Taking stock/making change: Empowerment through self-study.

摘要

This qualitative research explored the deliberate, guided self examination of each of five urban schools, four elementary and one middle school that voluntarily participated in a three year university/district partnership. Ethnographic research, utilizing multiple perspectives to analyze real life school case study episodes, enabled the emergence of relevant intricacies in their school setting which may have remained hidden in other types of research. Obstacles to reform as well as new opportunities for change that were provided through the support and technical assistance of the university partners, and could be continued and further developed, were explored.;Four of the five schools had multi-layered organizational structures that presented many challenges. Guided reflection and stock taking of all aspects of their school helped each group of school stakeholders reach consensus on the focus for their school self-study. Site-based management/shared decision making was the vehicle of change around which the self-study model was designed, the first of its kind in district schools. This restructuring effort came with three assumptions infused into the integrated approach that included local sense making. First, the individual school is the unit of change and the focus and process of change must be determined by the school itself. Second, continual stocktaking at the building level is an essential component of change. Third, documenting the program of improvement is fundamental for developing a knowledge base and a "collective organizational history" for the school and the district.;A snap-shot of each school's operations and student, staff and stakeholder interactions is provided. Over a three year period schools dealt with issues connected to teaching and learning, school climate and culture, curriculum, leadership and management, finance, academics and assessment. Embedded in these were concerns about trust, power dynamics, collegiality and decision making. Stakeholders developed an appreciation of the relationship and impact on student achievement that one had on another and how the new district mandate of a sight-based management/shared decision making governance structure fit in. Determining the success or failure of the project, was not the intent of this study. Rather, the goal was to support stakeholders' abilities to make needed improvements in their schools through problem solving and drawing on their strengths; the staffs knowledge base, support of veteran teachers for new teachers, and the inquisitive nature and advocacy posture that brought them into the profession in the beginning, to improve their school.;The research findings from this study are significant for any school or district committed to making systemic changes and contributed to a theoretical framework design that could be used in almost any school. The findings established the merit of increasing team capabilities to work collaboratively to develop processes that heightened productivity and promote excellence. Diverse teams that are efficient and effective redistribute the work load, make better use of resources and take ownership of creating sustainable reform efforts.