Schools Coping with a Changing World.

Changes in society such as unemployment, the economy, crime, violence, families, and technology all affect schools. Schools must understand how these changes in society will have an impact on education and respond appropriately. Schools are similar to other organizations, and research commonly assumes that they change strategically in response to external demands or pressures. However, the process of change is more complex and less focused. There are two problems in studying the interactions between organizations and their environments. First, it is not always clear where the organization ends and the environment begins. Second, many organizations have many diverse environments. Three studies help examine the interaction between organizations and their environments: interviews with 12 secondary school principals; case studies of a school district, a hospital, a government department, and a private-sector company; and case studies of 5 school districts. The studies revealed that educators believe that nearly everything happening in the school environment is important to education. However, they have no structured way of learning about the external world. Also, educators are often overwhelmed by environmental change and have difficulty responding to it. There are steps educators can take to more efficiently understand and deal with environmental change. (Contains 63 references.) (JPT)