Promises and pitfalls: principals using short-cycle school improvement plans to optimize organizational change
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 4 July 2023
Issue publication date: 19 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
School improvement planning has been a central part of school improvement initiatives for decades. Evidence suggests, however, that traditional planning processes are regularly superficial. In the USA, some principals have begun developing short-cycle planning designed to encourage school leadership teams and staff to develop, monitor and adjust plans throughout the academic year.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study of eight schools in one urban district, the authors analyzed multiple rounds of short-cycle improvement plans and principal interview data to assess the progress schools made implementing plans over the course of a semester, the ways in which plans were monitored and adjusted and the extent to which principals embraced short-cycle planning.
Findings
The authors found that many tasks from first semester plans were completed, which informed the development of plans for the second semester. Observational data were primarily used to monitor plan completion, although principals engaged in monitoring but relied on their leadership team to do so. Principals reported regular engagement with plans throughout semester, but plans were seldom adjusted within a semester.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that short-cycle planning is potentially a viable alternative to traditional annual planning as principals communicated being more engaged and adaptive. Still, the evidence also indicated that old habits might be hard to break as school leaders did not monitor and adjust plans frequently enough to guide improvement efforts in relative “real time.”
Keywords
Citation
Meyers, C., Aaron, T., Hitt, D.H. and VanGronigen, B. (2023), "Promises and pitfalls: principals using short-cycle school improvement plans to optimize organizational change", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 846-862. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-07-2022-0256
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited