, and hence influence the socialisation processes of children. The research shows that different patterns influence the strategies through which children learn to deal with issues like diversity, otherness and unpredictability in different ways, ranging from excluding this diversity from the everyday lifeworld, through enclosing oneself within one’s own social group, to learning through the everyday confrontation with diversity.     

The key to organizational performance improvement: A perspective of organizational knowledge creation

The primary purpose of this research is to explore the impacts of knowledge creation practices on organizational performance improvement. Research has been empirically assessed on the basis of the collected data from three Korean private organizations. The concept of knowledge creation theory was adapted as the theoretical framework of this research (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Structural equation modeling has been used in order to assess the fit of the hypothesized model with the collected data. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the hypothesized measurement model is a reliable and valid construct in the Korean context; multiple regression analysis reveals that knowledge creation practices have a positive and strong influence on performance improvement. Conclusions, limitations, and implications for human resource development are discussed.     

An analysis of the effects of selected management practices on organizational productivity and performance

Manager perceptions of their effectiveness in administering selected management practices were investigated using a management practices survey of 20 key management practices. Managers perceived they were most effective in providing performance management and least effective at ensuring their subordinates were provided consistent staffing and work input. A second study found the survey statistically reliable and valid. Twelve of the 20 management practices surveyed significantly correlated with organizational productivity, with performance management practices yielding the most significant relationship. The selected practices were derived from the disciplines of industrial engineering, industrial/organizational psychology, and organizational behavior management. An expansion of in‐house and university management training to include all of these management practices was recommended.     

In the trainer's voice: A study of training transfer practices

Data were gathered from members of a large professional training organization regarding their practices for supporting training transfer. Transfer factor categories grounded in the literature were used to code the data using content analysis procedures. Commensurate with the transfer literature, results suggest that trainers reported strategies used within the training setting and in the work environment as having the most influence on training transfer. Transfer practices that do not have a firm grounding in the research but that emerged in the data, trainer characteristics and evaluation practices, were reported by trainers as being important influences on training transfer. This study extends previous work on training transfer practices by elucidating the specific transfer influences perceived by training professionals as critical for supporting transfer in organizations. Implications for practice and research are offered that focus on building trainer proficiency for training transfer in organizational settings.     

School Leader Appraisal — A Tool to Strengthen School Leaders' Pedagogical Leadership and Skills for Teacher Management?

With increasing school autonomy, often coupled with greater accountability requirements, school leaders are increasingly responsible for new human resource management tasks. Policies to improve the teaching workforce, therefore, cannot do without policies to improve the school leadership profession. Teachers' effectiveness depends, among others, on effective school leaders who shape teachers' working environment and influence their motivations. Furthermore, as recent research indicates, school leaders are the second most important school-level factor affecting, even if mainly indirectly through their influence on teachers, student learning after classroom instruction. Considering the role school leaders play for the effective school-level management of teachers and for teaching and learning through their pedagogical leadership, it is essential that school leaders are adequately prepared and supported for their role. As part of their school reform programmes, more and more countries have been introducing a range of evaluation and assessment policies to improve school, school leadership and teaching practices. The individual appraisal of schools leaders and teachers is a key component of evaluation and assessment policies. This article explores if, and how, individual school leader appraisal can develop school leaders' pedagogical leadership, a key element of which is teacher management. It analyses the policy approaches of several European countries and the extent to which formal frameworks in these countries focus on developing pedagogical leadership. The article concludes with ideas for policy to strengthen appraisal as a tool to improve school leaders' practices and behaviours and their competencies for pedagogical leadership and teacher management.     

How the Organizational Learning Process Mediates the Impact of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Performance in Korean Organizations

The primary purpose of this research is to examine the structural relationships among several workplace‐related constructs, including strategic human resource management (HRM) practices, organizational learning processes, and performance improvement in the Korean business context. More specifically, the research examined the mediating effect of the organizational learning processes at three levels—individual, group, and organizational—to explain the relationship between strategic HRM practices and performance improvement. A total of 640 cases were used for data analysis, with general multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling. The results suggest that the learning processes at the three levels have a significant direct impact on organizational performance and that they also serve as a mediating interaction construct to maximize the effect of strategic HRM practices. The article provides conclusions, discusses the limitations of the research, and makes further recommendations.     

Connecting Diversity Efforts in the Workplace with Business Mission,Goals, and Objectives

As more attention is given to managing and valuing diversity in the United States workforce, the linking of diversity issues and practices to organizational performance needs must be addressed. In addressing the performance question, this article investigates both the difference between a quick fix and systematic action, and the distinction between a program and a process. A systematic and comprehensive process linked to organizational goals and performance is recommended. Gaps in typical programs and responses are pointed out, and some possible areas for measuring results attributable to valuing and managing diversity are suggested.