| This study was concerned with the effects of a training program on the administrators of a large school district during a Quality Management (QM) change effort. The purpose was to ascertain whether the training made a difference in the participants' opinion of the change effort, whether district managers were motivated to learn new things, and whether they had taken part in the training activities. Also considered, were whether attendance at the training had a positive effect on the administrators' opinions of the change effort, changed their behavior at the work site, and changed their self-professed level of knowledge about Quality Management.; The school district Board of Education and the Superintendent directed that a Quality Management System be instituted in the district, one component of which was a training program for all administrators. A series of training activities, both required and optional, was offered to all administrators over a 3-year period.; The theoretical perspective was evaluation research using an action research methodology (Crotty, 1998). At the end of the training series, all administrators were surveyed about the change. The results from the survey indicated that at the end of the study, many participants felt that the purpose of Quality Management was clear to them, and they could see the possibility of the program succeeding. Participants who were positive about the change effort attended more training and listed more applications of their learning than those who were not. Participants who saw evidence of the implementation of QM at their work site were more positive about the QM effort than those who did not. Many participants spoke about a lack of support for the change effort from their supervisors.; It may be that school district personnel and others responsible for designing training programs to effect a change effort should consider that people who are more knowledgeable and who attend more training are more likely to feel supported and notice more of the implementation of a new effort. Support for new learning should be built into the effort at the job site and structured for transfer of learning, affording managers the opportunity for integrating their new learning into their practice.; Future research might consider how employees can be encouraged and supported in their attempts to implement new learning about a change effort. Would a program where the training is mandatory coupled with support from the district's leaders be more effective? Also in question is the feasibility and effectiveness of Quality Management in the educational system. |
