Complexity Theory, Networking, and the Work of Small-District Superintendents

  • Corrie Stone-Johnson
Chapter

Abstract

As a future or practicing administrator, you are undoubtedly committed to ISLLC Standard 3, which states that an education leader should promote “the success of every student by ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.” But what does such an environment look like? And how can you possibly ensure management of it when, in a time of dwindling human resources, your work feels like it is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it seems that there are never enough people to help? In such times, you might believe that managing an organization relies upon trying to control as many elements as you can. Supervising people, handling emergencies as they pop up, and running interference between parents and the district are par for the course in your daily life.

Keywords

Complexity Theory School Leadership Complex Adaptive System Social Network Theory District Leader 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Additional Reading

  1. Lewin, R. (1999). Complexity: Life at the edge of chaos. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  2. Marion, R. (2002). Leadership in education: Organizational theory for the practitioner. Upper Saddle Rver, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
  3. McQuillan, P. J. (2008). Small-school reform through the lens of complexity theory: It’s “good to think with.” Teachers College Record, 110(9), 1772–1801.Google Scholar
  4. Morrison, K. (2008). Educational philosophy and the challenge of complexity theory. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 40(1), 19–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Snyder, K. J., Acker-Hocevar, M., and Snyder, K. (2008). Living on the edge of chaos: Leading schools into theglobal age (2nd ed.). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.Google Scholar
  6. Chapman, C. (2008). Towards a framework for school-to-school networking in challenging circumstances. Educational Research, 50(4), 403–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Daly, A. J. (2010). Mapping the terrain: Social network theory and educational change. In A. J. Daly (Ed.), Social network theory and educational change (pp. 1–17). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
  8. Earl, L., and Katz, S. (2007). Leadership in networked learning communities: Defining the terrain. School Leadership and Management, 27(3), 239–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Evans, M. P., and Stone-Johnson, C. (2010). Internal leadership challenges of network participation. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 13(2), 203–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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Copyright information

© Gary Ivory, Adrienne E. Hyle, Rhonda McClellan, Michele Acker-Hocevar 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Corrie Stone-Johnson

There are no affiliations available

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