IMPROVING THE ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE OF SCHOOLS: AN EVALUATION OF AN INTERVENTION
| Published date | 01 February 1984 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009889 |
| Date | 01 February 1984 |
| Pages | 135-145 |
| Author | BRIAN JOHNSTON,CHRISTINE E. DEER |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XXII, NUMBER 2 SUMMER, 1984
IMPROVING THE ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE OF
SCHOOLS: AN EVALUATION OF AN INTERVENTION
BRIAN JOHNSTON AND CHRISTINE E. DEER
This paper reports the results of an evaluation of Human Achievement Skills training
course conducted by the South Australian Education Department for 17 principals
and deputies. The courses were based on a Carkhuff training model and were highly
structured. Evaluation data were collected from three sources: interviews with par-
ticipants three months after the completion of the courses; interviews with selected
members of their staffs three months after the courses; and completion by staff of
organisational climate questionnaires before the course and six months after the
course. The evaluation showed significant changes in the behaviour of the principals
and deputies in a number of areas of the H.A.S. course.
THEORETICAL AND CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK
During the first half of 1980, Human Achievement Skills (H.A.S.) training
programs were conducted for principals and teachers in the Central
Northern Region of the South Australian Education Department. At the
request of the course organiser, David Kranz, Senior Staff Development
Officer in the Department for Community Welfare, the South Australian
Education Department arranged an independent evaluation of the
courses. The evaluation was desired for four reasons.
Firstly, the courses are long, lasting ten or eleven days. It is therefore an
advantage, particularly, in times of declining resources for education, to
know whether lasting changes occurred as a result of the expenditure
involved.
Secondly, the courses are very structured giving the participants a clear
sense of direction. They have been presented in a consistent format for
several years making summative evaluation rather than formative evalua-
tion appropriate as a means of determining the long term effects of the
courses.
Thirdly, the courses are based on the Carkhuff skills training model.1
The efficiency of this model has not been thoroughly established, despite
frequent assertions that it is strongly supported by research. Lambert, De
Julio and Stein2 pointed out that
Carkhuff3
emphasised only positive
BRIAN JOHNSTON is Research Officer, Directorate of Research and Planning. Education
Department of South Australia, Adelaide, S.A. 5000. CHRISTINE E. DEER is Senior Lec-
turer in the School of Education, Macquarie University, North Ryde, N.S.W. 2113.
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