Schools as Self-Renewing Systems: An Emergent Theoretical Perspective

• In Event: Systems Thinking as a Solution to Failed Educational Reform Efforts

Abstract

The purpose of this paper presentation is to advance an emergent theoretical perspective of schools as self-renewing systems. The theoretical perspective as proposed views school organizations as open systems, requiring a reconsideration of the school as a dynamic system, interconnected and interrelated to multiple social contexts, recognizing and reorganizing itself as old structures break down and new structures emerge. The theoretical perspectives set forth, and the supporting argument provided in this paper responds to the need for new alternative perspectives for understanding schools in a time of chaos and significant change.

Author

• Patrick M. Jenlink, Stephen F. Austin State University