Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to describe, measure, compare, and contrast the perceptions of elementary teachers and principals regarding the degree to which the schools in which they are employed have implemented learning organizations conforming to Senge's (1990) 5 disciplines: mental models, personal mastery, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. Methodology. This correlational study described and measured the relationship between characteristics of learning organizations and student achievement, as measured by the Academic Performance Index (API). By controlling for demographic variables correlated with student achievement, the study identified and measured the statistical significance and power of learning organization characteristics as predictors of API scores. Findings. Multiple regression analysis of educator responses confirmed that 4 of the 5 predictor variables (team learning, mental models, systems thinking, and personal mastery), as well as the combined construct learning organization, explained, accounted for, or predicted up to 9% of the variance in API scores among respondent schools. A multivariate analysis of variance identified statistically significant differences in the responses of principals and teachers. Respondents identified collaboration as the most effective strategy for improving student achievement, and lack of time and flexibility as the greatest barriers. Conclusions. The instrumentation used to collect data was marred by a lack of consistency within each construct and by multicollinearity between the 5 constructs. A number of principals expressed an unwillingness to participate in the survey due to lack of time, and teachers expressed an unwillingness to participate due to fear of reprisal. Of those who did respond, the divergent responses of principal and teacher groups combined to create data that better predicted API than either the principal or the teacher responses alone. Therefore, related research should continue to include principals and teachers. Recommendations. A future study should include 5 suggested themes—collaboration, shared vision, time/resources, school climate, and systems thinking—to measure the effects of varying levels of implementation of disciplines associated with learning organizations as compared to student achievement at schools with similar demographic characteristics. The study should be replicated with a greater number of subjects in a greater number of administrative and academic positions.