The implementation of an innovation in a public junior high school /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1988.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to document the relationships between Navasota Junior High School's (NJHS) modal process of change and the nature of the innovation, the teachers concerns about the innovation, and the teachers' utilization of the innovation. A variety of methods were used to collect data. An examination of NJHS's history of innovation implementation was accomplished through an interview process with several of the NJHS staff. Through this, a paradigm of NJHS's modal process of change was developed. Information describing the nature of the innovation included a description of the functions and capabilities of the innovation, results of an assessment of NJHS's needs (with respect to information management), observations of events during the different stages of implementation, and informal interviews with school faculty who were directly involved with the implementation process during the 1986-87 school year. In order to assess the teachers' concerns about the innovation, the Stages of Concern (SoC) questionnaire was administered to the teachers at NJHS. Based on the results of the SoC questionnaire, several teachers were selected to be interviewed using the Levels of Use (LoU) interview technique. The interviews served two functions. They were used to: 1) determine the Levels of Use of the innovation by the teachers at NJHS, and 2) further delineate the results of the SoC questionnaire. Based on the findings, it was concluded that because the nature of the innovation included the teacher in the development process it did not fit NJHS's modal process of change. The unfamiliarity of this type of implementation caused the school personnel to deal with issues involving technical knowledge and skills that they did not have, which resulted in negative attitudes toward the innovation. Subsequently, after acquiring the appropriate knowledge and skills and clarifying role expectation, positive attitudes toward the innovation prevailed. In addition, it was concluded that concerns about the innovation and involvement with the innovation by the school personnel followed an s-curve relationship. This behavior was typical of past reactions to innovation implementations at NJHS. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Curriculum and Instruction." |
| Physical Description: | xi, 214 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-122). |