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1 – 10 of 453Brenda S. Weeks, Marilyn M. Helms and Lawrence P. Ettkin
The TQM literature suggests that success comes to organizations ready for a change in climate. Determining levels of readiness or conversely resistance to change is an important…
Abstract
The TQM literature suggests that success comes to organizations ready for a change in climate. Determining levels of readiness or conversely resistance to change is an important step, yet few organizations assess readiness in starting a TQM (Total Quality Management) implementation. This paper highlights an assessment of a major hospital's readiness to implement a continuous quality improvement process. Discussion of the survey of both managers and employees regarding these characteristics are presented. The case highlights the need for establishing a common vision and providing training for teamwork. Perceptions of management and employees are important because these groups function as if perceptions are real. Background information and implications of findings are also included. Ways to diagnose and identify ways to remove potential hurdles to TQM are identified. Suggestions for implementing the methodology using the assessment framework and model are included. The findings can be used to assist in formulating plans for TQM implementations assessments in other hospitals.
Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber
We began this chapter with storied experiences of relationships with children and youth and of questions around tensions they can experience as they make home, familial…
Abstract
We began this chapter with storied experiences of relationships with children and youth and of questions around tensions they can experience as they make home, familial, community, and school transitions. These questions included: Why do we do it this way? Who decides? Can’t I think about what's best for my child? For Aboriginal children? As Khea, Jennifer, and Brenda Mary storied the experiences noted earlier, and as we collectively inquired into their stories, attentive to the intergenerational narrative reverberations of colonization made visible, it was their attentiveness to the particular life of a youth, Robbie; of a child, Rachel; and of a grandchild that we were first drawn. Their deep yearnings for something different in schools also turned our attention toward the counterstories to live by which they were composing. Across Khea's, Jennifer's, and Brenda Mary's earlier storied experiences the counterstories to live by around which they were threading new possible intergenerational narrative reverberations were focused on understanding children and youth as composing lives shaped by multiple contexts, that is, lives shaped through multiple relationships in places in and outside of school. This need for understanding the multiple places and relationships shaping the lives of children and youth as they enter into schools is, as shown in the earlier noted stories, vital in Aboriginal families and communities given the ways in which the narrative of colonization continues to reverberate in present lives.
Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber
Our Mi’kmaq and Anishinabe Elders, Sister Dorothy and Florence, remind us of the centrality of family in our lives and who we are becoming. When children are taken away from their…
Abstract
Our Mi’kmaq and Anishinabe Elders, Sister Dorothy and Florence, remind us of the centrality of family in our lives and who we are becoming. When children are taken away from their families and familial contexts the suffering endured by the children, parents, family members, and community is unbearable. This removal of Aboriginal children from families, communities, and the places they knew was unnecessary. Aboriginal people have always known what they want for their children: “We all agree that respect is one of the foundations of what defines our values of our people.” This teaching of respect given to us by the Elders has sustained us in the past and in the present. These teachings will continue to sustain us into the future. The stories of our parents have sustained us too. When our mothers and fathers urged us to not lose our languages they were reminding us of who we are and where we come from. In this way they were giving us a legacy of being proud of our language, of our traditions, and of our ways of being Aboriginal people. It is as we claim and reconnect with these stories of the Elders and our ancestors that we know ways forward (Archibald, 2008; Cajete, 2001; Restoule, 2000).
Hayley Weddle, Marie Lockton and Amanda Datnow
While the benefits of teacher collaboration are well documented, less is known about how emotions intersect with teachers’ collective work. Educational change is an emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
While the benefits of teacher collaboration are well documented, less is known about how emotions intersect with teachers’ collective work. Educational change is an emotional process, as reform efforts often involve shifts in teachers’ daily routines and professional identities. To better understand these complexities, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the emotional dimensions of teachers’ collaborative efforts to improve instruction.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on qualitative data, this longitudinal case study of one teacher team explores how teacher collaboration for instructional improvement intersects with emotional geographies. Data analyzed include three years of meeting observations and annual interviews with teachers and school leaders.
Findings
An analysis of data reveals how emotions both shaped and were shaped by teachers’ collaboration experiences. Varying beliefs about practice, expectations about collective work and identity (in this case, gender) impacted collaboration and subsequently opportunities for instructional improvement.
Practical implications
This study demonstrates how attending to the emotional aspects of teacher collaboration could serve as an effective strategy for bolstering capacity-building efforts. Findings highlight the interplay between emotional geographies, suggesting that common ground across one geography could potentially be built upon to close gaps across others.
Originality/value
This study provides a unique longitudinal exploration of the emotional dimensions of teachers’ collective work. The study also contributes to new knowledge about the ways in which teachers’ emotions and collaborative experiences intersect, including the interplay between emotional geographies.
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Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber
There is much to think narratively about in the experiences storied by Lulu, Brenda Mary, Jennifer, Jerri-Lynn, Khea, and Lucy of ways their stories to live by rubbed up against…
Abstract
There is much to think narratively about in the experiences storied by Lulu, Brenda Mary, Jennifer, Jerri-Lynn, Khea, and Lucy of ways their stories to live by rubbed up against narratives constructing them as not “real” teachers. Untangling these experiences shows ways the historically dominant narrative of colonizing Aboriginal people is still shaping intergenerational narrative reverberations, reverberations that weave into the life of each teacher, and as well, into the familial, communal, institutional, and broader provincial landscapes on which each teacher is composing her life.
Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber
Jennifer: There have been many meaningful experiences that have occurred throughout our time together. Being a part of this work has not only allowed me to develop a better…
Abstract
Jennifer: There have been many meaningful experiences that have occurred throughout our time together. Being a part of this work has not only allowed me to develop a better understanding about myself and the path that I choose to take from this day on, but it has resulted in new friendships with women whose stories have become part of my own.
Cecilia Silva, Molly Weinburgh and Kathy Horak Smith
In a university/district collaboration, three college professors and authors of this chapter co-taught with four teachers over a period of seven years. This study explores the…
Abstract
In a university/district collaboration, three college professors and authors of this chapter co-taught with four teachers over a period of seven years. This study explores the perceived changes in thought and practice of both groups as a result of providing three-week summer school programs for fifth and eighth grade emergent bilinguals. This research is grounded in qualitative methodologies of self-study and case study. We present our joint story as a self-study. Data were collected in the form of lesson plan notes, yearly journals, personal notes, audiotapes of meetings, and in-depth interviews/discussions of those involved in the bounded context. Resulting themes were situated meaning, hybrid language, and a 5R Instructional Model. A case study design is used to present the data from the four in-service teachers. Data were collected from field notes and interviews. Several themes emerged from the teacher data, all of which are components of situated meaning: professional development as side-by-side teaching and learning, recognition of and interest in curriculum integration, and change in classroom practice. Findings indicate that the summer program was a meaningful avenue for professional development (PD) for both groups. However, within group similarities were stronger than across group. The experience changed the way we teach and how we develop PD for teachers. The implications for professors and K-12 teachers are discussed and suggestions for further study and PD are given.
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Brenda Ellington Booth and Karen L. Cates
This case describes a newly promoted middle manager in a global, multi-cultural organization who is challenged by a number of factors in the workplace which are impacting her and…
Abstract
This case describes a newly promoted middle manager in a global, multi-cultural organization who is challenged by a number of factors in the workplace which are impacting her and her team's ability to perform to the expectations of her regional manager. While it would be easy to blame the new manager, deeper analysis in fact reveals that many forces are at work here in addition to her inexperience including communication of strategy and performance objectives, mismanaged team members, cultural inconsistencies, and a lack of leadership direction and/or skill from the very top to her supervising manager.
After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to 1) analyze and diagnose unmet expectations for performance at work, 2) apply motivation theories and constructs to common behavioral and attitudinal challenges in a team setting, and 3) learn to avoid the fundamental attribution error described in the social psychological literature on judgment in decision-making.
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Raymond Calabrese, Michael Hester, Scott Friesen and Kim Burkhalter
The purpose of this paper is to document how a doctoral research team applied an action research process to improve communication and collaboration strategies among rural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to document how a doctoral research team applied an action research process to improve communication and collaboration strategies among rural Midwestern school district stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
An appreciative inquiry (AI) action research methodology framed as a qualitative case study using the AI 4‐D cycle over four consecutive weeks was facilitated with nine purposively selected stakeholders.
Findings
Findings suggest that the AI 4‐D cycle promoted greater respect and value of participants' strengths/assets through shared personal narratives; participants transformed their rural school district's culture from defensive, isolationist, and reactive to one that embraced internal and external collaboration, greater levels of trust, and hope; and participants increased social capital between the school district and community agencies as well as in the relationship among school district stakeholders.
Practical implications
Participants entered the process with strong expressions of powerlessness focused on school district and stakeholder deficits. They left the process empowered, with a plan to improve stakeholder communication, form district and community partnerships at many levels, and act immediately to initiate transformation projects. Participants became conduits of hope for their rural community and viewed themselves as assuming leadership roles to bring groups together to build generative capacity.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the importance of the highly participatory nature of school organizations as democratic institutions, and it demonstrates that educators are empowered when their focus is on a co‐constructed imagined future.
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