ERIC Number: ED283294
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1980-Feb
Pages: 20
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Formal Organization and Faculty Communication: A Study of the Multiunit Elementary School.
Charters, W. W., Jr.
This report analyzes the effects of multiunit school organization on elementary teachers' patterns of task-related communication. Multiunit teacher work teams, or units, are characterized by discussions between teachers about the intimate details of their daily work; this contrasts with the structurally undifferentiated organization of conventional schools where independent teacher arrangements in self-contained classrooms inhibit anything but general discussions. Hypothetically, multiunit organization would segmentalize teachers into intensely interacting microcosms, increase overall task-related communication, and concentrate communication linkages within faculty units. This report focuses on "before and after" measures taken in April 1974 and again periodically throughout the next two school years ending in April 1976 at 10 schools making clear strides toward multiunit implementation; a similar number of control schools were measured simultaneously. A sociometric-like procedure was used to measure task-related communication so that patterns of interaction could be identified. The more crucial analyses relate to patterning and amount of within-unit as compared to across-unit interaction. Analysis demonstrated that change to team organization increased the overall amount of faculty task-related communication, and a hierarchical regression procedure tested the dependability of the change. Log-linear analysis showed that communication linkages doubled within-unit and dropped about one-fourth across unit over the measurement period. Though schools moved toward segmentalization, only one-quarter of units became tightly-knit microcosms. Factors that pressure small group members toward uniformity could be divisive, but short of this, segmentalization of the communication structure could be the first step toward differentiation in the faculty's normative system. This scenario depends, however, on factors whose fulfillment seemed uncertain among schools studied. Teachers also appeared reluctant to sustain team allegiance over time. In sum, this study shows that school structural reorganization influenced unit members in the schools studies to discuss more with each other and less with other unit members. (CJH)
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Elementary Education, Group Dynamics, Instructional Innovation, Interpersonal Communication, Multiunit Schools, Norms, Organizational Communication, Organizational Theories, Participative Decision Making, Predictor Variables, Questionnaires, Research Methodology, School Organization, Teacher Attitudes, Team Teaching
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.; Spencer Foundation, Chicago, IL.
Authoring Institution: Oregon Univ., Eugene. Center for Educational Policy and Management.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A