Date of Award

1998

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Richard Henderson, Ed. D.

Abstract

The study of organizational health in the context of court-ordered desegregation focused on the three school districts in Pulaski County, Arkansas: Little Rock School District, North Little Rock School District, and Pulaski County Special School District. The purpose of the study was to determine the existence of a relationship between organizational health and the desegregation process. The organizational health of each school district was measured on the theoretical concept of schools as social systems. The organizational health of the school districts was measured using a revised version of the Organizational Health Inventory developed by Hoy and Feldman (1987). Seven constructs of organizational health were measured: institutional integrity, initiating structure, principal influence, morale, resource support, academic emphasis, and consideration. Items addressing desegregation factors were developed separately and were incorporated into the Organizational Health Inventory. Analysis of the data collected provided an overall school health index for each district, with desegregation items providing insight as to strengths and weaknesses within each school district. All school districts received above average overall school health indexes. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients substantiated the existence of a significant positive relationship (p < .05) between desegregation and organizational health. Respondents who rated desegregation items high also tended to rate other subscale items high. Respondents who rated desegregation items low tended to rate other subscale items low. The strongest relationship occurred between desegregation and the subscale of consideration.

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