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A case study of planning and implementing whole-school reform at a middle school
| Title: | A case study of planning and implementing whole-school reform at a middle school. |
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| Name(s): |
Abramowitz, Rochelle. Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor Maslin-Ostrowski, Patricia, Thesis advisor |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Genre: | Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation | |
| Issuance: | monographic | |
| Date Issued: | 2004 | |
| Publisher: | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Place of Publication: | Boca Raton, Fla | |
| Physical Form: | application/pdf | |
| Extent: | 146 p. | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to investigate the dilemmas of planning and implementing whole-school reform in a middle school from the perception of administrators, teachers and parents. A qualitative case study approach was used. Data collection included interviews, observations, and document analysis. Interviews with 28 participants were divided into three consecutive sessions conducted from the bottom up in terms of the hierarchy of power in the organization. Data were transcribed, coded, triangulated, and analyzed to understand the views of participants. The study resulted in three major findings: (a) The principal enhanced the learning organization's capacity for whole-school reform by balancing tensions and conflicts; (b) Implementing a high-stakes testing regime and reform design simultaneously contributed to teacher overload, and reduced the capacity of teachers to implement whole-school reform; and, (c) Learning communities had a pivotal role in fostering collaboration for whole-school reform. The study concluded that: (a) Principal leadership is vital to successful whole-school reform implementation; (b) The crucial challenge of principals in whole-school reform is forging a network of strong relationships within and across staff work teams and the community through the development of learning communities and professional development; and, (c) Whole-school reform must be balanced with and adapted to accountability system if it is to have a chance of succeeding. | |
| Identifier: | 9780496673902 (isbn), 12080 (digitool), FADT12080 (IID), fau:8991 (fedora) | |
| Note(s): |
College of Education Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2004. |
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| Subject(s): |
Middle school education Educational change Educational leadership School management and organization |
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| Held by: | Florida Atlantic University Libraries | |
| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12080 | |
| Sublocation: | Digital Library | |
| Use and Reproduction: | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. | |
| Use and Reproduction: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
| Host Institution: | FAU | |
| Is Part of Series: | Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections. |
