Sustainable results in urban middle schools: how principals use systems thinking to lead effective change: a dissertation

652 Pages·2002·19.9 MB·English

by  Burke, Peggy H.

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Sustainable Results in Urban Middle Schools
SUSTAINABLE RESULTS IN URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOLS:
HOW PRINCIPALS USE SYSTEMS THINKING
TO LEAD EFFECTIVE CHANGE
A DISSERTATION
PEGGY H. BURKE
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
LESLEY UNTVERSTTY
Febniary 1
2002

Sustainable Results in Urban Middle Schools \
Abstract
This study presents the stories of four urban middle school principals engaged in reform
that is grounded on the core principle that every early adolescent has the capacity for
high-level intellectual development. Data collected over two years through formal
interviews and informal conversations with principals and teachers, school and district
surveys and reports, student test data, and personal observations were analyzed from a
systems thinking theoretical framework to assess each principal's ability to implement
reform that produced sustainable results. A systems thinking framework articulates the
importance of a leader's ability to: 1) c onceptualize the whole and recognize patterns; 2)
aspire a purpose for why the organization exists and describe the beliefs about how
members of the organizations will interact; 3) reflect so as to surface assumptions and
patterns of behavior that facilitate or block the organizations ability to achieve what they
want most. The analysis makes visible that all four principals have the ability to
conceptualize, aspire, and reflect. The data also suggest that the principal's clarity of
purpose has a significant impact on the their ability to stay focused on moving the school
in a coherent direction.

Sustainable Results in Urban Middle Schools
Acknowledgements
The skeleton of this dissertation materialized when Dr. Stephen M. Brown, at that time
Dean of the College of Education at Lesley University, recommended that I r ead Peter
Senge's book. The Fifth Discipline (1990). The concept of Systems Thinking resonated
with my own beliefs about leadership and creatmg collaborative organizations. Dr.
Brown continued to nurture my interest through several conferences on leadership and
organizational learning sponsored by Linkage. It was at these conferences that I h ad my
first opportunity to hear and talk wdth Peter Senge and Margaret Wheatley. I a m
extremely grateful to Steve for the introduction, dialogue, and initial support m
imderstanding the multiple layers of Systems Thinking.
Peter Senge's Work, at that time with hmovation Associates, led to my introduction to
Lou Ann Daly. I g reatly appreciate Lou Ann's mentoring and guidance on a j ourney into
systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning.
When I w ould leap over big concepts, she gently walked me through the maze helping
me to understand the nuances.
The many people that I t hen met through my work vsdth Turning Points both nationally
and locally gave me the heart and content of the work. This committed group of people,
includes: principals, teachers, students, superintendents, and assistant superintendents,
fellow coaches, and the researchers and practitioners of the original Carnegie Project, the
Middle Grade School State Policy hiitiative (MGSSPI). There are many from MGGSPI