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Chapter 1
In Search of a Paradigm
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
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In Search of a Paradigm
Organizational Behavior is the interplay
between individuals and the social
environment in which they work.
 You must play an active role in reading and
understanding this book.

 Internalize
meanings by reading, questioning, and
discussing with others how concepts fit into the
practical world of your work.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
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Assumptions, Beliefs, and Behaviors
Every culture has basic assumptions about
people.
 From these assumptions flow values and
beliefs.
 From values and beliefs flow action.
 Yet in society and organizations, our expressed
assumptions do not always lead to appropriate
action.

 Hypocrisy
abounds in education and other
organizations. Examples?
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Modernist and Structuralist Thought

Modernism is a way of thinking about the world and
cultures in an orderly, logical manner, leading us to
discover truths through the scientific method.
 Uses

quantitative research methods
Postmodernism is a challenge to modernism and its
focus on absolute truths and “grand narratives or
metanarratives”.
 Primarily
uses qualitative research methods.
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The Nature of Scientific Progress
 Thomas
Kuhn’s landmark publication in
1962.
Tranquil periods
of scientific thought
followed by scientific revolutions.
Example—Copernicus
Paradigms—an interlocking set of scientific,
social, and political beliefs.
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Paradigms in Education
Education has no overarching paradigm.
 The last paradigm in education was
progressive education.
 The conservative social and political landscape
is currently attempting to force a scientific
revolution as embodied in NCLB, which does
not have full support of the education
community.

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Example Scientific Revolution
Underway

The Food Pyramid Guide established by the
US Department of Agriculture
 Diet rich in
 Challenged
carbohydrates.
by 20 years of data and Dr. Robert
Atkins low carbohydrate diet.
 After years of conflict with the scientific
community, researchers begin to agree with Atkins
and a shift in basic thinking about human
physiology is ongoing.
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Psychology Paradigms
 Behaviorism—focus
on extrinsic rewards
and punishments to explain and control
behavior.
B.F.
Skinner
Remains Influential in
Curriculum and instruction
 Classroom management

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Psychology Paradigms (continued)

Psychoanalytic Psychology—unconscious
drives and internal instincts motivate people
and cause their behavior.
 Sigmund

Freud and Bruno Bettelheim
Cognitive Psychology—mental processes
including thinking, reasoning, decision making
underlie behavior (critical and creative
thinking).
 Jean
Piaget most influential in affecting education.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
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Psychology Paradigms (continued)
 Social
Psychology—the study of how
individuals perceive, influence and relate
to others in the context of environment.
Kurt
Lewin
B = f(p · environment), that is behavior is a function of
the interaction between the person and the environment.
 Organizations exist only as socially constructed reality.
 This has implications for leadership.
 B = f(p · environment) is the subject of this book.

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Sociological and Psychological Points
of View


Sociologists and Psychologists generally agree on goals of
schooling.
However, they differ on how to achieve those goals.





Psychologists tend to focus on the individual interactions and
relationships.
Sociologists tend to focus on group interactions and organizational
characteristics.
Taken together, these points of view help us understand
organizational behavior.
School are unique and should not mindlessly follow business
approaches to management.
School should uniquely strive for Kaizen—the Japanese
principle that “small incremental steps” lead to continuous
improvement.
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The Relevance of School Leadership
Today

The processes of developing Educational Leadership
are dynamic with constant and ongoing change and
development.
 The
emergence of new knowledge about how people
function in organizations.
 The dynamic impact of changes in the larger society in
which the schools exist.

Leaders must guide schools to be nimble, adaptive
organizations that detect emerging problems and react
proactively.
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No Child Left Behind
 The
reauthorization of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA).
 Signed by President George W. Bush on
January 8, 2002.
 Signified a clear shift in federal role
toward policy maker and reformer.
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NCLB (continued)

Three goals of NCLB:
 Closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students.
 Improving the preparation of teachers and increasing their
compensation so as to have every classroom in America
staffed by a “highly qualified” teacher by the end of the
2005–2006 school year.
 Instituting closely monitored systems of accountability for
students, teachers, and schools.

NCLB mentions research 116 times, giving rise to
controversy over the operational definition of
scientifically-based research.
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Research Methods in Education
Education research has not been held in high
esteem in the research community.
 A scholarly discipline has a well-defined body
of knowledge from theory and research.
 The “gold standard” for research are studies
that use randomized selection and assignment
of participants into experimental and control
groups.

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Examples of Gold Standard Research

Framingham Heart Study
 Over 5,000 participants since 1948.
 Cigarette smoking, cholesterol level, and
hypertension increased
risk of heart disease.

Tennessee Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR). Began
in 1985 for four years.
 Over 7,000 students
 Found that:



in 300 k-3 classes, randomly assigned.
small classes (<18) improved student achievement and grade
retention;
low SES students gained more than high SES students;
large classes with aides were no better than large classes with no
aides.
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Impact on School Leaders


In the wake of NCLB, School leaders should be
cognizant of what constitutes “good research”.
NCLB has been highly criticized, not in its focus on
scientifically-based research or accountability, but in
the over-reliance on high-stakes testing and mandates
whose costs are borne by the states.
School District v. Spellings –defendant wins in US
District Court.
 Many educational leadership organizations are strong
advocates for changes in NCLB, such as AASA, NASSP,
NAESP, NEA, CEC, and the National PTA.
 Pontiac
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Leadership as Coaching
 Since
1980s, education literature on
school reforms and school leadership has
been critical of leadership preparation.
 ISLLC Standards published in 1996 with
nationwide impact. (See preface of book
for background and future of ISLLC).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
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Leadership as Coaching (continued)


Mortimer Adler’s three methods of teaching well:
didactic instruction, Socratic method, and coaching.
Coaching is an effective method used in leadership.
 Although
techniques and leadership may differ, the
metaphor of an athletic coach, may be helpful.
 This book uses the metaphor of a “game plan” to develop
educational leadership students’ theory of practice as
leaders.
 See discussion and suggestions for developing a theory of
practice in the Reflective Activities section of Chapter 1.
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