Framing School Organizations as Complexity Systems: An Education Policy Creation and Practice Tool

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18.
  In Roundtable Session: From Policy to Practice: Investigating the Implications of Reform

Abstract

This conceptual analysis of school organization considers public school organizations through the lens of complexity theory. Schools are complex, multi-layered organizations that can be difficult to frame and understand through conventional organizational and leadership theoretical perspectives. With this analysis we connect the existing literature of complexity system theory with traditional organizational and leadership theories. The synergy of complexity theory and the established companion theories allows us to consider school reality, its relationship dynamics, and the mechanisms for implementing education policy and practicing school leadership in a way that provides a completely new and more practical perspective.

Authors

• Young Hyeo Joo, Dongguk University

• Mark D. Halx, Halx Consulting Group