’A school′s Micro Society program is not a gimmick, as Professor Cherniss carefully describes and discusses. It is a process that gives students responsibilities and obligations. They experience the benefits of collaboration and the problems of group cohesion, and they learn how and why the bottom line of their economic enterprise requires foresight, decision-making, flexibility, creativity, and more. Are there problems in creating and maintaining such an enterprise? Yes, but Professor Cherniss candidly, critically, sympathetically, and constructively explains why readers will have no doubt that the Micro Society′s educational potential is indeed great. It is the opposite of a transient fad, of which there has been a surfeit.’
–Seymour B. Sarason, Professor Emeritus
Psychology & Education, Yale University
See meaningful whole-school reform strategies through the lenses of the Micro Society® program!
The steady stream of quick-fix educational reforms du jour has drowned out the optimism and drive of many school leaders. To buoy the hopes and success of change agents, this guide offers a real look into school reform, with its trials and triumphs, and pinpoints specific strategies for overcoming the former and achieving the latter.
Looking closely at the Micro Society® whole-school reform model, the text empowers leaders with a systemic approach to implementation and sustainability of meaningful change. Along with the history and basics of Micro Society®, it highlights research-based tactics, enabling administrators, teachers, parents, and students to fully invest in and affect positive, enduring reform. The book features:
- Actual challenges and proven solutions for everything from dealing with ’problem’ students and time constraints, to attaining genuine teacher buy-in and seamless curriculum
- 16 straightforward guidelines for before, during, and after implementation
- In-depth case studies illustrating the gamut of outcomes, from failure to success, and why they resulted
- Insights on how ’emotional intelligence’ influences the change process
- Implications for educational policy
Innehållsförteckning
Dedication
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part One: Overview of the Program
1. The Micro Society® Program
A Day in the Life of a Micro Society® Program School
The Origins of the Micro Society® Program
The Micro Society® Idea Spreads
The Guiding Philosophy Behind the Micro Society® Program
Basic Elements of the Program
Micro Society® Program Outcomes: What the Research Shows
The Problem of Implementation
Conclusion
2. Challenges Encountered in Implementing the Program
Lack of Teacher Buy-in
Excessive Time and Work Demands
Making Links Between the Micro Society® Program and the Core Curriculum
What to Do With “Problem” Students?
The Problem of Staff Conflict
The “Fog of Change”
Threats to Sustainability
Conclusion
Part Two: Guidelines for Successful Implementation
3. Creating a Favorable Context
Guideline 1: Relationships Among Teachers and Principal
Guideline 2: Goodness of Fit
Guideline 3: Parent and Community Involvement
Guideline 4: Principal Support
4. Introducing the Program to the School
Guideline 5: Giving Teachers a Meaningful Voice
Guideline 6: Planning Before the Program Begins
Guideline 7: Securing Additional Funding
Guideline 8: Matching Teachers With Ventures
Guideline 9: Realistic Goals and Time Perspectives
5. Keeping It Running
Guideline 10: Expand Student Responsibility
Guideline 11: Seek Out Additional Resources
Guideline 12: Create a Culture of Experimentation
Guideline 13: Continue to Set Aside Time for Planning
Guideline 14: Create an Open and Flexible Decision-Making Structure
6. Leadership – The Critical Ingredient
Guideline 15: The Principal as Advocate
Guideline 16: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
Part Three: Case Studies in Implementation
7. A Successful Replication: Mesquite Elementary School
Before-the-Beginning: Providing a Favorable Context
Introducing the Program to the School
Making It Work: The Management Team, the Coordinator, and the Consultant
Maintaining Teacher Commitment Through Decision-Making, Planning, and Training
Seeking Out and Using Resources
A Supportive Principal and Organizational Climate
The Principal’s Social Capital and Emotional Intelligence
Conclusion
8. Wellfleet Elementary: Everything That Can Go Wrong…
The School and Its History With the Program
What Went Wrong? The Before-the-Beginning Phase
Sowing the Seeds of Trouble: Introducing the Program to the School
Becoming Operational: Trying to Cope With Chaos
The Organizational Context: Weak Leadership and a Negative Climate
9. Montgomery Middle School: Success That Could Not Be Sustained
The School and Its Community
Introducing the Program to the School: The Principal Takes the Lead
Becoming Operational: The Teachers Confront Reality
The Program Ends
Part Four: Sustaining School Change in an Ever-Changing World
10. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
Implementing Change Versus Sustaining It
Two Central Lessons That Emerge From the Study
A First Step: The Selection and Training of Educators
The Role of the External Environment
Conclusion
Resource A: A Description of the Study
Resource B: The Implementation Guidelines
References
Index
Om författaren
Cary Cherniss currently is Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Organizational Psychology Program in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. He also has taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the University of Illinois in Chicago, the Chicago Medical School, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. He received his Ph D in psychology from Yale University in 1972. Dr. Cherniss specializes in the areas of emotional intelligence, professional burnout, management training and development, and planned organizational change. He has published more than 50 scholarly articles and book chapters on these topics, as well as six books: The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace (with Daniel Goleman); Promoting Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: Guidelines for Practitioners (with Mitchel Adler); The Human Side of Corporate Competitiveness (with Daniel Fishman); Professional Burnout in Human Service Organizations; Staff Burnout; and Beyond Burnout: Helping Teachers, Nurses, Therapists, and Lawyers Recover From Stress and Disillusionment. In addition to his research and writing, Dr. Cherniss has consulted with many schools and school districts. He also has consulted with other kinds of organizations in both the public and private sectors, including American Express Financial Advisors, Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Honeywell, and PSEG Power. He currently is the director and cochair (with Daniel Goleman) of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and past president of its Division 27 (Society for Community Research and Action), and he is a member of the Academy of Management.
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