Senge's learning organization concepts applied to one vocational school faculty (Peter Senge)

This case study investigated one vocational technical school faculty to gather data on their behavior in reference to the constructs of a Learning Organization; based on Peter Senge's (1990) book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of a Learning Organization. The major study areas were: how the faculty differed from Senge's constructs in the Learning Organization; the processes used in developing the staff into a Learning Organization; and the barriers needed to be overcome to move to a Learning Organization.; The researcher interviewed 12 participants from the school that were selected by the school administration. A study was conducted in the fall term of 1999. The study centered on the vocational school faculty to determine whether this school or schools of this type could operate as and be classified as a Learning Organization according to Senge's (1990) work. Questions were divided into the core disciplines of building the Learning Organization: Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning.; A survey was distributed among members of the faculty who were not included in the interviews. Feedback from the survey was analyzed to determine the progress in the development of this school as a Learning Organization.; An Innovation Configuration was used as a rubric for determining the rating of the participants' interview data against Senge's Learning Organization criteria. The data revealed that the faculty needs to work as a system in order to restructure and strive for continuous improvement in order to meet everyone's needs in which they can effectively serve the whole of that community. The educational professionals need to build a collective vision and learn together as a team, which they will eventually effect a change and be successful.; The findings suggested that the faculty developed some routines of team concepts. The administration created team leaders as an attempt to improve the organization where the team met regularly with their division to brainstorm. The data analysis revealed the interviewees received acceptable ratings on the Innovation Configuration of Senge's disciplines in Personal Mastery, Mental Models, and Team Learning. This study revealed that the school faculty used some of the principles of the Learning Organization, but has not yet achieved the vision of Peter Senge.