| This study examined the productive patterns of individual and organizational learning found in three case studies: The Laboratory School of the University of Chicago (The John Dewey School), David Crockett High School, and Alonso Perales Elementary School. These three schools are identified as learning schools in the literature, and as such, the leadership function of the schools is defined by the actions of the professional members of the school. The members of these schools display certain behavioral attributes which encourage trust, collaboration and effective problem solving. In order to understand and attempt to replicate the success of learning schools, the purpose of this study was to provide data to comprehensively define the behavioral attributes critical to a learning school and support a working definition of a learning school. Once defined, these attributes were used to construct an inventory to guide the evaluation and development of other learning schools. The three research questions addressed are: (1) What are the behaviorally defined attributes of learning schools, (2) How can these attributes be used to construct an inventory to tap perceptions of the degree to which these attributes are present in a single school, and (3) What is the perception of a professional educator in a single school using the inventory?; An examination of the data collected for this study revealed that there are eight key behaviorally defined attributes which identify the actions of the members of the learning schools. Formed using the framework of Chris Argyris and Donald Schon's (1974, 1996) Model II theories-in-use, these attributes parallel the behaviors found in the Model II school environment. When the individuals in the learning schools displayed these attributes, open dialogue, reflection, and enhanced problem solving ensued, learning was expanded, and a common meaning was formed.; Although this study significantly adds to the body of knowledge regarding learning schools, further research and applications of the inventory are needed to investigate how these behaviorally defined attributes are developed in individuals. To effectively guide the advancement of other learning schools, educational leaders must be able to identify these learning school attributes in their own schools. |
