The ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic on society affected several facets including formal education. Significantly, the indefinite closure of schools was introduced to control the spread and related fatality of the pandemic making the decision to reopen schools for all learners in January 2021 after several months of closure a preparedness concern.…

A review of studies on chaos theory suggests that some elements of the theory (systems, fractals, initial effects, and bifurcations) may be applied to classroom learning. Chaos theory considers learning holistic, constructive, and dynamic. Some researchers suggest that applying chaos theory to the classroom enhances learning by reinforcing…

This paper has three purposes. First, it places in scientific perspective the growing acceptance in educational administration research of alternative methods to empiricism by an explication of chaos theory and its assumptions. Second, it demonstrates that chaos theory provides a scientific basis for investigation of complex qualitative variables…

Chaos theory is being used as a tool to study a wide variety of phenomena. It is a philosophical and empirical approach that attempts to explain relationships previously thought to be totally random. Although some relationships are truly random, many data appear to be random but reveal repeatable patterns of behavior under further investigation.…

Chaos theory, based on quantum physics research, boasts six central concepts: the butterfly effect, onset of turbulence, dissipative structures, random shocks, strange attractors, and recursive symmetries and feedback mechanisms. This article examines five principals' daily experiences, focusing on participants' efforts to generate meaning from a…

Describes chaos theory in light of its original principles derived from the physical sciences and in terms of scholarly attempts to apply those precepts to educational administration. When transposed to management models, the theory loses its mathematical and empirical underpinnings. Since researchers cannot verify whether the theory applies to…

Purpose: This study aims to analyze a school's crisis management and explore emerging aspects of its response to a school crisis. Traditional linear modes of analysis often fail to address complex crisis situations. The present study applied a dynamic crisis life cycle model that draws on chaos and complexity theory to a crisis management case,…

Some recent writers cast doubts on planning and development planning and use chaos theory to justify their skepticism. This article questions the application of chaos theory to school planning. Alternatively, control theory clarifies important differences between short- and long-term planning and facilitates self-managing schools' use of…

Chaos theory provides a useful mental model for guiding change as leaders garner the energy from unpredictable events for realizing transformation goals. The paper considers chaos theory as a framework for managing school change toward Total Quality Management work cultures. Change is possible to manage when plans are made and then followed by a…

Reviews models and theories on effective schooling. Discusses four rationality-based organization theories and a fifth perspective, chaos theory, as applied to organizational functioning. Discusses theory-embedded principles flowing from these theories: proactive structuring, fit, market mechanisms, cybernetics, and self-organization. The…

In "Thriving on Chaos," author Tom Peters suggests that future managers will need the quick reactions of video game players. Patient observation may work better. Chaos theory teaches that random happenings cannot be controlled; the toughest, randomly caused problems have no solutions; a leader's vision or moral code cannot be imposed on…

Recent theories associated with physical reality have increasingly been adapted as social-science paradigms. Chaos Theory and Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) are two advances that are applicable to the educational administration field. According to Edward Lorenz's Chaos Theory, profound changes in outcome can arise from small variations of input.…

Presents a case study of the ideology, strategies and process of the "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" project in its attempt at school reform in an urban school district. Reflects on the project's activities, and uses its experience to develop a conceptual framework based on chaos theory, as developed in mathematics and science, for discussing…

This paper reports on a study that examined the chaotic events that principals face at their schools. The article uses a postmodern approach, claiming that traditional linear modes of explanation do not address the situations that principals frequently face. The study was conducted at three elementary schools. The primary source of data was…

The Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P), a technology-based project, introduced the Internet into all levels of the Pittsburgh Public Schools during 1993-97. This is a case study of the ideology, strategies, and process of the CK:P project describes the project's activities, examines the project in light of school-reform literature, and uses its…