| The purpose of this study was to discover and explain the formation and persistence of the Oakwood-Lincoln/Jefferson-Barns School Health Center in Westland, Michigan, a collaborative project jointly operated by the Wayne-Westland Community Schools and the Oakwood Healthcare System. The health center is located within Lincoln Elementary School. The clients are the students, their families, and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood called Nor-Wayne. This site was selected for study because the project had been operating since 1997. This researcher conducted interviews, examined artifacts, and functioned as a participant observer in the Nor-Wayne community for two years.; The Oakwood-Lincoln/Jefferson-Barns School Health Center was formed because it was a problem-solving solution for the healthcare providers, the educators, and the people of Nor-Wayne. It persists because it symbolizes different things for the various subcultures of this community. Kingdon (1995) describes policy changes as single solutions to single problems. This study shows how a single solution solves multiple problems and also how a single symbol represents multiple values in one socially constructed space. Because schools typically have multiple rather than single, isolated problems to solve and desire lasting results because resources must be spent wisely, the importance of this study lies in the implications for school leaders as they plan projects and make policy decisions. |
