|
The School Management Initiative (SMI), whose uniqueness differentiates itself from all other piece-meal programmes ever introduced into the local educational scene, could be viewed as an educational
change. That the implementation of change requires more attention to culture than structure is so often
neglected that numerous change efforts hitherto tried, both local and abroad, have either failed or been
distorted. This research tries to examine the interaction between organizational culture and change in
the implementation of the SMI. By drawing on two apparently extreme cases, the researcher hopes to
provide the practitioners of the SMI with an ethnographically informed dissertation whose 'thick'
qualitative data might shed light on the implementation process strategy-wise.
Introduction | Literature Review | Methodology and Data Collection | Data Display and Analysis | Discussion and Conclusion | References Methodology and Data Collection Return to TOP This small-scaled investigation on the interaction between organizational culture and change goes under the umbrella of a parent longitudinal research project 'The Impact of the SMI on some Hong Kong Aided Secondary Schools' headed by Dr. Andrew Wong of the University of Hong Kong. 12 schools participating in Phase I of the SMI are investigated in April and May 1994 for the second time around in addition to 3 schools which newly join the scheme. Questionnaire survey on teachers and pupils as well as interviewing of the principal and selected key informants are conducted. More in-depth studies into two of these schools is conducted solely by the researcher in light of the implementation of change. It is hoped that this mix of qualitative and quantitative data will complement each other and provide more fruitful results than merely cutting the tree single-handedly. Site Selection, Entry Negotiation, and Rapport Building Data collected in the previous year by the parent research 'The Impact of the SMI on some Hong Kong aided secondary schools' is used as the primary source of evidence for site selection. In that research, the impact of the SMI was measured partly against school climate. The 12 schools being studied responded quite differently in this respect: some were more 'successful' while some were quite reluctant. This ethnographically informed inquiry tries to explain further what is behind these preliminary quantitative findings. Extreme case sampling is employed: 2 schools are selected from the ends of the continuum for further qualitative investigation. It is hoped that with contrast and comparison some light might be shed on the variations in the implementation of change. Derived from relevant literature reviewed in the previous chapter, the researcher hypothesizes that there is somewhat a relationship between organizational culture and change, and sets forth to explore how they interact in the process of implementation. Negotiating entry may be relatively less difficult, as the researcher is also one of the members of the parent research team. However, a nod form the principal does not necessarily guarantee full co- operation of his or her staff, especially that of the rank and file; occasionally, unwelcome directions from the top might even ruin the show. Rapport building is thus very important once the researcher is in the field. More will be discussed in later on how the researcher is greeted by the school personnel. Data Collection and Triangulation This investigation on the SMI relies, aside from existing literature local and abroad, mainly on evidence collected 'in the field'. Data, the majority of which in the form of spoken and written words, is collected by means of interviewing educational practitioners, observing personally site events and activities, and analyzing documentation. This multi-source mode of data collection is employed for the sake of triangulation which in turn elevates the reliability of this investigation. For the sake of convenience, happenings in the fields are mostly recounted in the present tense. Interviewing Although site observation and documentary analysis are also included for triangulation, data is be primarily collected from interviewing. Interviewees are drawn from the cross-section of each school. Altogether 24 and 26 teachers/administrators (including the principals) are interviewed in Schools A and B respectively. The numbers represent 50 per cent or more of the total population; although careful sampling has not been done, it is hoped that the bulk of interviewees would help elevate reliability. With the exception of a few (less than 5% of the total population), the researcher seldom asks to meet with any teachers in particular throughout the eight visits to each schools. All interviewees are believed to be selected by the vice-principals according to their availability at the time of the interview. The researcher believes that the sample used assimilates roughly that of a random sampling, and is therefore a realistic portrait of the population regarding gender, seniority, as well as ranking and grades. Pupils and parents are left out owing to the scale of this research, although their roles in shaping the school culture are acknowledged. Observation Site observation, ranging from informal promenade around the campus, to attending staff meetings or even lunch yum cha, made by the human instrument (i.e. the researcher) provides first-hand data for processing, and is used to cross-check those gathered from formal interviewing. The researcher has the opportunity to attend, in School A, 5 meetings at various levels and a monthly assembly, apart from observing a period of a special class teaching and engaging in 3 lunch yum cha with the principal as well as some counselling teachers. My experience in School B is even more unforgettable: Mr C, the vice-principal in charge of the SMI, has arranged a seat for me in the largest of the 5 staff rooms on the ground floor, and I therefore have the invaluable chance of observing what is really going on in the staff room at different time slots. I am also given chances to actually teach in 3 classes in order to evaluate teachers' perception of the pupils. I am able to attend a morning assembly and an after-school meeting of S1 and 2 class teachers concerning discipline, too. Apart from going to a lunch with the principal and the administrators, some teachers have invited me to their lunch yum cha. Merely being 'in the field' very often stimulates the senses of the researcher in 'smelling' the culture of the organization and is sometimes essential to complement 'reading between the lines'. Documentation Administrators of both schools are willing to release their records upon the researcher's request. Current minutes of all levels of meetings in School A are almost readily available while minutes of administrative meetings for more than two years in School B are made available immediately from an administrator. However, the researcher later finds out that what is documented in black and white reveals only a very small part of the whole truth. This will be referred to again later. All these bits and pieces ascribe to what the researcher calls data thereafter. Home : Introduction | Previous : Literature Review | Next : Data Display and Analysis | References * This is a shortened, ready-to-publish version of my M.Ed. dissertation completed at the University of Hong Kong in 1994. Return to TOP This dissertation was last updated on December 25, 2001 and made available at http://www.anthonyng.com/dissertation Copyright © 1994-2001 Anthony NG All rights reserved. |