First Advisor

William D. Greenfield

Date of Publication

1992

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership: Administration

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy

Language

English

Subjects

Teachers -- Attitudes, Teachers -- Job stress, Educational change -- Psychological aspects

DOI

10.15760/etd.1333

Physical Description

3, vii, 205 leaves 28 cm.

Abstract

This study examined the phenomenon of multiple and continuous change and the adjustments teachers made in response to the phenomenon. The research questions posed by this study are: 1. Is there a phenomenon of multiple and continuous change and if so how is it characterized by the participants? 2. Is there an effect of multiple and continuous change on the participants, if so, how do the participants adjust to the phenomenon and how can these adjustments be described? Methodologically, the strategy for this study was designed to allow for the generation of theory since multiple and continuous change has not been examined as a phenomenon. In-depth interviews were conducted with an "n" of five to allow for in-depth exploratory questioning and comparison and analysis of complex divergent data. The study utilized teachers' descriptions of their lived experience to provide working definitions of multiple and continuous change. Change is experienced as planned change, and change is experienced as unplanned change. Teachers also described paradoxes that characterize their work milieu. The paradoxes create unanswerable conundrums such as classroom versus school focus, depth versus breadth, commitment versus letting go and fidelity versus rigor. The phenomenon of multiple and continuous change provokes adjustments that are behavioral and attitudinal. These adjustments impact the instructional domain, professional domain and personal domain. The adjustments teachers made did not resemble targeted outcomes. Rather, the adjustments teachers made served as metaprescriptions to assist in the navigation of multiple and continuous change. The composite suggests that multiple and continuous change is complex, interactive and exponential. The behaviors and attitudes that the participants learn mitigate institutionalization of innovations and favor simple adjustments that make teaching more manageable under the circumstances but not necessarily more effective. The significance of this study is that change has been misunderstood because the perspective of the teacher has been overlooked. The misunderstanding of what comprises change disrupts and alters strategic planning. Change in schools is experienced as a phenomenon that is continuous. Administrators, change agents, and policy makers must readjust their thinking about change and develop a paradigm for school improvement that reflects the real world of schools.

Rights

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/4343

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