Skip to main content
Log in

Self-managing groups and the professional lives of teachers: A case study

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine how interdisciplinary teaching teams were used in a newly opened Midwestern middle school to produce a work environment different from the one found in most traditionally organized schools. Five salient features of the work environment are described: organization around interdisciplinary teams, shared leadership, focus on children, the influence of the principal, and integrated programming for children. The article includes an analysis of how interdisciplinary teaching teams at this school affected some traditionally problematic aspects of teachers' work. Interdisciplinary teams are discussed as one illustration of self-managing work groups in school organizations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, W., and George, P. (1981).The Exemplary Middle School. New York: Holt, Reinhart, & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. S. (1982). The search for school climate: A review of the research.Review of Educational Research 52: 368–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1988).Teacher Involvement in Decision-making: A State-by-State Profile. Author.

  • Corcoran, T. B., Walker, L. J., and White, J. L. (1988).Working in Urban Schools. Washington, DC: Institute for Educational Leadership.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, T. G. (1978). Self-regulating work groups: A sociotechnical synthesis.Academy of Management Review 3: 625–634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farber, B. A., and Miller, J. (1981). Teacher burnout: A psychoeducational perspective.Teachers College Record 83: 235–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatewood, T. E., and Dilg, C. A. (1975).The Middle School We Need. Report from the ASCD Working Group on the Emerging Adolescent. Washington, DC: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, P. S. (1973). The middle school in Florida: Where are we now?Educational Leadership 31: 217–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grooms, A. (1967).Perspectives on the Middle School. Columbus, OH: Charles Merrill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hackman, J. R. (1986). The psychology of self-management in organizations. In M. S. Pollack and R. O. Perloff (eds.),Psychology and Work: Productivity Change and Employment pp. 85–136. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hackman, J. R., and Oldham, G. R. (1980).Work Redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, E. J. (1985). Team teaching and teacher orientation to work: Implications for the preservice and inservice preparation of teachers.Journal of Education for Teaching 11: 228–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, J. H., Markle, G. C., and Arhar, J. M. (1988). Cooperation, collaboration, and the professional development of teachers.Middle School Journal 19(3): 28–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasten, K. L. (1986). Redesigning teachers' work.Issues in Education 4: 272–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawler, E. E., III (1986).High-Involvement Management: Participative Strategies for Improving Organizational Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, A., and Miller, L. (1984).Teachers, Their World and Their Work: Implications for School Improvement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, J. W. (1982). Norms of collegiality and experimentation: Workplace conditions of school success.American Educational Research Journal 19: 325–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lortie, D. C. (1975).Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manz, C. C., and Angle, H. (1987). Can group self-management mean a loss of personal control: Triangulating a paradox.Group and Organizational Studies 11: 309–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manz, C. C., and Sims, H. P., Jr. (1984). Searching for the “unleader”: Organizational member views on leading self-managed groups.Human Relations 37: 409–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manz, C. C., and Sims, H. P., Jr. (1987). Leading workers to lead themselves: The external leadership of self-managing work teams.Administrative Science Quarterly 32: 106–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merenbloom, E. Y. (1986).The Team Process in the Middle School: A Handbook for Teachers. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metz, M. H. (1983). Sources of constructive social relationships in an urban magnet school.American Journal of Education 91: 202–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, L. (1988). The “restructuring” puzzle: Ideas for revamping “egg-crate” schools abound, but to what ends?Education Week 8(9): 7–8, 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poza, E. J., and Markus, M. L. (1980). Success story: The team approach to work restructuring.Organizational Dynamics 8(3): 3–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenholtz, S. J. (1985). Political myths about education reform: Lessons from research on teaching.Phi Delta Kappan 66: 349–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, G. (1983). Contradictions, ironies, and promises unfulfilled: A contemporary account of the status of teaching.Phi Delta Kappan 65: 87–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitford, B. L., and Kyle, D. W. (1984). Interdisciplinary teaming: Initiating change in the middle school. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1984.

  • Wise, A. E. (1979).Legislated Learning: The Bureaucratization of the American Classroom. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wise, A. E. (1987). Two conflicting trends on school reform: Legislated learning revisited.Phi Delta Kappan 69: 328–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zielinski, A. E., and Hoy, W. L. (1983). Isolation and alienation in elementary schools.Educational Administration Quarterly 19(2): 27–45.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kasten, K.L., Short, P.M. & Jarmin, H. Self-managing groups and the professional lives of teachers: A case study. Urban Rev 21, 63–80 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01108495

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01108495

Keywords

Navigation