School Leadership and Complexity Theory

by Morrison,Keith

• ISBN13: 9780415277839
• ISBN10: 0415277833
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-06-28
• Publisher: RoutledgeFalmer

Summary

Interest in complexity theory, a relation of chaos theory, has become well established in the business community in recent years. Complexity theory argues that systems are complex interactions of many parts, which cannot be predicted by accepted linear equations. In this book, Keith Morrison introduces complexity theory to the world of education, drawing out its implications for school leadership. This book suggests that schools are complex, nonlinear and unpredictable systems, and that this impacts significantly within them. As schools race to keep up with change and innovation, this book suggests that it is possible to find order without control and to lead without coercion.

Table of Contents

List of tables	viii
List of figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(2)
PART I The theory of complexity	3	(30)
Complexity theory	5	(28)
PART II The practice of complexity in schools	33	(159)
Schools and self-organization for complexity	35	(21)
Leadership for self-organization and emergence	56	(35)
Supporting emergence through the learning organization	91	(23)
Schools and their environments	114	(24)
Communication	138	(26)
Fitness landscapes	164	(24)
Retrospect and prospect	188	(4)
Notes	192	(3)
Bibliography	195	(18)
Index	213