Diane Reed

Why do standards and restructuring play such an

important role in educational reform?

Bolman & Deal (1997)Four lenses people rely on to

frame, assess, and respond to situations.

Created a model to analyze the components of organizations

Theoretical model which has been tested with research

Can be helpful in seeing the organization as a whole

Four frames of the whole

Vision, mission, beliefs and goals Rules, roles, and responsibilities Policies, procedures Physical environment and place Technology Work environment

Organizations achieve efficiency through established goals and appropriate division of labor

Organizations work best when rationality prevails over personal agenda and extraneous pressures and units mesh

Structures must be designed to fit a system’s current circumstances

When structural deficiencies arise they can be corrected through analysis and restructuring.

Human capital

Intellectual capital

Skill sets

Rights, responsibilities, rewards

Financial capital

What people do for and to each other

People and School are interdependent

Views the frame with reference to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Power

Congruence, conflict, competition

Communication patterns

Formal and informal power

RCSD politics

Community building

Members have differences in values, beliefs, information, interests, and perceptions of reality

Goals and decisions emerge from bargaining and negotiations

Most important decisions involve allocating resources

Scarce resources and differences put conflict in the center of interpersonal dynamics and make power the most important asset or lack of power the most important need

School culture

Symbols

Ceremony and celebration

Stories and storytelling

Heroes and heroines

What is important is not what occurs, but what it means. What is expressed is more important than what is produced.

Events and actions have multiple interpretations.

Facing uncertainty, people create symbols to resolve confusion, find direction, and give hope and faith.

Culture forms the mesh that bonds the school together and unites people. Symbols are the building blocks of culture.

StructuralConfusion, chaos, loss of clarity

Human ResourceAnxiety, vagueness, uncertainty, feeling of

inadequacy Political

Lack of power and independence, perception of winners and losers

SymbolicLoss of meaning and purpose—retreat to

comfort of the past

How can it be approached

from each of the 4 frames?

StructuralHumanPolitical Symbolic

The key to being a highly effective leader is the ability to use multiple perspectives to view common challenges and solve difficult problems.

The structural frame—clear organizational standards and goals lead to greater productivity

The human resource frame—sharing individual needs and motives nurtures a sense of ownership

The political frame—conflict and compromise are a constant source of renewal

The symbolic frame—culture, rituals, and beliefs cultivate shared values and meanings

“To find an extraordinary photograph, I need the right lens on my camera. In other words, if I don’t view the challenge from the right perspective, I won’t have a chance of finding a creative solution…

The wrong lens—the wrong perspective—keeps me from capturing the extraordinary view. When I corrected my perspective, I found the real photograph”

DeWitt Jones – National Geographic “Seeing the Ordinary as Extraordinary