Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2004 Constructing School Organization Through Metaphor: Making Sense of School Reform Nolia C. Brandt Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CONSTRUCTING SCHOOL ORGANIZATION THROUGH METAPHOR: MAKING SENSE OF SCHOOL REFORM BY NOLIA C. BRANDT A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2004 Copyright © 2004 Nolia C. Brandt All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Nolia C. Brandt defended on April 22, 2004. _____________________________ Carolyn D. Herrington Professor Directing Dissertation _____________________________ Karen L. Laughlin Outside Committee Member _____________________________ Sande D. Milton Committee Member _____________________________ Terrence R. Russell Committee Member _____________________________ Jerome S. Osteryoung Committee Member _____________________________ Patrice M. Iatarola Committee Member Approved: ____________________________________ Carolyn D. Herrington, Chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii This work is dedicated to Bill Brandt for his unfailing support, and to the dissertation committee members who made this research possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dissertation Committee members, past and present, were instrumental in guiding the research. With deep appreciation, the following are recognized and thanked: Carolyn Herrington, Ph.D., Committee Chair Sande Milton, Ph.D., Committee member Karen Laughlin, Ph.D., Committee member Terrence Russell, Ph.D., Committee member Jerome Osteryoung, Ph.D., Committee member Patrice Iatarola, Committee member Allen Imershein, Ph.D. George Papagiannis, Ph.D. Peter Easton, Ph.D. The members of the laboratory school are gratefully recognized for their dedication to quality education and their time and generosity in meeting with the researcher. Dan Nelson, Linda Nelson, and Anne Petty are thanked for their insights during reviews of the work in progress and for their assistance during the editing process. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................... 5 “Truth” and “Reality” ..................................................................................................... 6 Presentations of Research and Symbolic Understandings: Science and Perception..... 15 Sociology ...................................................................................................................... 20 Mimesis and Phenomenology: Science and Literature................................................. 22 The Organization of Work ............................................................................................ 27 The Need for Change in the Workplace........................................................................ 28 Job Redesign in the United States................................................................................. 31 The Future of the Workplace: Technology and Organizations..................................... 32 Issues in the Changing Workplace................................................................................ 34 Organizations and Metaphors ....................................................................................... 39 Learning Change ........................................................................................................... 49 Newer Metaphors of Organizations and Organizations as Learning Systems.............. 55 Schools as Sites of Production...................................................................................... 62 Education Reform......................................................................................................... 63 Lab Schools in the U.S.................................................................................................. 76 2. METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................ 78 Methodology Literature ................................................................................................ 78 Methods in this Case Study........................................................................................... 81 3. REALITY IN THE LAB SCHOOL: OBSERVATIONS, NARRATIVES, AND FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 87 Background Information on the State's Lab Schools.................................................... 87 The School.................................................................................................................... 90 Changes Impacting the School and Metaphors............................................................. 94 Metaphors in this School ............................................................................................ 121 4. CONSEQUENCES OF COMPETING METAPHORS ON EDUCATORS AND THE ORGANIZATION.................................................................................................... 158 Changes....................................................................................................................... 158 Realities....................................................................................................................... 159 Metaphors.................................................................................................................... 160 Fostering Change ........................................................................................................ 163 Learning Organization................................................................................................ 167 APPENDIX A................................................................................................................. 169 v TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED OF ADULT STAFF MEMBERS ......................................................................................................... 170 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................... 171 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 235 vi ABSTRACT Constructing School Organization Through Metaphor: Making Sense of School Reform is an in-depth case study of a K-12 laboratory school affiliated with a major state university. The school was undergoing a series of significant changes, mainly due to mandates brought about through educational reform policy and the upcoming loss and replacement of their school facilities. The study was of a particular period in time, and spanned approximately one year. The directed, open-ended questions asked during interviews with adults in the school were related to changes the school was undergoing, how these changes were being implemented, and how these were affecting teachers in relation to their teaching. Insights about the organization were in part gained by the use of metaphor as a tool for looking at organizational structure, and for viewing and describing the meanings that educators created around their roles, professions, and organization. Qualitative research was chosen as the best method for studying these research questions: • What understandings about the organization and the changes exist? o What organizational metaphors are played out in this school undergoing rapid change? o Are multiple metaphors conflicting or complementary? • What are the consequences of competing metaphors on educators and the organization? During times of change, an organization's metaphors are more readily apparent as the actors respond to the pressures of change: this was true at the lab school. Metaphors helped expose how individuals constructed shared meanings about their school, the changes impacting the school, and themselves as members of the organization. The study provides insights into how metaphor and rhetoric were used by educators and others to help construct the social reality of their school, a reality played out through the school's culture. Great concerns surfaced during the interviews about the role of the teacher, the needs of students, the purposes of education, and issues about reform. At the same time, holding the culture together were certain underlying values, characteristics, and expectations—mainly a commitment to student learning and the best interests of the students. The shared metaphor of "teacher" allowed the culture of the school to survive with some strength, even while co-existing with the dissonance caused by other, competing metaphors. However, the shared metaphor of "teacher" did not reduce the school's struggle with change, and the socializing aspects of the culture did not appear to vii be contributing to an overall understanding or acceptance of the proposed new school and new metaphors necessary