SOME CONSEQUENCES OF A SPONSORED INNOVATION IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
| Published date | 01 February 1976 |
| Pages | 187-198 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009753 |
| Date | 01 February 1976 |
| Author | JOHN DINUNZIO,DONALD J. WILLOWER,PATRICK D. LYNCH |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XIV, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1976
SOME CONSEQUENCES OF A
SPONSORED INNOVATION IN AN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
JOHN DINUNZIO, DONALD J. WILLOWER AND
PATRICK D. LYNCH
A program designed to influence student attitudes toward school by changing teacher at-
titudes and behavior was set up in the
fifth
and sixth grade classrooms of
an
elementary
school. Field observations suggested
the
importance of
methods
of entry,
the
significance
of
particular
events
as turning
points,
and the
flow
and ebb
character of
the
fate of
the
innova-
tion.
It was held that much of what occurred could be explained by the nature of school
social structures.
The potential utility of field methods to study educational organizations
has been highlighted by a number of
writers,1
and in recent years inquiries
of this type have become more common.2 Some of these investigations
have dealt specifically with the impact that various changes or innovations
have had in school organizations.3 The research reported here examined
the consequences of a sponsored innovative program in an elementary
school.
BACKGROUND
The program in question was developed and sponsored by faculty
members in a large university and was supported by federal funds ad-
ministered through a state agency. It was designed to enhance affective
relationships in the classroom, primarily by helping teachers become more
aware of the nature of their behavior and its influence on students.
A rural elementary school that served an all white clientele primarily
from relatively low income families was the site of the program. The
Daniel Boone school4 was selected because discussions between university
personnel and school district administrators suggested benefits for stu-
dents from such a program and because the fifth and sixth grade teachers
there, considered by the building principal to be likely prospects for this
kind of activity, agreed to participate.
One of the two fifth grade teachers was a young woman who had taught
JOHN DINUNZIO (D.Ed., Penn. State) is a secondary principal in the upper Merion (Pa.)
Area Schools. DONALD J. WILLOWER, Professor of Education at Pennsylvania State
University, is a frequent contributor to this journal. PATRICK D. LYNCH, Professor of
Education at Pennsylvania State University, has published extensively in the field of multi-
cultural education.
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