Date of Award
Summer 1977
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Gillespie, Margaret C.
Second Advisor
Topetzes, Nich J.
Third Advisor
Thompson, Al
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to test the effectiveness of a school psychologist's utilization of a consultation model based on OD theory in a planned effort to effect organizational improvement in an urban, central city elementary school as reflected by improved staff communication, increased openness, and increased participation in problem-solving and decision-making activities. Subjects were staff members (administrators, teachers, aides, and paraprofessionals) who were assigned to two elementary schools (K-6) in the central city of a large, midwestern metropolitan school district. Participation in the study was voluntary. The experimental group consist ed of 32 staff members assigned to the elementary school serviced by the school psychologist. The control group consisted of 15 staff members assigned to an adjacent school which served a neighborhood contiguous to the experimental school. Complete data were available for 41 subjects. The OD intervention evolved from the experimental group's request for help in improving interpersonal relationships within their school. The group met weekly from October through June. The OD project was directed toward improving staff communication, openness, and decision-making and problem-solving skills, as well as toward increased parental involvement and increased understanding of the needs of students and how to meet them in the regular classroom. The OD design provided for a sequence of structured training events as a first step toward solving organizational problems. Structured, rather than less structured, activities were chosen in order to focus on organizational rather than on personal development. Skill exercises chosen afforded the group members a means of applying their group goals to job-related tasks. This reinforced the group's focus on organizational, not personal, development...