Johnston - MP Complete

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND INCREASED
MOTIVATION, PERFORMANCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN PARKLAND SCHOOL
DIVISION #70
By
Scott M. Johnston
B.Ed, University of Calgary, 1999
An Organizational Leadership Project Report submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
In
LEADERSHIP
We accept this Report as conforming
to the required standard
Kelly D. Wilkins, PGD, Project Sponsor
Brigitte Harris, PhD, Faculty Supervisor
Niels Agger-Gupta, PhD, Committee Chair
ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY
November 6, 2012
© Scott Murray Johnston, 2012

Opportunities For Change In PSD i
ABSTRACT
This action research project explores the question: how can early and middle years
administrator’s stories inform strategies for increasing individual teacher engagement in
Parkland School Division #70? This project seeks to demonstrate the impact of merit based
staffing changes on organizational culture. This project involved the teachers and administrators
of an Alberta school division located west of Edmonton. The literature on engagement,
motivation, change, culture and hiring contributes to an understanding of administrator and
teacher stories within Parkland School Division. A mixed method approach that consisted of
narrative interviews and an engagement survey generated methods to determine new, best-
practice approaches for increasing engagement through organizational change. The study
concluded that: one, Parkland School Division schools exhibit diverse organizational cultures;
two, collaboration promotes engagement; three, change initiatives promote engagement; four,
employment practices strongly contribute to school culture; and five, empowerment increases a
teacher’s sense of energy; and six, that leadership is the primary determiner of organizational
culture.

Opportunities for Change in PSD ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am incredibly grateful to those who helped me to turn this vision into a reality:
The members of the Parkland School Division Lead Team for their wisdom, for their
stories and for continuously challenging my thought process. I am grateful to the administrators
who offered to open up their lives to pepper this document with their stories. I wish I could have
captured them all. Most notably, thanks to Archie Lilico and Shaye Patras who kept on me to
“get it done.” Parkland School Division is truly an exceptional employer.
The members of MAL 2010-3 for their encouragement and support during the most
challenging times. Most notably I am grateful to Muthanna Subaiah, Caleb Liu and Rob Story
for their continued support.
My project supervisor, Brigitte Harris. Most notably for her patience and persistence and
for her courage to supervise a pressure-prompted, fully aligned ENTP.
The Senior Team at Parkland School Division for their continued guidance. Most notably
Kelly Wilkins, who agreed to sponsor my research; Tim Monds for his mentorship; and Margaret
Jacob for continuously reminding me, “that’s your job!” I should also acknowledge my former
superintendent, Mary Lynne Campbell who stated that if I wanted to continue to be a principal, I
better get going on the Master’s degree.
Finally, I am grateful to my family. Most notably my loving wife Kerri and my two sons,
Hale and Nicholas for their patience during all those nights and weekends lost to literature and
the laptop. Good days are ahead.

Opportunities for Change in PSD iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................iii
CHAPTER ONE – FOCUS AND FRAMING............................................................................... 1
The Opportunity and its Significance ....................................................................................... 3
Systems Analysis of the Opportunity ....................................................................................... 5
Organizational Context............................................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................... 13
Motivation and Engagement................................................................................................... 14
Motivation......................................................................................................................... 14
Engagement....................................................................................................................... 16
Individual and Organizational Change ................................................................................... 18
Individual change.............................................................................................................. 19
Organizational change ...................................................................................................... 20
Time for change................................................................................................................ 21
Environment for change.................................................................................................... 22
Leadership and change...................................................................................................... 24
Organizational Culture and School Community..................................................................... 25
Organizational Culture...................................................................................................... 26
Organizational Fit ............................................................................................................. 28
Organizational Culture of Schools.......................................................................................... 30
Culture and Leadership..................................................................................................... 32
Recruiting and Retaining ........................................................................................................ 34
Hiring and retention .......................................................................................................... 35
Organizational Culture and Person-Organization Fit ....................................................... 37
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 41
CHAPTER THREE – INQUIRY APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ................................. 42
Research Approach ................................................................................................................. 42
Project Participants ................................................................................................................. 45
Survey Participants ........................................................................................................... 46

Opportunities for Change in PSD iv
Narrative Interview Participants ....................................................................................... 46
Research Methods................................................................................................................... 48
Tools ................................................................................................................................. 48
Research Procedures ......................................................................................................... 51
Data analysis ..................................................................................................................... 53
Ethical issues........................................................................................................................... 57
Respect for persons........................................................................................................... 58
Concern for welfare. ......................................................................................................... 59
Justice................................................................................................................................ 59
Summary................................................................................................................................. 60
CHAPTER FOUR – ACTION INQUIRY PROJECT RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS......... 61
Study Findings ........................................................................................................................ 61
Finding 1. Employees in Parkland School Division are highly inspired by collaborative
organizational cultures...................................................................................................... 63
Finding 2. Teachers’ energy levels change significantly throughout the year ................. 67
Finding 3. The organizational culture of the school is a key factor in engagement,
motivation and performance for teachers ......................................................................... 71
Finding 4. School administrators have a very high degree of influence on the
organizational culture of their schools.............................................................................. 76
Finding 5. Individual and organizational change impacts engagement............................ 83
Study Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 88
Conclusion 1. Parkland School Division schools have different organizational cultures 89
Conclusion 2. Collaboration in PSD promotes engagement............................................. 90
Conclusion 3. Carefully considered change initiatives in PSD promote engagement...... 91
Conclusion 4. Employment practices strongly contribute to school culture .................... 92
Conclusion 5. Empowerment (control) increases energy ................................................. 94
Conclusion 6. Leadership is the primary determiner of organizational culture................ 96
Scope and Limitations of the Research................................................................................... 98
Summary............................................................................................................................... 100
CHAPTER FIVE – RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS .................................................................. 102
Study Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 102

Opportunities for Change in PSD v
Recommendation 1. Promote a culture of collaboration ...................................................... 102
Recommendation 2. Promote healthy opportunities for growth and change........................ 104
Recommendation 3. Hire culture promoters and continuously improve hiring practices .... 106
Recommendation 4. Develop and promote cultural leadership to engage employees in a sense
of control............................................................................................................................... 107
Organizational Implications.................................................................................................. 109
Implications for Future Inquiry............................................................................................. 110
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 112
APPENDIX A: SURVEY PREAMBLE .................................................................................... 122
APPENDIX B: SURVEY........................................................................................................... 123
APPENDIX C: SURVEY INVITATION TO LEAD TEAM .................................................... 124
APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW LETTER OF CONSENT ........................................................... 125
APPENDIX E: INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (DRAFT) .................................... 126
APPENDIX F: EMAIL INVITATION FOR INTERVIEW PARTICIPATION ....................... 127
APPENDIX G: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 400: PERSONNELPRINCIPLES ......... 129
APPENDIX H: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 406: STANDARDS FOR STAFF
DEVELOPMENT....................................................................................................................... 130
APPENDIX I: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 413: TEACHER TRANSFERS .............. 132
APPENDIX J: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 420: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT....... 134

Opportunities For Change In PSD1
CHAPTER ONE – FOCUS AND FRAMING
At the heart of this Organizational Leadership Project Report is the curiosity of how
organizational culture and occupational change can inspire engagement, motivation and
performance. Specifically, this project focused on teacher growth and motivation through the
stories of occupational change or inability for occupational change that exist within Parkland
School Division #70 (PSD). For the purpose of this research, I examined individual, occupational
change and organizational change. I looked at individual, occupational change through teacher
movement that included the following types of movement: transfers between school sites,
changes to teaching assignment grade, and changes to teaching assignment subjects. I also
examined the concept of change by analyzing organizational culture. Peter M. Senge (2006)
noted that “rather than pushing harder to overcome resistance to change, artful leaders discern
the source of the resistance. They focus directly on the implicit norms and power relationships
within which the norms are embedded” (p. 88). Through this research project, I intended to
identify the relationship of individual engagement to individual change.
As a researcher and a lifelong learner, I have always been interested in change. I was
fascinated by the concept of revolution during my history studies prior to becoming a teacher. To
support the career opportunities of my spouse, in 2004 I reluctantly left a position of familiarity
and comfort. As much as I was fascinated by change, I was also reluctant to be changed. My
transition experience to Parkland School Division was incredibly rewarding and I identified that,
for me, new opportunities created new energy, increased motivation and, therefore, improved
performance. I have now had the opportunity to work in seven schools and five of these are in
Parkland School Division’s family of twenty-two schools. I recognize that change brings
opportunity and growth. During the 2009-2010 academic year, unique circumstances led to the
opportunity to work as an administrator in three different schools and I ended the year with

Opportunities for Change in PSD 2
placement in a fourth school. During this time, and in response to my own movement, I had the
opportunity to hear specific teacher narratives that spoke to an unrealized desire in teachers for a
change in assignment. Additionally, I heard stories of traditions no longer desired and stories of
organizational change due to changing leadership. I also heard stories of beliefs that teacher
movement could benefit a school culture and an individual even if they were resistant to change.
As I indicated earlier, this report uses the term “movement” to discuss an occupational
change that includes teacher transfers between schools and teaching assignment changes within
schools. At the Lead Team Retreat in 2011, the principals and senior administrators indicated an
agreement that this is an area of concern and expressed interest in pursuing alternatives to our
current organizational procedures to improve teacher movement (personal communication,
February 22, 2011). Currently, Parkland School Division’s Administrative Procedure 413 reads:
“Teacher initiated transfers are dealt with through the open competition process. As teacher
staffing is site based, all teaching staff who are interested in changing school sites must apply to
job postings at a school of their choice” (Appendix H).
To this end, this action research project explored the following question:
How can early and middle years administrators’ stories inform strategies for increasing
individual teacher performance and motivation in Parkland School Division #70?
Sub-questions included:
1. What is the engagement impact for teachers who move between schools or to
different grade levels? For instance, does moving to an unfamiliar grade or subject
within a school contribute to, or diminish teacher motivation and productivity?
2. How does organizational culture impact performance and motivation?

3. What is the impact of personnel change on school culture? For instance, how is a
school impacted by a change in teaching staff or a change in leadership?
4. What relationship exists between organizational change and attitudinal change?
The Opportunity and its Significance
A community measures its local school division by the academic success and the
demonstrated citizenship of its students. Measured student success is a product of learners who
achieve excellence in the outcomes they are expected to master. In addition to citizenship and
academic growth, Fried (2001) noted that excellence includes creativity, individuality, and work
that is intrinsically important and globally connected (p. 192). Further, he stated that at least a
third of teachers “leave teaching during their first few years, due to frustration, exhaustion, or
disillusionment” (p. 278). Stronge (2007) identified characteristics of effective teachers and
noted that these are individuals who care, who recognize complexity, who clearly communicate
and who serve conscientiously (p. 100). Parkland School Division’s primary website is
www.psd70.ab.ca. As indicated on the public site, the mission of Parkland School Division is to
prepare, engage, and inspire our students to be their best in a quickly changing global
community. Given the characteristics of conscientious, dedicated teachers, the school division
can ensure and improve upon its success when teachers are motivated and dedicated to their
learning environment. I hypothesized that individuals who felt misplaced in their organizational
culture, or “stuck” in their location or in their teaching assignment may search for ways to
improve their culture or, perhaps to move to a better setting or assignment. This qualitative
inquiry of administrator narratives is significant in that it identifies methods for the school board
and senior administration to improve the following qualities: teacher motivation, relationships,
organizational culture, mental models (paradigms) and trust.

The relationship of individuals to their organizational culture is primarily a human
resources issue and, as such, it impacts the constituents of the school division in different ways.
Engagement, motivation and performance are issues that impact the elected school board, the
senior administration, the lead team, the teachers and, finally, the students and parents. Given the
reach of this assignment, the students’ perspective was not researched through narrative inquiry.
The intent of this research was to determine if, and how, organizational culture impacts
motivation. In Chapter Two, I explain that organizational culture is a human resource issue. As
such, I focused on the narratives that exist among educators and educational administrators.
Currently, site-based decision making for hiring and movement exists within the Lead Team
(principals and assistant principals). This means that the principal ultimately decides who will
teach in her or his building. School principals and assistant principals in Alberta must first
demonstrate that they are established, effective teachers. As such, I considered that they would
be great candidates for revealing the relationship of engagement to organizational culture.
The teachers and principals of Parkland School Division are collectively represented by
the Alberta Teachers’ Association Local 10. This organization introduced the concept of teacher
transfers as an item of interest at their February, 2011 meeting (personal communication). The
teachers indicated that they would be interested in greater autonomy regarding teacher movement
between sites. Two primary methods for staffing exist in education. In site-based staffing, the
principal decides which candidate will be successfully hired. In centrally-planned hiring, a
human resource department decides on teacher hires and allocates these employees to the
schools. Parkland School Division’s Lead Team employs site-based decision making. The
principals indicated at their 2011 Jasper Retreat that there is no interest in returning to a
centralized transfer system (personal communication, February 23-25, 2011).

In a focus group discussion at the Jasper Retreat, members of the Lead Team discussed
the concept of organizational culture and agreed that there are teachers that desire an
organizational change through movement to a different school (personal communication,
February 23-25, 2011). The research presented in this document captures the stories that exist
among principals in order to expose potential systemic flaws. Kouzes and Posner (2003)
indicated that “by telling a story in detail, leaders illustrate what everyone needs to do to live by
the organizational standards. They communicate the specific and proper actions that need to be
taken to resolve tough choices” (p. 106). Given that we understand the value of motivation and
conscientious teaching on student success, it is significantly important for Parkland School
Division to ensure that its teachers are able to find the best cultural fit for motivation,
relationships, growth mindsets and trust. These concepts are extensively reviewed in Chapter
Two in this report.
Systems Analysis of the Opportunity
Meadows (2008) noted that “once we see the relationship between structure and
behavior, we can begin to understand how systems work, what makes them produce poor results,
and how to shift them into better patterns” (p. 1). In order to facilitate procedural changes that
bring us closer to our vision, it is essential to understand the school division from a systems
perspective. Meadows (2008) further stated that:
To be a highly functional system, hierarchy must balance the welfare, freedoms, and
responsibilities of the subsystems and total system—there must be enough central control
to achieve coordination toward the large system goal, and enough autonomy to keep all
the subsystems flourishing, functioning and self-organizing. (p. 85)
This research project determined strategies that are intended to increase motivation, engagement
and performance and directly improve the organizational culture of schools. Best-practice
approaches for staffing and organizational culture abound in the narratives of the administrators

of Parkland School Division; coordinating these approaches will improve the system’s ability to
flourish.
Parkland School Division is one of forty-two public school divisions in the province of
Alberta. Alberta school divisions operate under the administration of locally elected school
boards. In 2008, the Government of Alberta, through the Department of Education, provided
approximately 5.9 billion dollars to support 584,000 K-12 students in Alberta (Alberta
Education, 2009). This amount increased to 6.4 billion dollars in 2011 (Alberta Education,
2011). In addition to taxation, the province of Alberta generates revenues through oil and gas
revenues. Education funding, therefore, is affected by the economic success of the province.
Schools receive their annual funding from the school divisions based on the provincial funding
allocations determined by the annual provincial budget. School budgets determine the resources
that are available to the individual teachers within a school. From a system’s perspective,
“staffing has the greatest impact on the educational opportunities provided to students within
Parkland School Division No. 70 and consequently makes up 72.4% of the division’s budget”
(Parkland School Division, 2012, p. 11). Increased economic success at the provincial level
translates to an increase in funding for schools that, in turn, increases the amount of funding
available for staffing. Increased staffing in a school reduces the ratio of students to teachers and
increases the job satisfaction and effectiveness of teachers (Alberta Education, n.d.).
For the purpose of this research project, it is important to understand the teacher
placement process in the educational system in place in Alberta. The process of accreditation
creates a closed system for hiring in Alberta as defined by the School Act (Province of Alberta,
2000). School boards may only employ teachers provided they have received a Bachelor of
Education degree and currently hold an interim or permanent certificate provided by the province

of Alberta. Alberta teachers are contracted on either a temporary, probationary or permanent
contract. Temporary contracts are used for placements where a permanent staff member is on
leave (i.e., maternity or medical leaves-of-absence). Probationary contracts are given to teachers
for one year prior to moving into a permanent position.
Given the time required to certify a teacher (4-6 years), the Government of Alberta and
the Alberta Teachers’ Association have both presented views on the possible and preferred future
of education in Alberta. A Transformation in Progress: Alberta’s ECS-12 Education Workforce
2011/2012 presents the supply and demand considerations for the future of education in Alberta
(Government of Alberta, 2011, p. 8). This report noted that “while there have been a significant
number of new-hires over the past few years, the average age of teachers in Alberta is 41.4” (p.
12). Specifically, the percentage of teachers over 50 in North Central Alberta (where Parkland
School Division is located) is 26.1%. The report further stated that demand for teachers will
continue to outstrip provincial preparation programs and this will create a need to hire from out-
of-province (p. 16). Two categories of teachers are presented: “hires” are teachers who are new
to a school division but who have previous experience; “new hires” are fresh graduates who have
no teaching experience (p. 14). Teacher attrition is presented as a problem for Alberta schools as
“16% of early career attrition happens in the first year. An additional 6% of the base year new
hires leave in year two, an additional 4% the next year” (p. 14). The literature supports the need
for principals and school boards to hire and to retain the best teachers. The report indicates that
Alberta Education will work with the University of Alberta in the future to better understand
attrition rates (p. 21). This is in line with the Government of Alberta’ (2010) Framework for
Action: Education Sector Workforce Planning document. This document establishes a thirteen
point action plan to attract, develop and retain high quality teachers. The eighth strategic action

calls for the establishment of “an educational partners’ research initiative to measure principal
and teacher engagement in the workplace, and develop a report to provide insight and
recommendations for the education system” (p. 15).
The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s (2011) Future of Teaching in Alberta similarly
examines the key forces that are expected to shape teaching in Alberta over the next twenty
years; it examined both possible and preferred futures. On attrition, the report indicates that there
are more reasons for attrition than identified by the government. It cites negative workplace
factors including work load and student behavior as a reason for teacher attrition (p. 17). The
authors conducted a series of focus groups of Alberta teachers. On teacher preparation, the
participants noted that “they did not believe that many of the skills and attributes required could
have been fully developed in advance of practice” (p. 11). It is clear from the documents that
both the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Teachers’ Association indicate that teacher
attrition and retention in Alberta is an area that will require further research.
Organizational Context
As indicated on the Parkland School Division primary website, Parkland School Division
#70 [PSD] provides public education to approximately 10,000 students in kindergarten through
to the twelfth grade. It is located within the communities to the immediate west of the city of
Edmonton. The school division serves over 58,000 residents in rural and urban communities
within 3,995 square kilometers (www.psd70.ab.ca). The majority of residents covered by this
area live in the bedroom-community municipalities of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain on the
eastern most edge of the school division. To put this into perspective, the eastern most school
and the western most school are separated by a distance of ninety-seven kilometers. PSDs
twenty-two schools employ 590 certified teachers and 469 support staff (www.psd70.ab.ca). The

vision of this organization is that “Parkland School Division is a place where exploration,
creativity and imagination make learning exciting and where all learners aspire to reach their
dreams”. Its mission and primary purpose is to “prepare, engage, and inspire our students to be
their best in a quickly changing global community” (Parkland School Division, 2011, p. 1).
From a systems perspective, Parkland School Division is an archipelago of unique
cultural islands that are part of a larger community (Johnston, 2011). The principals and assistant
principals, along with department managers, the superintendent and associate superintendents
form the Lead Team. Our Lead Team believes in the school division’s values and beliefs:
 We are a caring and compassionate organization guided by what’s in the best interest
of our students
 We believe learning is the foundation of all we do
 We value trust and mutual respect among all of our education stakeholders
 We embrace open and honest communication
 We value and respect inclusion and diversity within our schools
 We are committed to providing safe and caring places for all students to learn
 We believe integrity and fairness are key pillars for student growth
 We value collaboration and engagement with students, parents and our communities.
Our successes are not possible without these contributions
 We value excellence, innovation and risk-taking
 We value citizenship and recognize our central role in guiding students to understand
their responsibility and their place in the world
 We believe that confident, adaptable and resilient students are successful students
 We value leadership in all places—everyone in our Division has the potential to be a
leader (Parkland School Division, 2012).
The founding statements of Parkland School Division #70 speak to a desire for
excellence that depends on the engagement of its staff. Specifically, collaboration, learning,
freedom, respect and development are all impacted by an employee’s sense of engagement. To
maintain our core principles, Parkland School Division’s Lead Team meets formally at least once
per month to discuss agenda items who that lead to the achievement of our vision. Informally,
the Lead Team is a networked organization and communication between managers and across

sites happens daily as colleagues assist each other to further our work with children. The shared
narratives indicate that a family atmosphere exists and is defined by the relationships of the Lead
Team.
Our geographic location is significant from a systems perspective in that we are impacted
by our ability to hire and retain quality teachers. Parkland School Division begins on the western
most edge of Edmonton and the urban centers of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain have the ability
to attract teachers who live in the city of Edmonton. At the western edge of our school division,
100 km from Edmonton, it is significantly more difficult to attract and retain teachers.
Consequently, in my experience I have listened to teacher narratives from “west-end” teachers
that have noted a feeling that they are less qualified given the law of supply and demand in the
labour market (personal communication). There is less competition for jobs on the west end of
the school division than on the east end. Additionally, our west end agricultural and oil-based
communities are also impacted by Alberta’s economy and the schools’ student demographic
shifts from year to year due to transient populations. In addition to provincial funding
complications that arise from changes to the price of oil, the west end community schools
contend with significant declines in enrollment when jobs in the oil industry decline. Smaller
schools have the reality of combined grade classes for teachers and this impacts the day-to-day
planning and responsibilities of the teachers.
Parkland School Division employs site-based hiring. This means that the school principal
uses his or her discretion when hiring new applicants. New positions that become available in
PSD schools are listed as open competitions. All teachers must apply for a position and compete
in an interview process. On the surface, the concept that the best applicant should receive the job
makes immediate sense. From a systems perspective, however, this presents an archetype of

success to the successful, (Senge, 2006, pp. 396-397). Success can be defined as the ability to
expand one’s professional development and experience therefore increasing the employment
potential for a teacher. The archetype of success to the successful is possible since the resources
and demographic realities are different in different school settings. For instance, a temporary
employee in a high school will gain high school experience and be more qualified for a
permanent position in that school when the possibility arises. Similarly, teachers in large urban
schools have access to more resources and professional development and, therefore, become
more qualified for open positions. There are advantages and disadvantages presented in the
system. Our western schools are at a considerable distance from the division office and this is
where many professional development opportunities occur. However, staff members of smaller
schools have the increased possibility of becoming a member of a specialist committee since
there are fewer teachers to consider for membership. For instance, each school assigns a lead
teacher to the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) committee in Parkland School
Division. Employment in a smaller school means that there may be more opportunities for
involvement, even while the geographic distance from the division office increases the
complexity of being involved. Meadows (2008) noted that “when a subsystem’s goals dominate
at the expense of the total system’s goals, the resulting behavior is called suboptimization” (p.
85). The intent of the narrative inquiry interviews was to identify systemic optimizations that
increase job-satisfaction, motivation and performance throughout Parkland School Division.
Parkland School Division has two high schools and competition for placement in these
schools is fierce. New job postings in the high schools are often listed as temporary and when a
permanent contract becomes available due to demographic changes or retirement, it is typically
the temporary employee that has the experience to win a placement competition. In my

experience, I have listened to a general sentiment among middle-years teachers on permanent
contracts of feeling “locked-out” of the high schools as they are not able to apply for new,
temporary assignments. To this end, the concept of recruiting and retaining staff members is
extensively examined in the literature in Chapter Two.
This project centered on identifying new possibilities to increase the engagement of
teachers. The literature that connects student performance to teacher engagement is significant
(Barth, 1980; Fried, 2001; Marzano, 2007; Spevak & Karinch, 2000; Whitaker, 2002). Students
want to connect with teachers that are engaged in their learning and parents want their children to
be engaged and enjoying each day at school. In The Passionate Teacher, Fried (2001) connects
teacher engagement to a passion for the profession. He noted that “our nation of children, faced
with the ever changing demands of being citizens, family members, and breadwinners in a
twenty-first century world, cannot afford for any of their teachers’ passions to be eroded or
squelched” (p. 20). From a principal’s perspective on school change and engagement, Whitaker
(2002) noted that:
There is a simple test to determine whether your teachers fit into the standard of difficult
classroom teacher. You need to ask yourself whether you would want your own son or
daughter in their classes. If the answer is “no,” then it should be difficult to have a clear
conscience in scheduling any students into these teachers’ classrooms. The simple
technique of making the measurement personal by involving your own children is a good
determinant of a difficult teacher. (p. 5)
Improving teacher engagement will have a direct impact on the success of our learners.
The connection between engagement and organizational culture is extensively reviewed in the
literature presented in Chapter Two of this document.

CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the academic literature related to the main research question: How
can early and middle years teachers’ stories inform strategies for increasing individual teacher
performance and motivation in Parkland School Division #70? The sub-questions that
determined the direction of my research were:
1. What is the engagement impact for teachers who move between schools or to
different grade levels? For instance, does moving to an unfamiliar grade or subject
within a school contribute to, or diminish teacher motivation and productivity?
2. How does organizational culture impact performance and motivation?
3. What is the impact of personnel change on school culture? For instance, how is a
school impacted by a change in teaching staff or a change in leadership?
4. What relationship exists between organizational change and attitudinal change?
Given the questions listed above, I approached this literature review with three key
conceptual relationships that would frame my research. These conceptual relationships are: the
relationship between motivation and engagement; the relationship between individual and
organizational change; the relationship between person-fit and organizational culture. To this
end, the literature reviewed seeks to identify the criteria for engaged, adaptive employees who
exhibit the best person-fit for an organization. To better understand the literature of these three
relationships, I have also reviewed literature on best practices in hiring and retaining effective
employees.
My intent with the organization of this section is that the reader will gain an appreciation
of the connection between these concepts. First, I identify and differentiate the attributes of
engagement and motivation. I then identify organizational change and differentiate it from

individual change. Motivation, engagement and change contribute to an understanding of how an
individual fits within the culture of his or her organization – a concept known as “person-
organization fit” (Gardner, Cogliser, Foley, Reithel, & Walumbwa (2012). Finally, I review the
literature on the process of hiring and retaining motivated, engaged employees that fit well
within their organization.
Motivation and Engagement
The intent of this research project was to examine increased employee engagement and
performance as individual, autonomous characteristics that are generated through organizational
mobility and occupational change. Csikszentmihalyi (2003) noted that “the challenge for
someone who wants to create an environment that attracts and retains enthusiastic and
enterprising workers is to understand why people want to work in the first place, and then
provide the conditions that fulfill that need” (p. 86). Csikszentmihalyi’s (2003) concept is at the
heart of the research presented in this document. The strength of the narrative inquiry into
administrator experiences is that it identified the individual conditions that promote or diminish
career engagement. It is necessary, therefore, to define the concept of engagement and to review
current literature for the purpose of differentiating it from motivation.
Motivation
Ryan and Deci (2000) stated that “to be motivated means to be moved to do something.
A person who feels no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as unmotivated, whereas
someone who is energized or activated toward an end is considered motivated” (p. 54). Marcum
(2000) claimed that on the subject of motivation, “more than 12,500 doctoral dissertations deal
with the subject” (p. 57). He further stated that “the concept of motivation is so prevalent that it
has become a paradigm, a model of explanation that is so common that we accept it without

question. Yet it is a way of thinking that essentially amounts to manipulation” (p. 57). To
understand why people want to work, it is necessary to review of the literature on motivation.
Ryan and Deci (2000) discussed types of motivation and stated that “the most basic
distinction is between intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something because it is
inherently interesting or enjoyable, and extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something
because it leads to a separable outcome” (p. 55). A significant amount of research exists to
support the negative impact of extrinsic motivation (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999; Deci &
Ryan, 2008; Kohn, 1999; Marcum, 2000; Pink, 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Kouzes and Posner
(2003) noted the clarity of this research. They stated that “external motivation is more likely to
create conditions of compliance or defiance; self-motivation produces far superior results” (p.
115). Through their review of experiments on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, Deci, Koestner,
and Ryan (1999) identified that “many social institutions face problems including alienation,
detachment, and disengagement that could be at least partially ameliorated by promoting higher
levels of intrinsic motivation and self-determination” (p. 659). Marcum (2000) noted that
“engagement appears to be a synonym for high motivation. Yet there are crucial differences,
primarily in the assumption of participants as independent agents acting with self (agency)-
determination in activity selection, and the ongoing (rather than episodic) quality of endeavor”
[author’s parenthesis] (pp. 59-60). Ryan and Deci (2000) claimed that for high intrinsic
motivation to occur, “people must experience satisfaction of the needs both for competence and
autonomy” (p. 58). This organizational research project identified the individual, and therefore
autonomous, aspects of engagement that promote satisfaction and competence. To contrast
motivation and engagement, it is important to understand the current literature on engagement
research.

Engagement
Kahn (1990) identified personal engagement as “the simultaneous employment and
expression of a person's preferred self in task behaviors that promote connections to work and to
others, personal presence (physical, cognitive, and emotional), and active, full role performances
[author’s parenthesis] (p. 700). Kahn’s (1990) idea that engagement is physical, cognitive and
emotional is widely supported by other researchers (Babcock-Roberson & Strickland, 2010;
Bakker & Bal, 2010; May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004; Rich, Lepine, & Crawford, 2010; Schaufeli
& Salanova, 2011). For the purpose of this narrative inquiry, the physical demands of teaching
were derived through stories of energy, health and wellness. The cognitive aspects of
engagement were derived through stories of professional development and efficacy. Finally, the
emotional aspects of engagement were derived through stories of community, involvement and
belonging. This approach is supported by the research of Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001)
who noted that engagement is “characterized by energy, involvement, and efficacy” (p. 416).
They described engagement as the antithesis to job burnout (p. 397). Schaufeli, Salanova,
González-Romá, and Bakker (2002) defined engagement as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related
state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption” (p. 176). This definition
of engagement is also widely supported (Babcock-Roberson & Strickland, 2010; Bakker,
Hakanen, Demerouti, & Xanthopoulou, 2008; De Lange, De Witte, & Notelaers, 2008; Hakanen,
Schaufeli, & Ahola, 2008; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003; Schaufeli, Taris, T., & Van Rhenen,
2008). Given that vigor, dedication and absorption can be demonstrated physically, cognitively
and emotionally, both of these definitions work synergistically to frame the context of teacher
engagement research.

Csikszentmihalyi (1990) identified optimal engagement as a moment in time when one’s
skills adequately matched one’s challenges (p. 74). Csikszentmihalyi (1990) noted that “flow is
the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered, and
they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake” (p. 6). Schaufeli, Taris, and Van
Rhenen (2008) noted a similarity between their concept of absorption and Csikszentmihalyi’s
(1990) concept of Flow, although they differ on the length of time of each of these concepts,
stating that “flow refers to short-term peak experiences instead of a more pervasive and
persistent state of mind, as is the case with absorption” (p. 176). In Good Business,
Csikszentmihalyi (2003) addressed the challenges of creating flow in the workplace. He noted
that there are three ways that leaders can contribute to flow: “by making work conditions more
conducive to flow, by clarifying the values that give meaning to work, and by influencing the
worker’s attitude in the direction that will make them both more happy and more productive” (p.
106). I would advocate that absorption is the longevity of flow. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi
(2000) noted that flow is an example of positive psychology that captures “positive individual
traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility,
perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom”
(p. 5). Beard and Hoy (2010) discussed flow in schools and they note that flow offers insights
“in pursuit of optimal teaching and learning conditions, but much more research remains to be
done” (p. 427).
Warren Bennis (2009) noted that there are three levels of strategic vision. The first two
are the company’s philosophic strategy and the tactics used to achieve that strategy, the third
level is personal which the author indicated “is that [company’s] philosophy made manifest in
the behavior of each employee” (p. 183). An increase in engagement, defined as an individual’s

self-perception of vigor, dedication and absorption, is a significant target of most of the literature
on employee engagement and change (Collins, 2001; Fullan, 2008; Kouzes & Posner, 2003;
Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). Senge (2006) noted that “personal mastery is the
discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies,
of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively” (p. 7). He further noted that few
organizations encourage this individual employee growth (p. 7). As this Project Report indicates,
it is clear from the literature review that a deeper understanding of employee engagement
through teacher narratives enables school leaders to promote employees that are pervasively
engaged, absorbed and energized in their organizational life.
Individual and Organizational Change
As stated in the previous literature review section on engagement, the purpose of this
research project was to examine organizational mobility and occupational change to identify how
they relate to employee engagement and performance. Bolman and Deal (2008) noted that
“organizations spend millions of dollars on change strategies that produce little improvement or
make things worse” (p. 374). Similarly, in Change or Die, Deutschman (2007) determined that
most people fail to achieve their personal goals, despite spending billions of dollars on self-help
programs. Beer and Nohria (2011) determined that “the brutal fact is that about 70% of all
change initiatives fail” (p. 137). Despite the fact that there is a multi-million dollar market for
organizational and individual change, Beer, Eisenstat and Spector (2011) noted that there is no
“magic bullet to spread organizational change rapidly through the entire corporation” (p. 185).
Change is a complex concept and this organizational leadership project sought to better
understand change as it occurs at individual and at organizational levels. The literature review,

therefore, examines the connection between individual (personal) change and organizational
change.
Individual change
Individual change can be connected to the literature on motivation. To this end, leading
psychologist Howard Gardner (2006) examined the intrinsic and extrinsic nature of individual
change. Individuals explore change on their own, or are motivated to change from some form of
influence. One of the most significant ways that individuals change is through learning. He noted
that “for the most part, minds change as the result of efforts by external agents” (p. 62). Gardner
(2006) described an inverted pyramid with “large scale changes involving the diverse population
of a region or an entire nation” at the top, and “changing one’s own mind” at the bottom (p. 63).
The third lowest section of the pyramid discussed mind changing in a formal setting and
provides the greatest value for this organizational leadership project. By examining schools as
formal settings for learning, Gardner (2006) discussed the value of representational rediscription
[emphasis added] through seven intelligences: narrative, quantitative, logical, existential,
aesthetic, kinesthetic and social (pp. 140-141). The author indicates that there are multiple
cognitive routes that lead to individual change, although he also noted that “there is no royal road
to disciplinary understanding” (p. 141). He further added that “the sought-after tipping point is
most likely to be reached if a teacher uses several formats flexibly and imaginatively” (p. 141).
The process of learning is about altering the content of an individual’s mental representations
that Gardner (2006) described as “ideas, concepts, skills stories, or full-fledged theories
(explanations of the world)” [author’s parenthesis] (p. 209).
The concept of mental representations and the strategy to shift these mental
representations occurs throughout literature on change. Kegan and Lahey (2011) noted that

“often formed long ago and seldom, if ever, critically examined, big assumptions are woven into
the very fabric of people’s existence” (p. 131). Senge (2006) wrote that “philosophers have
discussed mental models for centuries, going back at least to Plato’s parable of the cave” (p.
164). He further noted that “the discipline of managing mental models—surfacing, testing, and
improving our internal pictures of how the world works—promises to be a major breakthrough
for building learning organizations” (p. 163). Senge (2006) defined a learning organization as
“an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future” (p. 14). In
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol S. Dweck (2006) argues that there are growth
mindsets and fixed mindsets. She indicated that “the growth mindset is based on the belief in
change” (p. 213). Dweck (2006) further noted that “many people with the fixed mindset think the
world [author’s emphasis] needs to change, not them” (p. 230). In support of the growth mindset,
Heath and Heath (2010) noted that it is “a buffer against defeatism. It reframes failure as a
natural part of the change process. And that’s critical, because people will persevere only if they
perceive falling down as learning rather than falling” (p. 169). Gardner (2006) wrote that “it is
more difficult to change the mind when perspectives are held strongly, and publicly, and by
individuals of rigid temperament” (p. 62). The concept of changing minds is further supported by
the psychoanalytic work of Norman Doidge (2007) who discusses a new view of the mind and its
ability to “change its own structure and function through thought and activity” (pp. xix-xx). As I
have indicated, the literature supports the view that changing one’s mental models is dependent
on changing one’s behavior.
Organizational change
As discussed earlier in the literature review, programmatic best-practice approaches for
individual and organizational change contribute to a multi-million dollar industry driven by

change programs that do not always yield success. There is no simple, single solution and the
research diverges on best-practice methodologies for change. Dacin, Goodstein and Scott (2002)
appropriately noted that “no single collection of articles, however diverse, can fully represent all
of the directions currently being pursued or calling for attention as institutional theorists extend
their ideas and arguments to encompass change processes” (p. 48). For the purpose of this
organizational leadership project, this literature review section examines three specific concepts
of organizational change: the time required for change, the environment required for change and
the leadership support required for change.
Time for change
The literature suggests that the feasibility of change is dependent on the quantity of time
allocated to the effort (Kahan, 2010, pp. 178-179; Kotter, 1996, p. 111; Kotter, 2011, p. 1).
Meyerson (2011) noted the value of organizational research in one of two ways: “through drastic
action and through evolutionary adaptation” (p. 63). Aspects of urgent (fast) and evolutionary
(slow) change are addressed throughout change literature. Beer and Nohria (2011) argued for the
need for leaders to crack the code of change, and added that “the reason for most of [the change]
failures is that in their rush to change their organizations, managers end up immersing
themselves in an alphabet soup of initiatives” (p. 137). The authors contended that leaders must
distinguish between “E” economic change (value) and “O” organizational change (culture).
Organizations that rush to change for economic reasons may lose the support of the
organizational culture (p. 139). DeVoe and Pfeffer (2010) discussed the economic value of time
as it relates to individual pressures to succeed. Bolman and Deal (2008) noted that “countless
innovations falter and flop because managers neglect to spend time and money to develop
knowledge and skills and to involve people throughout the process” (p. 378). From a perspective

that is similar to Dweck’s (2006) growth mindset, Beer, Eisentstat and Spector (2011) indicated
that companies need a new mindset that “emphasizes process over specific content, recognizes
organization change as a unit-by-unit learning process rather than a series of programs, and
acknowledges the payoffs that result from persistence over a long period of time as opposed to
quick fixes” (p. 197).
In discussing behind-the-scenes change, Meyerson’s (2011) evolutionary adaptation
introduced the idea of tempered radicals who “work quietly to challenge prevailing wisdom and
gently provoke their organizational cultures to adapt” [emphasis added] (p. 60). Given the
complexity of the topic, I have analyzed the concept of organizational culture in a separate
section below. From a different perspective, Kotter (2008) supported the idea of raising an
organization’s sense of urgency. He noted that even with a sense of urgency, “behaving urgently
to help create great twenty-first-century organizations demands patience, too, because great
accomplishments—not just the activity associated with false urgency—can require years” (pp.
117-118). Block (2002) cautioned against urgency and noted that speed becomes the antithesis of
depth, perhaps even a defense against it. As the literature suggests, change is dependent on time.
Environment for change
In addition to time for learning to take place, the literature also supports the fact that
change depends on the cultural environment of the organization. Individuals require
organizational support and encouragement to change (Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky, 2009, pp.
289-290). In other words, organizational culture can act positively as a catalyst for change and it
can act negatively to inhibit change. Dacin, Goodstein and Scott (2002) noted that “broad
environmental changes, including institutional change, create unique challenges for the
maintenance of organizational integrity” (p. 53). The research of these authors reinforced the

view of Beer and Nohria (2011) that organizational needs must be balanced carefully with
economic needs (pp. 141-144). This idea is further supported by Peter Block (2008) who noted
that in a “stuck” community, “the only true measure of community is its economic prosperity”
(p. 43). The literature supports a reciprocal relationship between change and culture and, as I
have noted, the concept of culture is examined in a third and separate section in this review of
literature.
It is important to note that while organizational communities and cultures can change, the
process of change is also dependent on the organization. Community, by Peter Block (2008)
demonstrated the need for restorative communities and the author noted that “we change the
world one room at a time” (p. 94). In The Corporate Lattice, Benko and Anderson (2010)
discussed the new reality of the corporate “lattice” and that organizations are flatter and more
transparent. They noted that the organizational environments are now more conducive to change
and that “navigating the corporate lattice is less about aiming for a single lifetime career
destination and more about expanding your portfolio of capabilities and experiences so that you
continually have options that are valuable to both you and your employer” (p. 152).
In addition to the change literature presented earlier for individual growth, methodologies
for individuals to change their organizations are also well supported (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990;
Deutschman, 2007; Kegan & Laskow-Lahey, 2009; La Marsh, 2010; Patterson et al., 2011).
Finally, Oreg and Sverdlik (2011) noted the difference of imposed versus selected change. The
authors examined ambivalence and noted that “an individual’s reaction to an imposed change is a
function of how the individual reacts to change and how the individual reacts to being the object
of an imposition” (p. 338). This invites a review of the literature on leadership in support of
change.

Leadership and change
In addition to the bottom-up cultural changes that I have indicated through the literature,
it is also critically important to understand the top-down changes that are supported through
leadership. Garvin and Roberto (2011) dictated that skilled leadership can use frames to “help
employees interpret proposals for change” (p. 25). The reframing process is the subject of
Reframing Organizations, Bolman and Deal’s (2008) comprehensive work on artistry, choice
and leadership. Deutschman (2007) explained that “employees form an emotional relationship
with a new leader who inspires their belief that they can change and their expectation that they
will change” (p. 167). In Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, Patterson et al., (2008)
discussed methods for a leader to make change inevitable. Kouzes and Posner (2007) noted that
“the work of leaders is change [authors’ emphasis]. And all change requires that leaders actively
seek ways to make things better, to grow, innovate and improve” (p. 164). Senge (2006) referred
to conservation and change as a paradox and noted that “while pursuing what is new and
emergent, [leaders] are also stewards for something they intend to conserve. Yet what they seek
to conserve, paradoxically is a key to enabling change” (p. 335). The literature supports the view
that leadership is essential for change and it highlights the importance of a leader’s
understanding that change is complex and fragile.
Sirkin, Keenan and Jackson (2011) discussed the importance of a leader’s ability to
manage four key factors: duration, integrity, commitment and effort. The authors noted that “a
simple effort to reach out to employees can turn them into champions of new ideas” (p. 164).
Fullan (2008) wrote that “as leaders explore environmental complexity, they need to combine
humility and confidence” (p. 115). Kegan and Laskow-Lahey (2009) noted that “to foster real
change and development, both the leader and the organizational culture must take a

developmental stance, that is, they must send the message that they expect adults can grow” (p.
308).
From the literature, leadership has a clear impact on individuals’ and organizations’
ability to embrace and achieve change. To this end, I submit that the best way to look at
leadership and change is to consider the statement by Bennis (2009) that “the leaders of the
future will be those who take the next step—to change the culture. To reprise Kurt Lewin, it is
through changing something that one truly comes to understand it” (p. 187). As I have
represented in this report, personal narratives of individual and organizational change enable the
identification of new opportunities for growth, engagement and excellence possible.
Organizational Culture and School Community
In order to determine how teachers’ stories can inform strategies for increasing individual
teacher performance, it is necessary to examine the relationship between individual teacher
placement in a school (organizational fit) and school organizational culture. Furthermore, it is
necessary to understand the relationship between school culture and school community; how
organizational culture is formed. This literature review begins by demonstrating an
understanding of the definitions of organizational culture and organizational fit; to demonstrate
what these components are, and what they are not. The literature on organizational culture is then
examined in the specific context of schools and the process for the members of a school’s
community to shape and impact a school’s culture. Finally, this literature review section
connects the concepts of organizational culture and organizational fit to the concept of school
leadership.

Organizational Culture
Given the breadth and complexity of the concept of culture, authors of the literature often
first seek to define what it is, and what it is not. In my review of the literature, through culture, I
endeavored to understand the connection between people and place; to determine the impact of
the person on the place, and the place on the person. Cameron and Quinn (2011) contrasted the
disciplinary roots of culture and noted that culture has both an anthropological foundation and a
sociological foundation. From an anthropological perspective, “organizations are cultures.”
From a sociological perspective, “organizations have cultures” [authors’ emphasis] (p. 18). To
this end, from the literature I sought to understand how schools are cultures and how schools
have cultures as a way to understand the person-place relationship. Cameron and Quinn (2011)
identified that researchers have defined culture in more than 150 different ways and that “the
sociological perspective has come to predominate” (p. 18). This research project seeks to identify
the impact that career change has on individual teachers; that changing locations has an impact
on performance and motivation. An accepted working definition of school culture that includes
the socialization is needed to appreciate the opportunities for change that may be derived from
teachers’ stories.
The literature supports many different approaches to define organizational culture.
Cameron and Quinn (2011) define organizational culture as “a socially constructed attribute of
organizations that serves as the social glue binding and organization together” (p. 18). Through
an examination of ten of Canada’s corporate cultures, Parker (2012) noted that there is a
difference between organizational culture and behavioral culture. Behavioral culture is an aspect
of organizational culture in that behavior is learned. Organizational culture and the concept of
change are synthesized in the author’s view. He noted that “new employees are socialized in

many ways—they see the habits of those who are successful at the organization, and if they want
to be recognized and rewarded for their own success, they will mimic those behaviors” (Parker,
2011, p. 17). The author’s idea speaks to the sociological aspect of organizations and the
importance of organizational person-fit; new employees are socialized to the prevalent corporate
culture. Block (2009) examined organizational culture from a different perspective. He noted that
there is a difference between culture and context. Block (2009) identified that culture is “a set of
shared values that emerges from the history of experience and the story that is produced out of
that” (p. 56). Conversely, context is “the way we see the world. See the world, not remember the
world” (p. 56). This culture versus context view is supported by Van Manen (2001) who
identified that lived experience has a temporal structure. He noted that lived experience, “can
never be grasped in its immediate manifestation but only reflectively as past presence. Moreover,
our appropriation of the meaning of lived experience is always of something past that can never
be grasped in its full richness and depth since lived experience implicates the totality of life” (p.
36).
The literature also identifies the importance of research that appreciates and respects the
“ambiguity of working in a three-dimensional inquiry space” (Clandinen & Connelly, 2000, p.
89). In order to effectively capture the culture of an organization through narrative, one needs to
“be aware of the details of place, of the nuanced warps in time, and of the complex shifts
between personal and social observations and their relations” (Clandinen & Connelly, 2000, p.
91). However, as Schein (2010) noted, a cohesive culture does not exist in every collection of
people; “we tend to use the terms group, team, or community rather than crowd or collection of
people only when there has been enough of a shared history so that some degree of culture
formation has taken place” [author’s emphasis] (p. 21). Deal and Peterson (1999) noted that “of

the many different conceptions of culture, none is universally accepted as the one best
definition” (p. 3). For the purpose of the narrative aspect of this research report, I have selected
to use Schein’s (2010) formal definition to better understand the relationship between school
culture and motivation, engagement and performance. Schein (2010) formally defines culture as:
A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of
external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be
considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to
perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (p. 18)
Through the narratives, I sought to understand the basic assumptions of individual organizational
cultures and the impact that each organizational culture has on the engagement, motivation and
performance of the individual teachers.
Organizational Fit
I began to question the connection between individuals and their culture; how people
promote culture and fit within their own organizations. Bolman and Deal (2008) noted:
Organizations need people (for their energy, effort and talent), and people need
organizations (for the many intrinsic and extrinsic rewards they offer), but their
respective needs are not always well aligned. When the fit between people and
organizations is poor, one or both suffer: individuals may feel neglected or oppressed,
and organizations sputter because individuals withdraw their efforts or even work against
organizational purposes. Conversely, a good fit benefits both: individuals find meaningful
and satisfying work, and organizations get the talent and energy they need to succeed. (p.
137).
Here, Bolman and Deal (2008) note the commensalism that exists in connecting employees to
organizations. Schein’s (2010) definition works well with organizational commensalism in that
that there is a correct way to “perceive, think and feel” in an organization (p. 18). The
implication, here, is that there are individuals that work well within a given culture and
individuals that struggle to conform. It is, therefore, necessary to review the literature that
examines how well an individual fits within a given organizational culture. Zmuda, Kuklis and
Kline (2004) noted the difference between a competent school culture and an incompetent school

culture. In a competent culture, “teachers and administrators are active participants in the
continuous improvement journey because they believe that what is being asked of them is
collectively challenging, possible, and worthy of the attempt” (p. 20). Conversely, an
incompetent school culture derives from a lack of faith as it is a culture where “administrators or
teachers believe that they can function more successfully individually than they can collectively”
(p. 20). Fried (2001) declared that one of the most significant challenges that a new teacher will
have to overcome is the challenge of “fitting in” and that, for a new teacher, it is “more than a
question of how to survive. It’s also a matter of deciding if the culture of the school you’re in
makes it the right place or the wrong place for you to earn your wings as a teacher” (p. 282). In
researching person-fit, O’Reilly, Chatman and Caldwell (1991) identified that “person-
organization fit is a significant predictor of normative commitment, job satisfaction, and
intentions to leave, independent of age, gender, and tenure” (p. 507). The authors indicate that it
is equally important to select individuals who are competent enough to satisfy the requirements
of their responsibilities. An organization “needs to select people who fit a given situation, which
is likely to include some combination of task and cultural requirements” (p. 511) However, this
raises a question about the socialization aspect of culture. Ostroff and Rothausen (1997) agreed
that performance is positively affected by person-fit, but also noted that increasing tenure has a
“stronger pattern of increasing fit” (p. 182) Schein’s (2010) definition of culture includes
adaptation and internal integration. Cameron and Quinn (2011) noted that “people are unaware
of their culture until it is challenged, until they experience a new culture, or until it is made overt
and explicit through, for example, a framework model” (p. 19). To this end, I have included a
fourth literature review section (below) on best-practice approaches in hiring and retention in this
organizational leadership project.

Organizational Culture of Schools
In my professional experience, through collected narratives, and within the literature, I
note that people that have had the opportunity to attend, to volunteer or to be employed by more
than one school gain an understanding that different schools have a different feeling about them
(Greene, 2009; Fried, 2001; Deal & Peterson, 1999). Given Schein’s (2010) definition of culture
we perceive, think and feel an organization’s culture in different ways. Appreciatively, this
project seeks to identify what works well in the organizational culture of schools. However, as
the literature indicates, there are also strong, negative “toxic” perceptions of school culture. In
order to appreciate the impact of culture on motivation and performance, it is essential to look at
the research on negative and positive school cultures.
The literature seeks to differentiate positive organizational cultures from negative or
“toxic” cultures by looking at individual cultural aspects (Sakurai & Jex, 2012; Kusy &
Holloway, 2009; Deal & Peterson, 1999). Modern schooling is not without its opponents.
Notably, John Taylor Gatto (2009) published Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s
Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling. The author contended that school
destroys imagination and critical thinking and that “subordination is a religious principle, like
transubstantiation; it involves a ladder system of functional boxes into which employees are
confined; as long as they remain as placed, surrendering volition, they become predictable;
interdependent human resources to be utilized as needed by management” (p. 127). In Creating
Emotionally Safe Schools: A Guide for Educators and Parents, Jane Bluestein (2001) discussed
the aggressive culture of schools. The author declared that “schools have always had a fringe
element, a handful of on-the-edge kids who act out their anger and frustration, or their need for
power, attention or revenge” (p. 68). Bluestein (2001) also discussed the quality of toxic teacher

cultures and that “after a while, in an environment in which questioning and inquiry are met with
negative or hostile teacher responses, it becomes sensibly self-protective to quit trying” (p. 211).
In Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other
Bribes, Alfie Kohn (1999) identified the reliance of schools on operant conditioning and that we
have a portrait of a school culture that is “thoroughly and unreflectively committed to the use of
rewards” (p. 17). In Why Schools Fail, Goldberg (1996) indicated that “the bureaucratic,
monopolistic structure of the school system and the practices that have resulted guarantee poor
performance” (p. 97). Ungerleider (2003) indicated that “there is a palpable malaise among
Canadian teachers that appears to be spreading. They increasingly feel they are neither respected,
nor appreciated” (p. 159). Returning again to Schein’s (2010) definition of culture, the problems
presented by these and other researchers are problems of external adaptation that are solved by
internal integration. It is, therefore, necessary to look at the literature to determine the impact of
positive school culture on problems of external adaptation.
In their writing about school culture, Deal and Peterson (1999) noted that “parents,
teachers, principals, and students have always sensed something special, yet undefined, about
their schools—something extremely powerful but difficult to describe” (p. 2). Furthermore, the
authors noted that “a school’s culture encourages learning and progress by fostering a climate of
purposeful change, support for risk taking and experimentation, and a community spirit valuing
purposeful progress” (p. 8). The authors contend that strong cultures positively contribute to
several aspects of schooling. These positive contributions include: fostering productivity and
effectiveness; improving collaboration within the school community; fostering change and
improvement; building stakeholder commitment; amplifying motivation and energy; increasing
attention on values (pp. 7-8). Speaking to the importance of this topic, Barth (2001) stated that:

Probably the most important—and most difficult job of the school-based reformer is to
change the prevailing culture of a school. The school’s culture dictates, in no uncertain
terms, “the way we do things around here.” Ultimately, a school’s culture has far more
influence on life and learning in the schoolhouse than the state department of education,
the superintendent, the school board, or even the principal can ever have. (p. 7)
Barth (2001) argued that cultural change “is the most important, most difficult, and most perilous
job of school based reformers” (p. 11). There is a considerable amount of research that supports
the relationship between excellence in teaching and strong school cultures (Barth, 2001; Fried,
2001; Marzano, 2007; Stronge, 2007) Marzano (2007) noted that “arguably, keeping students
engaged is one of the most important considerations for the classroom teacher” (p. 98). The
literature on motivation, engagement and performance presented earlier indicates the importance
of maintaining a positive organizational culture. The research on cultural change is additionally
supported by the literature on change addressed earlier. As Kegan and Laskow-Lahey (2009)
indicated, change occurs when adults are “encouraged to grow” (p. 308). This growth is made
possible by cultural change agents. The environment for cultural change, Barth (2001) noted is
made possible when there is an “ethos hospitable to the promotion of human learning” (p. 11).
The literature on organizational culture speaks to a need for strong leadership to promote an
effective culture for learning. Strong leadership is certainly evident in the narratives presented in
Chapter Four.
Culture and Leadership
The literature indicates that much of the responsibility for school culture – an ethos of
learning – is the responsibility of the school principal (Hulley & Dier, 2009; Barth, 2001). Hulley
and Dier (2009) examined the research supporting the importance of strong school leadership.
The authors noted that “the goal in the school improvement process is to embed improved
learning structures and strategies in the school’s culture so that they become part of everyday

practice” (p. 41). The authors further contend that this work “cannot be done without a solid
understanding of and respect for the power of an organization’s culture” (p. 41). Hulley and Dier
(2009) defined nine key cultural shifts to improve school success. A significant cultural shift
among these nine defined a shift from compliance to commitment; “teachers move from doing
what they are expected to do (doing a job) to demonstrating passion for and excitement about the
difference they are making for students” (p. 45). The authors indicated that this is a product of
shared leadership.
Barth (2001) advocated for “a new cohort of principals who value and trust learning from
experience for themselves and who know how to rigorously and courageously craft school
experiences such that those experiences yield important personal learning for adults and students
alike” (p. 141). Barth’s (2001) sentiment speaks to the relationship that exists between people
and the organizational culture to which they belong. Schein (2010) noted that “if [leaders] do not
become conscious of the cultures in which they are embedded, those cultures will manage them.
Cultural understanding is desirable for all of us, but it is essential to leaders if they are to lead”
(p. 22). Schmoker (1999) indicated, however, that reform is not simply the domain of the school
principal. He indicated that “everyone should be responsible for adjusting the current system to
increase opportunities, not just to manage but to lead schools toward ever-improving results” (p.
72). This belief is evident in Parkland School Division’s Goals and Priorities in that there is a
belief that “everyone in our Division has the potential to be a leader” (Parkland School Division,
2012, p. 1). As indicated, people are strongly impacted by their organizational culture and,
similarly, strongly impact their organizational culture. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the
school principal to conduct the interviews and hiring. In Good to Great, Collins (2001) indicated
that:

The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out
where to drive the bus and then get the people to take it there. No, they first got the right
people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive
it. They said, in essence, “Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I
know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats,
and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great. (p.
41)
With an understanding of the importance of a strong organizational culture in place, it is
important to examine best-practice approaches to human resources: staffing and retention.
Recruiting and Retaining
This fourth literature section review builds on the research presented in the previous three
reviews. It presents a final facet in human resource research that looks at engagement,
performance and motivation may change within a workplace culture by examining current
practices in employee hiring and retention. Specifically, this review examines the literature on
teacher employment. Fullan (2006) noted that “the difference for a student’s learning and
achievement between getting an effective or an ineffective teacher is huge” (p. 55). Mason and
Schroeder (2010) noted that “without question, the single most important task of a principal is to
hire highly qualified, exceptional staff. Crucial hiring can increase [the] academic growth of
students and accelerate change in the culture and dynamics of a school” (p. 186). There is an
important caveat for this review: the literature must be considered in light of current provincial
legislation as discussed above in the focus and framing chapter. I review the literature on hiring
and recruiting from a corporate perspective (getting the right people on the bus) to determine
innovations and ideas that may work within the Alberta context. Next, I review the literature on
hiring for organizational culture (getting the right people in the right seats). This literature review
approaches hiring and retention from an appreciative perspective in that I review best-practice

approaches. Notwithstanding the importance of supervision and dismissal (getting the wrong
people off the bus) I avoided this literature as this is outside of the scope of this research.
Hiring and retention
It is important to review general practices in hiring and retention as these will also have
an impact on school-based hiring and retention. The views presented in the research literature on
human resources, staffing and retention are both extensive and diverse. The research reviewed
clearly supports the significant importance of hiring as a method of changing workplace culture
(reviewed above) although the authors do not agree on the best approach. There are a variety of
diverse perspectives on this topic. Importantly, Fernández-Aráoz, Groysberg and Nohria (2009)
noted that:
The executives we surveyed held wildly differing views regarding the desirable attributes
of new hires. They emphatically disagreed on whether it was best to hire insiders or
outsiders, on who should be involved in the recruiting process, on what assessment tools
were most suitable, and on what the keys were to successful hiring and retention. (p. 76)
As indicated below, hiring from without and promoting from within are both suggested in the
literature. Additionally, several studies present other considerations for best-practice approaches.
In Built to Last, Collins and Porras (2002) presented the idea of home-grown management:
“promotion within, bringing to senior levels only those who’ve spent significant time steeped in
the core ideology of the company” (p. 90). In Hiring for Attitude, Murphy (2012) suggested that
success in business is a product of hiring for the attribute of attitude above skill or experience.
This is supported by Tews, Stafford and Tracey (2011) who noted that in addition to personality
and attitude, general mental ability must also be considered. Luecke’s (2002) Hiring and
Keeping the Best People provides steps for effective hiring and advice to avoid employee
burnout. In addition to the importance of retaining effective employees, Luecke (2002) cautioned
against hiring the “hottest” prospects or hiring in one’s own image as these tactics can negatively

impact workplace culture (p. 27). The author advocates that these employees may not be the
best-fit for an organization.
Research suggests that human resource departments need to be transformed. Ulrich,
Allen, Brockbank, Younger, and Nyman (2009) noted that in order to transform the
organizational culture, “companies must begin by hiring the right HR professionals—and by
removing the wrong ones, if they recognize past hiring mistakes” (p. 115). Beer and Walton
(1987) also noted the importance of superior human resources in a competitive economy. The
authors contended that “this has culminated in substantial interest in developing high-
commitment work systems that will attract, motivate, and retain superior employees” (p. 907).
Schloss and Lahr (2008) noted the importance and relevance of employee background checks as
a means to prevent negligent hiring. While best approaches are presented in the literature, most
advocate a combination of approaches and that a combination of the “right techniques” will yield
the best successful applicants (Fernández-Aráoz, Groysberg & Nohria, 2009). The perspectives
in the literature on best-practice approaches for hiring are both significant and diverse.
From a school-specific perspective, Mason and Schroeder (2010) examined the literature
on hiring practices of principals. The authors noted three threads in the research: “what
principals have historically looked for in new hires, consistent hiring procedures, and variables
that may influence the hiring process” (p. 186). In the context of organizational effectiveness, the
literature on the importance of hiring the right people for the right task is substantial (Burke,
Lake & Paine, eds., 2009; Collins, 2001; Luecke, 2002; Mason & Schroeder, 2010). Within the
context of variables in hiring, there is also agreement in the literature that excessive teacher
turnover carries a high cost (Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb & Wyckoff, 2011; Brown

and Schainker, 2008; Opfer, 2011). The literature supports the importance of hiring effectively to
reduce the economic impact of turnover and attrition.
As indicated earlier in this review, teacher attrition is greatest for new hires. It is
essential, therefore, to review the literature on best practice approaches to hiring and retaining
new teachers. Basham, Stader and Bishop (2009) demonstrated the use of the Lessig “Pathetic
Dot” model for educational hiring to advocate for personality assessments, such as those used in
law enforcement hiring, to be used in hiring practices. The authors suggested that “using
assessments for prescreening applicants for job fit and team fit has reduced attrition and turnover
rates as much as 51% in corporations” (p. 375). Brown and Schainker (2008) examined teacher
retention issues. The authors noted that “regardless of the quality of the preparation program
from which they come, first year teachers should not have to meet the same expectations and
should not even be treated equally as the other members of a school’s faculty” (pp. 14-15). The
impact of work-load presented earlier in this review by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (2011)
is supported by the research of Holdaway, Johnson, Ratsoy and Friesen (1994). The authors
conducted a significant study on internships for pre-service teachers and called for greater use of
internships to develop teaching competencies. Regardless of the method of hiring, it is evident
that hiring for best-fit within an organizational culture is essential to increase motivation and
engagement and reduce burnout and attrition.
Organizational Culture and Person-Organization Fit
There is a significant amount of research that seeks to determine the value of employee
fit: how organizational culture (reviewed above) influences or is influenced by employee
placement. As Collins (2001) indicated, this is the process of getting people into the right seats
on the bus. Senge (2006) stated that “when people in organizations focus only on their position,

they have little sense of responsibility for the results produced when all positions interact” (p.
19). Collins and Porras (2002) noted that “visionary companies tend to be more demanding of
their people than other companies, both in terms of performance and congruence with the
ideology” (p. 121). Given the scope of this research, I sought to connect the concepts of culture
and hiring among literature that seeks to define person-organization fit.
Chatman (1989) defined the concept of person-organization fit as the “congruence
between the norms and values of organizations and the value of persons” (p. 339). She cautioned
against using the same descriptors for organizations and individuals since organizations are not
people. A cooperative person, for instance, is not the same as a cooperative organization (p. 337).
Chatman (1989) indicated that it is more useful for an organization to select individuals who
share the same values, rather than those with strong knowledge, skills and attitudes (p. 344).
Chatman (1991) further reviewed the process of selection and socialization. She noted that
“selection contributes significantly to value congruence at entry, but regardless of selection,
socialization experiences contribute significantly to changes in person-organization fit over
recruits’ first year” (p. 476). Here, she demonstrated that the connection between person and
organization (congruence) is significantly more important than either the isolated culture of the
organization or the values of the individual. From a school perspective, this research indicates
that it is significantly more important to hire teachers who share the values of the school culture
at the onset. Chatman (1991) noted the limitations of her research in that “organizations may
want to distinguish between various types of person-organization fit to determine what ‘mix’ of
employees is optimal” (p. 480). Cardon and Stevens (2004) review of the organizational
literature on managing human resources in small organizations agreed with Chatman’s (1991)

concept of an appreciation of value congruence and added that small scale organizations need to
spend more time on the “downstream impact” of these choices (p. 320).
Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman and Johnson (2005) noted the importance of fit for
management. Through their research, the authors indicated that:
Fit matters to applicants, recruiters and employees. It influences their attitudes, decisions,
and behaviors in the work domain. Yet, our results also suggest that fit is a complicated
concept, with multiple types of fit influencing outcomes. Therefore, managers wishing to
maximize the benefits of fit are encouraged to attend to the various aspects of the
environment with which fit may occur. It is not enough to increasingly refine a job
description or indoctrinate employees into a company’s culture. Instead, a multifaceted
approach that involves the demands and supplies of jobs, coworker characteristics, and
organizational elements is needed. (p. 325)
The authors indicate that the concept of “fit” matters at all levels of an organization’s culture.
Jansen and Kristof-Brown (2006) further examined this multidimensional theory of person-
environment fit that included person-vocation fit, person-job fit, person-organization fit, person-
group fit and person-person fit (p. 202). The authors noted that “fit” is dependent on time and
that examining fit through a multidimensional approach enables an increased understanding of
“the total employee experience” (p. 206).
I identified additional approaches to person-organization fit in the literature. Edwards
(1996) examined the concept of person-environment fit by examining how supplies (resources
necessary to work effectively) impact values (S-V) and how workplace demands impact abilities
(D-A). Edwards (1996) suggested that “S-V fit was more strongly associated with job
dissatisfaction, whereas D-A fit was more strongly associated with tension” (pp. 331-332). I
would advocate that these concepts are covered extensively as the psychology of optimal
experience – flow – that occurs when challenges are adequately matched to skills
(Csikszentmihalyi, 2003; Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). Resick, Baltes and
Shantz (2007) additionally examined needs-supplies and demands-abilities. Their research added

that “person-organization fit was related to job offer acceptance for highly conscientious
individuals” (p. 1446). Erdogan and Bauer (2009) further examined skills and fit through the
relationship of overqualification and empowerment to attrition. They identified that “at low
levels of empowerment, perceived overqualification was negatively related to intentions to
remain, whereas at high levels of empowerment, perceived overqualification was not related to
intentions to remain” (p. 561). On attrition and hiring, Opfer (2011) cautioned that “the number
of weeks a position remains open may tell us something about the efficiency of the hiring
processes at the school or district level but reveals little about the attractiveness of the school as a
place of employment” (p. 610). Judge and Bono (2001) demonstrated that the best dispositional
predictors for job satisfaction and job performance are self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy,
locus of control and emotional stability. Judge and Ferris (2002) further noted that the concept of
fit is dynamic and that it has implications for the hiring process; that “organizations might be
well advised to use procedures other than the interview to assess overall qualifications, and use
the interview to assess fit” (p. 62).
The literature on organizational person-fit indicates that there are numerous approaches
for a narrative research project on engagement, motivation and performance. Stories of culture
and best-fit provide insights into opportunities for improving both staffing and retention within
Parkland School Division. Stories of culture and best-fit additionally provide for the opportunity
for collaborative learning and leadership development. The research presented here indicates that
motivation, engagement and performance can be positively influenced by hiring and retaining
effective employees and that greater appreciative research is still required for school specific
contexts.

Conclusion
The literature on engagement, motivation, change, culture and hiring contributes to an
understanding of administrator and teacher stories within Parkland School Division. The intent
is to identify how these concepts are related, and how leaders within the school division can take
advantage of opportunities that will yield growth. As the literature review suggests, having the
right people in the right culture is critically important. This presents the possibility for
opportunities for growth within our site-based system of hiring. The literature also suggests that
we examine how well our teachers are working within their individual cultures. To this end,
these questions are brought to life in the lived-experiences of the administrators and teachers of
Parkland School Division.

CHAPTER THREE – INQUIRY APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
This action research project intends to exemplify how early and middle years
administrators’ stories can inform strategies for increasing individual teacher performance,
engagement and motivation in Parkland School Division #70? Chapter Three provides an
explanation of the approach and methodology used in this project. The first section provides an
understanding of the selection of the approach that I used and why it was effective for this
project. Next, this chapter describes the participants of the project and why they were selected
for this research. The section on research methods defines and describes the narrative interview
process, and the quantitative survey. I explain the procedures that were used in the analysis of the
data from each of the research methods. This chapter concludes with a section on the ethical
approaches to this research that were both considered and respected.
Research Approach
Action research was used for this project. Action research can be defined as “a systematic
approach to investigation that enables people to find effective solutions to problems they
confront in their everyday lives” (Stringer, 2007, p. 1). Given that my intent was to reveal best-
practice approaches through the stories of school administrators, action research is well suited for
this inquiry. Action research “enables stakeholders to explore their own experiences, increase
their understanding of those experiences and create effective solutions to the problems
examined” (Stringer, 2007, p. 20). Chapter Two identified the importance of workplace
engagement and that this is an important focus for school administrators. As an approach to
research, action research is well suited for revealing best-practice approaches from stories.
Action research involves an investigation of everyday actions and the sense of meaning that
individuals apply to their world (Coghlan & Brannick, 2010, p. 36).

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