School as a Loosely Coupled Organization? An Empirical Examination Using National SASS 2003-04 Data

Autor/inn/en	Shen, Jianping; Gao, Xingyuan; Xia, Jiangang
Titel	School as a Loosely Coupled Organization? An Empirical Examination Using National SASS 2003-04 Data
Quelle	In: Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45 (2017) 4, S.657-681 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1741-1432
DOI	10.1177/1741143216628533
Schlagwörter	Schools; Educational Change; Accountability; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Data; Decision Making; Systems Approach; Teachers; Principals; Elementary Secondary Education; National Surveys; Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? School; Schule; Bildungsreform; Verantwortung; Daten; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Systemischer Ansatz; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Principal; Schulleiter
Abstract	The notion of schools as "loosely coupled" organizations has been widely discussed in the research literature. Many argue it is either a protective mechanism for schools to buffer external pressure or a barrier for implementing new reforms. Against the backdrop of systemic change and accountability, we applied a two-level hierarchical linear model to nationally representative data in the US, testing the "loosely coupled" theory through examining the association between data-informed improvement efforts at the school level and data-informed instruction at the classroom level. Statistically significant associations were identified but with a small proportion of variance explained, indicating that the top-down systemic change strategy failed to tighten the system as intended. Alternatively, bottom-up strategies, such as professional learning communities, which operate under the assumption of working with loose coupling, should be considered. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01