ERIC Number: ED425533
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1996
Pages: 317
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-7879-0318-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Human Side of School Change: Reform, Resistance, and the Real-Life Problems of Innovation. The Jossey-Bass Education Series.
Evans, Robert
The human side of school reform and the difficulties of implementing innovation are examined in this book. The book suggests that one of the main reason efforts to reform schools stall is that educators resist change because they feel burdened or conflicted by the process. The book, therefore, focuses on realistic expectations concerning the pace of reform and the performance of leaders. It offers practical advice on problem solving, communication, and staff motivation. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, "The Nature of Change", reviews standard conceptualizations of change and analyses the psychology of individuals and the culture of institutions. Part 2, "Dimensions of Change", discusses the transitions teachers must make to implement reform, and examines the four primary dimensions of organizational change: substance, staff, setting, and leadership. Part 3 "Leading Innovation", focuses on the dilemmas involved in these four dimensions. Authentic leadership is addressed as a means of administering schools, as are its five main "strategic biases": being, clarity and focus, participation without paralysis, recognition, and confrontation. (Contains an index and 78 references.) (JMD)
Descriptors: Administrators, Communication (Thought Transfer), Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Motivation, Organizational Change, Problem Solving, Psychology, Resistance to Change, School Restructuring
Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 ($29.95).
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Policymakers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A