Developing Collective Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Structures in Schools

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Abstract
This paper describes an organization development program for edu cational systems and reviews an experiment conducted to assess its im pact on elementary schools and their teaching staffs. The OD program was designed to establish collective decision-making structures in schools and to initiate survey feedback and group problem-solving proc esses at the faculty level. The program was implemented in seven randomly selected schools and evaluated within the framework of a four-group experimental design. Evaluation results indicated that the program was generally successful in establishing collective structures and increasing the perceived adequacy of collective decision processes in the experimental schools. Additionally, the program led to a variety of faculty-initiated changes and improved teachers' attitudes toward im portant aspects of their work environment.