Restructuring Teaching: Form, Process, and Outcome.

Educators have recently become more willing to realign the educational system. One approach is restructuring, which can take many forms. This study looks at three districts that restructured teaching, two with career ladders and one with shared governance. The reforms took two directions--professional and bureaucratic--which had important consequences for the process and outcomes of the restructuring. Many factors were encompassed in the direction taken, including how districts addressed certain dimensions of job and organizational design; i.e., authority and autonomy. Political factors that shaped the direction of development include the shape of the state program; the support of the board; the vision of the superintendent; and the interactions of board, superintendent, teachers and teachers' associations. Where the direction was bureaucratic--imposed from the top down with little or no teacher influence--there was significant teacher resistance, standardization of curriculum and instruction, and negative impacts on teacher motivation. Where the direction was professional--developed locally with significant teacher influence--there was widespread teacher acceptance, significant differentiation in curriculum and instruction, and positive impacts on teacher motivation. Where the direction was mixed--both top down and teacher-influenced design and implementation--results were mixed and difficult to assess. (Author/JD)