Report
Staff Development and Educational Renewal through Dialogue in Two School Systems: A Conceptual and Empirical Assessment
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse
1987
Abstract
This document describes and assesses an ongoing systematic approach to educational renewal through staff development that has been in progress for the past four years in two school systems--Eastern Lancaster County School District and William Tennent High School, both in Pennsylvania. The essential characteristic of the staff development learning process is substantive dialogue among teachers and administrators, and its primary aims are (1) empowerment of teachers and administrators, (2) improved teaching and administrative practices, and (3) organizational changes necessary to support the first two aims. Section 1 states the aims of the dialogue approach to staff development, describing the essential theoretical principles, based on John Dewey's philosophy, on which the dialogue is deliberately constructed. Section 2 sets forth some of the major outcomes that have emerged over four years across the two sites. These reveal a general pattern of success in achieving the three aims. Section 3 restates the major theme of the article: that school renewal efforts that respect the intelligence of teachers and administrators and that link this intelligence to a process that is both democratic and inquiring can achieve significant practical outcomes in the morale of teachers and principals. It also summarizes the practical outcomes and raises one fundamental problem the approach must solve if it is to be a primary means to educational renewal: the dialogue process frequently delays the testing of more fundamental solutions to educational problems by giving the appearance of progress while leaving untouched the fundamental deficiencies of structure and process. (TE)
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Details
- Title
- Staff Development and Educational Renewal through Dialogue in Two School Systems
- Creators
- Richard A GibboneyJohn M Gould
- Publisher
- Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse
- Resource Type
- Report
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education
- Identifiers
- 991020542602204721