| In this fast-changing world where advances in science and technology threaten to outpace the effectiveness of schools, there is a dire need for a new model of educational leadership to effectively manage the changes encountered. Schools can no longer prepare people to fit in the world of twenty years ago, because that world will no longer exist (Senge, 2000). The purpose of this study was to examine the new emerging model of leadership, the concept of the learning organization in a school setting, and to determine the degree to which characteristics of the learning organization were present. In doing so, this thesis explores (a) the applicability of organizational learning theory to the understanding of schools and (b) practical images of organizational learning in school settings.; The study was conducted through a qualitative research approach consisting of interviews, participant observation and document analysis. The study built on baseline data already collected by Brown and Sheppard (1996). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
