Living on the Edge of Chaos

by Snyder, Karolyn J.; Acker-Hocevar, Michele; Snyder, Kristen

• ISBN13: 9780873894593
• ISBN10: 0873894596
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Asq Pr

Author Biography

Karolyn H. Snyder is a professor of education at the University of South Florida Michele Acker-Hocevar is Her an assistant professor of administration and education leadership at the University of Alabama Kristen M. Snyder is on the visiting faculty research at South Florida University

Table of Contents

Dedication	v
Special Recognition	vii
Introduction	ix
Part 1 Shifting Paradigms of Schooling
Preparing Schools for the Age of Globalization	3	(20)
Paradoxes of the Age	3	(5)
Developing World Class Schools	8	(7)
Global Partnerships for School Development	15	(4)
It Is a Matter of Survival	19	(4)
A Mechanical View of Change	23	(16)
Newtonian Physics	25	(5)
The Modern Bureaucracy	30	(2)
Schooling as a Business	32	(3)
The Breakdown of Bureaucratic Thinking	35	(4)
An Organic View of Change	39	(16)
Relativity Theory and Quantum Physics	40	(5)
Pioneers of a New Work Organization	45	(2)
Systems Theory	47	(5)
Quality Management	52	(3)
An Emergent View of Change	55	(22)
Chaos and Complexity Theories	56	(7)
Basic Principles of Natural Systems	63	(5)
Living on the Edge of Chaos	68	(4)
Principles of Emergent Change	72	(5)
Part 2 The New Mental Dance for Guiding Change
Living on the Edge of Chaos: A New Theory of Organizational Change	77	(26)
Growing Systems Respond to Environmental Changes	79	(5)
Disequilibrium Promotes Change	84	(4)
Energy Builds Through Connections	88	(4)
Natural Systems Self-Organize	92	(4)
New Systems Evolve from Complete Prototypes	96	(2)
Change Is a Dance of Life and Death	98	(2)
Summary	100	(3)
Confronting Issues of Power	103	(14)
Personal Power within Our Family of Origin	105	(2)
Moving Beyond the Family Metaphor	107	(1)
Historical and Traditional Definitions of Power	108	(1)
Two Perspectives on Organizational Power	109	(3)
Two Frames of Power: Dominator and Partnership	112	(4)
Conclusion	116	(1)
The Power River	117	(14)
Schools as Partnership Cultures	118	(1)
The Power River	119	(3)
Studies of Teachers' Perceptions of Power Arrangements	122	(4)
Journeying Downriver	126	(4)
Conclusion	130	(1)
The Quantum World of Strategic Thinking	131	(18)
Perspectives on Simple and Complex Organizations	135	(3)
Putting the Six Strategic Rs to Work	138	(11)
Part 3 Tools to Facilitate New Prototypes of Schooling
Tasking Stock of Your Organization: Benchmarking, Evaluation, and Accountability	149	(24)
Philosophical Choices	152	(1)
Accountability: Moving from Compliance Monitoring to Benchmarking Change	153	(2)
Evaluation: Moving from External Judgment to Continuous Improvement	155	(7)
Benchmarking Growth	162	(8)
Summary	170	(3)
The Education Quality Benchmark System	173	(38)
The Education Quality Benchmark System (EQBS)	174	(10)
The EQBS World-Class Standards	184	(6)
Benchmarking with the EQBS	190	(3)
Applying the Benchmarking Process	193	(1)
School Work Culture Benchmarking Process	194	(1)
SWCP Benchmarking Worksheet	195	(1)
Work Culture Standards for School Development	196	(3)
Building a Grab Bag of Best Practices	199	(3)
The Connection between Work Culture and Outcomes	202	(5)
Summary	207	(4)
The Strategic Dance of Life	211	(30)
Assessment and the Strategic Dance	212	(2)
The Case Study Technique	214	(12)
A Case Study Example: The Dynamics of Work Culture in High-and Low-Achieving Schools	226	(6)
Strategic Planning	232	(9)
Developing Work Teams as Learning Communities	241	(30)
Trends on Teams as Learning Communities	244	(5)
Benchmarking Team Growth	249	(6)
The New Work of School Leaders	255	(6)
Becoming World Class	261	(3)
Team Quality Profile	264	(2)
Personal Analysis Worksheet	266	(1)
Team Analysis Worksheet	267	(4)
Part 4 Living on the Edge of Chaos
Teacher Perspectives on Change	271	(18)
Developing Integrated Work Cultures	273	(7)
The Power of Connection Systems	280	(4)
The Vital Role of School Districts	284	(5)
High- and Low-Involvement Cultures	289	(24)
Responses to Complex Environments	292	(3)
Disequilibrium as a Dynamic for Change	295	(3)
Energy and Connections	298	(3)
Adaptation and Self-Organization	301	(4)
New Systems Prototypes	305	(3)
The Natural Dance of Life	308	(3)
Conclusion	311	(2)
Emergence Leadership for World-Class Schools	313	(16)
Develop Listening and Sharing Systems	316	(4)
Stimulate Disequilibrium with Information	320	(3)
Build Work Groups, Networks, and Partnerships	323	(1)
Build a Culture of Pride	324	(3)
Expect Self-Organization to Emerge	327	(3)
Foster Piloting of Complete New Systems	330	(2)
Shed the Old and Nature the New	332	(5)
Summary	337
Bibliography	329