Leadership and The Self-Organizing School

David F. Bower, Ed.D.Complexity Science and Educational Research

ConferenceOctober 2004

bowerd@ohio.edu

Some challenges facing school leaders stem from using mechanistic views toexamine parts of problems rather than seeing the whole and the context. Chaos andcomplexity theory offers new concepts such as self-organization that may assist schoolsto find more holistic ways to sustain reform and improvement. The purpose of thisresearch is to study the dynamics of self-organization in one school using these questions:

1. What characterizes self-organization and renewal within a school?2. How do self-organization and renewal sustain reform and improvement?3. How does leadership support and sustain the dynamics of self-organization,renewal, and improvement?

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the experiences of the staff ofone middle school in order to better understand the phenomena of self-organization. Dataderived from interviews and focus groups were analyzed and coded into categories. Thecategories group the experiences to reveal some of the dynamics of self-organization.Field notes from records of documents were collected and analyzed. Journal notes andreflective comments by the researcher were used to provide insights into qualitative data.

Interview transcriptions were studied and coded to identify themes that emerged.Categories of data were organized into an outline with the three research questions as themain topics. The first research question included the categories of focus, interaction, andemergence. The second question included sense-making and sustaining conditions. Thethird question included categories of individual and collective leadership. The story of aschool retreat showed how the topics and categories worked in interaction.

Data from this study suggests that self-organization and renewal are characterizedby focus, interaction, and emergence. Self-organization and renewal sustain reform andimprovement indirectly and are also related to emergence. Mediating conditions includesense-making, freedom, a safe and supportive environment, and ownership. Ownershipseems to depend upon many other factors including principles, freedom, creativity,support, and leadership. Sustained reform and improvement emerge from these factors.Leadership supports and sustains the dynamics of self-organization, renewal, andimprovement in individual and collective ways.

This study suggests that self-organization can help schools become moreadaptable and sustain reform and improvement by internalizing purpose and focus.

Abstract

Background Questions about my school Questions about my role as leader Questions about new theories of

organization From holonomy to chaos theory to

self-organization to my study

Problem statement What do we know about successful

schools that have sustained reform efforts over time? How can a study of such schools inform our work of school improvement? How can current organizational theories become a lens to help us focus on successful practices?

Purpose The purpose of this research is to

study the dynamics of self-organization in a school.

Research questions 1. What characterizes self-organization

and renewal within a school? 2. How do self-organization and renewal

sustain reform and improvement? 3. How does leadership support and

sustain the dynamics of self-organization, renewal, and improvement?

Definition of terms Self-organization Reform and improvement Renewal Leadership

Limitations School history and demographics Study of one school in depth Researcher as participant

Conceptual Framework From core to process level to

emergence level Core influences processes;

processes influence emergence Sustained and emerging changes

can influence core

Emergence Level

Ownership

Process Level

The Core:Principles/

Philosophy/Values

Renewal

Self-Organization

Creativity

Safe/trustingenvironment

EngagementFeedback

Relationships

Communication

Sense making

Dialogue

Conceptual framework

Literature review

Part One: Educational Reform Organizational change Chaos and complexity Self-organization

Part Two: Leadership

Purpose of literature review

Set research study in context of educational reform, organizational change, and new organizational theories

Self-organization offers a new approach to sustaining reform and improvement by organizing from the inside out

Methods and Procedures Qualitative research and

phenomenology Research design Context of study Data collection methods Data analysis Population and participants

Research Design First round of open-ended questions Document and history review Second round of semi-structured

questions Transcription Categories and themes Focus group questions Final analysis

Research Methods Constant comparative method Comparison of interview data with

historical data and with topics from literature review

Journal notes from researcher

Context, Population, and Participants One school – Roosevelt Middle

School Population includes 47 certified

teaching and non-teaching staff 21 staff members participated All participation was voluntary Researcher was also a participant

Historical Background History of Roosevelt Middle School First interviews (open-ended)

2000-2001 Records summary The garden metaphor Emerging patterns

Emerging Patterns Topics of leadership, freedom and

autonomy, relationships, ecology (location, size, community) emerge from the data

Emerging topics lead to further research questions

Data Findings and AnalysisSecond interviews (semi-structured) 2001-

2002Research questions:1. What characterizes self-organization

within a school?2. How do self-organization and renewal

sustain reform and improvement?3. How does leadership support and sustain

the dynamics of self-organization, renewal, and improvement?

What characterizes self-organization and renewal within a school?

Focus Student focus; Internalized focus; Principles

and Philosophy Interaction

Relationships and Teams; Communication and Feedback; Conversation

Emergence Renewal; Creativity; Personal Engagement

Summary: Developing patterns

How do self-organization and renewal sustain reform and improvement?

Sense Making Collective and Individual Sense-

Making Sustaining conditions

Freedom; Safe/Supportive Environment; Ownership

Summary: Developing patterns

How does leadership support and sustain the dynamics of self-organization, renewal, and improvement?

Individual leadership: Principal Principal as buffer/filter; Leadership;

Support Collective leadership: Principal and

teachers Shared leadership; Inside/Out organization

Putting it together: The story of a school retreat

Summary: Developing patterns

Focus Group Interviews Three focus group sessions – May

2002 Voluntary participants Methodology

Seven focus questions; transcribe taped interviews; analyze for patterns; correlate to prior interviews

Summary: Confirming patterns

Discussion of Data Review of problem

Look at interaction of parts Study change that originates from

within Examine renewal, sustained change,

and self-organization Link data to literature

First research question What characterizes self-organization

and renewal within a school? Focus Interaction EmergenceWhat characterizes self-organization and

renewal is what emerges from within.

Focus Core principles create a foundation

for work; work emerges from within and organizes around focus; boundaries are open

“Generative cultures have no boundaries” (Chawla and Renesch, 1995).

Interaction Teamed relationships support

communication and conversation Focus is student-centered Genuine accountability“…contrasting the effectiveness of

ten individuals acting alone with that of the same ten people acting in concert” (Marion, 1999).

Emergence Renewal, creativity, personal

engagement come from within Co-creation links change to renewal

(people support what they create) Edge of chaos or bounded instability

avoids complacency, stability, and routine

“…edge of chaos…(Pascale, 2000). Ecotone – “…edges where differences

come together are the richest of habitats… (Krall, 1999).

Second research question How do self-organization and renewal

sustain reform and improvement? Sense making Sustaining conditionsSelf-organization and renewal sustain

reform and renewal indirectly and are related to emergence.

Sense making Individual and collective sense-

making reduces isolation, supports sense of “fit”, and fosters internalization of purpose

Holonomy – the interaction of individual and collective

“…integrative and self-assertive tendencies of holons” (Capra, 1982).

Sustaining conditions Safety and freedom support risk-

taking and creativity Ownership emerges from shared

leadership and internalized focus on principles

Autonomy + freedom = coherence through self-organization (Wheatley,1992)

Third research question How does leadership support and

sustain the dynamics of of self-organization, renewal, and improvement?

Leadership supports these dynamics by shifting the concept of leadership from individual to collective. Attention to processes and relationships supports this shift.

Individual leadership:Principal Buffer/filter; listen; support;focus Balance process and content“All managers can do is to establish

the conditions that enable groups of people to learn…” (Stacey, 1992)

Collective leadership: Principal and teachers Collective leadership is based upon

sound relationships Leadership must be redefined Leading from inside/out is collective and

creative process“If self-management is our goal, then

leadership will have to be reinvented in a fashion that places ‘followership’ first (Sergiovanni, 1992).

What I have learned about leadership in a self-organizing school

Shift focus to relationships and to interaction of the parts

Support the processes Be patient while results emerge Communicate values and leadership

philosophy clearly Balance direction with improvisation

What leaders can do Move organizations to edge of

chaos or bounded instability Remember that the whole

determines the behavior of the parts

Keep the focus clear; complexity will emerge

Unanticipated findings Teams cannot support interaction,

internalization, or emergence if relationships are dysfunctional

Public nature of teaching can intimidate as isolation ends

An independent/autonomous school may lack ability to integrate and to balance self-assertion with integration.

Further research Serendipity and synchronicity may

exist with self-organization. Do we have the “lens” to see these phenomena?

Applying principles of self-organization to district-level work

Can self-organizing schools sustain their work?

Conclusion Education: from Latin roots ex

meaning out and ducere meaning lead

If education is about leading out, then it is about what emerges from within

Self-organization, emergence, and leadership support this dynamic

References Chawla, S. & Renesch, J. (Eds). (1995). Learning organizations:

Developing cultures for tomorrow’s workplace. Portland, Oregon: Productivity Press.

Capra, F. (1982). The turning point: Science, society, and the rising culture. NY: Bantam Books.

Marion, R. (1999). The edge of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pascale, R.T., Milleman, M., & Gioja, L. (2000). Surfing the edge of chaos: The laws of nature and the new laws of business. New York: Crown Business.

Krall, F.R. (1994). Ecotone: Wayfaring on the margins. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.

Wheatley, M. J. (1992). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Stacey, R. (1992). Managing the unknowable: Strategic boundaries between order and chaos in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (1992). Moral leadership: Getting to the heart of school improvement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

About the Author

David F. Bower is an assistant professor of teacher education in the College of Education at Ohio University. His primary program affiliation is Middle Childhood Education.

Dr. Bower joined the faculty at Ohio University in the fall of 2003. He completed his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico in May 2003. He received his Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from UNM in 1996. He also holds a BA degree in English, Theater Arts, and Education from Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bower was a high school English and drama teacher for twenty years prior to his work as a middle school administrator. He is a former principal of Roosevelt Middle School in Albuquerque, NM.

Dr. Bower has presented at a variety of conferences including the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum, the NM Administrators Conference on Education, and the South Australian Middle Schooling Conference.

Research interests include teacher preparation, quality, and leadership; chaos and complexity theory as applied to schools and organizations; and middle childhood education.