Change and organisational theory 504

Some thoughts in summary from my readings and how this apples to my role as a TL:

Organisational theory is about ways organisations learn to adapt.

Fullan speaks of change as a journey and identifies 5 essentials – moral purpose, understanding change , building relationships , knowledge building and coherence. to me, the knowledge building is the key element and it cannot happen without the othe elements. Several readings emphasise the need for members to understand the benfits of change to themselves as individuals and to the organisation. Tls are important in creating change within a school.

Gibbs identifies the need for staff to reflect on and evaluate effectiveness of current organisational structures. Then they can establish whether a journey is relevant and appropriate.
Continued improvement depends on continual learning and I am not sure whether all practising clssroom teachers share that mindset. Yes they do make changes to their practices but is it because it is imposed from above or because they find it intrinsically rewarding? Quality learning is measurable, sustainable and involves ongoing improvement

Decsion making is a process and involves different styles – different circumstances require different styles, or combination of styles.
The six-step approach of Harvey, Bearly and Corkrum could be useful to apply in my work. I agree that incremental implementation is important as well as consensus – where everyone substantially agrees.

I had not previously considered the real value of teams (essential building blocks) and teamwork in schools – most schools have committees to oversee aspects but are they truly teams who practise teamwork? Successful teams have a complementary range of skills and abilities. In the school community the TL can provide leadership that leads to the effectiveness of the group effort – many talents are wasted if not accessed and used!


Law and Glover p 72-73 provides useful advice on forming teams and will be useful in my reflecting of our group task.

Beck and Yeager’s Making teams work has on p88 &89 enlightening explanation of Forming, Focusing, Performing, Levelling which is their version of the group development cycle:

In stage 1 the group is looking for clear definition of boundaries, to know the group’s mission, and what their individual roles are in accomplishing this mission.
The Focusing stage will begin with questioning, and this enables the members to gain ownership of the group’s mission. Decision making procedures should be clarified, how people will communicate and how they will solve problems.


Stage 3 is typified by productivity, shared responsibility, clear sense of purpose and responsibility. The member’s commitment leads to mutual support. This is the opportunity for using knowledge and skills.

In the Levelling stage the group may start to ignore the boundaries, the underlying needs are to get re-focused on new goals or procedures. I am unsure of exactly how this level fits in with the whole mission and implementing of change, I will need to further read on the last stage to make more sense of it.