Leading appreciative inquiry in public schools: The experiences of site coordinating team members

This study examines a large scale appreciative inquiry (AI) intervention involving 22 schools in an urban and multicultural school district.;The literature currently available on school change informs us that while educators must cope with waves of reform, the rate of successful implementation of educational innovations has been quite low. In order to be successful in leading change initiatives, educators must identify and adapt to their schools' organizational change processes that take the whole system, the culture of the school and the needs of individual educators into account. Further, as public schools employ non-hierarchical shared decision-making processes, they need to understand the impact of such processes on the change "novices" who are called upon to lead. This study explores how the experience of leading a reflexive strengths-based change process such as AI impacted both the schools as well as those leading the process.;Data were collected through interviews of 23 site coordinating members, observations of AI summits and workshops and compilation of documents and then analyzed through the use of grounded theory methodology.;The results of the study are described in 13 propositions. Propositions related to the impact of the experience on members of the site coordination teams included greater engagement with their schools, a better perspective of the whole system and opportunities for personal growth. The study also includes propositions to the effect that the schools were able to engage a diverse group of stakeholders and manage cultural differences through the process as well as increase the level of collaborative initiatives. The research also suggests that schools were better able to maximize the benefits of the process if they integrated AI and its outcomes into school routines and strategies and adapted the process to the rhythms of the school year.;Key Words: Appreciative inquiry; grounded theory; public schools; school reform; change agent.